Chapter 10 - The Ultimate Leverage
The cold steel barrel of Marcus’s suppressed pistol glinted under the flickering amber light of the bus depot, perfectly aligned with the center of Leo’s chest. The world seemed to stop spinning; the distant hum of the highway traffic faded into an absolute, suffocating silence. Jax didn’t hesitate for a single fraction of a second. With explosive speed, he lunged forward, throwing his entire body directly in front of his son just as a muffled thud echoed from the pistol.
A sharp, searing pain erupted across Jax’s left shoulder, hot blood instantly soaking through the dark leather of his vest and staining the fabric of his shirt. He grunted through clenched teeth, refusing to fall, and slammed his heavy combat boot directly into Marcus’s wrist.
The pistol flew from the old president’s hand, clattering loudly across the cracked concrete before sliding into the dark shadows beneath the idling bus.
Marcus stumbled backward, clutching his bruised wrist with a curse, his eyes wide with sudden fury. “You stupid bastard!” he roared, lunging forward with a heavy right hook that caught Jax squarely on the jaw.
Jax staggered back a step, tasting copper in his mouth, but he countered immediately with a savage headbutt that sent Marcus crashing hard against the side of his Harley-Davidson. The heavy motorcycle tipped over, dragging the old man down in a tangled mess of chrome and screaming metal.
“Dad!” Leo screamed, his small hands grabbing frantically at Jax’s bleeding shoulder. “You’re hurt! You’re bleeding!”
“I’m fine, Leo. Stay behind me!” Jax panted heavily, his hazel eyes locked on Marcus, who was struggling to untangle his leg from the fallen bike, his face twisted in rage.
From inside the idling bus, the driver slammed open the hydraulic doors, his eyes wide with absolute terror as he stared at the bleeding biker and the fallen gun. “Get on! Get on right now before I call the cops!” the driver yelled over the diesel engine.
Jax didn’t wait. He grabbed Leo by the collar of his oversized jacket, hoisting the boy up into the warm interior of the bus, and scrambled up the steps right behind him. He slammed his weight against the emergency door-close button just as Marcus managed to pull himself free, scrambling across the pavement toward them with a hunting knife drawn from his belt.
Hiss.
The heavy pneumatic doors slammed shut, sealing the gap with a deafening metallic click just as Marcus’s knife blade gouged deep into the thick safety glass, leaving a jagged, spiderweb crack right at eye level.
“Go! Drive!” Jax screamed at the driver, grabbing the man’s shoulder with his blood-slicked hand.
The terrified driver slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The massive diesel bus jerked forward violently, throwing several sleepy passengers out of their seats as it pulled away from the curb and accelerated onto the dark interstate on-ramp.
Jax sank heavily into the nearest vinyl seat, clutching his bleeding shoulder as a sharp wave of dizziness washed over him. He looked down at Leo, who was trembling violently, his big hazel eyes swimming with tears.
“We’re okay, kiddo,” Jax whispered, forcing a reassuring smile despite the agonizing pain burning through his entire upper body. “We’re safe now.”
Leo didn’t answer right away. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the old faded photograph—the one showing a young Jax holding him as an infant—and laid it carefully on the greasy window ledge, watching the desolate highway blur past in the dark.
“They’re still going to follow us, aren’t they?” Leo whispered, looking up with terrifying maturity.
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Before Jax could reassure him, the bus’s headlights flickered wildly, and the sound of heavy custom motorcycle engines echoed from directly behind them, rapidly closing the distance on the lonely highway.
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