Chapter 11
The shattered safety glass of the back patio door rained down across the wooden deck like glittering diamonds as Maya burst through the opening. Jax didn't flinch. He stood planted firmly beside Leo’s chair, the scuffed leather football clutched securely under his left arm like a running back preparing to absorb a brutal tackle. His heavy breathing puffed white clouds into the chilly evening air.
“You’re playing a very dangerous game, girl,” Jax said, his voice deep and unnervingly calm, completely devoid of the panic that usually accompanied a cornered criminal. “You should have stayed in the city. You should have minded your own business and kept your nose out of things you don’t understand.”
Maya didn't waste breath on hollow threats or pointless dialogue. She closed the distance between them with explosive speed, lunging straight for Jax’s chest with both hands outstretched. She caught him squarely by the shoulders, driving her momentum forward with every ounce of strength in her body. The sheer surprise of her ferocious assault forced Jax backward, his boots sliding across the slick wooden deck boards until his spine slammed hard against the wooden railing with a resounding crack.
Leo muffled a desperate cry through the duct tape across his mouth, struggling frantically against the ropes binding his wrists to the arms of the chair. His small legs kicked the air in sheer panic, but the heavy knots held fast.
Jax grunted as the wind was knocked violently from his lungs, but his iron grip on the football never wavered. With a sudden, brutal surge of raw strength, he lashed out with his right arm, backhanding Maya across the cheekbone. The force of the blow sent her staggering backward, her boots slipping on the shattered glass scattered across the deck. A sharp sting blossomed across her face, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, but she refused to hit the ground. She shook off the dizziness instantly, her eyes locking onto Jax’s with a feral, unbreakable intensity.
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“You think a little punch is going to stop me?” Maya snarled, wiping the blood from her lip with the back of her hand, her voice vibrating with cold, unyielding fury.
Before Jax could recover his footing or raise his guard, Maya launched herself forward again, executing a textbook double-leg takedown she had learned during her years taking self-defense classes in the city. Her shoulder drove directly into Jax’s midsection, lifting his heavy frame off the deck before slamming him down hard onto the wooden planks. The impact rattled the entire structure of the back porch. Jax’s head hit the floor with a dull thud, and for a split second, his eyes glazed over as the fight rapidly drained out of him.
