Hanley said, "Mr. Etheridge has never been married. If he ever tied the knot, the whole world would know. If you want to make excuses, at leaste up with a better one."


    With that, Hanley grabbed Nita by the arm and dragged her toward the changing


    room.


    Nita struggled, but his grip was irond.


    Effie tried to rush over to help, but Nita shouted, "Effie, run! Don''t worry about me!"


    With a desperate look, Nita urged Effie to go get help and not to risk herself. Hanley sneered, "Didn''t expect Miss Nita to be so self-sacrificing."


    He yanked Nita inside, mming the door behind them.


    Effie stumbled forward, ready to dash off for help, when suddenly Nita''s cry of pain pierced the air.


    There was a heavy thud, the sound of a body colliding with something solid.


    Effie''s heart clenched. She nced around frantically and spotted a fire rm case nearby, a fire extinguisher inside.


    Without hesitation, she smashed the ss and grabbed the extinguisher.


    The moment she pulled it free, the fire rm red through the building.


    Effie didn''t care. Clutching the extinguisher, she charged into the room.


    She sprayed Hanley straight in the face, blinding him. Nita seized the moment, kicked Hanley hard, and spat through gritted teeth, "That''s what you get forying a hand on me!"


    Hanley copsed to the ground, writhing in agony.


    "You okay?"


    Nita bit her lip and shook her head. Her back throbbed where she''d hit it, but she didn''t want Effie to worry, so she insisted she was fine.


    Neither of them expected Hanley to go down so easily-one kick and he wasn''t moving.


    As they hurried out, they nearly collided with Lyman, Vinson Elliott, and Randell, all standing in the hallway.


    "You... all came?" Effie stammered, mortified that they''d witnessed such a mess. She nced at Lyman, worried he might be angry.


    "I"


    Nita cut her off, "You''d better check on that creep inside. He tried to attack us, so we taught him a lesson."


    Vinson and Randell strode in and found Hanley sprawled on the floor, blood staining his trousers. Both men winced, instinctively crossing their legs.


    Vinson turned to Randell. "Did... did she crush his-?"


    Randell nodded, "Wouldn''t be surprised. He''s out cold from the pain. Anything''s possible."


    "I''ll handle things from here," Randell said.


    When they came back out, Nita looked at them anxiously.


    Randell gestured downward. "Might be... broken. He''s bleeding."


    Nita froze. She hadn''t thought she kicked that hard. Was she just so scared she didn''t realize her strength?


    "Who did it?" Vinson asked, a strange mix of awe and sympathy in his voice. "That was... impressive."


    Nita opened her mouth, but Effie quickly jumped in. "It was me. I kicked him."


    Vinson shot a sympathetic nce at Lyman, his eyes drifting to Lyman''s lower half.


    Better watch your step, Lyman, he thought. Make her mad, and you''ll end up just like Hanley.


    Nita stared at Effie, confused.


    Effie whispered, "You don''t know anything, okay? He dragged me inside, and I was too scared not to kick him, got it?"


    She''d asked Hanley who he was earlier-turns out, he was a local from Neo- Arcadia. His own status wasn''t much, but his wife was another story.


    Rumor had it her family was far from clean—they''d wed their way up by any means necessary.


    Supposedly, Hanley''s wife was fierce, notorious for her temper, and never hesitated to get physical.