Diana Alvarez was no idiot. She knew they were in deep shit, though she was trying to keep her calm for the frightened nurse and the little blonde who hadn't stopped crying since she'd woken up. Lupe, the other Mayan girl they'd taken had yet to come back which made her think they were using her for something. But what? The girl didn't know a damn thing. Raffa wasn't stupid enough to spill club secrets to just any girl. Closing her eyes, she stared at the ceiling.
"How'd they get you?" Lyla's voice rasped in the corner.
Chloe sighed softly in response. "Ran me and Ang into a tree. Pulled me out and took me. Left her there."
Dia tried to tune out Chloe's responses, but it was incredibly hard; she loved Angela like a daughter, wanted to know if she was okay especially since she was carrying her granddaughter inside her. She opened an eye to glare across the way at Chloe, willing her to keep quiet, but she had her eyes closed as well and kept talking, "She couldn't breathe when I left her. I think...her lung might've been punctured or something. I told them to get her help, but I...I'm not sure if they did."
"Shit," Lyla muttered, drawing her thin legs up to her chest. "You think she's..."
"She's not," Diana cut her off quickly, finally snapping. She didn't want to hear anymore talk of Angela's fate. "She's strong, smart. She found her way out. Just you wait. You'll see."
Just then the door opened and two men pushed in a sobbing Lupe. She crumbled to the floor, a huge chunk of her hair missing from her head, blood covering her hands. The men dragged her across the floor, clapping the irons around her wrists. Chloe and Lyla stared at her in horror while Diana raised an eyebrow assessing the younger girl. "Que paso?" she asked, making no move to go comfort her like the little blonde did. (What happened?)
"Th-they cut m-mi pelo," Lupe sobbed, reaching up to touch her hair. "And pulled out my nails! My nails! What do they need them for?" (My hair)
Diana smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "They're going to send them to the club," she stated with a shake of her head. "A warning."
A deep, sultry laugh came from the doorway. "You are exactly right, Mrs. Alvarez," a distinctly female voice said from the doorway. The woman did not step forward into the light, though, keeping herself hidden. "This is just to show them what we're capable of before we give our demands. It will escalate as time goes on. We'll see how long it takes for them to give us what they want."
She fought the urge to laugh in response. The woman was crazy if she thought the Mayans would be intimidated by a fake fingernail and a lock of hair. These men were used to receiving severed body parts and heads. "Good luck," she muttered, rolling her eyes. It was her attempt to draw the woman out, to see who they were working with.
"Oh, this is just the beginning. Get a good night's sleep, girls. One of you will be next."
--------------
Kenny rubbed at his tired eyes as he sat at the cafeteria table in St. Thomas. He'd spent most of the night before huddled in front of a laptop with Bones trying to find any lead they could on Chloe, and he was exhausted. Every time he blinked, he could still see the square of light on the backs of his eyelids. Bones was sitting across from him, staring blankly at the table top, his fingers drumming on it as if he were itching to get back to his laptop. Ellie and Jasmine had decided to force them to take a break and relax a bit, taking the computers from them to keep them from working. It wasn't helping, though. If anything, Kenny felt more anxious sitting there doing nothing when there was so much left to do. He'd been so focused on finding the assholes who'd hurt his adopted mom, he hadn't even gone to visit her yet. He'd told himself it was because he was so busy he hadn't had a chance to, but deep down, he knew it was because he didn't want to see her all laid up in the hospital bed. Didn't want to think of his strong, invincible mom as anything but that. He justified it by thinking he was helping her in a different way, but he knew Angela would be a little disappointed in him for avoiding her.
"I think I can hack into the highway cams. See who was following them," Bones broke through his thoughts around a yawn, his arms crossed on the table top, head pillowed on top of them.
He caught his yawn, covering his mouth as he shook his head. "We tried that. We couldn't get past the government firewall, remember?"
"Mm," Bones grunted, his eyes already closed.
Kenny rolled his eyes at his best friend. Only Bones could fall asleep in the middle of a cafeteria. "Loser," he muttered, fighting against the urge to kick him and wake him up.
Jazzy smiled warmly at him as she set a cup of coffee in front of him. "You should sleep, dude. You're gonna make yourself sick."
"Mmm," he agreed tiredly, moving his arm around her when she sat next to him. "You guys go see Mama Bear?"
Ellie nodded, her fingers playing with Bones' hair as he slept. "She was half-asleep when we got there, Juice snoring next to her. We talked for a bit, but we decided to leave and let her rest. She looks good for someone who was run off the road."
Jazzy sighed softly, a frown on her pretty face. "That's just crazy. Who would do that?"
Kenny and Ellie exchanged a glance, both of them used to this kind of thing happening. Even Bones was familiar with it, but it still was a total shock to Jasmine; poor girl had no idea what she'd gotten herself into. "That's what we're trying to find out," he hedged, shrugging a shoulder. "Where's Eves?"
"Down in Lena's room. She was sleeping when I got there too. All curled up with Lena. So cute," Jazzy replied with another loving smile that made Kenny's heart sputter in his chest. God, he loved this girl. She didn't know what had happened to Evie earlier, and he was doing his best to keep it from her. The less she saw of the outlaw lifestyle, the better.
Kenny nodded, feeling guilty for not going down to check on his little sister. It was all too much for him to handle all at once. He'd thought they'd gotten past all the death and destruction. The idea it was his fault, that he was the jinx kept circling back to the forefront of his mind. Ellie had assured him Charming was safe. That nothing bad had happened there since Jax had died. Yet, how is it possible the second he set foot there, his little sister and Mom almost got abducted? It didn't make sense. Why did this shit keep happening to him? "Yeah. Good," he replied distractedly.
Jazzy's hand rubbed up and down his back in a soothing motion. As grateful as he was that she was there, a part of him wished she was back in Texas, safe and sound. If he really was a jinx, he wanted her far, far away from Charming. "You should go see her, Ken," she said, her fingernails raking over the nape of his neck. "She could use her big brother to help explain things to her."
"Yeah," he agreed, fidgeting with the big ring on his finger. His biological dad's ring. Maybe the ring had jinxed him like it had Opie. He slid it off, staring at the tan line it left behind with a frown; his hand felt wrong without it.
"Good to see the Winston clan back together again," Chibs' voice interrupted his thoughts as he neared, a fond smile on his face.
Kenny slid the ring back on, flexing his fingers and extending them before clearing his throat. "Ortiz. I'm not a Winston anymore," he grumbled, looking to pick a fight with anyone. Ellie kicked him under the table, but he didn't give a shit; he was just stating the truth. "What do you want, Chibs?"
"Need a word with the two of yous," he answered, his smile fading slightly. "Got some news."
He was aware of Jazzy's eyes on him as he stood up from the table. He leaned over and dropped a kiss to her forehead before straightening up. At his full height, he was taller than Chibs by a good couple of inches, though that didn't seem to bother the Scot as they walked with him towards the corner of the cafeteria. Of course Chibs wasn't intimidated by his size; he'd dealt with worse enemies in smaller packages. Kenny crossed his arms over his chest, puffing it out slightly to make himself look bigger. "What now?"
Ellie gave him a warning glance, willing him to calm down with her eyes. "Ken..."
Chibs waved off her concern as if he understood why Kenny was acting the way he was. He slid his hands into the front pockets of his cut and sighed. "It's Lyla. Piper went to check on her at Redwoody. It looks like the same van that took Chloe grabbed her too," he explained looking between them.
Ellie gasped softly, raising a hand to run it through her hair. "Goddamn," she whispered, shaking her head.
Maybe it was his lack of sleep or the fact he was worried beyond belief about his family, but hearing that yet another one of his mother figures had been taken, possibly hurt because of the Sons was the straw the broke the camel's back. Kenny felt the anger descend upon him like an avalanche. Lyla was his stepmother, and he cared about her. Sure, he'd ultimately chosen to go with Angela, but it wasn't because Lyla had treated him badly. On the contrary, she'd done the best she could with what little she had. He loved her because of it. And now she was gone too? Yet another mother the club had taken away from him. "Fuck!" he shouted, kicking his thick boot against the nearest table.
His sister flinched but ignored him and asked, "Are you sure?"
"Security cams got the van leavin'. A partial plate too. Think your nerdy boy can find somethin' on it?" Chibs asked, ignoring Kenny's outburst and nodding over to where Bones was watching them like a hawk, already halfway out of his seat and ready to step in to comfort Ellie.
"Y-yeah, definitely," she mumbled before setting her hand on her brother's arm. "Ken?"
"This is fucked up," Kenny spat, shaking his head. "First Dia, then Chlo and Ang, and now Lyla? What more do those fuckers want?"
Chibs set a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Ken. We'll find her."
He stepped away from his grasp, scowling at the Scot. "Fuck that. The Sons can't do shit! Redwoody is supposed to be protected by you guys and look what happens! What the hell is wrong with your damn club?" he asked, his voice a little too loud for the hospital cafeteria. "When are you going to learn to protect your women instead of running around with your heads up your asses and leavin' them vulnerable? Huh? How many of them have to get murdered before you guys learn?"
"Think you should calm down, boy-o. Treading dangerous waters there," Chibs warned, a dark, threatening look in his eyes.
"Or what? What are you gonna do to me, Chibs? I don't have a patch! I don't have to listen to you!" he exclaimed around a laugh.
Ellie grabbed his arm, a sad look in her blue eyes. "Hey! Relax. We don't know that they're dead yet. Just calm down."
"No. This is fucked up, Ellie. Can't you see that?" he asked, feeling a little hysterical. "His club has torn our family apart more times than I can count! Not once have they ever done anything to help us! Not once. So fuck you, Chibs. Fuck you and your dumb club and all the members in it. We're gonna find those women. All of them. Me and Bones using what my Dad taught us before you guys killed him. Because we actually care about our family and keeping them safe."
With that, he turned his back on Chibs, stalking towards the doors to leave. "Your grandfather started this club. Don't ye forget it," Chibs' heavily accented voice called back.
"Fat load of good it did him," Kenny muttered, flipping him the bird before trudging out of the hospital.
Once he was outside, he found the nearest wall and punched it as hard as he could. He could barely feel the pain as he hit it again, over and over, all the anger and emotions he had pent up over the years rising to the surface with every hit. His world was crumbling around him and all because his family decided to go back to Charming. Either the place or he himself was cursed. One of them had to be. There was no reason so many bad things could happen to one person one after another.
"Ken! Kenny!" Jazzy's voice cut through his angry haze. "Kenny, stop!"
He blinked at the wall, staring in disbelief at the blood staining the concrete. His blood. What the hell had he been thinking? This wasn't him. He didn't lash out like...like a Son would. He felt sick to his stomach, shaking his head; what the hell was happening to him? "Damn." His hands shook as he raked them through his already messy hair. "Jazzy, I...I don't know what I'm doin'. I..."
Her hands reached up to cup his face, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Hey, relax, baby. You're okay," she soothed, her thumbs brushing across his cheeks wiping away tears he hadn't realized he'd shed. "Talk to me, Ken. Please."
"I can't..." he shook his head, unable to find the words. "I can't...they hurt Ang and they took Lyla and they killed my Mom and I can't...why does this keep happening to me, Jazz? What'd I do to deserve this? Is it me? Am I cursed or something? A jinx?"
"Oh no, Ken. This has nothing to do with you, baby. None of it," she assured him, carefully walking him back towards the steps. She sat down, pulling him to sit next to her. It was the only way they were able to be on the same eye level since he was so much taller than she was. She wrapped her arms around him, drawing him in even closer. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, but it is not your fault. I know that. Okay? You're not a jinx or cursed. No way."
Kenny nodded, hating how weak he looked as he cried against her shoulder. It was hard for him to regain his composure, hard for him to breathe as everything hit him all at once. "I can't lose anyone else, Jazz. I can't. It's not fair. I can't..."
Jasmine's hand smoothed over the back of his neck, her nails scratching it gently. "Hey, you're not losing anyone, okay? Ang is alive and fine. And...and you don't know that Lyla won't be. You don't know what's going on with her, right? She could be okay, for all we know."
He pulled away, shaking his head at her. "You have no idea, Jazz. This life, these people...When shit like this goes down, people die. All the fuckin' time. This is so much bigger than you know and you can't...you shouldn't be here."
Her brows drew together in concern as she brushed his hair off his forehead. "I'm just fine here, Ken. Not goin' anywhere now. Not when you're...like this. You need me."
"Yeah," he agreed, sniffling slightly and wiping at his face. "I do need you. But not here. I can't...I can't handle you being here. The possibility that I could somehow lose you. I can't..."
"You're not going to lose me, dude. I got nothing to do with this," she said, a small smile tugging up the corners of her lips. "I'm here to help you. That's the only reason."
He grabbed her hand with his, squeezing it tightly. "I know, but I need you to go home now," he pleaded, his voice cracking. "I love you so much and I...I need to know you're safe so I don't have to worry about you. So that I know this fucking Winston curse won't get you too. Please, Jazzy. Just...go home. For me."
Her dark eyes studied his face for a moment before she took his face in her hands again. "You are an Ortiz, remember?" she pointed out. "No Winston curse for you, baby."
"Doesn't matter," he breathed, shaking his head. "Will you do it? For me?"
She considered his plea, a frown forming on her face. Leaning forward, she gave him a soft kiss. "I love how much you worry about your family, about me. And if it helps your state of mind, I'll go back," she answered, her chin on his shoulder. "But I want a phone call every day, Kenny Winston. A long one where you unload everything on me so you don't go crazy again. And pictures because I'll miss your cute face."
He let out a long sigh of relief, already feeling like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. "Long therapy session calls and pictures. Got it," he promised on a nod and a sniffle. "And I'm not cute."
Jazzy laughed and gave him a sound kiss on the lips. "You are so cute. And I love you."
Kenny felt himself smiling despite the breakdown he'd just had. Just hearing how much she loved him made his worries ease a bit. He drew strength from that love the same way he knew Juice must from Angela. He'd learned over the years how to be vulnerable in front of the people he loved from watching how his adoptive parents interacted. It didn't do him any good to act tough in front of Jazzy, not when he needed her to understand where he was coming from. "Love you too," he said, kissing her gently. "So much. Just want to keep you safe. Would kill me to lose you."
She stroked his cheek lovingly and kissed him again. "Good thing I don't plan on getting lost."
------------------
Chibs approached Angela's hospital room slowly, an anxious feeling turning his stomach. He hadn't expected the youngest Winston to react the way he had to the news about Lyla. Had never expected him to curse the club and flip him off. If Opie could see him now...Chibs shook his head at the thought. He had no idea how Opie would react. He'd probably be proud as hell of his son for getting out, for getting his life together, and becoming a strong enough man to stand up for himself. He wondered how much of that had come from Angela's teaching or even Juice's.
Juice. Now that was a name that had haunted him since the day he'd told Angela he was dead. He would never forget the broken look in her eyes when she'd found out, the fury and strength behind her punch as it connected with his cheek. At the time, he'd been irate about it, but later on, he had been so filled with guilt, he hadn't been able to sleep nor had he been able to sleep well since then. All for naught because, apparently, Juice had been alive the whole time.
He had to admit, he hadn't completely believed Tig when he'd told him Juice was still alive. Still, he'd gone through the motions of offering up a Mayhem vote for Juice at their last Church, but it'd been more of a formality than anything. There was no way that vote would ever be unanimous. Not when little Evie had three core members wrapped around her little finger. He'd had to admit he was a little jealous of the relationships Tig and Quinn had been able to build with the little girl. It hadn't seemed fair at the time that Angela let them talk to her daughter while she'd ostracized him completely. Now, he understood. Hap and Tig had let Juice go, and he was sure Quinn had done something to help Juice sometime as well since he also earned the title of 'Uncle'. It hurt to think he'd never be her Uncle Chibs. Though, he had been the one to save Angela this time; the nurses all said had it not been for his quick thinking, Angela probably wouldn't have made it all the way to the hospital. He had a feeling it wouldn't change anything, he'd burned that bridge long ago.
He looked through the slats in the blinds, catching a glimpse of the young couple inside. For a moment, he didn't recognize the man sitting at Angela's bedside. The tattoos that had once stood out dark and bold on the side of his head were hidden underneath thick, dark hair. He was wearing a button down shirt, its sleeves rolled up his arms to reveal a dark, black rectangle on his fore arm where his Reaper had once been. Two thick black lines went through it, circling his arm. Chibs had no doubt that the man he was looking at now was not the same man who'd once sat across from him in a diner, begging for his life. Still, he wanted to talk to him, apologize for the way he'd failed him. He was his brother, he'd come to him for help, and he'd turned him away because he'd blindly followed Jax into thinking the young man he'd pardoned before deserved to die this time. He'd been an idiot. Which was why he wanted to talk to him so badly; he had a lot to say to the young man who had once been his prospect.
The door to the room was open, but he did his best to make enough noise so Juice knew he was coming, catching the boy off guard wouldn't do either of them any good. He saw Juice tense, but he didn't turn to look at him, his eyes were focused on his sleeping wife as if he were afraid to look away.
"Heard you were alive. Guess I had to see for myself," he stated, breaking the silence. He saw Juice's jaw clench but the man remained silent. Chibs knew it wasn't going to be easy to get him talking, but he'd be damned if he missed his opportunity to apologize for his actions. "Have to say 'm happy about it. Relieved a bit. Never sat right with me what happened to ye. Glad you found a way back to your girls."
That got a reaction out of him. Juice snorted in response, shaking his head slowly. "If I were you, I'd get that gun, put it in my mouth, and pull the trigger. Ain't no way you're ever gettin' back to those girls," he seethed, turning his head to finally meet his gaze. The dark anger in his eyes gave Chibs pause. Juice was an even keel kind of guy; he couldn't recall ever seeing him that angry save for the time he'd launched himself at the garage owner who had taken his bike and tacked a picture of Angela up on his wall. Juice glowered at him, his hold on Angela's hand tightening. "Those are the last words you ever said to me. So fuck your relief and your happiness. Me being alive has fuck all to do with you. No way should it clear your conscience. I came to you for help and you did nothing."
"What ye did wasn't right. Ye knew that," Chibs stated, shoving his hands in his pockets and standing up straight.
Juice shrugged a shoulder, looking back at Angela. "I hadn't done shit at that point. Was just Jax makin' noise. Saying shit that wasn't true yet you all believed him. Didn't even give me a chance. I'm sure you have no idea why one day I was pardoned and the next he wanted me dead."
He ducked his head in response, staring at his shoes. It'd been such a long time ago, he wasn't sure he could answer that question. "You went to Alvarez ready to trade club secrets. Was enough to forsake the pardon right there."
"Jax had already condemned me then. I went to you for help first 'n' you told me to kill myself. All for what? Do you even know?"
Chibs tried to wrack his brain for an answer. There'd been so much shit going on around that time, and Juice had dug himself such a deep hole, he wasn't sure which transgression had earned him Mayhem. "Can't recall."
Juice snorted derisively, shaking his head. "You had me killed over somethin' you can't even remember. You were willing to take me away from my wife and kids for some bullshit reason you can't even think of now. You all were supposed to be my brothers, my family, and you all turned on me without ever hearin' me out."
"Aye, you were handed a shit deal. But ye weren't innocent either," he pointed out, deadset on having Juice at least take some responsibility for what happened.
"What did I do, Chibs?" he insisted, his brown eyes holding a challenge. "Yeah, I went to Alvarez, but it was either that or take my family on the run without anyone's help! My daughter wasn't even a year old yet! How could I put her through that?"
Chibs shook his head slowly. "Had to be somethin' for Jax to go after ye like that."
"That asshole had just lost his wife. I wouldn't put it past him to want me dead because mine was still alive. Because I was about to get everything he ever wanted," he spat bitterly. "And I did. It was one hell of a struggle, but I did. We were fine in our new place. Safe. Shoulda fuckin' stayed there. Knew she wouldn't be safe here even with Hap watchin' out for her. Fuckin' MC doesn't know how to protect its people."
The similarity of Juice's words to Kenny's made Chibs realized it was, in fact, Juice who'd helped Kenny find his voice. Who'd helped him grow into the strong, intelligent man he was. "Doesn't know how to protect its people," he repeated with a shake of his head. "I saved your Old Lady, ye know."
"And I'm supposed to forgive you because of that?" he spat, a look of disgust on his face as he rose from the chair. "You sent me to my death. I wouldn't even be here if you had your way. She'd be alone if it were up to you!"
"Aye, but today she's alive because of me."
"So what, you want me to thank you? Is that what you're fishing for?" he asked incredulously, taking a step closer to the other man, his hands clenched into fists. His voice was dangerously calm as he continued, his eyes holding a fury Chibs had never seen before. "After everything you did to me, to my family, you want me to forgive you and thank you because you were a decent human being for once and did the right thing by taking care of her? You gotta be fucking kidding me with that bullshit. This wouldn't've even happened if it weren't for your fucking club!"
Chibs blinked at the man in front of him, feeling as if he were a total stranger instead of the young prospect he'd taught and molded into a full patch. This man was stronger than the other one, more assured in who he was, and confident enough to stand up for himself in a way the old Juice hadn't been. Chibs opened his mouth to reply when he was interrupted by a little voice.
"Daddy!" Evie called as Happy carried her down the hall towards them. Her dark eyes looked over the stranger standing in front of her father, and a fearful look filled them, her bottom lip starting to tremble. She reached out an arm to Juice, wriggling around in Happy's hold as she whined. "Daddy!"
Juice knocked his shoulder against the Scot's as he moved towards her, immediately taking her from Happy's arms and holding her close. "Ssshh. It's okay, Monk. Daddy's got you. Relax, baby girl," he murmured, kissing her forehead as she moved his arms around her neck.
"Daddy, tha's a bad guy. Bobo said he bad like Scar in the Lion King. He hurts Daddys," she explained, her voice trembling as she cast a nervous glance at Chibs.
Chibs scoffed at that, not at all appreciating the smug smirk on her father's face. Juice kissed her forehead again. "It's okay, Eves. He can't hurt me. Not anymore," he told her, rocking her slightly. "Should we go visit with Mama? Know she can't wait to see you."
With that, he walked back into the room, shutting the door in Chibs' face. When he moved to open it again, Happy blocked him. "Don't," he stated simply, that dark, protective look in his eyes.
He knew if he pushed, his Sergeant at Arms wouldn't stop him from entering. Happy was a good soldier, always loyal to his President, but Chibs didn't want to test him either; he'd had a long day. "Dunno who that is, but it ain't Juicy."
Happy turned away, moving to stand in front of the window and peering through the blinds at the little family inside. Angela was awake, her hands stroking through Evie's hair as the little girl snuggled into her side. Juice was sitting on the bed by her hip, her hand in his as he leaned forward to kiss his wife. It was a beautiful, heart-achingly sweet picture of a little family who loved each other very much. The only person missing was Kenny, who would find his way there when he was ready, and they'd bring him into the fold with just as much love as if he were their own. The love his family provided him was what ultimately had made Juice strong. He'd sought out that kind of love in the club once upon a time, but they hadn't been able to give it to him. Not like Angela, his kids, and the rest of his family in Texas did now. It was one hell of an improvement from the old idiot who used to run around the clubhouse doing stupid shit as he sought the approval of his brothers. "No, it's not," Happy agreed, his shoulders relaxing a bit at the sight before him. "He's better."