The bikers sat around their table for chapel, a quick rundown of the club business that needed accomplishing today. T.O - Vice President of the Grim Bastards - and his right-hand stood watch near the door as they talked business.

"The Bastards just wanted to come say thanks in person for taking care of this for us. We need to keep this our boys protected, and you guys are helping a lot."

"We got nothing but love for the GBs," Piney said.

"Yeah, anytime boys," said Tig.

"Heard you got shown up by some young racer boy," T.O laughed, giving Tig a playful pat on the shoulder.

"And because of him showing his ass, he's gonna hang here with Piney, Bobby, and I to work on tying down our other arrangements," said Clay. "How do you guys feel about letting the Prospect ride along?"

"He's still got a few months on his probation, but he's been solid. Tough as nails. A little skittish, but he's already proven he ain't afraid of gettin' his hands dirty," said the VP. "I say why not."

"And it might put Toretto's crew at ease having a familiar face there," Opie added.

"Alright. All in favor?" Clay asked, and all eight members raised their hands. "Alright, Prospect rides today."

"Clay, I gotta ask for another vote," Jax spoke. "A mercy vote. For Toretto's crew. Dom's right; we came to them for help, they shouldn't have to die because of that."

Clay thought for a moment, "Okay. All in favor of granting Torettos' crew mercy? That means nothing happens to them after this is complete. They go untouched."

The men all voted in favor, granting Team Toretto a mayhem pass.

The meeting ended and everyone filed out into the barroom. The matriarch of the family grabbed her son's hand before he could disappear.

"Hey you. Sit down and eat before you leave again," Gemma ordered while forcing him into a chair.

"Mom, I'm not-" Jax tried to object.

"I wasn't asking," she said. "I love that you're putting in work with the club, but I don't like that you've skipped dinner the past few nights. You need to eat."

Jax sighed, knowing Gemma wouldn't budge if she didn't want to. He smiled and leaned up to kiss her cheek, "Thanks, mom."

She lingered around while he chewed down the turkey club.

"Have you heard anything on Tara?"

He slowed down his chewing, but only shook his head.

"Where does she get off, running off like some big hot shot?" Gemma snarled.

"Mom," he cut her off, "I don't wanna talk about that. It's been over a year now. Leave it alone."

"Fine," she put her hands up, "Just hate that my baby-boy is heartbroken."

At that time, a beautiful, blonde Croweater made her way inside the clubhouse, following another girl with a handful of groceries. She met Jax's eye with a smile that didn't go unnoticed by Gemma.

"I'm guessing you met Wendy?"

He thought about the wild night he had with the blonde, who was a far contrast to his ex.

"Yeah, last night," he grinned. "She's sweet."

"Alright boys!" Chibs loud accent rang out, "Let's roll out."

Dom was in his office, enjoying a much-needed break with his girlfriend, Letty. The two made out in his chair like teenagers, enjoying the rare moment alone they had at work. It wouldn't be the first time they used the garage as their personal bedroom. To these two, the smell of engine oil was like an aphrodisiac.

"Yo, Dom! Tow truck is here!"

Dom groaned as Letty slid off of his lap slowly.

"You know, I'd rather spend the day laid up with you," he muttered.

"Agreed, but we have another fifteen grand to make today," Letty said with a smile, dropping a quick kiss down on his lips. "Let's go be social."

"Dominic!" Jesse yelled again.

"Cool it Jess!" he replied, tossing his arm around Letty's shoulder and walking her out.

Their new acquaintances were leaning against a clean new tow truck.

"Your chariot, m'lady," Juice said in a mock accent, bowing next to the vehicle.

"Is it stolen?" Vince was the first to ask.

"Not by us," Juice smirked. "Let's not forget; none of us have a problem with taking things that aren't ours. You asked for it, here it is."

"It's great JC," Letty said, hopping inside to take a closer look.

Jax walked over to Dominic, handing over the paperwork, "Clean title."

Jax was a good reader of people, and he could tell Dom was struggling with their new business relationship. They seemed like decent enough people who dared to walk the thin line between good and bad. Dominic was only three years older than Teller, but Jax knew all too well about the temptations that came with living life on the edge. He had spent the last two years of his life teetering on the tightrope of good and bad. After years of debating on college or club-life, the choice was made the day his longtime girlfriend left for medical school. It was then Jax became fully enthralled in the life, and never looked backed.

"Look, I know you're not thrilled about us coming to you with this. Clay put me and Opie at point on this, and after seeing a race a few weeks back, I knew this was the best route. You guys are great drivers, and you're family to Juice. Family can always be trusted."

Dom nodded, "A lot of people are afraid of the dark because of what lurks in the shadows. You are the guys lurking in the shadows. I know what you are, and what you do. As long as my team makes it away without a scratch, you have an ally in us. Don't think for a second that I wouldn't kill for one of them, and they would happily kill for one another. Family is just as important to us. I don't want to lose mine because you came to us for help."

Jax gave a nod and pulled a slip from his kutte, "Understood. We'll meet tonight at this location, nine o'clock. After we deliver the product, a few of our guys will meet us and we'll complete the transaction."

"No backing out now," replied Dom.

Jax gave a smile and the two shook hands, "See ya tonight."

"Have you talked to your mom? She misses you, y'know," Letty said, interrupting Jesse's bombardment of questions about the truck.

Juice shook his head, "Nah. Not really sure what to say to her."

"How about: 'hey Mom, I'm not dead'?"

"Or maybe: 'hey Mom, you still on dope? Still letting good-for-nothing assholes smack you around?" Juice spat back. "Not interested."

"What about my mom? She took you in, and you just ran away. Kinda a dick move, man," she replied.

"I'm sorry," he said genuinely, "I just had to get out of LA. I was gonna end up dead or hooked."

"And walking into a biker gang was a good idea?"

"Hey, we're not a gang," Jax butted in with a grin, "We're a club. Just boys who enjoy playing with our toys. You folks know what that's like."

"You know what I mean," she said to Juice, "I just don't want to see you wasting your life away."

"Yeah, and you're living a wonderful life of luxury here," he snapped, "Listen, after this job is done, you won't have to see me again, okay?" Juice said, hopping up in the truck.

"JC..." Letty trailed, but the roaring bikes were already backing out of the garage.

Dom walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, "You okay?"

"Am I wrong for wanting this to fail?" she muttered. "If he doesn't get patched in, maybe he'll smarten up and come home."

"If this fails, he doesn't just get cut from the team, Lett. Serious consequences are at stake, and that's not because of us. He chose this lifestyle. He chose his family. We just need to worry about collecting our money. Juice is his own man."

"He's seventeen, Dominic. He's not a man," she said sadly before walking away.

"Alright - the mortgage for the shop and cafe are paid for the next two months," Mia announced, sending the boys into cheers.

Dom shook his head with a smile. He felt relief for the first time all week, but he knew he couldn't let his guard down. They still needed to stay focused on this job, and the future jobs to come.

"This calls for a celebration," Vince said, bringing out a few cold beers from the mini-fridge.

"V, no beers during work hours," Dom had to remind him.

"Come on, just one," Leon said, "Grumpy hasn't smiled like that in days."

The entire crew had smiles, and even his baby sister looked happy to have the pressure off their backs.

"Just one," Dom snatched a beer from Vince with a grin and cracked it open. They all raised their bottles for a toast and waited for Dom to speak. "We work hard as hell, and even though this is our toughest obstacle yet, I know you guys are gonna kill it tonight."

Before Mia had a chance to pop her cap, Dom swiped hers away as well.

"I don't think so, Mia."

"Come on, D. I'm only two years longer than Lett," she whined.

"Not helping your case. I need one of us to remain pure," he grinned back. "Alright, back to work. We only got a few hours of daylight before we close and a lot of work left to do."

"I don't like this Jax," Chibs said for the third time, "I hope these kids are as good as you say."

"Me too," Jax mumbled. "Heads up."

He nodded at the headlights speeding their way. Opie walked over, demanding that they pop their trunks. The Toretto crew obliged and watched nervously as two duffles were loaded into their five Hondas.

Jax, riding shotgun with Dom, pulled out a map.

"I'll be calling out the route to you. We're gonna try to stay off the main highways."

Dom nodded, "So can I take a guess of what's in those bags?"

"Don't concern yourself with it, man. Just worry about driving."

"What if we get stopped?"

Jax gave him a serious look. "You don't stop. For any reason. I thought that was clear?"

Dom bit his tongue and nodded again, mashing the gas pedal to the floor.

"So how did Juice get into the Sons?"

"He's not in yet," Jax replied, "But Chibs found him roaming outside the clubhouse during a wild party. He kicked him off the lot twice, but he just kept coming back. Talked his way into a job, earned his way into that kutte."

"What about you?" Dom asked. "You're what? Eighteen or nineteen years-old, how'd you get involved?"

"I was born into it. My father started this club twenty-something years ago with a few war buddies. SAMCRO is my legacy."

"Hell of a heirloom," Dom smirked. "What pushed you in?"

"Regardless of what you've heard, my club is good for our city. We keep the trouble out of Charming. We look out for them, and they look out for us. I wanted to be apart of that. Not to mention, the endless supply of pussy that comes with it," Jax and Dom shared a laughed, which smoothed over the tension. "So what, are you and your friends some street racing gang?"

"We're not a gang," he echoed Jax's words from earlier, "We're a team, a family. We live together, we work together, and we race together."

"How'd you get into that? I can't imagine the LAPD are laxed on you guys doing that shit every night."

"Fuck 'em. They give us shit just driving to the grocery store because our cars are lowered with loud engines," Dom explained. "We've been friends since before high school, racing just as long. My dad used to own our garage... he was a stock circuit racer back in the day. He got me and my sister into racing, and after he passed, we just took it to the streets."

"I read up on how he died... sorry about that. Lost my old man to a semi out on I-580 a few years back. Ironic, isn't it? Both of our fathers died doing what they love, and now we find ourselves in their footsteps."

"I wish," said Dom, "They banned me from the tracks for life."

"Good thing there is always open road, my brother," Jax said with a smile.

In Letty's Honda, the awkwardness between she and her cousin was evident. She chanced a glance ever so often, but he kept his gaze out the window.

"You gonna ignore me for the next two hours?" she asked.

"If you plan on lecturing me every time I open my mouth, then yeah."

"No lecture," she replied, "Just wanna know how you've been. You left two years ago without so much as a goodbye."

"I'm sorry about that," he said honestly, "That was wrong."

"Where've you been, man?"

"Bounced around for a while, slept on a few couches until I met Chibs. He's the one who talked Clay into hiring me at the garage."

"He the one who pushed you into that Prospect vest?"

"It's a kutte, and no. I proved myself useful," he said with a shrug.

"Whatever," Letty said. She hesitated before speaking again, "Are you happy?"

"Are you?"

While Leon and his passenger Opie maintained silence for most of the drive, Chibs was being riddled with questions by his driver, young Jesse.

"I think you guys rock. I know you get a bad rap, but so do we in LA."

"Thanks kid."

"How long have you been with the Sons?"

"Going on five years."

"How did you end up there?"

"Transferred from the Belfast charter in England. Needed to leave the country, so I came here," Chibs said.

"Does it-"

"Look, kid. I appreciate your interest, but let's just focus on the road, eh?"

"Yeah, of course," Jesse replied, lighting up a cigarette. After a few seconds of silence, he started again. "So, what kinda Harley you drive?"

Chibs sighed and lit his own smoke.

"Leon, how we looking on the scanners?" Dom called over to Leon through the radio.

"All clear, brother."

"Take this left here, we should be crossing the border soon," Jax said.

"V, you all good back there?" Dom said to his best friend, who was riding alone in the back of the pack.

"Yeah, except I'm curious... did our new friends ask for an escort? 'Cause some bikers have been following us for a while."

"We didn't call for an escort," Jax said, looking over his shoulder. He could see the headlights of three Harley's racing behind the Hondas. He grabbed Dom's radio, "Chibs, Op - we got trouble."