Chapter 22

It happened in a flash that Joseph "Mighty Joe" Goddard could barely see anything until the young man who shouted at him suddenly crumpled in a heap at his feet, and the other man reeled back with a surprised look. The next second, Goddard caught the sight of a blood-coated knife in his hand.

Then a shocking realization struck him.

The blood dripping from the knife would have been his had the young man not thrown himself in front of him. Leaping down, Goddard swiftly flipped the young man to see the severity of his injury, and found that red stain had been expanding rapidly over his shirtfront.

Goddard cursed himself for not being aware of the oncoming danger. He'd dismissed a threat he'd received not so long ago as a mere bluff. He'd never feared for anything under the sun in his fifty eight years and he'd always refused to be defeated by age despite the fact that he was nudging sixty. However, it appeared that he began to lose his customary alertness.

"Fucking bastard!"

He sprang