Chapter 68

Hearing Noelle's words, Cody and his men burst into raucous laughter.

"Hey, Jory, did you catch that? She says she's gonna handle us all by herself!" Cody sneered. "Keep that up once she's had a taste of reality!"

Joey, his eyes leering at Noelle, let out a lecherous chuckle. "Oh, she's got a mouth on her. Let's see how long she can keep it up."

The gang caught onto Joey's crude implication, and their gazes turned predatory, openly ogling Noelle from the car.

Damon's team looked on in outrage. "Damn scumbags! Noelle, don't go out there! If it comes to it, we'll fight them together!"

Noelle, however, remained unfazed. Somehow, a small stone had appeared in her hand. She stepped toward Cody with an innocent smile, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"You must be the boss here, huh?" she asked, tilting her head.

Cody puffed out his chest, clearly enjoying the attention. "That's right, baby. Uncle Cody's the boss. Wanna play with me first? Come here, and I'll even give you some candy." He said with a sly grin.

Noelle's lips curled into a sweet smile. "Thanks, but no thanks. Nick told me not to take candy from strangers."

Cody blinked, confused. Before he could make sense of what she meant, a sudden sharp pain shot through his hand.

"Ah!" Cody cried out as the gun he was holding clattered to the ground. His shocked gaze snapped to Noelle, but she was already a blur of motion. In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of him, her small, delicate hands catching the falling gun mid-air.

"What the hell!" Cody staggered back in alarm.

But Noelle was faster. She coolly pointed the gun at Cody's forehead, her sweet voice ringing out loud and clear: "Take out the leader, and the rest will fall."

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Everyone stood rooted to the spot, staring at the petite girl with the doll-like face holding a gun to the head of a man twice her size.

"Holy crap! Did she just teleport or something? What speed was that? Is she even human?"

Damon, too, was dumbstruck. He had known Noelle was skilled, but this... this was on a whole different level.

Cody's men were equally stunned. "Who the hell is this girl?"

Cody, now with a gun pressed to his temple, began to sweat profusely. "L... look," he stammered, forcing a nervous smile. "Sweetheart, guns aren't toys for little girls. Why don't you hand that over before you hurt—"

Noelle cocked her head, her innocent demeanor unchanged. "What makes you think I can't handle a gun?" she asked sweetly, with a calmness that sent shivers down everyone's spine. She pulled the trigger.

The bullet whizzed past Cody's ear, close enough to singe his skin.

"Ah!" Cody flinched, his face draining of color.

But Noelle wasn't done. She tilted her head, her jet-black eyes gleaming with a predatory glint, and pressed the gun firmly against Cody's forehead once more. "Next time," she murmured, her voice low and dangerous, "I won't miss."

For the first time in his life, Cody, who had spent years thriving in the underworld, felt true, bone-deep fear.

"I'm sorry!" Cody stammered, dropping to his knees. His voice cracked as he begged, "Please let me go! I promise I'll never bother you again!"

Cody's men gasped, stunned by their leader's sudden capitulation. Ignoring them, Cody groveled at Noelle's feet, his tone growing increasingly desperate. "Miss, I swear, I'll disappear! You'll never see me again!"

Noelle blinked, taken aback by how quickly Cody folded. "Well, that was anticlimactic," she muttered. Turning to Damon, she asked, "What do we do with him?"

Damon's lips thinned as he considered their options. "We call the cops," he said finally. "Let the authorities deal with them. They've got illegal firearms and were planning an attack. They won't get off lightly."

Noelle nodded. "Okay." She lowered the gun, but the moment she did, Cody sprang up, lunging for her. He snatched the gun from Noelle's hand and snarled, "You worthless wretch! Do you really think I'd let myself be butchered like this?"

The twist left everyone's hearts in their throats. Damon's face drained of color. His instincts kicked in faster than his brain, and he charged forward without a second thought.

But just as everyone thought Cody was about to overpower Noelle—Noelle remained unfazed, spinning gracefully, effortlessly throwing the burly Cody to the ground.

Cody's head slammed against the ground with a heavy thud. Noelle stepped firmly on his head, her foot pressing down so hard that the ground beneath it dented deeply. Cody screamed in agony, his wails echoing in the air.

There was no room for retaliation. Everyone was frozen, stunned by the sight. Who could have imagined that petite, doll-like Noelle would so effortlessly take down the hulking man!

"Why are you still sneaking attacks?" Noelle stood with her foot on Cody's head, puffing out her cheeks. But no one found her cute now. Noelle was a demon in disguise, dressed in the skin of a doll but with the heart of a hellish tormentor.

When Damon saw that Cody had been subdued again, his heart slowly returned to its rightful place. He walked up to Noelle, his gaze filled with disbelief, and asked, "Noelle, are you alright?"

"I'm not..." Noelle turned, about to reassure him that she was fine. But then, she paused. Isn't this the perfect opportunity to act fragile, to play the sympathy card and make Damon feel sorry for me?

With a nod, Noelle pouted, looking all sweet and vulnerable as she said, "I'm not okay. Damon, he attacked me, scared me so much… My heart is still pounding, I need a hug to calm down." She held out her arms, looking up at Damon with hopeful eyes. "Damon, hug me?"

Damon could only blink, speechless. If it weren't for Cody still lying beneath her foot, groaning in pain, and a group of thugs fleeing in terror behind them, he might have believed it. Damon thought, Noelle… you're a bit too strong for your own good.

Later, Garrett's people arrived, promising to handle the situation appropriately. After such a scare, no one dared to linger outside, so everyone quickly left for home.

Damon, worried about possible retaliation from Cody's associates, took Noelle straight back to the Anderson family. Noelle didn't get her hug, and her little pout was practically hanging in the air. Unable to resist her mournful look, Damon finally gave in and turned the car around to take Noelle to a barbecue place. That was the only thing that could somewhat soothe Noelle's fragile heart.

After all the chaos, by the time they returned to the Anderson family, it was nearly dawn. Noelle clung to Damon's sleeve with one hand while rubbing her eyes with the other, yawning continuously.

"Damon, I was still sleeping. How come you, as my big brother, don't know how to be more gentle? You should have let me sleep and just carried me inside without waking me up, right?"

Damon had lost his patience with Noelle. He tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't budge. Grinding his teeth, he muttered, "Let go of my hand."

"Damon, you're so mean. I protected you once, can't you be nicer to me!" With a huff, Noelle leaped up, wrapping her arms around Damon's neck. "Damon, Cody was so fierce, my legs turned to jelly. Carry me, please?"

"Your acting's terrible." Damon had never met anyone as clingy as Noelle. Fuming with rage, yet helpless, he muttered, "I swear, I can't handle you."

Just then, as they passed through the door and into the villa's hallway...