"Aaaah!" Gordon screamed, his soul nearly leaving his body as he huddled beneath the steering wheel.


    It wasn''t that he was useless-he had actually been quite capable-but who in their right mind had ever experienced something like this? Following Mr. Thaddeus meant a life of constant peril. At this rate, he''d need to carry heart medication with him at all times.


    Thaddeus shielded Mr. Zade with his own formidable body. He knew they were after the witness, determined to eliminate any unfavorable evidence. But if they could take him out in the process, or even just injure him severely, it would be a huge bonus.


    Vicious. Ruthless.


    Thaddeus could hear Mr. Zade muttering his prayers even faster. What the man didn''t know was that the man protecting him was, at times, more powerful than any god.


    "Don''t lift your heads! The arrows can pierce ss, but not the car''s body!" Thaddeus warned, a thinyer of sweat on his forehead.


    A terrifying barrage of thuds rained down on the car, the sound instantly transporting Thaddeus back to his time on the battlefields of Country L, fighting terrorists.


    The thrill of battle ignited a fire in his eyes. The blood in his veins began to boil, to


    roar.


    After about five or six minutes, the assault stopped. But with a t tire, the car was immobilized.


    Their only option was to fight their way out.


    "Gordon, protect him."


    With those words, Thaddeus moved like a speeding arrow, flinging the car door open andunching himself outside.


    In the next second, a dozen men with malice in their eyes brandished knives and batons, closing in on him.


    The scene was chilling: a lone lion surrounded by a pack of wolves.


    Thaddeus''s handsome face was grim. The powerful muscles beneath his suit tensed, and his hands clenched into iron fists, the knuckles cracking audibly. He understood. now. Mr Zade was just a secondary target. The mastermind behind this, Chad, was using the chaos to try to kill him.


    With no weapon at hand, Thaddeus pulled a ck umbre from the car door and weighed it in his hand.


    It would have to do.


    "Get him!"


    At themand, the men swarmed forward.


    A fierce light, sharp enough to shatter the darkness, shot from the


    man''s eyes. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the umbre handle the veins on his hand bulging with power. He charged head-on, and in the blink of an eye, the sounds of a brutal fight echoed through the alley.


    Gordon, trembling, pulled out his phone to call the police, but a call came through just in time.


    It was Cassius!


    “Mr. Cassius Ashbourne!" Gordon answered frantically, his voice cracking. "You have toe save Mr. Thaddeus! He''s being attacked by a dozen men! They all have machetes, it''s terrifying!"


    "Don''t panic. I''m on my way to help him," Cassius''s voice was deep and steady. "Mrs. Abernathy sent me."


    Jareth, worried about Thaddeus escorting the witness alone, had immediately contacted Evadne. She was busy, but she had quickly reached out to her older brother, Cassius, who had just returned to the country.


    Cassius and Elvis had immediately set off after thaddeus. They had been close behind, but a major ident involving a truck had


    blocked the road, forcing the


    Take a detour. They had lost sigh


    their target but managed to get in touch.


    of


    Gordon gave them his exact location. After hanging up, he could do nothing but lock himself and Mr. Zade in the car and pray.


    As he prayed, he heard a relentless cacophony of bangs and ngs against the car''s exterior.


    Suddenly, a machete shattered the window, whizzing past Gordon''s head by a hair''s breadth.