Chapter 1029

Josh spent the night wide awake.

He switched on every lamp in the house, then sat rigidly in the living room, bathing himself in unforgiving light,with bodyguards standing around him.

He refused to shut his eyes. He would not rest until he knew Brad was gone for good.

Red lines ran through his eyes as he watched the darkness outside fade into daylight, only to sit through another long wait as the sun went down again.

Just then, his phone started ringing.

Josh's pulse raced. Snatching up the phone, he asked,"Is Brad dead? I want to see proof. Bring me his head!"

A shaky voice answered, sounding nothing like the self-assured tone from the night before. "I'm sorry. I just called to tell you we quit."

Josh went still. "What did you say?"

He glared at nothing, voice low. "You're walking away from a job worth millions?"

"Money means something, but staying alive means more," the caller responded, barely keeping his fear in check. "There's no sense in having money if you end up dead.A bitter laugh escaped Josh. "You've got to be joking.Or maybe you're trying to squeeze more cash out of me? Brad is the biggest coward I've ever seen. What's there to be afraid of? Are you really scared? You all call yourselves Oiscoll's best assassins? You sound like amateurs running a scam."

The voice dropped even further. "Believe me, no one wants to take this job. I'm not lying."

The line went dead.

Josh tried calling back, but a new alert popped up.Every cent he paid for the hit job was suddenly returned.

He thought for sure it was just a tactic to make him raise the price.

But as he stared at the full amount sitting in his account,he could only sit in disbelief.

He tried contacting a string of other underground groups. Every time he brought up Brad's name, the call was cut short.

He could not understand what was going on. Even when he doubled the offer to a million, nobody would budge. At last, after a long pause, someone finally explained, "It's not about the cash. We just value our lives more."

Keeping his voice low, Josh asked, "What are you talking about?" The answer came quickly. "You don't get it? Taking that guy out wouldn't be hard. The real problem is someone powerful is protecting him."

Josh was caught off guard. "Who's protecting him?"

He stopped for a second, suspicion clouding his face.Then he asked, "Are you talking about Daniela?"

"I never said that! All I can tell you is nobody's willing to take this job."

A sharp beep cut through the silence as thecall came to an end.

Soon after, every single bodyguard in his house left,following orders from their agency.

Where the house used to feel crowded, now there was only emptiness. Josh glanced around and saw the place swallowed by darkness.

Night had fallen without him noticing.

He leapt up and switched on every light he could reach.

Still, as the hours crawled by, the shadows only seemed to press in closer.

Holding tight to his baseball bat, Josh stared at the door,his whole body shaking.

Over and over, he whispered, "If Brad shows up, I'll take him out right away!"Outside, the sky grew pitch black. Not a hint of light remained.

Josh was trembling harder with every passing minute.The wind moved through the trees, their leaves whispering a strange, chilling tune.

Every time the sound reached his ears, his fear only grew.

Josh let out a long, ragged yell and finally snapped.He burst through the front door and stormed outside,flailing the bat in every direction.

He dashed to his car, but when he turned the key,nothing happened.

Looking up in horror, he caught sight of Brad,standing by the driver's side with a twisted grin on his face.

Brad rapped his knuckles on the glass, over and over,calling out Josh's name.

Josh squeezed his eyes shut, barely holding back panic.Someone had already slashed the tires.

Brad's hand slipped inside, holding a knife, stabbing without pause.

Josh lost track of where the blade had struck.

All he could feel was the warm blood dripping steadily down his arm, filling the small space with a thick,metallic smell.

Something inside him broke in.that instant.

Grabbing hold of the knife, Josh shoved the door open, slammed into Brad, and sent him crashing to the ground. Then he raised his hand high and plunged the knife into Brad with all his strength.

A desperate cry echoed out before everything fell quiet.

From the doorway, Daniela's people watched as the car sped away.

They thought Brad had taken care of business.

It was only when they looked again that they realized it was Josh behind the wheel.

"Damn it!" one of them blurted out, grabbing the phone and calling Daniela. "Brad lost the fight! What should we do? Josh is heading your way!"

Daniela, sitting in front of the TV, heard the report as the show played in the background.

She answered calmly, "Alright, let him come."