Chapter 7

Kian stepped around me, a cruel smile playing on his lips. The three thugs closed in, forming a tight circle around me. Their eyes were hard and merciless.

"What do you want, Kian?" I asked, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

He looked me up and down, his gaze full of contempt. "You think you can just steal Aubrey away from my sister and get away with it?"

"She left him, not the other way around," I said, trying to reason with him, trying to buy time. "And if you do anything stupid, Aubrey and the police won' t let you off the hook."

He laughed, a low, grating sound that grated on my nerves. "Do you really think Aubrey will care what happens to you? I' m going to make sure he never wants to look at your face again."

His eyes turned vicious. "Once you' re out of the picture, my sister can finally have what' s rightfully hers."

I held up my hands, a last, desperate attempt at a peaceful resolution. "I' m leaving. I' m getting out of your way. I promise."

Kian just laughed again. "You? Give up this life? I don' t believe you." He nodded to the thugs. "Hold her."

They grabbed my arms, their grips like iron vices. Kian stepped forward, pulling a small, sharp knife from his pocket. The blade glinted under the dim streetlight.

"Let' s see how pretty you are after this," he whispered, his smile turning sadistic.

The knife sliced across my cheek. A sharp, burning pain exploded on my face, and I cried out.

In that moment of agony, I remembered the small pair of scissors in my coat pocket. I had bought them for trimming loose threads.

With a surge of desperation, I twisted my body, freeing one hand just enough to reach into my pocket. I grabbed the scissors and, with all my strength, lunged forward and stabbed Kian in the leg.

His triumphant smile turned into a shriek of pain that echoed through the empty alley.

...

The police station was cold and smelled of disinfectant.

Kennedy burst through the door, supported by Aubrey, her face a mask of frantic concern.

"Kian! Are you okay?" she cried, rushing toward her brother.

He was sitting on a bench, his leg bandaged, his face pale and tear-streaked. I sat opposite him, a piece of gauze taped to my own bleeding cheek.

Kennedy whirled on me, her eyes blazing with hatred. She grabbed the front of my shirt and shook me.

"You monster! How could you do this to him? He's just a kid!"

Her shaking pulled at the cut on my face, and I winced, biting my lip to keep from crying out.

I looked past her, my eyes pleading with Aubrey. Please, believe me.

He just stared back, his brow furrowed in a deep, complicated knot. "Eva, what happened?"

I took a deep breath and told him everything. Kian's ambush, the thugs, the knife.

"She's lying!" Kennedy shouted. "Kian would never do something like that!"

Kian, ignoring me completely, turned his tear-filled eyes to Aubrey. "Aubrey, I don' t know those men. I swear."

He started to spin his own version of the story, a masterpiece of fiction. He claimed I had been harassing him at the store, angry that Aubrey had gotten him the job.

"She was furious," he sobbed. "She said I didn' t deserve your help. Then she just... she came at me with the scissors. She said she was going to kill me."