CHAPTER 2: The Ghost in the Rain
The words hit Jax harder than any fist ever could. Behind him, the bikers gasped, stunned into absolute silence. The merciless leader of the Iron Phantoms was frozen, his face breaking in plain sight as tears welled in his eyes. He had spent five years believing the love of his life, Clara, had abandoned him. He never knew. He never knew he had a son.
But before Jax could drown in his own remorse, the boy added quietly, almost apologetically, “She also said she lied.”
Jax blinked, a tear spilling over his scarred cheek. “…What?”
The boy pointed a weak, trembling finger toward the pitch-black storm outside. “She’s in the truck.”
Every head in the gas station whipped toward the rain-soaked windows. Through the torrential downpour, the dim headlights of a beaten-up pickup truck glowed, cutting through the darkness. Silas, realizing he had just mistreated the son of a dangerous biker boss, began backing away toward his cash register, his face pale.
Jax rose slowly, his chest heaving, his mind spinning. “She came back? After all these years?”
The boy’s lips trembled from the cold. “She said… she said if you still wore the ring… she’d come inside.”
Jax’s gaze dropped to his left hand. There, amidst the scars, was a tarnished silver band—the engagement ring she had left on his nightstand five years ago, the one he wore as a curse and a promise.
Suddenly, the rusted door of the pickup truck outside creaked open.
A woman stepped out into the pouring rain. Her hair was soaked, her coat thin, but her posture was fierce. Clara. The years of hardship hadn’t dimmed the fire in her eyes. As she walked toward the neon-lit entrance, the gas station door flew open.
But it wasn’t just a happy reunion. From the shadows of the parking lot, two dark SUVs suddenly slammed their brakes, blocking Clara’s truck. Heavy doors threw open, and men armed with shotguns stepped out.
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"Jax!" Clara screamed over the thunder.
It was the Black Jacks—the rival gang Jax had been warring with for months. They had tracked him here, and now, they had his family in their crosshairs.
