Chapter 15 - The Father’s Vow
The compound erupted into chaos.
Contractors began frantically checking their encrypted tactical phones; alerts were pinging continuously, confirming the federal seizure of Vance’s offshore accounts. The mercenaries exchanged panicked glances, their discipline crumbling as they realized their employer was now a fugitive without a penny to his name.
""Kill him!"" Vance screamed, his aristocratic composure shattering into a feral, desperate howl. ""Kill him and find the girl!""
Nobody moved. The lead contractor stepped backward, lowering his weapon. ""Contracts void, Vance. Accounts are frozen. We're gone.""
The mercenaries backed toward their armored trucks, abandoning Vance in the middle of the gravel yard.
Vance pulled a snub-nosed revolver from his tailored jacket, pointing it directly at Jax's face. ""She is my blood! You took my wife, you took my money, and you took my heir!""
""Sarah hated you,"" Jax said, taking a slow, steady step forward, completely ignoring the gun pointed at his chest. ""And Lily doesn't even know your name. She knows me.""
Vance pulled the hammer back, his hand shaking with blinding rage. ""I’ll kill you, and then I’ll burn this state until I find her—""
A deafening shotgun blast echoed from the earthmover. Silas fired a heavy slug through Vance’s right shoulder, spinning the crime lord around and sending the revolver skittering across the dirt.
Jax closed the distance in two strides. He caught Vance by the collar before he hit the ground, hauling him up to eye level. Vance choked, blood staining his white silk shirt, staring into the cold, merciless eyes of the man who had outplayed him.
""You don't get to die fast, Gabriel,"" Jax whispered into his ear. ""You're going to spend the rest of your life in a supermax cage, knowing your empire is dust, and that your daughter calls another man Daddy.""
Jax threw Vance to the dirt as the wail of dozens of federal sirens began to echo across the highway pass, closing in on the compound.
Three hours later, the dust had settled. The police, federal marshals, and ambulances had cleared the scene, taking Vance and the remnants of his organization away in chains.
Jax rode his repaired motorcycle down the winding coastal highway toward the California border. In front of him, sitting on the custom leather seat with small goggles strapped over her eyes, Lily leaned into the wind. Her small hands gripped the handlebars right beside his, laughing as the warm ocean breeze whipped through her hair.
Under her arm, stitched up neatly with strong leather thread, Barnaby the bear held tight.
May you like
Jax looked into his rearview mirror, seeing the horizon open up before them—wide, free, and endless. He reached down, placing a protective, scarred hand over Lily’s shoulder.
Then, from deep inside Sarah's duffel bag strapped to the rear sissy bar, a burner phone that had never been used began to ring."
