Hey all! This story is a spin-off of my other story, Rivals, where Phantom is a side character. This story will be understandable as a stand-alone as well. I'm not sure when I will continue this story, I think at the start of 2024 since I have other projects to finish, but now Rivals is done I wanted to point readers to this spin-off. :)  This prologue is a scene from Rivals and the start of Phantom & Ezra's journey. 

. . .

Normally they wouldn't send one Mayan into enemy territory—much less a prospect—but a hospital was neutral territory. Surely the Sons would not open a firefight there. If they wanted to kill Raine, they would do it in a sneaky way. Still, Phantom felt far from comfortable as he parked his bike and entered the hospital.

"Any news yet?" Phantom asked as he arrived at the waiting room.

With a pale face, Juice shook his head. His eyes were red and there were deep circles underneath them.

It was as if he saw his younger self standing there—distraught, not knowing where to look, waiting for an answer you weren't sure you were ready for. Phantom swallowed the lump in his throat. Suddenly this was all getting way too close.

At least Juice isn't alone.

That was already a very different situation than his own.

"The other Mayans are on their way, too. Have you heard from your brothers yet?"

"They are no longer my brothers." Darkness glowed in Juice's eyes that sent a shiver down Phantom's spine. He decided never to refer to the Sons that way again.

"No, of course not," he muttered. "Sorry."

Juice didn't reply. He turned his gaze back to the door to where the operating rooms were probably located.

"Next coffee round!"

Phantom turned to the doorway through which he had just stepped himself. It was an unknown man entering the room with a tray of coffee. However, there were no others in the waiting area, from which Phantom concluded that this had to be an acquaintance of Raine as well.

"Thanks." Skye, Juice's best friend, flashed the man a warm smile and took two cups from him, handing them to Juice and Raine's sister before taking two more.

"The visitor count has expanded, I see," the man remarked. "Would you like some coffee, too?"

"Anytime. But I can get it myself...?"

"Nah. All that running back and forth keeps me awake." The man lifted the corner of his mouth and turned around.

Phantom caught himself watching the man walk away and quickly tore his gaze away. He joined Skye. "Is that your boyfriend?" he somewhat awkwardly started a conversation.

Skye chuckled. "Not yet." She gave him a wink. "But it sure is a nice guy. He found Raine at the dump and brought him here. Then he wanted to stay until Juice was no longer alone and well, he probably just wants to know if he was still in time, too."

Phantom looked over his shoulder as the man came back in. It said a lot about his personality that he had stayed. He accepted the cup of coffee.

"I'm Ezra," the stranger introduced himself.

"Phantom."

"Phantom?" the man repeated. A playful glint lighted up his eyes. At first glance, it seemed out of place in a situation like this, yet to Phantom it was distracting in a pleasant way. "That sounds mysterious."

"I'm very mysterious, too."

It just happened—that flirtatious tone, and holding Ezra's gaze. A warm glow spread across his cheeks. Not only because he was openly flirting with a guy, also because Raine was dying right now.

After a polite smile, Phantom quickly sat down in a chair. A little uncomfortable, he watched as Ezra sat down next to him. He was a handsome guy, with expressive eyes and a cool haircut. And he smelled nice. Especially for someone coming from a dump.

"What were you doing at that dump?" Phantom asked in an attempt to distract himself from further inappropriate thoughts. "I understood from Skye that you found Raine after the Sons tortured him. Are you doing surveillance there or something?"

Ezra looked briefly at him before his gaze slid to the prospect patch. The corner of his mouth curled up again, and there was something way too attractive about his casual grin. "Since I suspect you're not too law-abiding either..." Ezra leaned a little closer. "We were stealing something. My brother and I."

"From a dump?" Phantom answered in disbelief.

Ezra shrugged. "There's more treasure there than you'd think and nobody does anything with it anyway."

With a slight grin on his lips, Phantom shook his head. "I"m glad you have that wacky hobby then. What would have become of Raine otherwise..."

"I'd rather not think about that either," Ezra commented. He slid his hands together and rubbed a bloodstain under his knuckle.

A silence fell. Phantom sat up a little straighter. Sitting here still caused an oppressive feeling in his chest. Until his biker brothers showed up, he felt responsible for Raine's safety, but he did feel like the walls were closing in on him.

It had been ten years since he himself had looked at the door with a frightened expression, his hands red with blood. Ten years since he had heard that terrible news.

I'm sorry, boy. We couldn't save him.

Would those words soon cause Juice's world to collapse as well?

It had taken him years to claw his way back up. He had been very close to the precipice, had hovered very dangerously above it a few times. He had pulled through.

But Juice, could he do the same?

It was also his brothers who took a loved one from him.

"Hey, you okay?" Ezra nudged his shoulder. "Here, maybe this awesome playlist will help you out a little." The man plugged a cord into his phone and offered Phantom an earpiece. "Music makes everything a little better if you ask me."

The unexpected offer helped him to let go of the memories again. "Got bad memories of waiting rooms," he muttered as he put in the earpiece.

"If you want to get some fresh air, I can go with you, you know."

Phantom smiled. Skye had been right. What a great guy.

Ezra also put in an earpiece and opened his Spotify list. Phantom glanced at the screen and, to his surprise, saw a familiar band.

"Hey, From Ashes To New. That's one of my favorite bands."

"Really? And I thought no one knew that band."

Phantom chuckled softly. He had thought that way, too. His eyes met Ezra's for a moment, and he felt a tingling low in his stomach.

Was this the spark Raine and Juice felt when they were trapped together in that elevator? A situation that was completely fucked-up but which still led them to the love of their lives?

A stupid grin came to Phantom's lips as he caught himself on that silly thought. Get over yourself. Ezra is just a nice guy and has good taste in music. That's all there is.

"Have you ever been to one of their concerts?" Ezra asked.

Phantom shook his head. "No. I didn't think it would be a lot of fun on my own." Oh well, what do I care? I won't be seeing him after tonight anyway, so I have nothing to lose. "But next time, if you come with me..."

"Is a tough biker like you too shy to speak to anyone?"

"I haven't been a tough biker that long, you know," Phantom countered with a teasing grin.

The man laughed softly, though he then cast a quick glance at Juice and Raine's family members. Phantom bent his head and felt the shame rise within him.

You're really sitting here flirting with someone while others are terrified.

He was getting nauseous with himself.

At that moment, he heard voices in the hallway. Several of his brothers entered the room. Swiftly Phantom stood up; the plug popped out of his ear.

"No news yet?" Alvarez asked.

Phantom shook his head.

His president heaved a sigh. "I'm going to talk to the Son."

"He's not a Son anymore," Phantom blurted out. His face flushed when Alvarez raised his eyebrows questioningly. "He quit," he declared.

Alvarez rested his gaze for a moment on Juice, who didn't even seem to have noticed the arrival of the Mayans. "Then that kid has more balls than I thought."

Approval sounded in his voice.

It reassured Phantom a bit—surely it would do Juice well to find out that Alvarez would be there for him. Juice's club may have let him down—but the Mayans wouldn't.

Or at least, that's what I hope.

"Keep watch outside," Alvarez instructed him, before making his way toward Juice.

Phantom gave a nod and slipped out of the crowded room. Outside the hospital, he found a bench where he lit a cigarette. There was no sign of the Sons yet.

A tingle danced across his skin as someone sat down next to him. In a flash, he hoped it was Ezra—and indeed it turned out to be. This time he didn't give him an earpiece, but he turned on his Spotify at low volume.

"Was it too much for you to be there?"

"I had to stand guard here," Phantom replied. "But yeah, I'm glad I don't have to stay there."

"Have you lost someone? In a waiting room like that?"

"You do ask personal questions to someone you don't know."

Ezra raised his eyebrows. "The best way to get to know someone though, right? Besides, answering isn't mandatory."

Phantom liked his straightforwardness—just as the fact that Ezra wanted to get to know him better. It was a little uncomfortable, this whole situation. He couldn't deny that he felt attracted to Ezra, but the man could just be out for a friendly chat. Which was fine, too. Really.

"My brother," he told him after a deep sigh. "After a shooting. I was sitting there by myself biting my nails. And when they came ... and said he wasn't there anymore..." He tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "Then there was nobody around. I was all alone."

"Holy shit man. That's so fucking intense. How old were you?

"Fifteen," he muttered.

He dropped his eyes. And the one person he'd wanted to go to ... he had vowed never to go to again.

"No wonder you find this intense."

Phantom bit his cheek. "He was in a gang. We both were. It was during a gang war ... I was there when he was shot."

He would never forget that bold grin on his brother's killer's face.

Phantom felt a hand on his shoulder. It was a crazy realization that such a gesture could still feel so welcome after ten years.

"My older brother was also in a gang. More than once I was afraid it would kill him - I've also seen him with terrible bullet wounds. And he went in and out of prison ... I won't claim to know how you feel, because my brother is still alive ... but I can imagine your fear."

Phantom looked up. He could see that Ezra was honest and that they really came from a neighborhood that couldn't be that different from each other. It made him even more curious about the man next to him. It really was as if something clicked between them.

Phantom almost forgot that his friend was fighting for his life a few hundred meters away. He listened to the music that connected them, shared some tidbits about his past, and felt himself almost literally growing closer to Ezra as the man did the same.

By the time the sun rose, Phantom believed that Ezra and he really could be friends. Maybe they already were.

Until a car stopped in front of them and the window was turned down.

"What are you still doing here?" the man behind the wheel asked Ezra. "We have more to do today."

A horrible chill crept into Phantom's body. That dark gaze, that shaved head, the tattoo on his arm... Suddenly he couldn't breathe.

That was him.

That was his brother's killer.