Chapter 14
Before Bull’s fingers could wrap around the weathered pine railing, Jax moved with the explosive, terrifying speed of a striking rattlesnake. He cleared the porch steps in a single bound, slamming his heavy shoulder directly into Bull’s chest with enough force to send the barrel-chested biker staggering backward three yards into the dirt.
Bull let out a sharp grunt of surprise as the wind was knocked violently out of his lungs, hitting the ground hard. Ray reacted instantly, lunging forward with the heavy chain drawn from his belt, but Jax anticipated the move, ducking inside the arc of the swing and driving a devastating right hook straight into Ray’s jaw. The impact echoed off the cabin walls like a gunshot, sending Ray spinning sideways into the side of his own motorcycle before he collapsed unconscious into the wild ferns.
Bull scrambled back to his feet, wiping a streak of blood from his split lip, his face twisted in a mask of murderous rage. He charged forward like a wounded bull, swinging a wild, haymaker punch aimed directly at Jax’s head. Jax ducked under the clumsy blow, grabbed Bull by the heavy leather vest, and using the brute's own momentum, swept his leg behind Bull’s knee and drove him face-first into the packed dirt of the clearing.
Jax pinned him there with a heavy knee pressed firmly into the center of Bull’s back, grabbing a fistful of his braided beard and wrenching his head up so he had no choice but to stare directly at the dirt.
"Listen to me very carefully, Bull," Jax growled, his voice vibrating with a lethal intensity that made the surrounding forest feel dead silent. "I'm done running. I'm done hiding. And if you, or anyone else from that pathetic excuse for a club, ever comes within five miles of this cabin again, I won't just take your patch—I'll take your bike, your boots, and whatever dignity you've got left. Now get on your machines and get out of my sight."
Bull spat blood into the dirt, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and sheer terror. He realized in that instant that the old man he thought had gone soft was still the same ruthless enforcer who had ruled the highway twenty years ago.
"You're dead, Jax," Bull choked out through the dust. "The whole club is going to hear about this."
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"Let them come," Jax replied, releasing his grip and standing up slowly, his breathing controlled and steady. "I'll be waiting right here."
Bull scrambled up like a whipped dog, dragging the groaning Ray back toward their bikes. Within seconds, both machines roared to life, kicking up a furious cloud of dust and gravel as they tore back down the logging trail, disappearing into the green canopy of the Black Hills as fast as their engines could carry them.
