Chapter 9 - The Garden Maze
The dense boxwood hedges of the botanical maze offered only a fragile illusion of safety as the damp night air grew thick with the smell of cordite. Jax pressed his broad back against the damp wooden trellis, his chest heaving as he held Sarah securely against his chest. Her breathing was growing fainter, a terrifying rattle accompanying every exhalation.
"Jax... put me down," Sarah whispered, her fingers grazing his blood-stained forearm. "You have to get Lily out of here. They aren't going to stop until the accounts are cleared."
"I am not leaving you, Sarah. We finish this together," Jax replied fiercely, his dark eyes scanning the dark intersecting pathways of the labyrinth ahead.
"Jax, look!" Lily whispered, her small body trembling violently as she pointed toward the corner of the maze wall.
A heavy iron lantern cast flickering shadows over the stone path, and standing directly beneath its amber glow was a figure dressed entirely in black tactical gear. A matte-black helmet concealed their face, but the silver wristwatch glinting on their right wrist caught the amber light—a precise match to the watch worn by Elena’s lead corporate attorney.
The operative raised a suppressed pistol, the barrel tracking smoothly through the gloom directly toward where Jax stood holding Sarah.
Without a single wasted motion, Jax lowered Sarah gently onto the damp grass, whispering, "Stay down." He surged forward out of the shadows with terrifying, animalistic speed, bridging the distance between them before the gunman could acquire his target.
The operative fired, the bullet tearing through the black fabric of Jax's shirt and grazing his left shoulder, drawing a sharp hiss of pain. But Jax didn't slow down. He slammed his massive frame into the operative, driving the man backward into the thick wooden trellis with a bone-crunching impact that shattered the lattice work.
The pistol flew from the operative's hand, clattering against the stone pavers. Jax followed up with a brutal right hook, sending the man crumpling unconscious onto the dirt path.
"Jax! Are you hit?" Lily cried softly, crawling out from behind the hedge with tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
"I'm fine, baby. Stay close," Jax grunted, pressing his hand against his bleeding shoulder to stem the flow of dark blood.
He bent down and stripped the tactical radio off the unconscious operative’s belt. Static hissed from the small speaker before a cold, synthesized voice crackled through the earpiece.
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“Target package compromised. Execute secondary sweep of the southern perimeter. Leave no witnesses.”
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