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inside.
    But he wasn’t alone.
    Four other guys stormed into the shop behind him—all armed with swords.

CHAPTER FOUR
    T he mystery man reached Felix first, since he was the closest to the door. He rammed his fist into Felix’s face, and Felix dropped like a stone to the floor, unconscious. My eyes narrowed. The guy had to have some serious training to swat at Felix like he was a fly and get that kind of immediate result.
    â€œFelix!” Ashley screamed, drawing her sword.
    She charged at the mystery man, who pointed his finger at her, a clear signal that he wanted her out of the way. Two of the other men rushed past him to engage her.
    Ashley raised her sword and whirled first one way, then the other, lashing out at the men with smooth, precise strikes and holding them at bay.
    Devon’s eyes widened with surprise for a second before his gaze sharpened, coolly assessing the situation—and the danger. He glanced down at the counter, as if he was thinking about picking up one of the perfume bottles and using it as a weapon. After a few seconds, he glared at the glass, as though the bottles had disappointed him by being too delicate and fragile to hurt someone with. A determined look settled on his face, and Devon stepped forward and opened his mouth—
    A third man came up on his blind side and wrapped his hand around Devon’s throat, squeezing tight and cutting off whatever he’d been about to say. I thought the man might go ahead and choke Devon to death, or snap his neck, but he stood there and maintained his grip.
    Devon punched and punched the man, driving his fists into his attacker’s stomach over and over again, but the hard blows didn’t seem to bother the other man, and the guy kept his death grip on Devon’s throat. He must have had some sort of strength Talent that let him ignore punches like that, any one of which would have made another man let go and gasp for air.
    Me? I stayed where I was. Not because I was shocked, frozen, or scared by what was happening, but because I had absolutely no plans to get involved. None. Zip. Zilch. Zero.
    This seemed to be a dispute between the Families, an ambush assassination attempt that was probably in retaliation for something that someone else higher up on the food chain had done. Devon and Felix were just unlucky enough to have gotten caught in the middle of some Family feud, with Ashley along as collateral damage. It happened all the time in Cloudburst Falls. Folks like the Draconis were always plotting against the other Families, especially the ones they perceived as threats, or worse, competition for magic, money, and power.
    Oh no. I didn’t want any part of this. My mom had been the bodyguard—not me. Time and time again, she had risked herself for some rich Family schmuck and had gotten little in return. And when she’d had problems, when she’d been the one in danger, when she’d needed protection, no one had helped her. No one had given a damn about her, despite all the times she had saved their miserable lives.
    So, no, I wasn’t going to risk myself for these strangers—no way.
    But then Devon looked at me.
    His green eyes locked with my blue ones, and my soulsight kicked in, letting me feel his emotions—red-hot anger, soul-crushing guilt, stomach-churning fear. Not the usual feelings I would have expected in this situation. The guilt intrigued me. So did the fear, especially since it was for his friends instead of himself. Devon didn’t care what happened to him. He only wanted to get free so he could help Felix and Ashley.
    Devon kept staring at me. He tried to croak out some word, but the guy choking him didn’t give him the chance.
    â€œQuiet!” he hissed, shaking Devon and tightening his grip on his throat.
    Devon’s gaze met mine again, even though he had to be seconds away from blacking out. I saw the silent, desperate plea in his eyes—and I felt his anger,