"Phantom came to see my mom?" Axle ran his fingers through Ravenna's jet-black hair. She tilted her head back willingly so he could kiss the skin of her neck. He gave in, knowing the words would spill from her lips.

"Yeah. He was with that woman with the blue hair. I don't know her name. Lolita or something?"

"Lola," he hummed.

What did they want from his mom? He had seen them head toward the kitchen together. For months now, he'd felt like Phantom was up to something. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when the suspicion had started, but it was far more than that now. He was sure of it.

His instincts didn't sound the alarm for nothing.

And he was going to uncover whatever that bastard was hiding. That way, maybe he could finally earn back his brothers' respect. Rage surged through him as he recalled the reprimands he'd gotten. They were completely unwarranted. So what if he'd been a little rough with Phantom? He meant well. There was something slippery about that guy. The others were just completely blind.

"Where'd they go after that?"

"I don't know."

He didn't know Lola at all. Could she be working with him? What if they were targeting his mom? If she got kidnapped, the club would fold instantly, agreeing to any demand. On top of that, she was even more naive than the rest. One pained look and she'd drop everything.

I need to know what's going on.

Axle pushed Ravenna aside and stormed toward the warehouse. As soon as he entered the office wing, he saw light glowing beneath his mother's office door. So that's where they were. When he stood still, he could hear soft voices.

So, no kidnapping. He shook his head at his wild ideas. Last year, his best friend's father had been kidnapped, and apparently, it had hit him deeper than he'd realized. Still, what the hell were they discussing? Instead of standing by the door like an idiot to eavesdrop, he quietly pulled his keyring from his pocket and slipped a key into the control room door. He closed it softly behind him, dropped into the desk chair, and rolled closer. Every room was wired with a camera, even the offices. He doubted anyone had ever bothered to peek into his mom's, but with a few clicks, he could watch. And listen.

Impatiently, he drummed his fingers on the desk as the ancient computer booted up and the monitors came to life. The setup wasn't too complicated—his nearly-retired brother had managed to use it, after all.

A few minutes later, he saw the back of his mom's head. Opposite her sat the new couple, which he already found suspicious. Phantom had never shown much interest in her—just a few conversations and her quick visits to his bedroom. Must be damn good in bed, then.

He searched for the audio settings. The thing didn't usually play sound, but there had to be a button for it, right? He clicked on video settings, scrolled through, then switched to recording settings. Recording mode, auto-delete old footage, storage info, backup settings... Nope, none of that was it. Security and access... Ah, audio settings at the bottom.

He clicked on "Audio," but nothing happened. He couldn't even select it. With a frustrated sigh, he ticked the "Enable Audio" box. Again, nothing. "Oh, come on, you piece of crap." Did he need to plug in a cable or something? Or did these ancient things not record audio at all?

He slammed his fist on the desk in frustration. He'd been so pleased with this plan! For a split second, he considered going old-school and pressing his ear to the door, but he saw on the camera that his mom was already getting up. Instead of opening the door, she circled the table and opened her arms to hug the blue-haired chick.

Axle rolled his eyes.

What kind of bullshit story had they told her?

Well, if the cameras weren't going to give him answers, he'd just have to ask her directly.

Rather than hang around the clubhouse, he went back to his childhood home and flopped onto the couch. It was ten o'clock. His mom probably wouldn't go straight to bed.

It wasn't long before he heard the lock click. He quickly sent up a silent prayer that his dad wouldn't come home too. If he brought up Phantom, he'd catch hell for it.

He got lucky—his mom entered alone, softly humming to herself. She stopped in her tracks when she saw him. "Hey. You're home early."

What are you doing home? would've been a more logical question, since he spent most nights in his clubhouse room. But that wasn't her style. "Figured I'd come see my mom without all my brothers around. Before you forget who your real son is."

She chuckled and sat beside him. "Now that there are more boys your age around, it is getting harder to tell you all apart."

He grinned, then sobered. "I heard you had a deep conversation with Phantom and his old lady."

Her gaze lingered on his face. "Didn't know you were into gossip."

He rolled his eyes. "You know how things go in the club, especially with all those bi—uh, women around."

Diana raised a skeptical brow.

Axle did his best not to be thrown off by it. "I was just curious, that's all. Dad wants me to bond with the guy, but honestly, I can't get a read on him."

Subtle enough? He wasn't sure how much of his distrust he could show. If he came across too convincing, she might bring it up with his dad—and then he'd be totally screwed.

"I feel like something's off. So it'd help if I could... I dunno, do something for him or whatever."

His mom studied him closely. Like she was trying to read his mind, find the real reason he was asking. It irritated the hell out of him. She was usually so trusting—why was she suddenly trying to see through him? Was it because of that whole thing with Raine?

He pushed away the hollow ache in his chest at the thought of his former best friend.

That bastard who'd ditched everything for that cursed Son. That emptiness inside him had no business being there—Raine was a dick and not worth his friendship.

Still, maybe he could use it. His mom had always had a soft spot for Raine.

"It's just..." He let out a sigh, hopefully not too dramatic. "Since Raine left... I mean—sure, we hadn't been close for a year and a half, ever since he moved to Santo Padre. But we weren't fighting or anything."

Right. He wasn't sure how to steer the conversation back to Phantom now. Frustration bubbled in him—his usually silver tongue felt tied in knots. What the hell was wrong with him lately? He didn't feel like himself. Like he was always one step behind.

"Do you miss him?" she asked gently, voice full of empathy. 

Yeah, that's what he'd been aiming for. "Yeah," he muttered. He hated the pathetic little tremble he added to his voice, but it seemed to work. She put a hand on his shoulder. "And ever since, it's like I forgot how to make friends. I mean—Phantom's probably not a bad guy. And yeah, I admit I was a dick when I made him shut up that time, but starting fresh—how the fuck do you even do that?"

"You could start by offering a genuine apology."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. "You really think he'd buy that? Words are just words. I'd rather actually help him. With whatever's bothering him. I can tell he's distracted all the time."

"And you think he told me what's going on?"

Axle shrugged. "Maybe."

She pressed her lips together before they parted. He knew what was coming even before she spoke—a scolding. "If you tell me something in confidence, wouldn't you expect me to keep it to myself?"

"I'm not asking you to repeat what he said. Just if there's something I could do. Or—whatever—if you could give me an opening."

"By revealing that the last person he confided in already betrayed that trust?"

Ugh. "Forget it." He stood up. I'll figure it out myself. The words burned on his tongue, but he managed to swallow them. "I'm just trying to be nice for once. Like Dad's always asking me to."

She let out a sigh. "And he appreciates that. So do I. But interrogating me isn't the way to show it. Try being nice to Phantom instead."

If Axle knew one thing about himself it was that he had zero talent for acting. He just couldn't play nice with someone who was obviously up to something. Someone whose unreliability was almost a physical presence at this point—and the rest of the world was too fucking blind to see it.

Frustrated, he stormed out of the living room. This had gotten him nowhere. Worse, if his mom decided to tell his dad about it, he'd probably catch shit for it too.

Fine—he'd stick to what he'd said. That he was just trying to find a way in, and had hoped his own damn mother would give him a hand. But no—like always, being her flesh and blood didn't count for anything compared to strays like Phantom.