Happy opened one eye as the sound of Evie's crying filled the room. He glanced at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. It was barely five o'clock in the morning. Groaning, he got out of bed and trudged over to the small bassinet in the corner. Evie was squirming around, her hands balled into fists. "What do you want, brat?" he asked the baby.
Evie just kept right on screaming, her cute little face all scrunched up as she wailed on. Rubbing a hand over his face, he scooped her up into his arms. "You shit yourself, didn't ya?" he asked, going over to the changing table his Aunt had set up in the corner. He laid her down on it and stared at the diapers and wipes. "Look, I haven't done this shit in years, you sleep for an hour or two more, 'n' I'll get your Aunt Chlo over to clean you, yeah?"
She cried on, not giving a shit about his deal. Grimacing, he undid the little buttons of her onesie and opened her diaper. "Your Ma would get a kick outta this," he muttered, cleaning Evie up before tossing the dirty diaper in the diaper genie and putting a new diaper on her. Now clean, Evie was giving him big smile around the little fist she had in her mouth. "Feelin' better, princess?"
Evie cooed back at him, kicking out her little legs. He had to admit she was a pretty baby. Shining dark eyes, a head full of soft curls, and a smile that was going to break a lot of hearts. "Look like your Ma," he told her, picking her up and cradling her against his chest. "Smile's all his though. Fuckin' idiot."
"Are you cursing at your niece?" Chloe's voice came from the doorway.
He smirked, setting Evie back in the bassinette. She started to whine again, so he picked her back up. "You're s'posed to be in my room," he told Chloe, sitting down on the bed with Evie on his chest.
"Heard her cryin'," she explained on a shrug. "Didn't know if you could handle it."
Happy scoffed, rubbing his hand over Evie's back. "I got her. 's not difficult," he murmured, fighting against a smile when Evie yawned and snugged in closer to his chest. "Likes to be held."
"She's a cuddler," Chloe said, sitting down next to him.
"Like her Ma," he said softly. Angela loved being held as a baby, loved being cuddled into his side during movies when she was a kid, it wasn't until she was older that she realized he wasn't a big fan of cuddling or hugs and started to pull away. "Huh, brat? You got your Ma's genes. Not that idiot's."
Chloe scowled, leaning her head against Happy's shoulder and stroking her hand over Evie's back. "You're worried about her," she stated softly before pressing a kiss to his bare shoulder.
He was still getting used to how well Chloe could read him. Of course, he was worried about Angela. He spent most of his life worried about her. "Don't like not known' where she's at," he muttered, turning to kiss Evie's head. "Never happened before."
Chloe sighed softly. "Wherever they are, I hope they're okay."
---------------
Angela had a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel of the Escalade as she pulled up to the front of the small liquor store. She hadn't gotten through to Diana, but Rosa had answered and had managed to get a hold of her dad, Oso, the newly appointed president of the Mayan's Stockton charter. Oso told them to meet with him and the rest of the Oakland chapter at the Oakland warehouse. The same Oakland warehouse she'd spent hours in with Esai. Those had been her favorite days when they were together. Just hanging out there with him, watching him work on his bike, playing cards with him and the younger Mayans, and just messing around with him. She didn't want to go back in there and relive those memories. Didn't want to have Juice in there surrounded by Esai's ghost.
She had a terrible feeling about the whole situation. The fact Juice was about to rob a liquor store for more cash wasn't helping ease the feeling either. Her leg bounced up and down as she sat there nervously. Juice set a hand on her thigh, squeezing it gently. "Relax, baby," he said, one side of his mouth turning up with a hint of a smile.
Taking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly as she tried to look strong. If she fell apart, Juice would be right behind her. She needed to act strong for him. "I'm fine," she assured him with a nod. "I got this. Go 'head. Do what you gotta do. Just don't kill anyone."
His smile grew a bit as he nodded. " 'course not," he said, leaning over the console to kiss her cheek. "You want anythin'?"
Angela shrugged a shoulder. "Somethin' sweet and cheap?" she requested. A wry grin spread across his face, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "If you say 'like you', I will smack you so fuckin' hard, Juan Carlos Ortiz."
"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied on a chuckle. "Be back in a minute."
"Wait!" she exclaimed, grabbing onto his sweatshirt and tugging him closer to her again. She gave him a searing kiss, her tongue sliding into his mouth for a moment. He leaned in, his hand moving to the back of her neck to hold her in closer. She pulled away after a moment, swiping her thumb over his lips with a small smile. "For luck."
Juice nodded, squeezing her hand before reaching for the door. "Keep the car runnin'."
"On it. Be safe, baby."
He winked at her. "Always."
Angela watched him head into the store, his hands deep in his pockets. Once he was gone, she let out a long breath, trying her best to calm down. She'd tried to be strong for him but inside, she was a mess. She missed her daughter and was terrified they were going through all of this crazy shit only for it to blow up in their faces.
It didn't take long for Juice to come running out of the store, a brown bag in his hand. He jumped into the passenger's seat, slamming the door behind him. As soon as it was closed, she floored it, speeding down the commercial area like a bat out of hell. A thrill went down her spine as adrenaline coursed through her veins. For a minute, she forgot all of her worries and just rode the rush, weaving through traffic on their way out of town.
"Adrenaline junkie," Juice teased on a laugh as he pulled two lollipops from his pocket. He unwrapped the strawberry one and handed it to her, keeping the cherry one for himself. "Hope Evie doesn't get those genes."
Angela laughed. "We're totally screwed if she's anything like I was."
" 'specially if she's into Mayans," he muttered, feigning injury when she smacked his arm.
"Shut up," she said, trying to hide a smile of her own. She nodded to the brown bag in his lap. "How much did you get? We gotta make anymore stops?"
Juice chuckled softly, shaking his head at her as he flipped through the gash. "Nah, think we're good for now," he replied, putting it back in the bag and shoving it in his pocket. He held out his hand to her. "You ready for this?"
She put her hand in his, feeling comforted by the way her fingers fit perfectly between his. "I dunno. Still not sure this is the best move. Do we really need Alvarez's help? Can't you just...computer magic it?"
"Not enough time. That shit takes months to plan," he said, shaking his head with a frown. "Alvarez runs shit through Mexico all the time. We can just hop on whatever truck he uses and go. It's easy money for him, baby."
"Hmm," she hummed around the lollipop in her mouth. "All right, say it works out and we go to Mexico, right? Then what?"
He shrugged. "When it works out, we'll find a nice beach house with a pool, get Viv to bring down Eves and Ken, and..."
"Live happily ever after?" she supplied on a snort. As good as it sounded, after all they'd been through, it seemed like an unreachable goal. She sighed softly, shaking her head. "I dunno."
"It'll work, Angel," he insisted, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the top of it. "I'll black out my tats or get 'em removed. Dunno how much it'll cost, but I'll figure it out. Dollar's strong over there, 'n' we gots lot of cash heading our way once I sell my Clear Passages share."
"Could always just get a big collection of sombreros," she teased, smiling a bit while pushing down the brim of his baseball cap playfully.
Juice reached over a flicked the brim of her hat up. "I'm thinkin' of just growing it all out," he said, taking off his hat and running his hand through the short hair on his head. "What do ya think?"
She sighed again, thankful for the change in topic. "I'll miss the tats," she admitted on a shrug, "but as long as you don't lose that smile, I think we're good."
His smiled widened before he leaned over to give her a kiss. "Smile's stayin' as long as I got you."
She pushed his face away with a laugh. "Cheeseball," she teased, rolling her eyes. "So what's the plan for when we get there?"
He settled back into his seat, sucking pensively on his lollipop. "Umm. We go in there, see what he can do for us with what we got to give him, and if not," he hesitated a bit, scratching at the back of his neck. "If not, I'll trade intel on the Sons."
Angela pumped the brakes so hard, Juice jerked forward. She cursed under her breath as she pulled over to the side of the road. "Are you fucking serious?" she fumed. "SAMCRO's after you for being a rat and you're going to actually rat? Juice, that's a terrible idea!"
"I'm not going to tell them anything important! Just enough to buy our way out. I won't do it unless absolutely necessary, Angel. I promise," he swore, his light brown eyes desperate. "I don't got anything else to give them. Club was all I had 'fore you 'n' Evie. Not about to offer them you two, so..."
Angela breathed in deeply, gripping the steering wheel tighter. She grabbed the door handle, opening it and getting out of the car. Juice scrambled to follow after her, meeting her at the back of it. "We can't do this," she said, her heart pounding in her chest. She pressed her hand to it, trying to will her heart to slow down, but it wouldn't. She was too overwhelmed. Frustrated tears pricked at her eyes as she looked up at Juice. "This isn't going to work."
He set his hands on her shoulders. "Ssh. Baby, breathe," he said, trying to calm her down. "Relax."
She took in a deep breath, raking a hand through her hair. How the hell was she supposed to relax when they were facing what could be the riskiest deal ever made. Alvarez was all about honor. Offering to sell out SAMCRO would not help their case at all. "Promise me you won't sell out the club."
"Angel..."
"Promise!" she insisted, grabbing onto the front of his sweatshirt and tugging to emphasize her point. "Marc won't help a traitor. Its the worse thing you can do in his book. Even if the Mayans need information, he won't take it. There's no honor in that."
Juice hesitated before nodding. "Yeah, baby. Whatever you want."
Angela wasn't so sure he understood the severity of it. It seemed like he was just trying to calm her down, but he didn't know Marcus like she did. "Juice..."
"I'll do what I have to for my family, okay?" he cut her off. He pulled her in close, kissing her forehead. "This is going to work, Angel. We're going to get through this. This time tomorrow, we'll be on the beach in Mexico drinking Sex on the Beach and then having sex on the beach, okay?"
She smiled a bit, shaking her head. "Sex on the beach is overrated," she said, playing with the front of his cut. He'd told her he wanted to wear it when they came face to face with the Mayans because he felt it would reaffirm his own belief he hadn't done anything wrong. "Remember? Sand everywhere?"
He grinned at her and shrugged. "The shower after was fun, though."
"That is true." Her smiled widened as she remembered the one day they got to spend alone at the beach house before the club called him away. She caught his lips in a quick kiss, feeling a little bit stronger as he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you," she whispered as he pulled away.
"Love you too, Angel," he murmured, kissing her again. "C'mon, let's get this show on the road. I'm drivin'."
---------------
Angela swallowed hard as they pulled up to the familiar warehouse. Oso was waiting in front of it by his bike, a few Stockton Mayans she didn't recognize flanking him. Juice looked from them to her, eyebrows raised. "That him?" he asked, nodding to him.
"Yeah," she breathed on a quick nod. Before Esai had even come into the picture, she'd spent a lot of time at Oso's house since he was her best friend, Rosa's, dad. He'd always been kind to her. Said he owed her one for pushing over some kid who made Rosa cry when she'd first come to her school. She'd broken the kid's arm that day but had gained a best friend. She'd already cashed in that favor when she'd asked him to help her get alcohol for a surprise party for Esai when she was underage.
Juice set his hand on hers, pulling her from her thoughts. "It's going to be okay, Angel."
She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak. She sure wished she had that favor to cash in now. Breathing in deeply, she gathered her strength and got out of the car. Oso's small smile was familiar as his eyes landed on her. "Angelita Ruiz. All grown up," he said with a nod of approval.
Angela gave him a timid smile, letting him hug her and giving him a half-assed hug back. "Hey Oso," she replied, not about to correct the last name when he was their life line. "This is my husband, Juice Ortiz."
Juice stepped forward, stretching out his hand for Oso to shake. "Nice to meet you."
The older man folded his arms across his chest, nodding his greeting instead. He gave Juice a once over before looking at Angela. "No puedo creer que después de todo, te casaste con un Son," he said with a said shake of his head. "Ven. Marcus is waiting to talk to you." (I can't believe that after everything, you married a Son. Come...)
"Can't help who you love, right?" she asked on a nervous laugh. Oso shook his head in disappointment as he led them towards the entrance. She held tightly to Juice's hand, drawing strength from his touch. The second they entered, she froze, memories hitting her like a freight train. Nothing had changed since the last time she'd been there. Even Esai's bike was still there. Sitting in the middle of everything in the same condition he'd left it in. She heard the sound of boots on the concrete floor and held her breath. For a moment, she believed it'd be Esai stepping out around that corner, young and handsome like he'd always been. But it wasn't. It was Marcus, a look on his face that told her he wasn't there to mess around. This wasn't a friendly visit. This was business. She shivered a bit; that didn't bode well for them.
Juice took a step forward, moving so he was slightly in front of her as if to shield her. Marcus looked impressed by the move before his face went back to business. "Angelita," he greeted, his dark eyes warm as they looked her over. "Que necesitas?" (What do you need?)
Angela swallowed hard, knowing the fact he was asking her and not Juice was also a big red flag. Juice, however, didn't let her answer. "My club wants me dead," he stated, his voice lower and rougher than she'd ever heard it before, sending chills down her spine. "They're puttin' my family in danger. Need you to help us get to Mexico. Safe passage, full IDs."
Marcus looked over at Angela, a flicker of worry passing through his eyes before he hid it quickly. "That's a tall order. What do I get for it in return?"
"Got the 2013 Escalade and a little under two grand in cash," he said, holding out the keys.
Angela held her breath as she watched Marcus consider the offer. "That ain't shit, man," Oso said from behind them. "Could get her out pero there's an APB out on you."
Her stomach churned as Juice glanced at her over his shoulder, a resigned look in his eyes as they met hers. She watched his shoulders sag a bit, nodding his head as if he'd made some kind of mental decision. He looked back at Marcus. "I'll give you any intel you want on SAMCRO."
She cringed at the offer, fighting the urge to smack Juice for doing exactly what she'd told him not to. What was he thinking? She looked back at Marcus, a little surprised to see the thoughtful expression on his face. Was he really considering such an offer? Were things that bad between the Mayans and the Sons? "Marc, please. We need your help," she spoke up, hoping it would help their case if he heard it directly from her. "We have no where else to go."
Marcus nodded slowly. "Call your guys. Bring them over here for a meet. We vote this shit tonight," he told Oso before taking a step towards Angela. "Relajate, mija. Te voy a cuidar." (Relax. I'm going to take care of you.)
For some reason, she didn't feel as assured by his words as she wanted to. She let him pull her into a hug, anyway. Hugging him back as he kissed her temple, his hand smoothing over her back as he'd done so many times in the past. This embrace, however, brought her no comfort. It only scared her more. "Gracias, Marc," she murmured on a tight smile.
He patted her cheek lovingly before gesturing to the black leather couch behind him. The same leather couch she'd sat on numerous times when she'd come to hang out with Esai. "Come. Sit."
Angela slid her hand into Juice's again as they walked over to the couch. As soon as they were sitting, she leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes as she tried to relax. He turned his head to kiss the top of hers, his lips lingering there as he breathed in deeply. The rest of the Mayans went back to the card game at the table behind them. Yadri, the father of one of her other childhood friends, gave her a friendly smile before picking up his cards. The other one was new and settled both her and Juice with a cold glare.
Juice squeezed her hand, drawing her attention back to him. With a small smirk, he nodded to the makeshift table of crates, reaching out his free hand to touch the top of it. She realized exactly what he was looking at. A carving of a heart etched deep into the wood with the inscription: EMA + AIR Forever. Her and Esai's initials. Esai's handiwork.
"Never got around to upgrading this table, huh Marc?" she asked, trying to make light of the situation as she looked at him over her shoulder.
Marcus shrugged a shoulder, still playing it cool. "You know me, mija. Too many memories to just give those away."
Angela smiled sadly, starting to think things might just work out for them. If Marcus was too sentimental to give away the shitty crates with their initials carved into them, maybe, just maybe, he might help them. For old time's sake. Then again, he did have Esai killed for the benefit of his club.
It was taking far too long for Oso to come back with his crew. Stockton wasn't close by any means, but they'd been there for hours now and had yet to hear anything from anyone. Angela couldn't stop her leg from shaking nervously as she stared straight at the carving. Looking anywhere else just brought back more memories and made her feel worse. She just wanted to get this over with so she could finally breathe. She could tell Juice was on edge too by the way he was smoothing his thumb back and forth over the ring on her finger, his jaw clenched tightly. She squeezed his hand, and their eyes met. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it came out looking more nervous than anything.
She looked back down at the initials etched into the table. A chill ran down her spine as she remembered the last time she'd seen Esai. Her dream. She froze as she remembered his words: We can't help him. Just you. "No," she murmured, moving her hand to cover her mouth. She looked over her shoulder at Marcus and the other Mayans her heart beating fast in her chest.
Juice's brows drew together in confusion. "Angel, wha--"
The ringer of Marcus' phone cut off his question. The Mayan President answered it, replying in rapid Spanish. The bad feeling ballooned in her stomach. She didn't know who he was talking to, but she got the gist. Oso was on his way back, and from the sound of it, he wasn't alone. The loud sound of motorcycles that followed told her she'd been right. There were way too many engines for it to be just the Stockton Mayans. She made the connection at the same time Juice did; they'd called SAMCRO. Bile rose to her throat as she stood and turned to face the Mayan President. "Marc--"
"Take her to the closet. She don't need to see this," Marcus interjected, nodding to the other Mayans at the table.
Juice jumped to his feet, standing in front of her again as he faced the other Mayans. "No! You can't take her!" he exclaimed, blocking her from them. He looked back at Marcus. "What the hell is this?"
Yadri stuck a gun in his face. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, ese," he threatened. "Don't matter to me."
Out of nowhere, two other Mayan's grabbed Angela from behind,hauling her up off of her feet while Yadri kept his gun trained on Juice, stopping him from reacting. "No! Marc, please!" she shouted, struggling against their hold, but he ignored her, waving for his men to take her away. She fought against them, thrashing about to try and get them off. "Let me go you fuckin' assholes! Let me go!"
"Angel!" Juice shouted powerless to get to her with a gun shoved in his face. "What the hell is going on?"
She didn't call for him, knowing it would make him do something rash. The last thing she needed was for him to get shot for no reason other than Marcus decided to move her. The men opened up the back closet and threw her inside none-too-gently. She landed on the ground, lying there for all of a second before she was back on her feet. They shut the door in her face, and she pounded her hands against it. "No! Let me out of here!" she shouted, her hand throbbing after every hit. She gave up after a moment, resting her forehead against the cold metal. Tears of frustration stung her eyes. They'd been so close to getting out. So fucking close.
And yet so far. Sitting on the cold cement floor, she stared at the door, trying her best not to cry. Her eyes landed on the two blue handprints on the door. Esai's handprints. She sniffled as she remembered that night. They were kids. Drunk off beers and shots that Marcus and the rest of the Mayans had turned a blind eye to, Esai had hauled her in there, pissed about something or other. In his anger, he thrown around the paint cans, covering both of them in blue paint. She hadn't been able to hold back her laughter at seeing him covered in the stuff. His anger dissipated quickly, and he'd ended up pinning her against the door, having his way with her while he got paint all over the shirt and skirt she'd borrowed from Rosa. Her best friend had been pissed, but it had been worth it.
She smiled sadly at that memory. Things had been so easy back then. Her only worry had been keeping Esai inline and making sure he was happy. Never mind that her home life was in the pits, she'd had another family who loved and took care of her. Sighing, she wiped at her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Esai had warned her in her dream that Marcus wouldn't help Juice. A warning that had fallen on deaf ears. Why hadn't she remembered sooner? Of course Marcus didn't want to help Juice! He had no ties to him other than her. Hell, Marcus didn't even respect Juice. She knew he thought less of Juice because he wasn't big on his Latin roots. Juice had told her Marcus had said he was an embarrassment to Latinos everywhere once. Why had she gone along with this idea? How could she have believed Marcus would help them?
The answer to that was simple: Marcus had always been there for her. He was the only father figure she'd had when she needed one the most. He'd helped her through those hellish high school years, supporting her every step of the way. Hell, he was even there at her high school graduation, cheering her on with Esai and Dia. He'd pulled her aside, given her beautiful emerald stud earrings, and told her how proud of her he was. She kept those earrings tucked in the corner of her underwear drawer, not wanting to get rid of them but not feeling comfortable wearing them around Juice and Happy either. Back in Tacoma, she used to take them out when she was feeling down and remember how happy she'd felt at that moment. How happy the Alvarez family had always made her.
And now here she sat, stuck in the same closet filled with memories, her heart in her throat as she awaited the fate of the person she loved the most. She looked up again, letting out a long breath. "Esai, if you can hear me up there, please tell Marc to take care of us. Of both of us," she pleaded, staring at the handprints on the door. "Please."