Chapter 2 - The Cutoffs at the Door
The diner went dead quiet. Even the grease popping on the grill seemed to fizzle out under the sudden chill. Jax didn't turn around; he didn't need to. He recognized the heavy, synchronized scuff of combat boots against linoleum.
"Clara," Jax muttered, not raising his voice above a dry whisper. "Take the boy into the back pantry. Lock the deadbolt."
"Jax, what's going on?" Clara whispered, her hands shaking violently as she reached across the counter, grabbing Toby’s thin shoulder. "Are those Reyes's boys?"
"Go. Now."
Toby didn't protest. He allowed Clara to pull him toward the swinging kitchen doors, his hazel eyes fixed on Jax until the steel panel swung shut between them.
Jax took a slow breath, inhaling the stench of cheap tobacco and damp leather entering the diner. He folded the photograph and the clipping, sliding them deep into the inner pocket of his leather vest, right against his ribs. He picked up his cold ceramic mug, took a measured sip, and turned on his barstool.
Standing ten paces away was a man with a jagged scar across his throat, flanked by two younger thugs built like brick ovens. Their leather vests bore a patch Jax had hoped never to see again: the twin scythes of the Dead Pines MC.
"Long road from Carson City, Jax," the scarred man said, his voice a ruined croak. "Reyes told us we’d find you playing hermit in this dust trap."
"Reyes should have told you to bring more men, Hector," Jax replied coldly. He rested his heavy forearms on his knees, his eyes dead and unblinking.
Hector smirked, tapping a heavy steel wrench against the palm of his hand. "We didn't come to put you down, old man. Not yet. We came for the package the girl left behind. The boy."
Jax’s heart hammered against his ribs, but his face remained a mask of cracked stone. "There's no boy here. Just coffee and road dust."
May you like
"Don't lie to me," Hector stepped forward, his eyes darting toward the grease-spotted kitchen door. "We smelled her blood on his jacket five miles back. Hand him over, or we burn this place down with the waitress inside."
Jax didn't answer with words. He grabbed the heavy glass sugar shaker off the counter and launched it across the space, shattering it against Hector’s temple before diving over the counter.
