"No. But he made peace with the Vipers after twenty years of war. Everybody said he was crazy. Said it would never last. But it did. Until his death. You're doing the same thing with Coyote Fangs. It's possible."
"If Miguel doesn't betray us."
"If he does, we deal with it. But right now, you're President. I'm VP. Ghost is gone. We move forward."
I nod, but my mind is already back at the hospital. Santiago. Lena. Everything I fought to keep.
"I need to get back."
"Go. I'll handle club business today. You've earned a few hours with your family."
"Thanks, brother."
"That's what VPs are for."
The ride back to the hospital is faster than the ride away from it. Now that the fight is over, all I want is to hold my son again. To see Lena awake. To tell her I'm still President and that means we're still protected.
But when I pull into the parking lot, there's a bike I don't recognize. Coyote Fangs colors.
Miguel.
My hand goes instinctively to my cut before I remember I'm not wearing colors to start a war. Just to exist in this complicated space we've created.
I park, head inside. The tension in my shoulders hasn't eased. Traded Ghost's challenge for whatever Miguel's presence means.
Izzy is in the hallway outside Lena's room. When she sees me, relief floods her face.
"Thank God. How'd it go?"
"I'm still President. Ghost is gone."
"Good. Because you have a visitor."
"I saw the bike."
"He's been here about an hour. I called him."
I stop. "You called Miguel?"
"She needed him. Whether she admitted it or not. And he needed to know he's an uncle."
"Lena know he's here?"
"She does now. They're... talking."
I can hear voices through the door—Lena's high and emotional, Miguel's deep and careful. Can't make out words, just tones. But it doesn't sound like fighting.
"Should I—"
"Give them a minute," Izzy advises. "Then go in. He needs to see you're not going anywhere."
I lean against the wall, suddenly exhausted. Fought one battle, walked into another.
"How's he taking it?" I ask.
"He cried when he held Santiago," Izzy says. "Tough guy act crumbled completely. He's trying, Zane. Really trying."
My phone buzzes. Unknown number.
