Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 46

Josh slowly stretched his body. Coyotes instinctively distinguish between weaker and stronger opponents. The primary way to avoid an attack was to visually demonstrate that he was stronger than them.

As expected, the coyotes hesitated to attack, stumbling and looking up at Josh. This was because he was much taller than they had estimated.

Thanks to this, they hesitated to lunge forward, craning their necks, but they hadn’t given up. The largest one, seemingly the leader of the pack, took a step forward, baring its teeth and growling low. It seemed determined not to miss the prey in front of it.

Maintaining eye contact with the leader, Josh quickly recalled what weapons he could use. Facing a pack of wild animals unarmed was something even a fool wouldn’t do.

The first thing that came to mind was, of course, his gun, but he had used all his bullets earlier. Josh, watching the unyielding, baring-toothed creature, wondered if it knew he had no gun or other useful weapons. Even though it couldn’t possibly.

Without taking his attention off the leader, Josh quickly scanned his surroundings with a sidelong glance. Fortunately, the trunk was still open. Recalling the monkey wrench inside, he quickly decided on his attack direction.

The problem was Chase. The car was safe, but there was one vulnerability: the rear window, which had shattered into dust. The wide-open space was enough for an animal to jump in. Josh maintained his tension and spoke.

“Mr. Miller.”

He called Chase in a low voice, his gaze still fixed on the alpha coyote.

“When I signal, move to the front passenger seat, crouch as low as possible, and I’ll handle the rest. Understand?”

“…”

“Mr. Miller.”

This time, he called his name more firmly. But Chase still didn’t answer. Josh had no choice but to quickly look down at him. The next moment, he paused in surprise.

Unexpectedly, Chase was deathly pale. He looked as if he had lost consciousness with his eyes open. He just stared at the coyotes, as if he couldn’t even hear Josh’s voice. He didn’t even blink. It was questionable whether Chase was even breathing.

Startled by the unexpected reaction, Josh looked back and forth between the coyotes and Chase, speaking rapidly.

“Mr. Miller, what are you doing? Snap out of it!”

“…”

“Mr. Miller!”

Suddenly, Josh remembered Chase’s phobia of dogs. Even the image of him turning pale and clinging to him, crying.

Would he calm down if I told him it’s a coyote, not a dog? Since they’re both canids, would it be the same? Should I say it’s a fox, since it looks similar to a fox? Oh, right, foxes are also canids.

All sorts of thoughts flashed and disappeared in just two or three seconds. But this was not the time to comfort him.

Timing was everything. Keeping his gaze fixed on the leader, Josh moved his foot very slowly sideways, gradually approaching the trunk, and subtly lowered his hand under the wide-open trunk door. The cold touch of the monkey wrench reached his fingertips, and he immediately gripped it firmly.

Immediately, the leader sensed the unusual atmosphere. The moment it lunged, Josh roared fiercely.

“Mr. Miller, go forward now! Hurry!”

Coyotes barked fiercely and swarmed from all directions. At that moment, Chase screamed, clutching his head.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

“Mr. Miller!”

Josh kicked and struck the charging wild animals, continuing to shout.

“Mr. Miller, snap out of it! Damn it, stop it and move!”

“Ah, ah, aah!”

“Chase Miller!”

He shouted repeatedly, but Chase was still in a panic, screaming, and showed no sign of hearing him at all. Finally, Josh cursed.

“Damn it!”

With a dull thud, the coyote that had lunged at Josh was flung away weakly. Immediately, Josh hastily closed the open rear door of the car. He wished that was the end of it, but unfortunately, the rear window was completely shattered.

“You stupid bastard! Can’t you hear me? What are you doing, can’t you snap out of it?”

At the same time, the leader lunged at him from behind. Josh narrowly dodged before being bitten on the shoulder and mercilessly struck the creature. With a faint yelp, the leader flew away, and another one rushed at his leg. He kicked it, sending it sprawling, and the pack hesitated for a moment.

But that wasn’t the end. Suddenly, feeling a chill, Josh turned around and spotted a leaping coyote, and he threw himself forward.

Slamming the open trunk door with one hand, he immediately sprang up and mercilessly kicked the baring-toothed, charging coyote. With a yelp, the coyote rolled to the ground, and another animal lunged. Meanwhile, Chase continued to tremble and cower, unable to move.

Damn it.

Josh gritted his teeth and revised his strategy. There was no choice but to chase the coyotes. Protecting the client while simultaneously eliminating the enemy was a highly difficult task, but with Chase in that state, that was his only option.

Fierce barking sounds continued from all directions. Their goal was one: to wait for Josh to get tired. The leader seemed confident in their superiority. It never retreated, constantly looking for an opening. And it finally found that ‘opening’.

As the leader barked fiercely and threatened, another one rushed in from behind. When Josh turned to deal with it, the leader immediately lunged at Chase.

Oh no.

Josh shouted urgently, seeing the scene.

“Chase!”

Chase paused for a moment. After that, time seemed to flow very slowly. Chase lifted his head, looked back, and saw the coyote baring its teeth, rushing towards him. Its fierce teeth, ready to tear his breath, gleamed sharply in the moonlight.

Even seeing it clearly, Chase froze and couldn’t move. The coyote’s wide-open maw filled his vision.

Suddenly, his mind went blank. He wished it would all end by having his neck bitten off right then and there.

But that moment didn’t come.

A dull thud sounded in front of his eyes. But there was no pain at all.

“…”

Puzzled, Chase slowly opened his eyes and met the yellow, crazed eyes of the coyote close by. It was drooling, baring its fierce teeth. Its sharp eyes were still fixed on Chase.

But the one it was biting was not Chase. Chase belatedly realized that Josh had blocked the space between them with his arm. And that the leader, unfortunately, had bitten Josh’s arm instead of Chase’s neck.

The moment of horror didn’t last long. Josh, lying on the trunk, barely blocking the coyote’s attack with one arm, struck its head with the monkey wrench in his other hand. The creature didn’t let go easily, even as it was hit. Then, other creatures began to rush in. Josh mercilessly kicked and flung away the coyotes that attacked him.

By now, Josh’s breathing was rough and ragged. He barely managed to get the leader off his arm, but blood dripped from the deep wound. Chase’s eyes widened at the sight. When another coyote lunged, Josh unhesitatingly kicked it away, his shoulders heaving as he gasped for breath.

“Ha.”

After catching his breath for a while, he swallowed dryly and straightened up. Chase just stared at him.

The leader’s yellow eyes, which had been glaring at him, revived in Chase’s mind. Soon after, his chest tightened, and it became difficult to breathe. The sound of dogs barking continued to echo in his ears, his heart pounded as if it would burst, and his vision went black.

I have to help him.