One of the reasons Kozik had decided to ride to San Francisco, was to get away from the clubhouse for a while. For weeks there was a depressing climate, but since Juice had returned two days ago, it was way worse. It didn't take much to make him angry, and sometimes his rage came out of nowhere. Yesterday Kozik had ducked just in time to dodge a chair that the man had thrown at the wall, without any indication.
The past hours Kozik had seen or heard him do nothing but snarling, throwing things and slamming doors. The only times he was calm, was when he was high, but Kozik found that even harder to watch. Yesterday he had clung to Bobby all of a sudden, crying and repeating Dana's name.
It was sad – and the guilt with which Juice had burdened him, didn't make things easier. Again and again he wondered if he could have done things differently. Maybe they should have sent Dana back to Maddox with some kind of plan, so that they could trace her and kill Maddox.
But there was no point in fretting about it. He had refused such an act. It was simple as that. He had to learn to live with the consequences of his deeds. When he gave that speech to Dana, on Opie's funeral all those months ago, he had never expected he could have addressed it to himself as well. Now it felt like he had spoken empty words. It was easy to say that he had to learn to live with this. But he wasn't the only one who had to live with his mistakes. The same went for Dana, for Juice... and for Happy.
That was the reason that he was on his way to San Francisco now. The last time he had seen his brother was almost a year ago. Nobody had visited him in jail because it had been too risky, but this time Kozik didn't care. He didn't want to tell Happy this by phone. Plus, Maddox already had what he wanted. He probably couldn't care less about the club's business, as long as they stayed away from Dana.
And for now, they were doing that. They didn't even know in what country to look. She could still be in Mexico, or taken back to the US, or every other country. They had considered to hire a private detective, but then what? Would he have to follow a trail that was days old? They would only waste their money and because they were with so few, their income was already low. There was no point in chasing thin hope when they would lack the money later when they hopefully could do something useful with it.
With a sigh, Kozik parked his bike at the edge of the parking lot, put away his helmet and entered the prison. He reported at the front desk and sat down on one of the chairs until a man gestured him to follow. It was a seedy figure; exactly what one would expect from a corrupt guard. He tried to ignore the nervousness that was suddenly overpowering him. He had taken off his cut, but there was a chance that Maddox had given his people the order to kill everyone who searched contact with Happy or Tig.
Carefully he looked around as he walked into the visiting room. Happy sat at a table already, his hands cuffed. There was a scorching gaze in his eyes, full of suspicion. He knew this wasn't just a friendly visit, and that there was only one reason why Kozik would stop by in person.
Kozik sat down across from his friend. His breathing faltered and with difficulty he swallowed the bundle of nerves that had piled up in his throat. Only once before Happy had lost control around him and Kozik was secretly glad the man was cuffed now.
"He has her," Happy said with a raspy voice, even before Kozik sat on the chair and could ask how he felt.
"He has," Kozik admitted.
Happy's jaw tensed. A dark glow crept into his eyes, lighting them up as those of a vengeful angel. The intensity with which Happy was staring at him, made the sweat prick in his neck. Still he didn't look away.
"Maddox got his hands on Kip and forced Cherry to get into contact with Dana. She stole our phones, found the number of Juice's burner and told Dana a sob story that Kip had dumped her and that I had send her to them. On Valentine's Day, Maddox instructed her to hand Juice over to him, and in the end the man approached Dana so she would surrender in exchange for Juice's life."
Cursing, Happy clenched his fists. Wildly he was yanking on the cuffs, shaking his head in powerlessness. "I trusted you that you would keep her safe!"
"We did too," Kozik said, bending his head. "But he found the weakest link within the club and took advantage of it."
Staring at the table top, he heard Happy breathing in and out loudly. "Where's she now? You got a lead?"
"No," Kozik muttered, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "We have no idea where to start looking. They can be everywhere. There's nothing that would bind her to the US. That asshole has everything a man can wish for, with enough money to buy a house wherever he wants." Hesitating, Kozik looked up. Never before he had seen such a defeated expression on Happy's face. "And he has taken the time to prepare this."
Wherever Maddox and Dana would be – Kozik was convinced the MC wouldn't be able to find them. More than once Maddox had proven to be a mastermind who didn't drop stitches. The only hope he got, was that Dana would find a way to escape again or managed to get in touch with them.