Chapter 429: Friday. Johannesburg, South Africa.

PAXTON WAS THE first through the wall. He had his rifle in hand, a ball of coldness in his chest. His finger twitched to pull the trigger, but he wouldn't take that first shot. It mattered. He'd do what he had to so that Coco was saved, but he wouldn't fire first.

"The girl. The girl, where is she?" Silas bellowed, charging into the lush back yard of the Nodorf home.

The man on the porch rolled to his back and lifted a gun.

"Do not shoot," Paxton roared.

The man's arm flinched, and the muzzle lit up with the first shot.

Paxton squeezed the trigger.

"Pax! Pax, the door!" Silas yelled.

Paxton glanced at the door where a metal barrier was lowering into place. He could just barely hear the motors humming.

A window to his left shattered, blowing glass and bullets.

Paxton rolled forward, hiding behind a short stone wall surrounding the grill area.

"Go, go, go," Brett called out as he reached them. "I'll cover you."

Paxton didn't hesitate. He shot forward, his gaze on the narrowing