Chapter 3
The waitress in the crisp maid uniform did not linger long enough for Jax to cross the distance between them. As the murmurs of the panicked banquet guests swelled into urgent conversations about structural safety and building inspections, she slipped backward through the mahogany service doors, vanishing into the dimly lit corridor beyond. Jax narrowed his eyes, committing the precise angle of her posture and the unusual cotton glove on her left hand to memory. He gently transferred the toddler in the yellow dress into the trembling arms of a woman who identified herself as the child’s frantic aunt, murmuring brief words of reassurance before turning his full attention back to the ruined room.
Julian finally stood up, keeping his hand clamped firmly on his son’s shoulder. The boy, still wearing his stiff bow tie, stared silently at the twisted iron skeleton of the chandelier. Julian walked over to Jax, his boots squelching slightly in the ruined cake frosting, and extended a trembling hand. His voice shook with an intensity that transcended mere shock. "I owe you everything, Jax. If you hadn't yelled... if that little girl hadn't hit the table... my boy would be gone." Jax looked at Julian’s outstretched hand for a long moment before accepting it, feeling the cold sweat on the other man's palm. "Don't thank me," Jax replied, his tone low and gravelly. "Thank the girl. And ask yourself why the anchor bolts on a five-hundred-pound iron fixture were sheared clean through on the side closest to the service entrance."
May you like
Julian’s brow furrowed, the color slowly returning to his cheeks, replaced quickly by a look of sharp confusion. "What are you implying? The hotel management said it was old infrastructure." Jax shook his head slowly, his gaze drifting back toward the heavy doors through which the waitress had disappeared. "Infrastructure doesn't sheer evenly with a carbide cutting tool, Julian. Someone wanted that chandelier down. My boy just happened to be standing in the drop zone, and your little niece's sweet tooth threw off their timing by exactly two seconds." The revelation hung heavy between them, cutting through the ambient noise of the gathering crowd. Julian’s grip on his son tightened instinctively, the veil of their privileged, secure world tearing away to reveal a cold and calculated threat lurking just beneath the polished surface.
Jax turned away, stepping carefully over a shard of crystal, and walked toward the service corridor. He knew the underworld of this city intimately; he had clawed his way out of it years ago, building a legitimate empire of logistics and security. But old ghosts rarely stayed buried, and tonight’s calculated attempt on a child’s life proved that someone was trying to send a message using the most vulnerable targets imaginable. Pushing open the heavy service door, Jax stepped into the cool, fluorescent-lit back hallways of the hotel, determined to find the woman in the maid uniform before she melted away into the sprawling labyrinth of the city. The chase had begun, and the stakes were higher than anyone in the grand ballroom could possibly fathom.
