Chapter 11 - Crossing the Line
The muffled crack of the gunshot echoed off the corrugated metal walls, swallowed almost instantly by the howling wind outside. Jax didn't flinch. His eyes remained locked on David, the hot rage inside him burning away the last remnants of restraint.
“That was a tactical mistake, Uncle,” Jax said, taking another deliberate step forward across the oil-stained concrete.
David chuckled softly, lowering the pistol just a fraction, keeping the barrel pointed lazily toward the floor. “You think you’re the only predator in this room, Jax? You grew up playing with numbers while I built the infrastructure that feeds this entire city’s underworld. You brought no weapon, no backup, and no escape route. You walked right into a slaughterhouse.”
“I didn't come here to fight you, David,” Jax said, his voice chillingly calm as he stopped ten feet away from them. “I came here to collect.”
Eleanor frowned, stepping between the two men. “Collect what? You have nothing left! The board will strip your shares by morning, and your reputation will be destroyed by the media storm surrounding our arrests.”
“You assume the police aren't already tracking my phone,” Jax said, holding up his left hand to display the glowing screen of a GPS tracker embedded in his watch bezel. “Katherine didn't just bring me here; she led a full tactical unit straight to the coordinates of your primary extraction point. They’ve had this warehouse surrounded for the last three minutes.”
David’s smile vanished instantly. He snapped his head toward Katherine, his eyes narrowing into slits. “Is this true?”
Katherine stubbed out her cigar against a steel beam, her expression entirely unreadable. “The police were already asking too many questions after the precinct interrogation, David. I had to secure my own exit strategy. If you go down tonight, I’m walking away clean.”
Before David could raise the pistol to aim at Katherine, Jax exploded into motion.
Moving with blinding speed, Jax surged forward, closing the distance before David could react. He struck the pistol upward, sending the weapon clattering harmlessly into the dark recesses of the warehouse rafters.
David grunted, throwing a heavy right hook that grazed Jax’s jaw, but Jax absorbed the blow, using his momentum to slam his uncle backward against the heavy wooden workbench. Tools and ledgers crashed to the floor in a chaotic clatter.
Eleanor screamed, stumbling back toward the exit, but Katherine stepped directly into her path, blocking the door with a cold, blocking stance.
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“Where do you think you’re going, Eleanor?” Katherine asked smoothly. “The show isn't over yet.”
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