Juice felt like he couldn't breathe. It felt like he was running through a dark forest, where he was surrounded by monsters that could jump on him and shred him to pieces any moment.

They would find out what he had done.

Of course they would find out, and he didn't understand how he ever thought he could get away with this. That fucking Roosevelt, who had waited for him yesterday and ordered him to take a sample of the coke. If not, he would tell the club about his father.

Who was black. And black people weren't welcome inside the club.

He had no idea what he would do without the club, he had no one else. Desperately, he ran a hand across his mohawk. "You really think one of the prospects did it?" he asked Chibs. He had to keep a conversation going, otherwise his behavior would be suspicious or he might even collapse because of the stress.

"Gotta be, huh?" the Scot sighed. "That Mayan is loyal to Alvarez for over eight years."

Scratching his neck, Juice stared at the door. Behind it, the three prospects were locked up with a gun. They had to figure it out themselves; they had to decide which two would leave the room alive. He tried not to think about it, the thought they would point the finger to Shane made him feel so nauseous he almost had to throw up.

"Ye think it was the new one?" Chibs asked. "You know him best."

It was the first time no lewd comment followed that assumption. Juice shook his head. "No man. That guy's smart, and everyone with a little common sense knows he can't get away with this."

"And there was no trace of fear in his eyes," Happy added. "He ain't the rat."

Juice had the feeling a kilo of stones fell of his shoulders – although there were many left.

"Don't think it was Miles either. He's just too stupid to steal from us," Chibs said. "That leads us to Rat." He sighed. "But that ain't makin' sense either." His phone went off and Chibs' face grew gloomy.

Juice's hands felt clammy. He had to come up with something, he had to make sure the others would go free. But his head felt empty. Well, not empty. Rather packed with thousands of screaming thoughts. He gritted his teeth, not knowing how to silence the noise. For some reason he felt the need to look into Shane's eyes since they had brought him peace more than once, but at the same time thinking about the boy made everything way worse and he feared the prospect would see right through him.

Chibs stared a while at the door before he looked at Happy and Juice again. "Romeo'll be here in an hour. We've got to put one of these guys down."

Juice stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

There was a hard look in Chibs' eyes, making the panic wave through Juice's body again. Shaking his head, he cursed. "Bad enough we scared the shit out of them with the gun bluff."

"It's the only way to calm the cartel. They're going to want a guilty body. If we don't give it to 'em, they're going to take it as a sign of weakness. They're going to want blood. I don't have any options and picking the new prospect is makin' the most sense. I'm sorry." He started to walk to the door.

Despair squeezed Juice's throat, his voice was trembling. "Hey, hold up. For all we know, Alvarez is playing with us. Him vouching for his own guy? What the hell does that prove?"

Chibs heaved a deep sigh. "Juicy, it's out of your hands."

"Hey." Juice stepped in front of his brother. This couldn't be the cause of Shane's death. He had to tell them what he had done, but the words just couldn't pass his lips. He didn't want to die. "Gotta give 'em one last chance," he begged. Before Chibs could disagree, he stepped through the doorway himself.

A small flame of hope arose inside of him. This could be his way out; as long as he could keep his emotions in control. He stood still in front of the three and focused on Shane. He seemed to be the only one who wasn't afraid to lose his life, while he would be the one not living another day. The glance in his eyes however was worried, even warm in a strange way. At least it helped Juice to formulate his sentences in a calm way. "There's a guy on his way, expecting all that coke to be here. That missing kilo isn't just about you, it means trouble for the whole club." He looked at the two other prospects. "I'm going to give the three of you one last chance. We're going to step outside... and have a smoke. And whoever took the brick, we know it's gotta be around here somewhere. Just put it back. No questions. No repercussions."

Questioning, he turned to Happy and Chibs. The first rolled his eyes and was about to storm to the prospects, but Chibs stopped him. "Hey, hey, hey..." He turned to the three prospects, pointing his finger at them. "Fifteen minutes." Chibs turned around and left the room. Juice and Happy did the same.

Juice pulled on his hoodie. Right before he entered the exit, Chibs turned to him. "Even if that brick shows up, they are out. All of 'em."

Juice shrugged his shoulders. "Well, at least they won't be dead and we'll get our blow back."

Chibs sighed, turning to Happy. "Go sit on their bikes. Block any exit strategy."

"I gotta take a piss," Juice said. "Clear out. Give them the 15."

With a dark glance Chibs looked at him, then he nodded and left the warehouse.


Juice rushed into the bushes, looking for the brick he had hidden somewhere here. Yesterday, he had contemplated too long whether he should take the sample or not, until his doubts had exhausted him, making him fall asleep. He felt such a big idiot he didn't even deserve to stay alive.

His eyes fluttered through the green. He had paid attention to his surroundings while hiding the coke, but the nerves were fucking with his head now. This could be his last chance to save Shane.

A relieved sigh left his lips as he finally found the coke. He put it away in his pants and turned around. All he needed to do now, was taking it back without being seen.

He just stepped away from a group of trees as he noticed a movement. The moment he recognized Miles, he froze. The prospect stared at him with a wild look in his eyes. His eyes were aimed on Juice's waist and he looked down.

His hoodie wasn't fully covering the white package. He swallowed with difficulty.

Dazed he stared at Miles, who shook his head in disbelief and cursed.

"You took it?"

Juice wanted to pull the brick out of his pants, but at the same time Miles pulled his gun. "Whoa, easy, man! I'm not carrying," he said with all the calmness he could gather. He was so screwed. There was almost some kind of resignation falling over him. "You gotta let me explain."

"Yeah, back at the warehouse." Miles motioned his gun to the side. "Let's go."

Juice stared past him for a moment and nodded. "Okay... Here." He threw the brick to Miles. By reflex the man pulled his gun hand to the side and Juice threw himself upon him. A shot went off, and a moment later a sharp pain festered through his leg. "Fuck," he grunted, stumbling.

Both men fell on the ground. Juice groped around him, looking for the gun that had fallen out of the prospect's hand. The other man jammed his leg, right at the bullet hole. Juice cried out, still trying to wrestle away from the guy. His fingers stumbled upon something cold, right at the moment Miles pulled a knife and wanted to stab him. Juice's hand glided around the gun, he turned around and starting firing, right into Miles' face. Blood rained down on him.

Through the red blur Juice saw someone else. In a wild movement he aimed the gun to the side. His heart dropped as Shane lifted his hands. The gun was shaking in Juice's fingers. How much had the boy seen? Could he take the risk of keeping him alive? The lump in his throat was gigantic, he could barely breathe and the pain in his leg flattened out his thoughts.

With his hands in the air Shane stepped closer.

The gun was still in Juice's hand, but he lacked the courage to pull the trigger.

The prospect crouched down and picked up the brick. Juice knew he had to shoot. He had to shoot if he wanted to save himself.

But he couldn't. He would never be able to live with himself. Shooting Miles had been a panic reaction, but Shane... he wasn't even armed. And he was the closest friend he had at the moment.

The boy walked up to him, crouched down in front of him and looked at him. "I got your back," he said quietly. He put down the drugs next to Miles' hand. "We'll tell the others it was Miles who stole the coke and that he attacked you when you caught him."

Dazed, Juice stared at him. Why would he say such a thing? Why would he want to cover up this horrible act?"

Shane kept his glance. "You trust me?"

Juice nodded senseless, his head was one big mess. Shane wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him on his feet. "Come on, you need a doctor."

Just when they turned around, Happy and Chibs ran towards them. Juice's gun slipped out of his hand.

"Holy shit, what the hell happened? Juicy?"

"I came out to take a piss," Juice stammered, finding it damn hard to keep his thoughts at the here and now. "I spotted Miles pulling something out of the leaves. He saw me, and he freaked out. He tried to kill me when I tried to take his gun."

"I knew it." Shane's voice sounded cold. In his hand he held the gun Juice had dropped and he aimed it at Miles' body, firing at least five bullets. The body was shaking. "Just couldn't proof it. Filthy rat."

Happy aimed his gun at the body too, adding some more bullets to it. Eventually, he spitted at the corpse. "Lying bitch."

Juice bent his head.

He had killed a brother. It felt like he had stepped into a stinking swamp and was slowly sinking. Shane had grabbed his hand, but it was inevitable Juice would drag him into the grave with him.


Hey all! I noticed chapter 6 (Feelings) was duplicated and chapter 5 (Guy Talk) was missing. I uploaded it again, so you can consider it as some kind of bonus chapter haha. (: