Chapter 13 - The Ledger’s Price
The blinding spotlights from the armored tactical vehicle pinned them against the dark forest wall like insects under a microscope. The heavy engine idled with a menacing, deep-throated rumble that vibrated through the damp earth. The passenger door swung open, and Sheriff Vance stepped out, flanked by two men in full tactical gear carrying assault rifles with laser sights dancing across the trees.
“End of the line, Jax!” Sheriff Vance shouted over a megaphone, his voice echoing off the canyon walls. “Hand over the boy and the envelope, and nobody else has to die tonight!”
Clara stepped out from behind a thick pine tree, clutching the manila envelope against her chest with one hand while coughing into a bloodstained handkerchief with the other. Her face was deathly pale, but her eyes blazed with defiance.
“You’ll never see this ledger, Vance!” Clara screamed, her voice cracking in the cold night air. “I’m mailing copies to every federal judge in the state before the sun comes up!”
“There won't be a morning for you, Clara,” Sheriff Vance sneered, raising his pistol toward her chest. “Drop the envelope.”
Jax gently set Leo down behind a moss-covered boulder, whispering fiercely into the boy’s ear. “Stay right here, Leo. Don't move, no matter what happens.”
Before the boy could answer, Jax stepped out from behind the log, his massive frame standing between the sheriff and Clara. He raised his hands slowly, his eyes locked onto the gun barrel pointing at the woman who had carried his child through eighteen years of isolation.
“Leave her alone, Vance,” Jax said, his voice a low, dangerous growl. “You want the ledger? Take it from me.”
Sheriff Vance laughed, lowering his aim slightly to center it on Jax’s chest instead. “You always were a fool, Jax. Walking back into a life you abandoned just to die in the dirt for a woman who hates you.”
“She doesn't hate me,” Jax said quietly, though he wasn't entirely sure if it was true. He took two slow steps forward, closing the distance between them. “And she’s stronger than you’ll ever be.”
Suddenly, the night sky was torn apart by the deafening roar of a dozen heavy motorcycle engines screaming down the logging road. Headlights cut through the fog in a blinding wall of chrome and steel as Miller’s entire old club chapter—twenty riders strong—poured out of the tree line, their pipes roaring like thunder.
Miller took the lead, his Harley slamming directly into the side of the tactical vehicle with a sickening crunch, pinning the driver’s side door shut. The other bikers fanned out instantly, forming an unbreakable wall of steel and leather between the sheriff and the family.
Sheriff Vance panicked, stumbling backward as his tactical backup scrambled to cover the new threat.
“Now, Clara!” Jax roared.
Clara didn't hesitate. She threw the manila envelope through the air straight into Miller’s waiting hands. Miller caught it cleanly, tucked it inside his leather vest, and revved his throttle.
“We got it!” Miller yelled over the din. “Let’s move!”
Jax turned to grab Leo, but as the chaos erupted around them, a sharp crack echoed over the engine roar—a single, suppressed rifle shot from the ridge above.
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Clara stumbled forward, her eyes widening in shock as she collapsed into the mud.
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