a blown tire forced them onto the rim of a neon-lit, middle-of-nowhere motel."One room left," the clerk mumbled. "One king bed, one twin cot."" Guest gets the bed," Jax said instantly, throwing his duffel bag onto the floor. "Leo, you and I flip for the cot.""I can take the floor, Jax, it’s fine," Leo said, grabbing the keys.you blinked awake, stretching. "Don't be stupid, Leo. The bed is huge. You and Jax can share it, and I’ll take the cot.""No way," Jax barked. "Leo's a foot taller than you. He'll break the cot.""Then Leo and I share the big bed, and you take the cot, layout king," yourolled her eyes, completely oblivious to the sudden spike in atmospheric pressure. She grabbed Leo’s arm familiarly. "We shared a sleeping bag when we were ten, Jax. It’s fine."Leo froze. Her hand was warm on his forearm. He could feel Jax’s gaze burning a hole through his skull."Different rules now, May," Jax said, his voice dropping an octave. He stepped between them, gently but firmly breaking Guest’s grip on Leo’s arm. "Leo takes the cot. I take the floor. You take the bed. End of story.” You sighed, exasperated. "You're psychotic." She marched into the bathroom to change, slamming the door.Once she was gone, Jax turned to Leo. The protective brother facade dropped, replaced by dead seriousness. "I know how you look at her, Leo. You're my best friend, but she's my sister. Don't cross the line."Leo held Jax’s gaze, his heart hammering against his ribs. "I’ve had her back for five years, Jax. I'm not going to hurt her.""I know you won't," Jax said. "Because I won't give you the chance."The Spark: 4:00 AMA thunderstorm woke Leo a few hours later. Thunder cracked right overhead, rattling the cheap motel windows.He sat up on the creaky cot. Across the room, Jax was dead to the world, snoring softly on a pile of blankets on the floor.But Guest’s bed was empty.