The other looked like a key.
Sam sat down.
He was exhausted.
His hands were shaking.
His eyes burned.
But he smiled.
For the first time in months, he felt no fear.
He had built something.
Something good.
The garage door opened.
Engines rumbled outside.
Sam looked up.
Nearly a hundred motorcycles stood in the street.
Jax walked inside.
Cody stood beside him.
The boy looked nervous.
Jax saw the brace.
He stopped.
Sam nodded.
"Give it a try."
Cody's eyes widened.
Jax carefully removed the old brace.
The skin underneath was red from months of pressure and friction.
Cody winced.
Sam knelt.
"Easy."
He fitted the new brace.
The titanium frame settled against Cody's leg.
The straps clicked into place.
Sam checked every connection.
"Okay."
He looked at Cody.
"Stand."
Cody took a breath.
He grabbed his father's hand.
Then he pushed himself upward.
For one second, he wobbled.
Then the brace hissed.
The pneumatic system engaged.
Cody straightened.
His eyes widened.
He was standing.
But something was different.
He wasn't fighting the machine.
The machine was helping him.
Jax whispered:
"Let go."
Cody hesitated.
Then he released his father's hand.
He stood alone.
Jax's eyes filled with tears.
"Take a step."
Cody lifted his foot.
The brace moved with him.
He put it down.
Solid.
Another step.
Then another.
Cody's face changed.
He smiled.
"Dad."
Jax couldn't speak.
"It doesn't hurt."
Cody took another step.
Then another.
He began walking across the garage.
Sam wiped his eyes.
Cody turned around.
Then, with a burst of courage, he tried something he'd never been able to do.
He hopped.
Jax dropped to one knee.
His hands covered his face.
For twenty years, he had carried Danny's memory like a stone.
For ten years, he'd watched Cody struggle.
Now the stone finally broke.
A sob escaped him.
Cody rushed into his arms.
"I can walk, Dad."
Jax hugged him.
"I know, son."
"I can really walk."
Jax held him tighter.
Across the garage, Sam watched silently.
Jax eventually stood.
He reached for his wallet.
Sam shook his head.
"No."
Jax frowned.
"You earned it."
Sam smiled.
"Seeing him walk is enough."
Jax looked at him.
Then at the eviction notice.
His expression changed.
"You took care of my son."
Sam said nothing.
Jax folded the crumpled notice in his hand.
"My family takes care of family."
He walked outside.
Sam followed.
Nearly a hundred bikers were waiting.
Jax turned toward them.
"Brothers."
The engines fell silent.
"This man is Sam Finch."
Everyone looked at him.
"He built a miracle for my son."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
Jax raised the eviction notice.
"And while he was doing it, a man named Silas Croft tried to destroy everything he had."
The men grew silent.
Jax smiled.
"Croft made one mistake."
He looked at Sam.
"He thought Sam was alone."
When the Brotherhood Arrived
Grizz stepped forward carrying rolled-up blueprints.
"All right, you ugly bastards."
The men laughed.
Grizz unrolled the plans across the hood of a truck.
"We're rebuilding this place."
Sam blinked.
"What?"
"New roof."
Grizz pointed.
"New electrical."
Another point.
"New plumbing."
Another.
"Concrete floor."
He looked at the men.
"Three hydraulic lifts."
The crowd erupted.
Sam stared.
"You can't do this."
Jax looked at him.
"We already are."
Trucks arrived.
Lumber came off trailers.
Boxes of tools appeared.
Electrical supplies.
Steel.
Pipes.
Concrete.
Windows.
Everything needed to transform the collapsing garage arrived before Sam could understand what was happening.
Men who looked intimidating enough to start wars turned out to be electricians.
Plumbers.
Carpenters.
Welders.
Mechanics.
Engineers.
Contractors.
The Serpent's Hand wasn't merely a motorcycle club.
It was a community.
Grizz assigned jobs.
"Sparky, electrical."
"Got it."
"Pipes, plumbing."
"On it."
"Hammer, framing."
A tattooed man raised his hand.
"Already moving."
The demolition began.
Old siding came down.
Rotten beams were removed.
The sagging roof disappeared.
Sam stood in the middle of it all, stunned.
An older biker walked over.
He carried coffee and a breakfast sandwich.
"Eat."
Sam accepted them.
"Thanks."
"Pops."
"I'm Sam."