Knives glinted, and Aurora and the crew's faces tightened—not scared stiff, just uneasy.
Eleanor, tucked in Anirudh's grip, snapped awake. Her jaw clenched at the blades. Who were these punks, and where'd they get the balls to pull steel here?
Aurora held steady, Rosalind's brows knit—she hadn't pegged them for this gutsy.
Amy went white, Laila sneered—her shade thrown at Anirudh, the fallout of his hotheaded stunt. Only Estella's eyes danced, no fear, just hype—like some badass flick come to life!
"What's your play here?" Eleanor threw herself in front of Anirudh, voice cold as ice. She might be a chick, but she'd take a hit before he did, a mama bear vibe on lock.
"Back off, babe… don't whine if I nick that hot face," the lead thug jeered. Bald, with a freaky flower-kiss spider inked on his dome, he oozed sleaze.
Not a single one of these clowns looked legit!
"You've got some nerve pulling this here. Law mean anything to you?" Eleanor didn't budge—she stepped up, sharp and fierce. Big shot of the Eleanor crew, a Chicago heavy hitter, she'd danced through worse storms.
"Law? I'm the damn law. Last shot—move, or you're bleeding too," the spider-tattoo guy spat.
If she weren't a knockout, he'd have swung already.
"Try it…" Anirudh jumped in, heart swelling at Eleanor's grit. She'd had his back since he was a runt, and time hadn't dulled that edge.
She knew she couldn't spook or stop them, but she planted herself anyway. That hit him deep!
He eased Eleanor back as he spoke.
"Anirudh, they…"
"Eleanor, you've guarded me forever. I'm big now—my turn to cover you," he said coolly, dropping her hand to step forward.
His silhouette cut a lone, sharp line, cool as hell, a quiet swagger rolling off him.
Rosalind and Aurora's eyes popped—didn't know Anirudh had this alpha streak. Estella was all starry-eyed, fangirling hard.
Laila just smirked—a cocky punk like him was useless. Take on this crowd? He'd just get smashed and freak Eleanor out more.
Then the spider-tattoo creep grinned, lunging with a blade for Anirudh's gut—not a kill shot, just a gut-check to school him on who not to mess with.
"Ah…" Aurora and the girls gasped—these dudes weren't playing, stabbing straight up. Eleanor lunged to yank Anirudh, but he didn't dodge—he stepped in.
"Anirudh…"
Over Eleanor's yell, he snagged the guy's wrist, cranking it till it popped. The thug yelped, knife swiped, and Anirudh rammed it into his shoulder…
A wet "shink" hit as blood sprayed. Before it splashed him, Anirudh's boot flashed, smashing the guy's gut and dropping him hard.
A scream ripped out.
No pause—Anirudh charged the dozen-plus goons. He twisted one dude's wrist—crack—arm snapped, then cracked another across the jaw, sending him flying. A third caught a savage kick to the jewels—his shriek pierced the air as he jackknifed, face greening out.
In a flash, he'd smoked a handful, but it didn't spook 'em—it pissed 'em off. Knives flicked out, and they swarmed, one snagging another vase and barreling in…