Chapter 139

By now it was close to eight and the sky had gone completely dark. Lydia took her time driving down the winding country road, her headlights cutting through the shadows. The further she got from town, the quieter it became, until the only sounds were her tires on gravel and the hum of the engine.
That was when she noticed the cars behind her. At first, they kept their distance, scattered along the road. But suddenly, as the landscape grew even lonelier, they sped up and moved in, boxing her in from every direction.
Doors slammed. Men in black spilled out, their faces hard and unfriendly. The ones at the front had stun batons in their hands, waving them with a threat that hung heavy in the air.
“Get out of the car, brat!” one of them barked.
Lydia just leaned forward, hands loose on the steering wheel, and let out a quiet chuckle. She counted. There were at least twenty of them. Who sent this many losers after her?
“Hey! If you don’t get out right now, we’ll smash your ride!” another shouted.
Her eyes narrowed, turning icy. She shoved her door open and stepped out, chin up. “So, which moron sent you guys here to meet your demise tonight?”
The men bristled, anger flashing across their faces.
“You’ve got a big mouth for someone about to meet her end,” the leader snapped.
Lydia crossed her arms and leaned back against her car, looking as cool as midnight. She didn’t even flinch. “You’re really going to commit a crime out here in the open, and you’re not worried about ending up behind bars?”
That got a round of harsh laughter. “Out here?” one guy jeered. “There’s nothing for miles. No streetlights, no cameras, nobody around to see anything. We could do whatever we wanted, and nobody would know.”
The rest chimed in, their laughter cold and mean, eyes on Lydia like she was just prey waiting for the knife.
She tilted her head, voice calm. “So who sent you?”
“Don’t bother trying to get us to talk, kid,” the leader sneered. “Come with us and maybe we let you live.”
“Oh, so you want me to go with you?” Lydia raised an eyebrow. “What, to some place even more deserted so you can get rid of me?”
“Enough! Tie her up!” the leader barked, waving his hands.
His men rushed at her. Lydia just smirked. The first two came close, and in a blink she lashed out, dropping one with a sharp kick. He flew back and crashed against a car heavy thud, the sound
door with
beav
echoing through the night. The
second guy barely had a chance to react before he went down too, groaning.
The rest froze, shocked. None of them had expected a girl her age to be this tough.
Lydia brushed the dust off her pants, barely even looking at them. “You really sent a bunch of amateurs,” she said with a bored sigh.
That did it. The men charged, the leader shouting, “Get her! I’m gonna see what this little girl can do!”
They swarmed her, but Lydia moved
quick, dodging and striking before they could even touch her. The leader Jimmy stepped back to watch, certain she’d be begging for ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ
mercy soon. He figured she’d gotten
lucky once, but he was ready to
teach her a real lesson.
Lydia’s lips curled into a cold smile. Free punching bags delivered right to her—how
could she say no?
A chorus of screams rang out, echoing across the empty fields. The men could barely see ber, justa flashes of movement and then pain knocking them down. One by one, they hit the ground, groaning and clutching at bruises.
In under ten minutes, every last one of them was sprawled out and defeated.
Lydia dusted off her hands, rolling her shoulders like she’d just finished a warmup. She glanced over and spotted Jimmy, frozen in place and looking like he might wet himself.
“Oh, there’s still one left,” she said, almost bored.
Jimmy’s eyes went wide. He held his hands up, stammering, “No, no, please, I didn’t even touch you, I—”