Spark in the Dark

Chapter 163

Juice and Shawn were finally able to have a fairly quiet night at home, mostly because Juice didn't tell her about how he spent almost his entire day searching Clay's house. He'd be back at it the next day, too, since he hadn't found the papers Jax had tasked him to look for. Ignorance truly was bliss in Shawn's case, which was exactly what she needed since the following day was the grand opening for Diosa Norte and it was guaranteed to be a busy one.

Sure enough, Diosa was packed. Between greeting clients, taking payments, and occasionally doing laundry since they changed the sheets in the rooms after every "date," Shawn was too busy to notice how fast time was passing. She saw Jax and some of the other guys come in early in the afternoon, but hadn't noticed them leave. As she was getting ready to leave later that evening, Nero stopped her and told her someone had taken Jax. He asked her to give Lyla a lift to TM since they club was putting everyone on lockdown. She asked him why he wasn't going, too

As they walked into the clubhouse, Shawn could feel the tension in the room. Juice walked over to her and kissed her forehead.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How long as Jax been missing?"

"About an hour."

"Jesus. Any idea where he is?"

"A couple," Juice told her shortly. Shawn realized he wasn't going to elaborate and gave him a look. "We're working on it. I'm sure he's alright. We're just being cautious. Why don't you go rest in the dorm? You look tired."

"We were slammed at Diosa," Shawn told him, then made a face. "That was a gross choice of words."

"Little bit."

"You look pretty beat, too," Shawn noticed.

Juice sighed. "Long day."

The guys needed Juice, so Shawn settled herself on the couch with Lyla to wait. She noticed Gemma around the clubhouse and decided to avoid her gaze as much as possible. Gemma may have said she had no hard feelings over what happened the night Gemma tried to take the boys and Shawn wouldn't let her, but Shawn wasn't sure she believed her. Gemma was definitely one to hold grudges. It was probably only a matter of time before Gemma retaliated for it somehow.

After awhile Jax walked in with Bobby and Chibs close behind and the guys headed straight for the chapel. Juice paused only long enough to talk to Shawn briefly.

"My day is about to get a lot longer. Why don't you head home?"

He didn't even wait for an answer before joining the others. The chapel doors closed and Shawn turned to Lyla.

"Want a ride home?"

"Yeah," she said. Shawn helped her off the couch since her bullet wound was still healing. "What do you think they talk about in there?"

"World peace," Shawn told her sarcastically.

"Oh. I always figured they were trying to end world hunger," Lyla replied, her tone matching Shawn's.

"Why not both?" Shawn asked with a shrug, causing Lyla to laugh. She drove Lyla home and then went home herself.

Although she was tired, she decided to wait up for Juice. She must have drifted off on the couch while watching TV, because the sound of the back door opening startled her awake. Shawn grabbed her phone to check the time. Juice walked into the living room looking visibly upset.

"Hey," she greeted him, her voice sounding concerned. "You okay?"

"I thought you'd be asleep by now," Juice said. He tried hiding his stress, but it was too late. "You should be, at least."