"I''ll kill you!" Colby shouted, his eyes zing as he leveled his gun at Joseph and fired off three shots in rapid session.


    But Joseph was ready. With a swift motion, he yanked Timothy in front of him, using him as a human shield. The bullets hit Timothy square in the chest.


    For a split second, Timothy stood there, bewildered, ncing down at the blood spreading across his shirt. Pain surged through him, and that''s when it hit him-he was dying. He turned toward Joseph, trying to speak, but no words came out.


    By the time Timothy hit the ground, Joseph''s crew had already encircled Colby and his group. Colby hade here ready for a fight to the finish, knowing that if he couldn''t rescue Sophie, he wasn''t nning on making it out alive either.


    Clutching the blood-streaked ring in his hand, Colby braced himself. James, observing the scene, chimed in, "Why waste your energy? This fight isn''t going to change anything. You''re not getting out of here today. You might as well start thinking about your next move." "You''re not going anywhere," Joseph cut in. "I bet your gun''s out of bullets, and I''m not giving you a chance to reload. Everyone who stepped into this ce is marked."


    Joseph''s men raised their weapons, aiming at Colby and his crew, ready to end it. But just before they could pull the trigger, a voice rang out, "Hold on there, Mr. Thorne, aren''t you jumping the gun a bit?"


    Joseph looked up to see Odie walking in. "Oh, it''s you," Joseph said, unfazed. He knew Odie''s skills well and had already arranged for James to handle Odie''s team.


    "I thought you were here on your own," Joseph remarked, dismissively.


    "Who said I''m alone?" Odie replied with a smirk. Joseph frowned as a throng of armed individuals in bulletproof vests flooded in, surrounding his men.


    Joseph''s face darkened. "Mr. Thorne, long time no see," said a voice that made his expression turn even grimmer. It was Elodie and Griffin. Julian and Booker followed closely behind.


    Julian and Booker had been busy


    building their influence in Duskhaven, and Joseph hadn''t expected them to make an appearance. The Cloude family had their own loyal followers, all recently trained by Griffin, who was a master inbat and firearms.


    Seeing the evenly matched forces, Joseph realized he was in a tight


    spot. Julian spoke up, "Mr. Tho Et


    our Cloude family has some unfinished business with you. I''m here in Devonport for the long haul. We can take our time dealing with this."


    let


    Julian, now more strategic and shrewd than a few months ago, had the upper hand. With Elodie and Griffin switching sides, Joseph knew that acontinued standoff could lead to mutual destruction. He needed to tread carefully.


    Joseph, keeping his cool, replied, "So, you''vee to throw down the gauntlet?"N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.