A HEARTBEAT IN THE DUST

Jax shoved Creed backward with a single, explosive thrust of his shoulder. The biker stumbled into a booth table, rattling the sugar shakers and condiment trays. The second man stepped up, reaching beneath his jacket, but Martha slapped a heavy iron skillet onto the counter with an ear-splitting crack.

""I called the county sheriff three minutes ago when you parked on my curb,"" Martha snapped, her eyes blazing with genuine fury. ""Get out of my diner before Miller gets here with his twelve-gauge. Both of you. Move!""

Creed recovered his footing, rubbing his bruised wrist, but his eyes darted to the diner’s front window. A cruiser was already idling at the intersection two blocks down, red-and-blue lights pulsing lazily against the dusty afternoon sky.

""This ain't over, Jax,"" Creed spat, backing toward the entrance. ""We know you're in town. We know your bike's behind the shed. You can't outrun the whole pack.""

The two men backed out the door, the bell jangling furiously above them, before vanishing into the glare of the parking lot.

Jax didn't waste a second. He dropped to one knee, scooped up the torn, yellowed note from beneath the booth, and scooped up the photograph from the counter. His breath hitched as he finally uncrumpled the corner of the letter.

Written in faint, shaky ballpoint ink were five words: Jax, he doesn't have anyone.

""Mom... Mom stopped breathing three days ago,"" Toby said. The words tumbled out flat, dry, as if the boy had rehearsed them until the tears had entirely run out. ""She said you were stubborn, and you were mean, but you never let a debt go unpaid. She said you owed her this.""

Jax looked at the boy. Toby’s nose was red, his jacket sleeves frayed down to the lining, and his shoes were held together by duct tape around the soles. A wave of guilt hit Jax so hard his vision tunneled.

""Elena..."" Jax whispered, the name tasting like ash on his tongue. Elena had been his youth, the only pure thing in an ugly world of grease, speed, and bad blood. And he had abandoned her in the dead of night to save her from the very violence that had just walked through that door.

""Come on,"" Jax muttered, shoving the note and photo into his vest. He grabbed Toby by the elbow—firmly, but with a surprising gentleness.

""Where are we going?"" Toby asked, stumbling as Jax ushered him toward the diner's back alley exit.