“Emma—”
“I came back here because I wanted to. Because I missed home. Because I—” I stop, swallow hard. “Because I need to see him. And you telling him to stay away, stripping his rank, treating him like a criminal—that’s not about me. That’s about you. Your guilt, your fear, your need to control something you haven’t been able to control for a very long time.”
He goes quiet. When he speaks, his voice is controlled but distant.
“If that’s how you feel, then maybe it’s better you stay in New York.”
It lands like a slap.
“Yeah.” I get up and shove my arms back through my jacket sleeves. “Maybe it is.”
I turn and walk back inside, blinking back tears I refuse to let fall. The party is still going strong—music, laughter, celebration—but it all feels spoiled now.
I push through the crowd, ignoring Kya calling my name, ignoring Lee trying to catch my arm. I need air. I need space. I need?—
I need to get out of here.
Outside, the parking lot is full of bikes and cars. I fumble for my keys, hands shaking with anger and hurt and frustration.
“Emma!”
Lee catches up with me, slightly out of breath. “Hey. Where are you going?”
“Dad’s. No. I don’t know. Somewhere else.” I unlock my car. “I shouldn’t have come back.”
“Yes, you should have.” Lee’s voice is gentle. “Dad’s just—he’s been wound tight about this whole thing for months. He’ll calm down.”
“Will he?” I laugh bitterly. “Because from where I’m standing, he made his position pretty clear.”
“He’s hurt, Em. Shit was going down, and you left without saying goodbye. We didn’t hear from you for weeks. And then when we did, it was just—” Lee gestures vaguely. “Surface stuff. You never talked about what happened. Never let us know what was going on in your head. Just disappeared back to New York like nothing changed.”
“Everything changed,” I whisper.
“I know.” Lee pulls me into a hug. “I know it did.”
I let myself lean into my brother, let him hold me like he used to when we were kids and the world felt too big.
“He left,” I say against his shoulder. “I came here to see him and he left.”
“Who? Bones?”
I nod.
“Yeah.” Lee doesn’t sound surprised. “That’s been his move lately—avoid anything that spells feelings.”
“Do you know where he is? Dad said he stripped his rank. So does he even live at the clubhouse anymore?”
Lee pulls back, studies my face. “Above Yu’s Laundromat. But Em?—”
“I know. Dad told him I was off limits. Threatened his patch.” I wipe my eyes. “I just—I need to talk to him. I drove all this way to see him, and I’m not leaving without at least?—”
“Saying what you came to say,” Lee finishes. “I get it. But maybe not tonight? You’re upset, Dad’s upset, Bones is probably freaking out?—”
“All the more reason to get it over with.”
Lee sighs. “You’re as stubborn as Dad, you know that?”
“Learned from the best.”
