Chapter 8

Whilst Angel went to join Coco and Gilly by the cage, I spotted EZ sitting alone by his trailer. Remembering how he had acted earlier in the day, I approached him.

"What's going on, EZ?" I asked him softly, and he looked up in surprise.

"What do you mean?" He asked guardedly and I rolled my eyes.

"Really?" I said exasperatedly. "Don't do that. Don't treat me like an idiot. I saw you earlier… you were scared of the club. Why?" His eyes narrowed at my question.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he shrugged, standing up.

"Oh, you're going to play it like that, huh?" I scoffed at him, folding my arms. "I thought we were like family, EZ. Guess I was wrong." His face screwed up in annoyance.

"You ever stop to think I'm trying to protect my family?" He asked, raising his voice slightly. I raised my eyebrows, now sure there was something going on.

"Protect them from what? What's going on, EZ? Are you in danger? Is Angel in danger? If he's in trouble, you need to tell me!" My voice gradually increased in volume as I started to panic something was going to happen to Angel.

"He's not in danger. Jesus, keep your voice down!" EZ hissed, pulling me up the steps into the trailer and shutting the door behind us.

"Then tell me what is going on," I instructed, "Maybe I can help." He shook his head, sitting down at the table slowly.

"No one can help me… I fucked up, Hope," He explained and, for the first time, EZ had a bit of weakness in his voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked gently, moving to stand opposite him by the table. He looked up at me, his usually kind brown eyes hard with intensity.

"I'm only telling you this in case something happens to me… I know you care about Angel. You two might need to get out of here… shit, what am I saying?" He muttered, clenching his fists in front of him in frustration.

"Slow down, E… you're scaring me. What's going on?" I said quietly, my heart beginning to thump. His gaze pierced into mine.

"You can't tell anyone this, Hope, do you understand? Not even Angel. I have no where else to turn. Promise me," he spoke intensely and, after a moment's hesitation, I nodded. I never wanted to keep a secret from Angel, but I'd do whatever I had to, to keep him safe.

"I promise," I said solemnly. EZ looked down at his hands, suddenly avoiding my gaze.

"When I was locked up… I made a deal with the DEA," he confessed and my eyes widened. Shit, I wasn't expecting that.

I took a deep breath, sitting down hard on the bench opposite him.

"What kind of deal?" I asked, my voice hesitant. I knew whatever the answer, I wasn't going to like it.

"They just wanted information on the Cartel. Gallindo and the drugs," he explained and I nodded, though I was squirming on the inside. EZ was a rat, and a rat against the Gallindo Cartel at that. He was basically a dead man walking. He looked up at me suddenly.

"I'd never rat on the club. I'd never do that to Angel… he's family," he hurried to explain. "I ensured that there was a clause that nothing would ever backfire on the club, and that I wouldn't give any intel on them that could ever be used against them. I was facing 20 years Hope. I'd lost everything. My family, Emily… our baby. I was going mad in there." I was shocked to see tears in his eyes when he finished. I never knew he had had a child, or a girl for that matter. I couldn't imagine how hard it must've been for him.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me, E," I said softly. "I know you're a good guy. And a good brother. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt him…" I trailed off, suddenly thinking. "Why were you so scared today?"

"They feds picked up Gallindo and Emily and I was warned they might pull my deal. Then Alvarez turned up…" he explained and my mouth dropped.

"And you thought the club was going to find out?" I guessed and he nodded. After a second of thinking, I gasped, catching up to the situation.

"Angel is your sponsor… if the club finds out you're a rat…" I felt sick at the thought.

"There's no way they'll believe that Angel wasn't involved," he finished. "They'll kill him." I stared at him, wanting to be furious with him for putting Angel in this mess, but I could see the pain in his eyes. He never wanted any of this and I knew if he even thought for a second that this would happen, he never would've made the deal in the first place.

"So, what are you going to do?" I whispered and he shrugged.

"As far as I know, my deal is still in play," he answered heavily. "There's nothing I can do. No matter what though, I'll go down protecting my brother." I reached my hand across the table, grabbing hold of his.

"You need to tell him, EZ," I told him bluntly. "Before he finds out from someone else… I don't mean me!" I hurriedly added, as he glared at me. "But secrets never stay buried." He shook his head.

"If I play this right, no one ever has to know. If I tell him… he'll never forgive me," he whispered and I nodded, tears filling my eyes. I had a horrible feeling when he found out, he'd never forgive me either.

"I'm sorry to put you in this position, Hope," he said quietly, squeezing my fingers, "but I don't want you walking into this life blind. The whole situation is fucked." I smiled at him.

"It's ok, I'm glad I know," I said honestly, "I just don't want to see anyone get hurt. And I'm already a part of this life, now. Whether you like it or not." He stared at me for a minute, looking into my eyes for something. After a while, he nodded, standing up.

"We should get back to the others," He said and I nodded. "You can't tell him." I huffed.

"I know, I know," I answered, annoyed that he felt the need to repeat himself. He opened the door and we both walked out, blending into the party going on outside, with no one the wiser.

I decided to head into the clubhouse, to grab a quick drink at the bar. Chucky treated me to his 'new' cocktail he made. I didn't have the heart to tell him it tasted exactly like a pornstar martini, and honestly I was just glad he didn't poison me. It also made me smile to see how happy he was that I enjoyed the drink. He grinned as I toasted him silently in thanks, before heading over to one of the poker tables, where I found Creeper and Izzy mid-game. I couldn't help but laugh as I approached, hearing Creeper groan as he lost another round.

"How is this possible?" He grumbled, as Izzy dealt him another hand, "I'm usually good at poker."

"You know she's never lost, right?" I told him grinning, earning a glare from Izzy.

"What?" Creeper asked, disbelievingly.

"She's hustling you, bro," I laughed, "She learned the trick from her brother when she was 15. How do you think she paid for this trip?"

"Shut up Hope, I was enjoying bringing these Mayans down a peg or two," She grinned shamelessly, flipping the cards over to show she was manipulating the deck.

"Damn girl," Creeper cried, surprising me by laughing, "you had me fucking fooled! We gotta take you to the casino with us next time. Now give me my money back." I laughed as Izzy pouted, throwing 100 dollars back Creeper's way. Sensing my work was done, I headed back out of the clubhouse into the yard.

I spotted Angel and EZ sitting with Coco and Gilly out by the bikes. The party was starting to wind down, so I couldn't help but overhear their conversation as I approached.

"What do you think this Gallindo sit down is about?" Gilly asked, looking at Coco.

"If we're doing it on neutral turf, he has a third party," Coco answered, "wants to make them feel safe."

"Feds?" EZ guessed, and I slowed my feet as my heart started pounding. The last thing EZ needed right now, was the feds anywhere near the club.

"I don't know," Angel shook his head as if he was thinking. "But whatever it is, I've got to give Adelita a heads up." I tried not to feel jealous as he said her name. I knew he was just protecting the rebels, and it wasn't anything personal. I also didn't want Adelita to become a sounding board for him, especially at a time when he could find out at any minute that his brother was lying to him.

"You mind giving Celia a ride?" Coco asked, confirming my suspicions that he had, in fact, killed his mom.

"Nah, we gotta head out to the desert anyhow," Angel shrugged.

"And I know who's digging the hole," EZ added. It was at that moment I stepped on a stone, and they heard me approach.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," I said, as they all turned to look at me. "I can come back later." It was obvious that they knew I had hear their conversation, but I was surprised when Angel exchanged a quick glance with Coco, before shaking his head at my question.

"Nah, it's cool," he confirmed, reaching out to pull me into his side. That one move showed the rest of the guys that he trusted me, and I didn't miss what a big thing that was.

"I think you should make it heart shaped," Gilly joked to EZ, continuing their conversation.

"Nah," Coco disagreed. "You should make it look like a big dick." Angel snorted at this, blowing out his cigarette smoke whilst EZ frowned at Coco's comment. "It'd be a nice change. You know, her being inside one, instead of one being inside her." He seemed pretty serious in his suggestion, making the guys shake heir heads in disgust.

"Damn bro," Angel responded, looking at me to see my reaction. I just laughed; Coco was one of my brothers, and I had no love for Celia after what she did to Leti. EZ just chuckled at the situation.

"What? Too soon?" Coco joked, cracking a smile.

"Go be with your kid. Don't let her fuck chucky," Angel told him, and I let out another laugh.

They had a play fight for a few seconds, before Coco held out his hand to EZ, embracing him, before doing the same to Angel. Him and Gilly then walked back towards the clubhouse, where Leti was waiting.

"Gimme a minute bro," Angel told EZ, who nodded, giving me a worried look before heading to the truck.

"I really didn't mean to overhear your conversation," I apologised again and Angel silenced me with a kiss.

"It's ok, I trust you. I ain't keeping anything from you," he told me and I smiled gently, wishing I could say the same.

"You're gonna be careful right?" I whispered. "I mean… with Celia in the back of the car."

"Don't worry about it, EZ and I have got it handled," he assured me, before frowning. "How did you know though? You didn't look surprised."

"Earlier, when I told you EZ was with Coco?" I reminded him and he nodded. "It was because I asked him to check on Coco. Leti wanted to stop Coco from hurting their mom… I knew the chances were the damage had already been done. But I had to try and help… Leti's my friend." He nodded, smiling gently.

"You're an amazing woman, you know that?" He told me, kissing me deeply.

"Mmm well then you better come home safely then," I responded, kissing him back. "Let me know when you've done what you need to do with Celia and you've found the rebels?"

He pulled back from the kiss after a minute.

"Nothing is going to happen to us, babe," he told me, looking deep into my eyes. "I'll be back soon. I'll try not to wake you." I stepped out of his embrace, nodding.

"Okay. I love you, Angel," I whispered and he grinned.

"I love you too. Now, go back inside," he smiled, hopping into the car next to EZ and closing the door behind him.

I waved them both out of the lot, before walking back to the clubhouse and turning in for the night.

*** MAYANS MC *** *** MAYANS MC *** *** MAYANS MC ***

I woke up alone.

I tried not to panic when I noticed Angel's side of the bed hadn't been slept in. There was a million reasonable explanations as to why Angel didn't ome back to the clubhouse last night, none of which needed to involve him being caught with a dead body in the trunk of the car he was in, or him finding out about EZ's deal.

Maybe him and EZ got back just fine, but he decided not to make me and so, slept at his place. Maybe he was already eating breakfast in the clubhouse and I was freaking out over nothing. I really needed to pull myself together. I wasn't going to last two seconds in this life if I kept freaking out every time something didn't go to plan. Not waking up with Angel next to me did not equate to something going terribly wrong, and I needed to get a grip.

I pulled myself out of bed, grabbing a quick shower to calm my nerves, before heading into the clubhouse. But after checking the clubhouse, the yard and the office, it was pretty obvious that neither Angel or EZ were here. What made it worse was that I noticed both of their bikes still parked in the lot, meaning they hadn't made it back from their excursion last night. Now I was really starting to worry.

I knocked on EZ's trailer, waiting for several minutes before poking my head in to find the trailer empty. I was just walking down the steps out of his trailer, feeling a little desperate, when I spotted EZ walking round the corner. I could see even from this distance that he had been in some kind of fight.

I hurried down the steps, about to rush over to him, when I watched a car pull up next to him and an older man stepped out. I stopped, watching the exchange. The man was serious, with white hair and a solemn expression. Somehow, he seemed oddly familiar to me, and it took me a minute to realise that he must be Angel's and EZ's father. He spotted me after a moment, falling silent as he indicated me to EZ. EZ looked startled for a second before noticing it was me. He beckoned me over.

"Are you ok?" I asked him, as soon as I got close enough. I put my hands on his face, tilting his chin towards the light so I could survey the damage. "What happened? Where's Angel?" They both looked at me silently, and my stomach filled with dread.

"EZ… where is he?" I asked quietly, trying to stay calm, but I could feel my eyes beginning to prick with tears.

"We were going to ask you the same question, hija," the man spoke for the first time, his voice deep and quiet. "I'm guessing he isn't back yet then." I looked at him, growing more concerned by the second.

"He knows, Hope," EZ finally told me, sitting down heavily on the bench behind us. "Angel knows about my deal."

"Shit." The word fell out of my mouth as I took another look at EZ's face. "So, I'm guessing this was all him?" EZ nodded and I shook my head, not knowing what to say.

"This is my pops, Felipe," EZ finally introduced us. "Pops, this is Hope. She's Angel's girl. She knows everything." In lighter circumstances, I would've been really glad to meet Mr Reyes, but right now my mind was too occupied about where the hell Angel was. Nevertheless, I smiled at Felipe, who returned my smile with a nod.

"He came to see me," Felipe told the both of us. "Then he ran off. Said something about the rebels." EZ and I exchanged a glance.

"He went looking for Adelita," I confirmed, feeling irritated all over again.

"We didn't get a chance to warn her last night," EZ told me, trying to defend his brother. "We got picked up with Celia in the trunk. That's how Angel found out about the deal. DEA let us go."

"Shit," I said again. "Now what the fuck do we do?"

"Nothing," EZ answered. "You don't do anything. I'll handle it. You just gotta keep doing what you're doing."

"What? You mean, lying to the man I love?" I hissed, "Jesus Christ, Ezekiel." I shook my head in disgust.

"It's the best thing to do to keep him safe," Felipe spoke quietly, looking at me seriously. "It wouldn't do any good for him to think he couldn't trust you, either." I locked gazes with him, nodding after a minute. He was right.

"Come on," I said to EZ, pulling him up. "Let's get you cleaned up before anyone else sees you. It was nice to meet you Felipe."

"You too, Hope," he smiled gently. "Come by my shop sometime." I thanked him, assuring him I would, and he got into his car as EZ and I walked towards his trailer.

"Are you ok?" I asked him quietly, as I began cleaning the cuts up on his face.

"Yeah. It's not like I didn't deserve it," he muttered and I chose not to answer. Truth is, Angel did have a right to be pissed at his brother. But that didn't make it ok to beat on your brother.

"I'm sorry I got you dragged into this, Hope," He said quietly. I shrugged, finishing up with cleaning his wounds.

"I'd rather know," I told him honestly. "Just… fix it. Whatever it takes. You can't let the club find out."

"They won't, I promise," he told me, and I nodded.

"You know… when I finally meet Happy, I hope our relationship isn't as complicated as you Reyes boys," I said honestly and he laughed.

"We may not be the depiction of a perfect family but… you're with Angel. Which makes us family. So, you already got a brother in me, even if Happy turns out to be a douchebag," EZ joked, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks Ez. Now come on, let's go and make it look like shit hasn't hit the fan," I told him and we both left the trailer.

It was several long hours before Angel finally appeared. Izzy could tell something was up, though I wouldn't say what, and she tried her best to keep me occupied. I wouldn't leave the lot, and so we were outside on the decking, watching EZ, Coco and Gilly work on the bikes, when Angel pulled in through the gates. I breathed a sigh of relief and flew down the steps.

I didn't care that everyone was watching and would probably ask questions; I simply ran over to him and threw my arms around him. He caught me mid-air, holding me close as I tried not to cry with relief.

"Hey, hey, what's all this for?" He asked, wrapping his arms around me. I just buried my head into his neck.

"Sorry I just... I thought something had happened to you," I mumbled, taking in the familiar smell of his leather. He laughed gently, holding me close and kissing the top of my head.

"God damn, am I gonna get a greeting like this every time I come home?" He teased, unwrapping his arms but taking my hand. He ignored everyone in the lot, gently pulling me through the clubhouse and into our dorm room. As soon as the door shut though, his mask dropped, and he sank down onto the edge of the bed, looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated.

"Things have got real fucked up, preciosa," he told me, staring at the floor. "Everything I thought I knew… it's all a fucking lie."

It broke my heart to see him like this. I knelt in front of him, pulling his hands into mine.

"Not everything," I told him, looking him in the eyes. "You've got me. I'm not going anywhere. Whatever has happened, we can work through it together." I put my hands on either side of his face, staring into his brown eyes, willing him to see how much I cared and how I hated to see him like this.

He leaned forward suddenly, kidding me with desperation as he pulled me tightly to him. It was as if he was scared if he let go that I would disappear. I clung to him with equal intensity, showing him with every touch and every kiss that I was there for him and he wasn't alone. I desperately wanted to tell him that I knew about the deal, so he would have someone to talk to about it, but I was terrified that he would feel betrayed by me too. I couldn't leave him believing that he was alone. God only knows what he would do then.

After a few minutes he broke the kiss, burying his head in my neck as I held him.

"Distract me," he mumbled quietly, and I could tell for once that he didn't mean with sex.

"Um… Bish said happy will be here any day now," I told him, before quickly adding, "oh and I met your dad this morning." That made him pull back to look at me.

"What? When? What did he want?" He asked impatiently, raising his eyebrows. I grimaced, pulling out of his embrace and sitting next to him on the bed.

"Not much, he was with EZ when I went looking for you this morning and EZ introduced us," I explained. "He seemed pretty nice. Quiet. Your dad actually asked me if I had seen you. Told me you and EZ had some kind of fight and that you took off pretty quick. He didn't tell me what about though…" I trailed off, looking at his left hand, knowing where the scrapes came from. "I'm guessing it was you who messed up EZ's face?"

"The fucker deserved it," he snapped, pulling his hand away from me and standing up.

"I'm not judging, Angel," I said softly, taking his hand back in mine. "I have no idea what happened between the two of you. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to… but where did you go? You had me and your family worried." He scoffed at that.

"EZ and my pops are worried about themselves, same as always," he spat bitterly. "I can't tell you what went down… though I wish I could. Believe me, I want to. But some of us in this family actually got loyalty." He shook his head, clearly thinking about EZ's betrayal again, before looking at me. "As for where I was… I was looking for Adelita." He was judging my reaction, I could tell. It took everything I had not to pull away in anger.

"Ok… so you had a fight with your family that you can't tell me about, and you didn't come home last night. But instead, you went looking for Adelita?" I clarified, trying to stay calm. I knew I didn't really had a right to be mad, but he had me worried sick all night and I didn't trust Adelita as far as I could throw her.

"No it's not like that," he explained, reaching for me again. "I didn't go looking for her to talk about my family shit. I found out… I thought the rebels were in danger. I went to warn them, that's all."

"Okay," I nodded, leaning into his embrace. I didn't want to fight. "So, what happened?"

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head, "I couldn't find them. That's why I need to talk to Coco and Gilly. Something bad is going down, I can feel it. We need to be ready." He was agitated, and clearly there was more to the story, but I knew now wasn't the right time to press him.

"Then you should go and talk to them babe," I said, not wanting to fight. I had no right to be pissed that he went to see someone he didn't find, when I was lying to him.

"They're both in the yard," I told him. But instead of him leaving, he pulled me towards him, kissing me deeply.

"Don't think I've forgotten what else you said. I'll be here, when Happy gets here. Whether he's your brother or not, I'll help you through it. We've got each other, right?" He told me and I smiled.

"Always," I vowed, hoping that when he eventually finds out the truth, he will find a way to forgive me.

Together we walked back into the clubhouse, where Coco and Gilly were sitting at one of the poker tables. I gave Angel a quick peck before walking over to Izzy, letting him do what he needed to do.

They weren't talking for long when Bishop came in, closely followed by Alvarez, Tara, Hank and Creeper.

"Devante called," he announced to the table, "Meeting with Galindo's a go. San Buho Casino."

"When?" Angel asked, looking anxious. I put my hand up to Izzy for her to stop talking, so I could subtly listen.

"Now," Alvarez confirmed, and they all headed to the door. Angel exchanged a look with Coco and Gilly, before they all stood up and walked over to our table.

"Ride safe," I told them all as they approached, leaning up to kiss Angel.

"We'll be back soon," he told me, "I'll call you if the plans change." I smiled, knowing that was his way of saying he wouldn't go M.I.A on me again. "Stay by the clubhouse, yeah?"

"Well, it's not like we can go anywhere else, if all you patches are walking out on us, is it?" Izzy sassed, grinning, and then surprising us all by kissing Gilly. I laughed.

"We'll stay here," I confirmed, nodding.

"Um… maybe you can keep an eye on Leti, if she comes by?" Coco asked and I smiled.

"Sure, no worries," I nodded, letting him know she would be ok. He nodded his thanks to me and they all left, leaving us alone in the clubhouse.

"All this free booze and no boys?" Izzy joked, "It's gonna be a GIRLS NIGHT!" I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Would you like me to go?" Chucky asked, appearing from behind the bar. "I can sleep in the office, it's not a problem."

"Oh no, Chucky, didn't we tell you?" Izzy told him sweetly, "You, me, Leti and Hope? You're one of us now. You're not going anywhere!"

"I accept that," he answered, smiling.