"Move!" Lin shoved the knife out of the taller man's hand and launched forward. "Who sent you?" the taller man spat, face split by a leather scar. He swung a palm toward Lin's ribs. "Names are expendable," Lin said, voice flat. His shoulder met the man's elbow. The knife skidded across wet concrete. "You're going to regret—" the shorter thug began. "Shut up," Lin said. He knocked the shorter thug backward with a savage forearm to the chest. The thug hit a dumpster and coughed, air leaving his lungs hard. "She screamed," the taller man lied. "We were stopping a thief." "You're lying," Ai Xue said. Her voice was raw. She had a strip of cloth tied around her wrist and bruises darkening her ankle where someone's boot had been. Her hair clung to her neck. Lin moved between them and Ai like a door. "You don't touch her again." "Money talks," the taller man sneered. "We do what we're paid to do." "Who pays you?" Lin asked, fingers curled around the taller man's wrist. He twisted. The man's hand opened. "That's none of your business," the man said. Sweat beaded at his temples. "It's my business if they touch students in my neighborhood," Lin replied. He shoved the man down hard. The man's skull cracked against the alley wall. He rolled, dazed. "Come on, boys," the shorter thug croaked, pushing himself up. His eyes slid to