'We fail again and pray to live another day'

The day I told Bella to get out, morphed into two days later. Two days of freak outs and cigarettes. Two days of struggling to keep any food down, of being surrounded by the mess I created. Two agonisingly slow days to deal with my ruptured heart and fucked up head.

I force myself to shower and eat, it gives me the energy I need to clean the apartment. I put another hole in the wall from when I threw my helmet, I sigh. I hate the darkness I have inside me, something I know comes from my father.

I brush my teeth before heading to uni, opening night is only a week away. A night I wasn't even sure that I would be able to make. After three hours of rehearsals, I light up a smoke as soon as I'm outside, I want nothing more than to get back home and sleep till tomorrow.

"Tyson?"

I look up to a middle-aged man with blonde hair, he has on denim jeans and a green button up shirt. I blow out some smoke. "You look like a cop," I say before walking pass him.

"That obvious?" He says walking beside me.

"What do you want?" I'm tired, frustrated and wasn't in the mood if this is a test from Ace.

"Is there somewhere we can go to talk?"

"Not interested," I say firmly.

"I'm Bella's uncle, Stan."

I stop and take another drag. "There's a coffee shop not far from here."

After he follows me and we both order a coffee each he finally talks. "You look like shit," is all he says.

I nod and smile. Being told you have to spend your life as a criminal or die will do that to a person fuckstick. "You're Charlotte's dad?"

He nods.

"What's your problem with Tate?"

He smirks. "We have sorted that, I'm not here to talk about me."

I hold up my hand sarcastically. "Let me guess, you want me to be a rat?"

"Informant," he corrects.

"You want me to die?"

"I want to help you."

I scoff. "You want to be known as the guy that puts Finn Thomas away," I say realistically.

"I want to be known as the guy that cleans the corruption up within the police force." He says seriously.

"Do you know who you can trust?"

"No."

I laugh. "So we would be on our own?"

"Pretty much," he takes a sip of his coffee.

"You know, you're not really selling this."

"Well, from what Bella has told me, you are buggered either way; what do you have to lose?"

"Your niece," I say gravely. His face turns cold. "Having anything to do with the police is the worst thing you can do to a bikie gang. They will make me suffer if we are caught."

"We won't be caught," he says confidently.

I tap my fingers against the side of the coffee mug, I was dying for a cigarette now. "The risk is too great."

"So you plan on dying or joining?"

"Either way my life is over," I say like it's a fact.

"Not with my help Tyson."

There is some silence for a while before I take a deep breath. "Okay."

"Do you know what your father's debt is?" Stan is straight to business.

"You would know more about him than I do, Ace didn't tell me anything."

"Write your number down, I will get a phone so nothing can be traced back to me."

I do what he asks. "Are you going to pardon me?"

"I can for everything besides murder."

"Do you know what my initiation will look like?" I start worrying about all the fucked-up crimes I'm going to have to commit to win over their trust.

"For anyone that isn't blood, it's murder; it won't be for you. Most likely some fighting, drug runs and annoying prospecting stuff."

I rub my eyes, "how are we planning on keeping Bella safe?"

"Let her go," he says firmly.

"I did."

"Yes, and the first thing she did was drive to my house, she will come back to you, you need to keep her away."

That's easy for him to say. "Next time I see you, dress less like a cop."