The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 173

Julian didn't even see what happened behind him. He only heard a sickening, strangled gasp.

He whipped around to find a man clutching his own throat, kneeling on the asphalt, his face contorted in absolute agony.

Based on his extensive training, Julian immediately recognized the injury. The man's windpipe had been crushed.

Julian froze for a split second.

He had never expected Jocelyn to possess that kind of explosive, violent instinct—to literally crush a grown man's windpipe with a single, perfectly aimed kick.

But Julian's immediate concern was Jocelyn's stomach.

She was carrying a baby that wasn't even three months along.

Julian rushed toward her, his mouth opening to speak.

But before he could say a word, Jocelyn shoved him violently out of the way.

A solid wooden baseball bat swung through the air, completely missing Julian and slamming brutally into Jocelyn's shoulder.

The sickening crack echoed in the dead of night. The air was ripped from Jocelyn's lungs as a blinding flash of white heat seared through her entire body.

At that exact moment, Ethan's car violently hopped the curb, followed by three police cruisers, sirens blaring.

Seeing the bodies groaning on the ground, Ethan let out a massive sigh of relief.

"Sir! Are you okay?"

Julian didn't answer. He scooped Jocelyn up into his arms.

"Get in the car! We're going to the hospital!"

Seeing Julian's face completely drained of color, Ethan panicked. "Yes! Right away! I'll drive!"

Jocelyn gripped Julian's collar tightly. Despite the excruciating pain, she hadn't screamed once. She forced the words out through gritted teeth.

"Don't... don't go to Northwood General!"

"Got it!" Julian barked.

On the highway, Ethan floored the gas pedal, his heart pounding in his chest.

He had been able to find them so quickly because Julian had secretly activated the GPS tracker on his hidden phone and fired off an emergency SOS alert.

Ethan had immediately called the police and sped toward the location.

On the way over, he had been terrified that Julian might be seriously injured.

But within the Vance family, every male heir was rigorously trained in lethal hand-to-hand combat from childhood.

And Julian was unequivocally the most dangerous fighter in his entire family.

Because of that, Ethan hadn't been in complete despair.

But looking in the rearview mirror now, Ethan felt a chill run down his spine.

Julian’s expression had hardened into a mask of cold, lethal predatory intent.

"I wasn't trying to take the hit. I pushed you out of the way because I thought I could kick him, too. Turns out, I severely overestimated my own fighting skills. So don't feel guilty. I wasn't trying to be a martyr for you."

Julian's jaw tightened until a muscle ticked in his cheek.

"Why couldn't you just listen to me? Why didn't you stay in the car?"

Jocelyn stared straight into his dark, fathomless eyes.

"Because I told you, I absolutely refuse to sit back and watch you get hurt because of me. They were there to kill me. You just got dragged into the crossfire."

Julian looked away, pure rage burning in his eyes.

"It has to be Caleb Preston."

"Caleb Preston?"

"Yes. I severely underestimated his thirst for revenge."

Jocelyn opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but she suddenly felt a terrifying sensation of warm fluid slipping between her legs.

Absolute terror seized her. She grabbed Julian's hand in a death grip.

"The baby..."

Julian lost whatever composure he had left. His voice shook with raw panic.

"Ethan! Faster!"