Chapter 6 - BETRAYAL FROM WITHIN
The courtyard was a kaleidoscope of violence. The Grim Bastards charged from the darkness, their shotguns and automatic rifles lighting up the shadows. Chibs and Opie advanced in a brutal wedge formation, laying down suppressive fire that pinned the Iron Skulls behind rusted oil drums.
Jax wrestled the remaining guard on the ground, delivering a brutal left hook that shattered the man’s jaw before ripping the duct tape off Clara’s mouth.
"Jax! Leo—is Leo safe?" she cried, her voice raw, her hands shaking violently as Jax cut her zip-ties with his pocketknife.
"He’s safe, Clara. He’s with Gemma at the clubhouse," Jax said, pulling her behind a heavy steel pillar as bullets sparked off the metal above them. "Stay down here. Don't move."
"Jax, watch out!" she screamed.
Jax spun around just in time to see an Iron Skull charging him with a raised machete. He fired two rounds into the attacker's chest, but as he did, a shadow moved in his peripheral vision. It wasn't an enemy. It was Juice, one of his own club brothers.
But Juice wasn't pointing his gun at the Iron Skulls. He was pointing it at Clay’s back, who was firing at Marcus on the catwalk.
"Juice, no!" Jax roared, lunging forward.
Before Juice could pull the trigger, Jax slammed into his side, sending both of them crashing into a pile of discarded iron pipes. The gun flew from Juice’s hand. Jax pinned him down, his face a mask of shock and fury.
"Juice? What the hell are you doing?" Jax demanded, his fingers digging into Juice’s throat.
Juice’s face was pale, tears mixing with the sweat and dirt on his skin. "They... they have my sister, Jax! Marcus found out about her in Chicago. He told me if I didn't eliminate Clay and give them the northern route coordinates tonight, they’d send her to me in pieces! I had no choice! I’m sorry, Jax! I’m sorry!"
The revelation hit Jax like a physical blow. The leak hadn't been a security failure; it was blackmail. Marcus Vance had engineered the entire war by tearing at the fault lines of the Grim Bastards' families.
"You should have come to us, Juice," Jax growled, his voice a mix of anger and profound betrayal. "We’re brothers. We protect each other."
"Marcus is too powerful, Jax! He’s backed by the cartel!" Juice sobbed.
Before Jax could answer, a heavy explosion rocked the western side of the refinery. Marcus had detonated a fuel storage tank to cover his escape. A wall of orange flame erupted into the sky, illuminating Marcus as he ran across the high catwalk toward a rusted fire escape ladder that led to the rear parking lot.
"Clay!" Jax yelled over the roar of the fire, looking at his Vice President. "Juice is compromised! Keep him secure! I’m going after Marcus!"
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"Don't let him leave this place alive, Jax!" Clay roared back, his face blackened by soot as he fired another volley at the retreating enemy.
Jax turned and ran toward the flaming tower, his heart hammering against his ribs. The past, the betrayal, the danger to his son—it all narrowed down to one man running along a rusted iron bridge.
