Are you fucking serious? The words burned on Esai's tongue. But he kept them in.
Santo Padre was the last place he wanted to go. Not just because it was hours away, but because he'd closed the Raine chapter of his life.

And that's exactly where his father was sending him now.

The look in Alvarez's eyes made it clear there was no room for negotiation. And if there was one thing Esai had learned from being exiled, it was that he needed to think before he spoke. Think in the club's interest, not his own.

Yeah, he could admit it now—grudgingly. He'd made mistakes. He'd misjudged Phantom. And he was the real reason Raine had wanted to leave the club.

The past few weeks had been mind-numbingly dull. Isolation had been complete hell—he'd never felt more useless. Memories kept creeping up on him—memories of when Raine was still his best friend.

He missed him, even though he'd tried so hard to pretend he didn't. It was still hard to swallow that Raine had given up everything for a fucking Son, but deep down, he knew that thought was shortsighted.

It had been a violent time—while Raine had to care for his little niece.
But fuck, facing him again? Just because Phantom had gone off the grid and his dad thought the club needed to show its face? He'd wanted to snap that his dad should hop on a bike himself—but bit his tongue.

As much as he hated it, all he did was nod obediently. Before anyone would trust him again, he'd have to earn it. And the easiest way to do that was to follow orders.

"Do you want me to leave today?"

"Head out in the morning."

Esai stifled a sigh. He couldn't shake the feeling there was more to this than a simple check-in. His father was testing him.

And this time, he wouldn't fail. Even if it meant facing his former friend.

Maybe that was a good thing. His dad wanted him to swallow his pride, and tell Raine he was sorry.

And now... now Esai actually felt something close to regret.

Regret or not, the next day it felt easier to jump off a cliff than to step over the threshold of the tattoo shop. And yet, even that had seemed simpler than ringing the bell.

The buzzing of a tattoo machine greeted him as he stepped inside. His eyes scanned the room. The place looked slick.

Raine was working on someone's shoulder, completely focused. He hadn't noticed Esai yet.
Esai wandered around, flipping open one of the books filled with tattoo designs.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A guy had appeared behind the counter. Slightly younger, with bright blue hair and a face full of piercings.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Just looking," Esai mumbled.

Not quietly enough. The buzzing stopped. When he looked up, his eyes met Raine's. Raine held his gaze for a few seconds, then turned back to his client like Esai was just some random stranger.

Figuring Raine was just trying to keep things professional—not start an argument—Esai kept flipping through the artwork. He remembered all the sketchbooks Raine had filled in high school. He even recognized some of those early designs.

For a moment, he lost himself in the memories. With a hollow feeling in his chest, he glanced over his shoulder. Raine was still working, chatting with the middle-aged woman in the chair. Now and then, a smile crossed his lips.

He didn't look unhappy.

Part of Esai had hoped he would. That Raine had made the wrong choice. He knew how childish that sounded—wanting to be right so badly, he'd rather his friend be miserable.

Raine had lost his mother and sister, the Sons had tortured him—he deserved happiness.

It was just still hard to accept that he played no part in Raine's life anymore. That the emptiness he felt didn't go both ways.

"You're here for Raine?" the guy at the counter asked. "He'll be busy at least another fifteen minutes."

Esai didn't feel like hanging around inside. "I'll wait outside," he muttered. He leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette.

The wait felt endless. When the woman finally left, Esai thought Raine might just ignore him. But eventually, he came outside.

"What are you doing here?"

A bitter comeback sat on the edge of his tongue—something about needing to be gay to be welcome now. But again, he swallowed it down.

"I'm here to check on Phantom. He left on a job and never came back. Dad wants him to know the club's behind him, blah blah blah."

"And he sends you?"

Esai shrugged. "I've been annoying him a lot lately."

Raine snorted.

Esai sighed, dropped his second cigarette, and crushed it under his boot. This wasn't going well.

"I got my final warning a few months ago. They banned me for three months. Gave me time to think. I'm sorry for what I did last year. For drugging you. For making you think you cheated." He took a deep breath and kicked at the edge of a tile. "I was scared of losing you. Which happened anyway—and it's my own damn fault." And I miss you. I miss my best friend.

But that sounded too pathetic. He couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.

He felt Raine watching him and turned his head, letting the truth show in his eyes.

Raine studied his face. "Better late than never, I guess."

Esai had no idea what to say to that. There was still no warmth in Raine's voice. He didn't sound like forgiveness was even on the table. That pissed Esai off, even if Raine lived hundreds of miles away and they could never go back to what they had.

Raine had moved on.

Esai hadn't. He felt like he'd been stuck forever. Or maybe even slipping backward, considering what his reputation had become lately.

"Seems like you've got things going for you. With the shop."

Raine nodded. "It's going better than we ever hoped."

We. Esai still wasn't used to that.

"Do you miss the club?" He bit the inside of his cheek. That question carried way too much weight.

"Not for a second." Raine rubbed the scar on the back of his hand, where a Son had driven a screw through it.

Raine had horrible memories of club life, but Esai couldn't imagine life without it. He'd hated being away.

"Those months without the club were rough on you, huh?"

It hit him—how easily Raine could still finish his thoughts. "I've got nothing and no one outside the club." He didn't need anything else—but he did want to truly belong again. He wanted to be more than a messenger, even if he knew this was a test, and he still had the strongest connection to Phantom.

Which said a lot, given their history.

"And without you, the club doesn't feel the same either."

"I wasn't even back that long."

"Yeah, but still..."

Raine let out a sigh. "What do you want, Esai? To hang out like old times? It's gonna take a hell of a lot for me to trust you again, and you don't exactly live around the corner. You'd be better off investing your energy in making new friends. Ride Nomad for a while. Try other charters if you can't find your place in Oakland. Or hell, pick up a hobby or something."

That rejection stung more than he expected. He thought things might smooth over now that he'd apologized. Guess Raine wasn't as forgiving as he'd hoped.

"I've gotta head back in," Raine said as a man stepped out of a car, covered in so many tattoos that Esai wondered if there was even room for more. "Phantom went out riding today. No clue when he'll be back, but I assume you've got his number. You don't need me."

He didn't. Phantom was the reason he'd come to Santo Padre—but not the reason he'd walked into that shop.

Esai muttered a goodbye as Raine went back inside, then pulled out his phone and texted Phantom.

A few minutes later, a location came through. Esai gave the shop one last glance, then swung onto his bike—heading out to find the one brother he still had.