CHAPTER 15: THE ATTACK

POV: JAXON

The next shot shattered the garage window. Glass exploded across the floor. I grabbed Anastasia around the waist and dragged her behind the concrete support column as another burst of gunfire tore through the doorway.

“Stay down.”I ordered 

She dropped beside me, breathing hard. Outside, the compound had erupted into chaos. Men were shouting. Engines roared to life. Boots pounded across the concrete as the Black Vipers scrambled into position.

Rafe’s voice came through my earpiece. “Jaxon, they’re inside the east perimeter!”

I pulled the magazine from my weapon and checked it before looking at Anastasia.

“Do exactly what I tell you.”

Her eyes met mine, wide and dark against the shadows “Where are you going?”

“To stop them.”

“Jaxon….”

I caught her face between my hands for half a second. “Stay here.”

The fear in her eyes almost made me stay. Almost. Then another gunshot cracked through the night. I released her and moved. The moment I stepped out of the garage, one of my men sprinted toward me. “Three vehicles came through the eastern gate. At least eight armed men.”

“How did they get through?”

“Gate system went down.”

My jaw tightened. “How long?”

“Two minutes.”

Two minutes was enough to get people killed.

“Get everyone to the inner perimeter. Nobody moves alone.”

He nodded and toe off towards the yard. I moved toward the courtyard, firing at one of the attackers as he tried to cross between two buildings. He dropped behind a vehicle. Rafe appeared from the opposite side, returning fire.

“More coming from the north!” Rage yelled.

“Cut them off.”

We moved together, clearing the angle. The Black Vipers knew how to fight on our ground. They knew every entrance, every blind corner, every building that could be used as cover. But tonight something was wrong. The attackers weren’t moving like men trying to take the compound. They weren’t trying to reach the armory. They weren’t targeting the clubhouse. They weren’t even trying to kill me. They were spreading us out.

Every time we pushed toward one group, another opened fire somewhere else. A diversion. I ducked behind a concrete barrier as bullets struck the wall above my head.

“Rafe!”

He crouched beside me. “Yeah?”

“Where’s security?”

“Trying to get the cameras back.”

“Why?”

His expression darkened in the muzzle flashes. “Someone disabled the east system from inside.”

That confirmed my worst suspicion. This wasn’t just an external assault, someone inside the compound had cleared the runway for them. They were creating maximum noise, drawing every gun to the gates, leaving the interior exposed.

“Find Connor.”

“Already looking.”

I looked across the courtyard. Two of our men were pinned down near the main entrance while another group fought attackers near the garage. Exactly what someone wanted. My stomach dropped.

“Anastasia.”

“You think this is about her?” Rafe asked, reading my face.

“I know it is.”

The attackers had chosen their timing too carefully. They had waited until we were already dealing with the records, the Devereaux name and the discovery that someone had been monitoring Anastasia for years. Then they hit us from multiple directions. They didn’t need to defeat the Black Vipers. They only needed us looking everywhere except the one place that mattered. Anastasia. 

“Get to her.” I turned toward the clubhouse.

Rafe started after me. “I’m with you.”

“No. Stay here and hold the yard.”

“Jax….”

I took off. The compound blurred around me. Gunfire followed me through the corridors as I pushed past two men rushing toward the eastern entrance.

“President!” One shouted but I ignored them taking the stairs two at a time. My only thought was Anastasia. The hallway leading to her room was empty. My hand tightened around my weapon.

“Anastasia!” I threw my voice down the hallway. No answer. I reached her door. It was closed. I grabbed the handle. Locked. My pulse slammed against my ribs.

“Anastasia!”

Still nothing. I stepped back and kicked the door. The lock broke. I rushed inside and the room was empty.

The bed was untouched. Her phone was still sitting on the bedside table. For a fraction of a second, my mind refused to process the scene. Then the details hit me, an overturned chair near the wall, the wardrobe door standing open, the window curtain swaying gently in the draft. Someone had been here.

I crossed the room quickly.

“Anastasia!”

Nothing. I checked the bathroom and it was empty. The adjoining hallway, empty.

My breathing became heavier. No. She couldn’t have simply disappeared. I had put guards outside this room. I had moved her closer to me because the traitor had already been watching her. Someone had gotten past them. I turned back toward the bedroom.

Then I saw it near the edge of the carpet. 

A dark smear against the pale fabric .I dropped to one knee and touched the floor. Fresh, wet blood.

A thin trail led toward the doorway. Not enough to tell me how badly she was hurt, but enough to confirm the nightmare, someone had taken her.

My grip tightened around my weapon until my knuckles went numb. Outside, the gunfire continued to rattle the windows and men kept shouting in the yard, but the noise faded into background static.

The only person I had promised Clara I would protect was gone. And there was blood on the floor.