A Vow of Silence

Chapter 16.

Jax

All night I really thought about what Nicole had said. About anger and all that, and I had every intention to try and be mellow today. But I knew the attempt would be a joke as soon as I met up with Tully's crew. Meeting up with a bunch of white guys still living in 1956 did nothing for my temper. I could justify anything as long as my reasoning was good, and I knew that Nicole couldn't get on my case about beating up a racist, even with the light bruise on my cheek.

I don't know why I was even remotely worried about her seeing it, but something inside of me didn't want to disappoint her. I cared about her perception of me, which was strange because I wasn't currently trying to change in any way.

I thought I'd ask Nero about it since he and Nicole got along so well, but then I spotted three Mayans who were waiting at the gate. I inhaled a deep breath as I ran through a list of ideas of why they were here. El Oso approached me as I got off my bike, "they wouldn't let us through the gate."

"What do you want?" I asked calmly.

"Alvarez wants to talk; you should follow us."

Chibs chuckled next to me, "I don't think so." I'll admit that it did sound like a trap, but I couldn't piece together why Alvarez wanted to see me. Unless he had found out about what I had done to Lin.

"We got someone you been looking for, Ortiz."

I'll admit that I was surprised to hear that Juice was on Mayan territory. We've been looking for him for weeks along with the APB on him, and he hasn't turned up. "What do you want with Juice?"

"Don't want anything; he came to us. I'll leave one of my guys here in good faith," Oso offered. I nodded my head and then got back on my bike to follow him. There were so many emotions running through my head as I thought about Juice. The main emotion being anger. It was one thing to rat to the feds, but going to another MC in hopes of buying protection was also a huge no-no. I didn't know what I would do when I laid eyes on him, but I knew one thing for sure; I was going to have to pick another day to let love in as Nicole so lightly put it.

When I walked into the warehouse, Juice was immediately on edge when he saw me, Chibs, and Tig. He looked horrified and I was sure the look on my face did nothing to reassure him.

"How'd he get here?" I asked calmly.

"Showed up at the store," Alvarez spoke, "wanted to trade club secrets for a one-way ticket to Puerto Vallarta."

"Big move," I said looking at Juice. "What do you want?" I said turning my attention back to Alvarez.

Alvarez walked off and I followed him leaving Chibs and Tig with Juice. I was glad to step away because if I got near him I would kill him with my bare hands.

"Lin getting picked up got us rethinking our alliances. Now we know you've been chopping them down, and now we know why. We knew nothing about Lin going after your ol lady."

"I believe that; so, what happens now Marcus?"

"I want the gun business," he said simply. It was more of a demand than a request.

"That's Irish business. It's not mine to give."

"You gave it to Marks," he pointed out, "tell the IRA you changed your mind. With Oso's charter in place, we can offer you everything black can."

I thought about what Alvarez was saying for a bit and reached into my pocket for a smoke. He watched in silence as I lit it up in front of him. "If I were to do that, I'd need more than just Juice."

"How much more?"

"I need you to give the AB a piece of the prison trade." Alvarez turned his head at the suggestion, and I knew that it wasn't something he was eager to give up. "It takes care of a debt to Tully. Let him distribute in Stockton." I leaned in closer and brought my voice down, "The Niners are breaking away from Pope's tit. Tyler's on board to take down Marks, and I got my own intel that will put the final nail in the coffin. You split Lin's heroin turf with Tyler fifty-fifty. That's gonna triple any hit you take from the AB."

"How do we handle Marks?"

"We take him out, together. When that's done I'll dance with the Irish kings, be the white face on the brown machine."

"And your intel, is it any good? Will Marks really be gone for good?"

I thought about Nicole for a bit, and I knew that I would have to be completely transparent with her about this. But I knew I could convince her to take down Marks as long as I got her in the right place. "It's better than good, it's solid."

"Alright, talk to Tully. Take it to your table, and we'll do the same. If it all clears out, then we got a deal."

"And a truce."

"Yeah, and you get your traitor back," he said motioning towards Juice.

Alvarez and I embraced to end the discussion and then we rejoined the men as they waited with Juice. "Take that cut off him," I instructed as I turned away from him. I wasn't going to deal with Juice now, for as far as I was concerned he wasn't a Son anymore. Whether the Mayans killed him or the feds got a hold of him, I couldn't care less. He'd be the last thing on my agenda.

The only thing I was concerned about was making sure that Nicole was willing to help me with Marks. I needed her to see my perspective on this and help me bury him, it was the only way to set things right and make things safer for both of my families.

However, it was only the afternoon, and I knew I had more targets to hit today before I went home. By the time I actually got there, I didn't know if smelled like dirt or the inside of a prison. However, I made sure to keep myself clean from anyone who had a bullet between their eyes, so that was a win.

When I entered the door to my home, Nicole was on all fours cleaning up the carpet. Whatever that was there was just about gone, but she was still scrubbing trying to make it spotless. Her back was to me and I took the opportunity to wrap around her and put the roses in her face.

She let out a small laugh, "what's the occasion, am I that good of a babysitter?"

"No, I just wanted you to have these. I saw them on my way home and thought of you."

Nicole squinted her eyes at me, "hmm, thank you, that was really sweet." She seemed happy with the flowers and I contemplated asking her then and there about the Marks situation. But then I thought against it, "hey, you want to go out with me tomorrow?"

Nicole looked confused and a nervous smile was on her lips, "what?"

I licked my lips and tried to keep from smiling, she was cute when she was shy. "On the rarity that I have a couple of hours to myself, I was wondering if you'd join me in taking the boys to the park. It'll only be for a few hours, but I figured I'd listen to some of your advice."

Nicole looked taken aback, but I can see that she was happy to hear that. "I'd love to, yeah, I'd really like that."

I shifted off my knees and sat down on the floor across from her. She was still smiling to herself as she eyed the flowers, and I just sat there pleased with myself. But then we heard Thomas's soft cries from the room and Nicole began to get up. She stopped mid-way and then leaned over to plant a kiss on my cheek, "thank you again for the flowers, they're beautiful."

As she began to pull away, I found myself putting my hand on her lower back to keep her close. She was startled by the action but she didn't move when I pressed my lips to hers. Her lips were soft and supple and the kiss was slow and sweet. Her lips didn't taste like cherries this time, but I got a tinge of strawberry on my tongue.

When we pulled away, Nicole looked at me, "Is Patterson hiding in here somewhere?"

"Nah, I just had a craving, strawberry tastes better by the way."