Yvonne let go of Grace''s hand and moved to follow Justin.


    "Hey, Yvonne, where are you going?" Grace called after her.


    "To the restroom," Yvonne answered over her shoulder, quickening her pace.


    Justin was cautious, with a strong sense of counter-surveince.


    Even though Yvonne was trying her best to be discreet, he seemed to notice her after just a short distance.


    He led her into a narrow alley before stopping and turning around.


    "I thought I had another inclothes officer on my tail, but it''s just some little thing who doesn''t know when to quit," Justin said with a smirk, his eyes lingering on Yvonne with ill intent.


    "You might as well call out your friends. You can alle at me at once. Let''s not waste my time,” Yvonne said, kicking off her heels.


    Justin had led her on a winding path; he clearly had backup nearby.


    "Such a big mouth for such a little thing," a deep, raspy voice echoed through the alley.


    Yvonne turned to see severalrge, imposing men emerge from the shadows, nking a nondescript, dark-skinned, and wiry middle-aged man.


    Justin retreated behind the man, respectfully addressing him as, "Mark."


    Mark?! Yvonne couldn''t hide her shock.


    Mark was the head of Vexel''srgest criminal organization. He was said to be a ghost; despite the police having numerous informants, no one had ever seen his face.


    If this was that Mark, she had just stumbled upon a very big fish.


    "Justin, this girl you brought is quite a looker. So fair and delicate... very tempting," Mark remarked.


    "Yeah, boss. Let''s grab her and have some fun tonight," Justin said obsequiously. The other men snickered, their gazes turning lewd.


    One of them lunged for Yvonne, but she dodged with a clean side flip, sending him sprawling to the ground.


    "Well, look at that. A trained fighter," Mark said, his expression hardening.


    "You don''t think she''s an undercover cop, do you?" Justin whispered nervously.


    "Doesn''t look like it," Mark said after studying Yvonne for a moment. He shook his head, then added, "But whether she is or not she''s not leaving this alley alive."


    He gave a sharp wave of his hand, and his men surged forward.


    They were all skilled fighters, and while Yvonne could hold her own, she was badly outnumbered.


    As she fought them off, she could only watch as Mark and Justin coolly walked away.


    Once they were gone, the men drew weapons-long knives and heavy clubs.


    Yvonne was forced onto the defensive, steadily losing ground.


    She had thought she was just cornering Justin, but she had kicked a ho''s nest. These men were relentless, every strike aimed to kill.


    She fought cautiously, backing away step by step.


    "There''s no escape for you tonight. Surrender now, and if you take good care of the and my brothers, maybe well leave you a pretty corpse...


    One of the men taunted her with


    vulgarugh. Midway through hi


    velm


    sentence, Yvonne grabbed a ceramic pot from a nearby pite of junk and hurled it at him


    He dodged, and the pot shattered against the wall with a loud crash.


    Yvonne continued her retreat, grabbing whatever she could find-boxes, wooden nks, broken pottery-and throwing them at her attackers.


    As she backed away, trying to think of an escape route, a faint, cool scent filled the


    air. Suddenly, her back mmed into a hard chest.