Chapter 67

"Noelle, what the hell are you doing?" Damon gripped Noelle's wrist tightly, his face dark with anger. "Stay in the car," he growled.

But Noelle wasn't having it. "Damon, these guys have already surrounded us. Even if we stay put, they won't let us go."

"You think you can just take them all down? What, you've got a little bit of training, and now you think you're invincible?" Maybe Noelle could fight, sure, but Damon wasn't about to risk it. These weren't just random guys from a racetrack; they were clearly thugs with real experience. And as much as Damon disliked Noelle, there was no way he'd let her face this mob on her own.

Steeling himself, Damon pushed open the car door and stepped out. Noelle, of course, immediately tried to follow him. The rest of the team scrambled to stop her.

"Noelle, stay here! Yeah, let Damon handle it!"

Noelle puffed out her cheeks in frustration. She gave a small tug, and to everyone's shock, no one could hold her back.

"What the hell! Her strength is insane!" Before they could stop her again, Noelle slipped out of the car and caught up with Damon.

"Damon!"

Hearing Noelle's voice, Damon turned, his frustration boiling over. "What the hell are you doing?!" he barked.

But Noelle didn't seem bothered by his anger. She fell into step beside him, her usual carefree smile lighting up her face. "I'm here to protect you," she said cheerfully.

Damon's heart seemed to skip a beat. For a moment, an unidentifiable emotion spread through his chest, catching him completely off guard. She's here to protect me? What kind of nonsense is this? I've been nothing but harsh to her. I even said I'd kill her for Leia's sake. Damon thought, Anyone else would've steered clear of him by now.

But Noelle? She stuck by him, unbothered, even now when danger loomed. She's insane, Damon thought. Absolutely insane.

Grinding his teeth, Damon balled his fists and forced himself to look away. "Just stay out of my way," he snapped. "That'd be a huge help, thanks."

Even as he spat out the words, Damon instinctively shifted to stand between Noelle and the approaching gang. "What do you want?" he demanded coldly.

"What do you think?" sneered the leader, a burly man named Cody. He hefted the steel pipe over his shoulder, his expression dripping with malice. "You screwed up a good deal for my buddy here. Garrett promised him a six million dollar gig, and now that's gone. You tell me, what do I want?"

From the group, a familiar voice chimed in, "Stop wasting time, Cody. Break his hands already."

Damon's eyes flicked to the speaker: Jory, the so-called talent he'd just beaten in the race. "Fair and square," Damon said, his voice dripping with disdain. "And now you're resorting to this? You call yourself a man!"

"Exactly!" Noelle suddenly chimed in, poking her head out from behind Damon. Her finger jabbed toward Jory accusingly. "If you've got a problem, take it up with me! I'm the reason Garrett booted you, not Damon!"

Damon froze, a fresh wave of exasperation washing over him. "Noelle, what the hell are you saying!"

Noelle blinked innocently at him, as though explaining something obvious. "Isn't it clear? That guy's mad because I showed up and ruined his deal. So he should be mad at me, not you!"

"Shut up!" Damon hissed. "You're just making things worse!"

Jory, meanwhile, looked confused as hell, clearly unsure what these two were arguing about. But when his gaze landed on Noelle, her doll-like features and striking beauty, a different kind of thought crossed his mind.

"Cody," Jory murmured with a dark grin.

Cody immediately caught on. His own gaze shifted to Noelle, and an equally lecherous smile spread across his face. "Alright, boys," Cody said. "Break the guy's hands, and take the girl to the car."

Damon's blood ran cold. "You bastards!" he growled, his entire body tensing.

The rest of the team piled out of the car, forming a shaky line behind Damon. "Hey! Did anyone call the cops?"

"We're trying, but there's no signal out here!"

"Damn it. We'll just have to fight back!"

Though clearly outnumbered, the team wasn't about to back down.

"Fight back?" Cody sneered, pulling a gun from his jacket.

The sharp crack of a gunshot shattered the tense silence, reverberating through the mountain valley.

Everyone froze. The team's faces drained of color.

"Oh, shit," someone whispered. "They've got guns. What do we do now!"

Cody smirked, twirling the gun in his hand like a toy. "What's the matter?" he taunted. "Weren't you all so brave a second ago? If you don't hand them over, I'll make sure you leave in pieces."

The team exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier bravado rapidly crumbling.

Damon's jaw clenched. His eyes darted to Noelle, then to his trembling teammates. He couldn't let this happen.

Taking a deep breath, Damon stepped forward. "I'm the one you want," he said. "Let everyone else go, and I'll stay."

The team's protests erupted immediately, their voices filled with equal parts alarm and admiration. Damon ignored them. His focus remained on Cody and the others.

But Cody only laughed, his grin twisting into something uglier. "Who do you think you are, making demands?" Cody sneered. "You stay? Sure, but the girl stays too."

Damon's fury boiled over. "You—"

Before he could finish, a small hand tugged at his sleeve. "Damon," Noelle said brightly, her voice like sunshine piercing through the tension.

Damon looked down at her, stunned. Her smile was radiant, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "See?" Noelle said. "I knew you were a good person. You might be mean to me, but when it counts, you can't help but protect me."

"Noelle, this is not the time—"

But Noelle didn't listen. She stepped forward, her gaze sweeping lazily over the gang. Her expression turned calm, almost bored. "Damon," she said, her voice steady, "you don't have to do anything. I'll handle this."