Esai was charming — there was no denying that. He answered the questions of their mothers patiently, made them laugh and Roman saw his little sister's face beam, every time the biker smiled at her, squeezed her hand or simply answered her glance. Diana, his mother, was also a friendly woman. The father, Marcus, however was quieter and didn't seem to feel very comfortable. Roman thought back to Juice's words. Every word the man had spoken had been dripping with jealousy, but he really seemed to worry about Jamie's safety. And since the guy was in a motorgang, he couldn't simply shove his suspicions aside.

Roman took his beer from the table and sipped, then he turned towards Marcus. No matter how many patches the man would sew to his black jacket, it wouldn't scare him off. The tougher men tried to look, the bigger their hearts were. The people who were the most dangerous were the ones you wouldn't expect it from.

People like him.

"Are you the club's president for a long time?" he asked Marcus.

He had no idea if he was on thin ice now, but he would find out soon enough. The motorclub however seemed to be an important part of his life, so Roman believed it was a normal question.

The man studied his face, seemed to conclude that he was no threat. "I founded the motorclub, fifteen years ago. There were MC's for black and white, but not for us."

Roman thought it was quite obsolete to hold on to one's race, but he didn't say it out loud. After all, he didn't belong to minorities, so what could he really say about it? Somehow he found it amusing that they derived their name from a culture that wasn't theirs, a culture that had been overrun by the Spaniards centuries ago. The Mayans weren't something typically Mexican — all though Taco MC or Mariachi MC didn't sound very threatening. Naming yourself after a dominant, warring, high-sophisticated culture made more sense.

"And how many people are in a club?" he asked, genuinely interested.

He however knew a bit about motorclubs, after all he'd talked about it with Juice too.

"There are twenty charters spread over the US and Mexico."

Roman nodded slowly. "And the fact that Jamie's roommate is a member of a different club... that isn't a problem?"

The eyes of the clubpresident narrowed, but Roman kept an innocent expression on his face. He could imagine the man had an opinion about it. Marcus' glance slid away and rested upon Jamie.

"She's not a threat," he said.

Roman didn't know if he believed him.

Once Marcus looked him in the eye again, he was sure he didn't believe him.

Esai believed the evening was going well. At least better than the time he introduced Jamie to his family. His father was quiet, although it didn't stop Roman from asking questions. Questions his father didn't feel comfortable with, although Esai kept in mind that his father wasn't approving of his relationship with Jamie anyway. He wondered if the blond guy had missed his true calling as a psychologist, for he asked deep questions about things Esai had never given a thought; about his parents' youth and the foundation of the club. In turn, Roman told them about the buildings he had designed the past years and his current project.

Jamie's mothers were nice too. Mitsy was a bit dreamy, only answering when someone asked her a direct question. Lola however was a smooth talker, making sure there were no silences. He wondered if she talked so much because she felt a little nervous; he knew Jamie couldn't stop talking either when she was nervous. Would one of them be her biological mother? He found himself comparing their noses, lips and eyes trying to find similarities. Here and there she shared characteristics with both women, but he could be imagining things too. She might as well be adopted. In the end, he decided it didn't matter. She considered Mitsy and Lola as her parents, that was the only thing that counted.

After eating the enchiladas, Roman nudged his shoulder. "Wanna have a smoke?"

A smoke. Today, it was code for having a talk with your girlfriend's big brother. That idea was confirmed when Jamie wanted to follow them outside; discreetly, Roman shook his head. Hesitating, she stood still.

Esai leaned into her, kissing the corner of her mouth. "Every good brother wants to have a little talk with his baby sister's boyfriend, don't worry."

He would do it too, when Tessa came home with a guy in a year or fifteen.

He headed to the back door, waited until Roman left the house and closed it. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous. None of his exes had had an older brother and he knew Jamie looked up to hers. If Roman had a problem with him too, things wouldn't become easier for them. They sat down on two chairs with views on the flower garden, in which his mother put an awful amount of effort. Their whole garden was flowery, sometimes he had the feeling his mother needed a lively garden because the lives of her husband and son were already covered in blood. Taking a cigarette from the box, he offered one to Roman.

The man shook his head. "I quit a year ago."

Esai nodded slowly. "So... What do you wanna know?" he asked straight-forwardly.

Roman leaned back. "Good question. Juice wanted to talk to me this morning. He didn't exactly sing you praises."

Esai huffed. What an asshole. Yesterday he'd done something pretty fucked up, but as it seemed he hadn't learned from his mistakes since he had tried to warn Jamie's brother now. "He's in love with her too," he said.

"Yeah, I saw that."

An awkward silence fell. What could he say?

"What does your father want with her?"

The question was a little unexpected and confused he looked aside. The switch from Juice to his father was quite abrupt. "What?"

"Your father considers her as a threat."

"No," he muttered. He bit the inside of his cheek, wondering whether he could tell him more. After taking a drag from his cigarette, he sighed. "When Jamie walked into our clubhouse to find a ride and I found out that her roommate was a Son, I believed it was a chance to get closer to the Sons." His eyes flashed aside. He had expected to see harsh lines on Roman's face, but he looked still relaxed. It encouraged him to continue. "That way, I would have access to his house. Juice is a hacker, there has to be some important shit on his laptop. If I could steal it, I would be a lucky man." Although he still felt ashamed about the way he had used Jamie, he dared to be open about it. By now, he knew Juice wouldn't leave his laptop lying around anyway. "But then I fell in love with her. Fast. Hard." He paused. "I told her. That my intentions hadn't been pure, but that I fell for her on our first date and that I hadn't been interested in other girls ever since." He breathed out the smoke and watched it drift away. "In my father's eyes I failed. He doesn't believe Jamie can be a good Old Lady. It's nothing personal — he didn't like my exes either. He just wants me to pick one of the club whores. Girls who know the club life, who know when to keep their mouths shut or not." He glanced aside, longing for a glimpse of Jamie through the window. The curtains however were closed. "He says I chose her over the club," he sighed. "And that I'm not loyal. And —"

Suddenly, there were gunshots. Breaking glass. Screams.

Esai froze.

Roman was the first to jump up, and numbly Esai registered how he drew a gun. A gun. Why was Jamie's brother carrying a gun? Shaking off the thought, he jumped up too and ran towards the door, following Roman inside.

People were still shooting. It felt like someone was squeezing his throat when he saw his mother on the floor, bleeding. His father stood close to the window and fired in the darkness, Roman turned around and ran outside, probably to near their attackers from the side.

Esai's eyes shot through the room. His sister, where was his baby sister? Again his glance was drawn to his mother. Tears jumped into his eyes and he fell on his knees beside her. "Mom?" he said, his voice trembling.

There was a growing blood stain on her chest and her breathing sounded troubled. Past him, she looked at the ceiling. Again, his one year old sister crossed his mind and he looked around. Suddenly his eye caught Jamie; she was hiding under the table, her back towards the window. She had wrapped her arms around Tessa.

He heard her talk to the little girl. The words didn't reach his ears, but the sound of her voice was enough to make him think clearer. He got up and rushed to the kitchen to find a cloth to staunch the blood. He pressed it into the hands of one of Jamie's mothers, who were hiding behind the couch, and told her to put pressure on the wound. Then he ran up the stairs to find a window from which he might have sight on the shooters.

His heart was racing in his chest, frantically he blinked his eyes to banish the image of his bleeding mother. A tear slipped down his cheek as he slammed open his bedroom door and headed to the window. While Spanish curses slipped his lips, he started to fire at the men who were hiding behind a car.