Chapter 5: The Alleyway Confession
In the dim light of the alley, away from the prying eyes of the diner and the endless roar of the rally, Jax pulled the folded piece of notebook paper from his vest pocket. His hands—thick, scarred, and tattooed—trembled slightly as he unfolded the paper. It was a simple page torn from a spiral notebook, stained with a faint water ring from some long-ago glass.
I watched him read it. His dark eyes scanned the lines over and over again, his lips moving silently as he traced the handwriting of a woman he hadn't seen since the summer the highway bypass was paved.
"She still live in that trailer by the quarry?" Jax finally asked, his voice rougher than before, as if speaking required physical effort.
" Yeah," I answered, keeping my hands shoved deep into my pockets to hide how badly they were shaking. "On Ridge Road. The roof leaks when it rains, and Mom keeps a bucket under the light fixture in the kitchen. She hasn't been able to work at the laundry since the winter."
Jax closed his eyes for a long moment. A muscle twitched in his jaw. When he opened them, the tough, untouchable biker exterior was completely gone, leaving only the raw, exposed truth of a man who had spent half a lifetime running from a past he thought he had successfully buried in the dust of a hundred different highways.
"She shouldn't be out there alone," Jax muttered, almost to himself. He refolded the paper with meticulous care, pressing the crease flat with his thumb, and slid it back into his pocket alongside the old faded photograph of himself holding me as a newborn baby.
He knelt down on one knee so we were at eye level. The smell of leather, motor oil, and tobacco surrounded me, familiar and intimidating all at once. He reached out, his heavy hand hovering for a second before gently resting on my shoulder. His grip was firm, warm, and entirely steady.
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"Listen to me, Leo," Jax said softly, looking straight into my hazel eyes with an intensity that made me feel like I was the most important thing in the world. "I didn't know. Your mom... she never sent word after that last summer. I thought—well, it doesn't matter what I thought." He swallowed hard. "We’re going to get off this street. We’re going to go see her. Right now."
I nodded, a sudden wave of relief washing over my chest, loosening the tight knot that had lived there for as long as I could remember. The noise of the biker rally faded into the background as Jax stood up, unlocked his heavy leather saddlebags, and pulled out a spare black helmet that was way too big for my head.
