Chapter 2

Lilian was sprawled on the ground, a bodyguard's grip leaving bloody marks on her pale face. She looked up at me with a sneer.

"Oh, Nancy, being Ms. Yates must feel so stifling, huh? Everyone is walking all over you, and here you are, still playing the graceful lady?"

I fixed my gaze on Alora's face and let out a laugh, my eyes glinting with an icy fury.

In a flash, I headbutted her right on the nose.

She let out a sharp cry, her face twisting in agony as she clutched at her bleeding, freshly done nose job.

I whipped out a baton from my bag and swung it hard, landing a blow right between the legs of the bodyguard behind me.

Spinning around, I zapped another guard on the knee with my stun baton.

Before Alora could even catch her breath, I had her by the collar.

With a solid bang, I slammed her against the fire hose reel on the wall.

"Think you can just take my stuff?"

I slapped her hard across the face, once, twice, leaving her reeling, her surgically altered face warping under the impact.

"You lowlife, you dare to hit me?!"

Alora's face was a twisted mess of purple and red as she tried to fight back.

I kicked her in the gut and slapped her again for good measure. "Yeah, I'm hitting you!"

I pinned her hands behind her back with one hand and yanked her hair with the other, pulling her head back.

The Collins Group bodyguards rushed over, ready to jump me, but they held back, cursing, because I had Alora in my grip.

"You think you can hit Ms. Warren and get away with it? You're just itching to die!"

Lilian managed to break free from the bodyguards, grabbed a can of pepper spray, and aimed it at the two bodyguards.

"Hit her harder!" she yelled out to me in support. "Show her who's in charge in Riverton City!

"You think you can mess with me? I'll make you regret it big time!"

Alora's screams pierced the air as her hair was yanked, her hands flailing wildly while trying to grab me.

"Finish her off! A cool seven hundred fifty thousand dollars to whoever takes her down first!"

Out of nowhere, the Collins family's bodyguards swarmed me like a pack of wolves.

Just like that, I was being choked from behind, my hair in someone's iron grip.

Amid the mayhem, a cowardly kick landed on my waist.

I lost my grip on Alora, and the bodyguards slammed me to the ground in no time.

Alora strutted over, her high heels becoming weapons as they came crashing down on my back, again and again.

"Think you've got nine lives? Today, you'll meet the Grim Reaper himself!"

A hot rush of blood surged to my chest, and I coughed up blood. I was about to fight back when police sirens cut through the chaos.

"Freeze!"

Two cops stepped out, their commanding presence quieting the storm.

The taller cop, seeing Alora's blood-stained face, looked shocked.

"Ms. Alora? What on earth happened?"

The shorter cop practically tripped over himself to offer Alora a chair.

Sitting with a smug look, Alora pointed straight at Lilian and me. "Mr. Lewis! They stole my stuff and beat up people! Look at my bodyguards, all beaten up by them!

"Take them in, now!"

The tall cop did not hesitate, ignoring our injuries, and whipped out his handcuffs.

"Causing trouble in Riverton City and attacking Mrs. Collins? You're coming with us to the station!"

Lilian's frown deepened, a storm brewing in her eyes.

"Is there no justice anymore? They're the ones who threw the first punch!"