The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 10

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Chopte 10 Thet and Gunshot

Chapter 10 The Loud Gunshot

“S–She’s really not afraid of blood, huh?” Julian said, still dazed as he rubbed his bruised head

He hadn’t even recovered from the shock. “Max, your sister’s something else. Seriously

“Watch this.” While Julian was still dazed, one of the thugs took advantage of the moment, swinging a bottle right at his head.

Maxwell, the reigning champ, moved like lightning. He charged forward and delivered a powerful front kick, sending the sneak–attacking thug flying across the room.

Maxwell gave Nova a thoughtful glance, then clapped Julian on the shoulder. “Don’t zone out. Handle the enemies first.”

Maxwell was the real deal. Tall, strong, and with good looks, he also carried that calm, commanding vibe- enough to make anyone listen up when he talked.

If not for her unbreakable blood tie with Maxwell, Nova would have already tried to rope Maxwell into her crew She’d drag him straight to the front lines and let him toughen up for a few years, just to see how he’d hold up. By the end of it, he’d be working for her, no doubt.

Just thinking about it, Nova licked her lips, her lips still tinged with the sharp taste of lemon.

Things turned out exactly as she expected. No matter how tough those thugs tried to act, with Maxwell leading the gang, they dominated the fight, leaving every single thug sprawled out on the floor.

“Go back and tell that guy–he’d better stay the hell away from Hannah,” one man in Maxwell’s crew warned, his stare icy as he called out each thug.

As for “that guy“? Yeah, he was the cowardly runner–up from the tournament, too scared to even show his face.

After winning tonight’s fight, Maxwell, Hannah, and Julian all breathed a sigh of relief.

At the end of the day, they were just a bunch of college kids.

The only real difference was that they grew up in privilege and had been training in self–defense since they could walk.

None of them ever expected they’d end up brawling with actual street punks tonight.

After all, some of those thugs were absolute maniacs. They didn’t care if they lived or died as long as they got their fight.

Lucky for them, they didn’t end up crossing paths with any truly crazy guys tonight. If they had, things could’ve gotten way out of hand.

“Julian, you and Hannah take our crew to the hospital and get yourselves patched up. I’ll take Nova home first,” Maxwell said.

“Got it,” Julian replied, nodding firmly.

Just as they finished working out the plan, another guy spoke up, “Shit, we’ve got one missing! There were nine punks when they barged in, but now there are only eight. One managed to slip away.”

Just as the words left his mouth, a sudden shout cut through the tension. “Run? I’ve never run from any fights. You clueless idiots know who I am? You little bastards are dead meat. Don’t fucking move. Anybody moves, and I’ll shoot her dead right here.”

It was the gang leader–the same high–energy thug who’d marched his crew into the bar

Right now, he was brandishing a gleaming black gun, the weapon catching the dim light and drawing everyone! s gaze.

He aimed the gun at the back of Nova’s head and let out a wild, cocky laugh.

This guy was Maddox Blaze. The second he realized Nove was Maxwell’s sister, he slipped away from the

hip against Maxwell chaos and straight over to the bar, ready

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In Maddox’s eyes, even though Nova had just spouted off all those shocking lines, he still figured she was just mouthing off.

After all, she’d just sat quietly at the bar, keeping out of the fight.

To him, she looked like nothing but a loudmouth with zero bite–completely helpless.

Using a useless chick like her to threaten Maxwell and his crew? He couldn’t ask for a better hostage.

Sure enough, just as Maddox expected, he saw the expressions on Maxwell’s crew shift in a flash–instantly tense and alarmed.

On Maxwell’s side, everyone froze, their faces going pale in an instant.

“H–He’s really packing a gun,” Hannah, always the tough one, whispered, her eyes wide with shock.

In Zoria, guns were strictly off–limits for regular folks. Only the worst criminals in the black market ever dared to get their hands on one.

Even Maxwell and Hannah had barely ever touched a gun, and that was only because someone pulled a few strings for them.

For a bunch of college kids like them, guns were something straight out of a movie–totally out of reach. The bar crowd, who’d been pretty chill just moments ago, totally lost it. As soon as they spotted the gun in Maddox’s hand, people started screaming and scrambling for the exits.

The once–packed bar was instantly cleared out, leaving nothing but dead silence in its wake.

Now that things had taken such a drastic turn, Maxwell’s jaw clenched and his face darkened–he was suddenly deadly serious.

“Max, what do we do now? Nova looks completely shocked,” Julian said, his face pale as a ghost as he glanced over at Nova.

Nova had her head down this whole time, so no one could get a look at her face.

Julian and the others figured she was so terrified that she couldn’t even scream.

In their eyes, sure, Nova wasn’t scared of blood, and it only meant she was braver than most girls.

But now, the thing being pressed to the back of her head wasn’t some toy–it was an actual gun. That thing could seriously kill her.

Seeing her just sitting there with her head down, she’s probably too freaked out to even move.

Honestly, that was pretty much how any regular girl would react.

Just as everyone was expecting her to be freaked out, Nova finally spoke, “Go on, pull the trigger.”

After keeping her head down for so long, she suddenly looked up, her eyes sharp and ice–cold.

She delivered those three words with a deadpan calm, like she was talking about someone else’s business, not her own life.

Upon hearing her words, a shock swept through the room–everyone’s faces changed all at once. Maxwell’s expression contorted, veins bulging from his forehead in alarm as he completely lost his

composure.

He roared, “Nova, what the hell are you saying? Shut up.”

“If she keeps talking like that, this is really going to get dangerous. Is she really not afraid of death?‘ Max thought.

Nova’s words made Maddox flinch, his grip on the gun slipping for a split second.

“Hey, d–don’t force me. Don’t move. Stay the hell still. I told you, one more move, and I swear I’ll shoot.” Maddox threatened.

He started shaking, totally spooked when the girl who’d seemed meek as a lamb suddenly turned to face him. The move was so unexpected that he nearly fumbled the gun in his hands.

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The Loud Gunshot

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Nova stared him down–still deadpan, no emotion at all on her face. But the faint, chilling smile just barely curled at her lips, and it sent a shiver right through Maddox’s gut.

‘Damn it, I’m the one holding the gun here. Her life and death are in my hands. Why does it suddenly feel like I‘ m the one being threatened by her?‘ Maddox’s mind reeled in disbelief.

As those thoughts raced through Maddox’s mind, Nova acted like his words didn’t matter in the slightest. Instead, she stepped up, closing the gap so the gun was all but pressed against her forehead–all to make sure if he pulled the trigger, he wouldn’t mess up his shot.

‘Is this chick for real? Who the hell just walks up and dares you to blow their brains out?‘ Maddox’s mind spun, totally blindsided.

He was so thrown off that he just stood there, completely stunned.

The shock hadn’t even worn off–Maddox just stared at her, not processing a damn thing.

Suddenly, Nova’s voice erupted. “Do it. Shoot me now.”

The gun never fired, but Nova’s shout rattled Maddox enough that his shaking hand finally gave out. The gun slipped from his grip.

Nova reached out without missing a beat, snatching the gun seamlessly right from midair–quick and

accurate.

“So you don’t have the guts to shoot, huh?” Nova said, her tone flat and disdainful. “I already gave you your chance. Since you wouldn’t pull the trigger, it’s my turn now.”

With those words, Nova didn’t even flinch–she swung the gun up and leveled it right at Maddox’s forehead.

Right in front of everyone, without so much as a blink, Nova squeezed the trigger–her expression totally unreadable, as if shooting someone was just another Tuesday for her.

The next second, a loud bang rang out.