Chapter 563: The Meetup (3)

"I'm too full!" Emma remarked after a small burp. Her plate was now empty with minimal grease here and there.

"What do you mean? You didn't eat that much!" Katherine worried. Her eyes scanned the plate and dishes in front of her friend. There was still so much food left, and Emma didn't seem to have eaten a lot.

"Actually…" Emma bit her bottom lip, looking slightly guilty for what she was about to say. "I ate before coming here to see you."

"Why?" Katherine was baffled. She had called more than two hours ago. Her friend knew they were going to meet at a restaurant for dinner. And from what Emma confessed earlier, Katherine thought her friend must have at least already known they would make up and then eat after that.

Emma covered her lips with her fingers and smiled like she did something silly. "I got nervous an hour ago. I ended up binge eating chips while waiting for the time...and some donuts…" Katherine chuckled, thinking that it was such an Emma thing to do. "I really didn't want to look like I haven't eaten for days in front of you, Kath… so I decided to eat a little more before I came here."

"What little?" Adam's brows crossed when he looked at Emma. "You ate a full meal and dessert. Who are you kidding?"

"Oh, shush! Don't make it sound like I did something wrong!" Emma snapped at him and scoffed. "Who's wearing a new shirt because he's meeting Katherine?!"

"I'm not—"

"Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that, Adam." Emma cut him off and stuck her tongue out to him like a child.

Though he had a lot to say to defend himself, Adam could only seethe and scoff.

Seeing her two friends, just like how they usually were, made Katherine happy. It was just like how it was in the past with these two, and it felt like home.

All of a sudden, Chris's voice sounded in her ear, "I can't wait any longer. I'm coming in."

As soon as he said that, the door to their private dining room swung open. Katherine snapped her head towards it and saw Chris coming inside. He was dressed in an all-black suit with dark sunglasses that covered his eyes, and a visible wire attached to his ear. He looked very much like a security detail.

Once Chris stepped inside the room, his eyes landed on Emma. And he froze.

"Harris?" Katherine called Chris's attention using the name that he would often use whenever they were in a mission in the past — Anthony Harris.

However, Chris didn't budge. His gaze was locked at Emma's face, his heart racing like a horse galloping in a vast field.

Emma and Adam stared back at Chris—both of them thinking how odd the man was when he came inside. With the way he was dressed and Katherine calling him by a name, they instantly thought that he was Katherine's security personnel.

It was different for Adam, though. Because even though he had deduced that he must be one of Katherine's security, he could sense a dangerous aura looming around Chris.

"Anthony," Katherine called his attention again—this time, her tone sounded a bit demanding.

Then she heard him mutter something in Russian. Katherine learned the language when she was in Shadow, but now, she could barely understand what he was mumbling about.

She got up and walked towards him to try and snap him out of his trance, but before she could even get close, Chris had already taken a few steps towards Emma.

Grabbing Emma's wrist, Chris gently tugged her upward until she got to her feet.

"What…" Emma was bewildered at what was happening, unsure why Katherine's security was doing this. "What are you doing?"

Katherine clutched at Chris's arm. "Anthony, what are you doing?" She spoke under gritted teeth.

At the same time, Adam shot up from his chair, and his demeanor changed. "Let her go, man."

It was as if Chris couldn't hear everyone around him. He couldn't even feel Katherine's constant tugging as he was too busy looking at Emma in the eyes as though he was making sure that his gut feeling was right.

"Katherine, tell your security to let Emma go," Adam warned.

With her heart racing, Katherine could sense the change in the atmosphere. It was the first time that she felt vigilant around Adam—what with the way he sounded so assertive at the moment. She tried to pull Chris by the arm again, but it was of no use.

Emma, who was confused at first, suddenly became quiet. Her mouth was hung open as she stared back at the stranger who was holding her by the wrist. Unlike the other, she couldn't see his eyes because his sunglasses covered them.

Chris swiftly took something out from his inner suit jacket pocket. Then the sound of a chair hitting the floor when it fell with a bang caused them to jump. Their heads turned towards Adam, and saw him pull out a gun from his back. In a split second, he pointed it at Chris.

"Let go of her now," Adam demanded, his eyes laced with fury as his hands gripped the handgun tightly.

Katherine was definitely shocked to see the change in Adam. He was a serious person, but this was the only time she saw him actually angry—not to mention, carry a gun and point it at someone. 'Who the hell is this guy?'

"Adam, why do you have a gun?" She stalked forward slowly, both of her hands raised forward as if to stop him. "Put that down."

Chris's first instinct was to pull Emma behind him, at the same time, he placed an arm before Katherine as if blocking her from Adam. His protective response came into place, creating a distance between them and Adam.

"Emma!" Adam called out with the gun in his hand still pointing at Chris.

Things changed so fast in seconds.

"What the heck is going on?!" Emma gasped. She was lost in a trance just now until her senses came back to her and saw what was happening.

As if the situation couldn't get any worse, more men from Maverick Security came inside the room and pointed their guns at Adam.

"No, no, no, wait—Stop!" Katherine faced the men from the Alpha Team.

Damien had also entered the room, and then he stepped in front of Katherine as if shielding her from everyone else.

And amidst the tense atmosphere, Styles spoke through the comms, "Well, that escalated quickly."