Saving the Villain

"Oy… I'll only ask you once. Get that dirty hand off of her."

The leader slowly set his eyes on Luke, only to see the glint and sharpness in the latter's eyes. The leader's expression turned hard, triggered by Luke's tone and the look in his eyes.

"And what if I don't want to?" asked the leader, squeezing Cosette's shoulder mildly. "What will you do?"

"Not him." This time, it was Cosette who answered. "You should ask me that question."

Without a second notice, Cosette ducked to get the leader's hand off her shoulder. At the same time, she slapped his wrist, grabbed it, and twisted it to the leader's back, pinning the leader on the table within a second time frame.

Everything happened so fast that everyone could only look at Cosette holding the leader's wrist on his back, pinning him to the table. Their pupils went wide and even the boss was surprised. Amie looked at Cosette in shock, holding her breath subconsciously. The only person who wasn't shocked by Cosette's action was Luke.

"Aish…" Luke ruffled his hair in irritation, lifting his brow at the lackeys. They were still surprised at the turn of events. After all, compared to the leader, Cosette looked small and easy to pin down. If only they knew Cosette had been training for self-defense and also to have more time to flirt with Maxen because martial arts had been one of Maxen's sports.

Luke and Remo also had no choice because Maxen enrolled them in the same class. So, they would attend it three times a week and sometimes, even during weekends. Maxen required them to do so since he practically employed them, working in the security agency Maxen was handling.

"If I were you guys, just settle your matters among yourselves, hmm?" Luke's arrogant voice snapped everyone back to their senses. "Just leave us all alone, okay?"

"Don't ever come at her or us again. This is my last warning." Meanwhile, Cosette ignored Luke as she warned the leader. "I won't guarantee anything if you try to cross the line again."

Her eyes were sharp while the leader clenched his teeth. Despite that Cosette was smaller, he couldn't use brute force to shake her off. Each time he would try to exert a bit of strength, his wrist felt like twisting even more. She would break his wrist, and that was for sure.

"Crazy bitch!" the leader spat out through his gritted teeth, glaring at his lackey standing on the side. "What the hell are you all doing!?"

His voice echoed like a clap of thunder, snapping his lackeys back to their senses. They set their eyes on Luke's nonchalant countenance before shifting their attention to Cosette's side profile. Hesitation resurfaced on their faces, seeing that the girl was already pinning their leader.

If the strongest among them was already pinned down, how were they supposed to fight? But then again, after looking at each other, they realized their number. If they fought together, they could win, no matter how capable Cosette and Luke were.

"Damn fools…" Luke snickered, catching the sudden determination in their eyes. "This is what Max kept saying."

"Shut up!" one goon yelled and without further ado, leaped in Luke's direction. His voice somehow brought this courage to the rest of the lackeys, attacking Luke and Cosette all at once.

And with that, a brawl ensued.

Luke simply ducked to avoid a punch, raising his foot to kick the one that was coming to his other side. Two lackeys immediately came to attack him, managing to dodge them before grabbing a person's collar. Grabbing the goon's collar, he utilized his strength to drag him around, tossing it to the other lackey coming at him.

Meanwhile, another lackey was shouting while coming at Cosette. This guy grabbed a bottle to smash it against her head. Cosette instinctively grabbed the back of the leader's collar, pulling him up to use him as a shield.

CLANG!

The lackey flinched when he realized he smashed the bottle into the leader's shoulder. The moment he locked eyes with the leader, the lackey momentarily froze. Meanwhile, the leader could only glare at his stupid minion before facing Cosette.

"You two…" the boss balled his hand until they turned white. His face had already turned red, motioning to those people who were sitting quietly. "Oy, what are you doing? Get them!"

"What?" Henry and his friends gasped in disbelief, darting their eyes between Cosette and Luke.

Thud! Thud!

It had only been a few minutes since the fight broke out, but two of them already passed out on the floor. Luke was dusting his hands off. His display of strength and agility alarmed those who hadn't met his fist or feet.

Cosette was also someone they couldn't see as a vulnerable young lady. They were certain if she wasn't wearing that tight and short dress, she would've also knocked out a few of them. They were just two of them, yet it appeared to be impossible to even win.

"Bo — boss…" Henry stuttered, only for his breath to hitch when the leader glared daggers at him.

"What?! If you guys can teach these guys a lesson, I'll lessen your debt!" said the leader loudly, moving his fiery eyes back to Cosette. "Be grateful that I only brought a few of my boys. I will teach you guys a lesson."

"Aren't you ashamed?" Luke inquired out of pure curiosity, pointing at the door with his thumb. "There was just the two of us and a few of you already. If we count those lookouts, that's quite a lot. Yet, you still think you're outnumbered? Can you count?"

The boss hissed as his body shook in anger. "I'm going to kill you."

"Sure," Luke smirked, facing the boss squarely. "If you can."

The leader's eyes blazed, taking gigantic steps toward Luke. Meanwhile, the lackeys were forced to move and leap in Cosette's direction. Seeing this unfolding, Amie, who squeezed herself into the corner, couldn't help but hyperventilate.

All Amie could do was dart her eyes between Cosette and Luke as they fight back these goons. She would flinch every time a cry would resonate in the room, or when something shatter. However, Cosette and Luke were capable enough to stand their ground.

'Cozie…' Amie clutched her hand close to her chest before her brows furrowed. "Henry, what are you…?"