Rivals ? - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Deep down, Juice knew he should have told Chibs. Not only because it was his duty to report whatever lead, also because it might have created some peace in his mind. Right now he did not only worry about Raine, Sammy and their father, but he also feared the response of the others when he would tell them — and the conclusions one would draw. Would they believe him if he still claimed that Raine was Skye's boyfriend? Chibs hadn't believed him, not for a moment. The others might be a little slow on the uptake, but he was no stranger to them. Sooner or later they would find out.
Juice tried to push these thoughts away. There was nothing he could do about it now anyway. Furthermore Oakland wasn't exactly around the corner and he didn't want to let little Sasha wait. Whatever the consequences for him personally would be; he'd have to deal with it later. It was better to focus his attention on the road now, before he would crash Skye's car. She had offered to come with him, but Juice didn't want her to cancel work for this. The only thing he had to do, was pick up a two year old from daycare. He could do that. He wouldn't attract attention now he was driving a car, so there was no reason to worry.
Nevertheless, Juice felt tense. He drove faster than was allowed, arriving at the daycare a little too early. He identified himself; apparently Raine had already called to the daycare to tell them who would pick up his niece. A young woman disappeared through a door and returned with a little girl, holding her hand.
"Juan!" Sasha exclaimed happily, and her face lit up. Pulling her hand away from her attendant, she ran towards him, her small backpack thumping against her back. The moment she stood before him, she raised her arms so he would pick her up.
It had been a while since Juice had seen her and he was a little overwhelmed by her enthusiasm. He lifted her from the floor and she wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling as he teased her by squeezing her side. For a moment he slipped away from the reality in which her grandpa was missing. Instead, he saw a house with a large garden in which the girl was running around. She turned around and waved at him. Juice was standing in the doorway and wanted to wave back, but he noticed he was already holding someone's hand. He looked aside and got warm as he saw Raine, who smiled at him before he dropped his head on Juice's shoulder. Neither of them was wearing a kutte, neither of them had tucked a gun behind their waistband. The man raised his head a little, kissed him close to his ear and whispered in Spanish how happy he felt.
The image faded, and he returned to the daycare where he was alone with Sasha. He felt a dull sadness in his chest at the thought that Raine didn't feel happy at all right now. Taking a deep breath, Juice manned up. He couldn't help him right now. Once Raine was back in Oakland and Sasha was asleep, he could try to find Raine's father. The thought that he might never meet the man caused a pit in his stomach.
"Buying ice cream?" The child voice pulled him out of his thoughts and helped him to focus.
"Yeah, we can do that," he said. "And then we're gonna look for a playground." He had no key of Raine's house, so he had to find a way to kill time. If it would become really late, he would book a hotel so the kid could at least sleep. He put the girl down on the floor and grabbed her hand as they left the building, afraid he would stumble and drop her otherwise. There hadn't been many children he'd held in his arms and he didn't exactly trust himself around them.
"The lady said that auntie Sammy is a little sick," Sasha said. "And grandpa couldn't pick me up either. We're going to them? After eating ice cream and the playground?" Enthusiastically, she swung his hand back and forth while she jumped from stone to stone.
"Raine is on his way to us," he told her. "He'll call me once he's here."
"He is?" With a wide smile she looked up to him. "That's so cool! I missed him. And I missed you too. Did you miss uncle Raine too? For he is your best friend, right?"
"Yeah." His voice was trembling, all of a sudden his missed his boyfriend terribly. "Yes. I love him a lot."
"And do you love me?" she asked. She stood still and looked up to him, her eyes wide.
Just like Sasha, he had never known his dad. His mother had more or less neglected him, so he knew how desperately a child could long for the love of an adult, even when they didn't share the same blood. He crouched down in front of  her so their faces were even and caressed her soft cheek with his thumb. "Yes, I love you too."
She flashed him another smile, then she hugged him. "Sometimes I am afraid that uncle Raine will leave. Just like Mommy," she said quietly. "To that beautiful place that I can only visit when I am very old. But if he leaves, will you look after me?"
Scooping the kid up, he looked at her. "Your uncle is going nowhere. But I do hope I will look after you one day. Together with your uncle."
Actually he had never looked that far into the future, but he couldn't shake off the image he had seen just a few minutes ago. He wanted it. He wanted to live together with Raine, he wanted to be a father to little Sasha and maybe they could even adopt a baby. His own thoughts made his cheeks flush. Their clubs didn't even know about their relationship yet, it was way too early to think about things like that. But he couldn't deny the strong longing filling him from tip to toe.
They reached the car. He put Sasha back on the ground and opened the car door, where after she climbed on the seat and he fastened her seat belt. Once she was securely fastened he got up. Suddenly something dark was pulled over his head. Before he could scream, something hard slammed his head. Pain flashed through his head, then he collapsed.
. . .
Juice was convinced that his skull was cracked. Pain rolled over him like the waves of the ocean, again and again. His eyelids felt heavy. Yet, he managed to lift them, although his vision was blurry. Tears? Blood? Was it because of his head trauma?
He was in a dim room, of which he was grateful. The thought of bright light alone made him scream on the inside. His stomach felt like a centrifuge, he wanted to puke.
"He's back."
A shadow moved, knelt in front of him.
Juice stared blankly at the other. All he could see were the man's contours. His arms felt numb. He tried to move them and realized they were tied behind his back. He shoved a little aside, assuming he was sitting on a chair.
"Sasha..." he whispered. His throat felt sore. "Where is Sasha?"
It was a pointless question, and he wasn't even sure he was making a sound. His ears were ringing as if he had been in a concert hall. Thi had to be the abductors of Raine's father. And now they had his niece too — and him. Juice was sure they wouldn't provide him any answers.
Someone was talking to him, but the words passed him right by. All he could see was Raine's panicking face when he realized that he had lost everyone he cared about. Slap. The flat of a hand hit his face.
"Quit playing mute."
The words seeped into his head. This wasn't the voice of a stranger, he realized, although he didn't manage to identify it. He squeezed his eyes, opened them and tried to focus.
He jolted.
Esai!
One of Raine's best friends! He didn't know what to feel; fear or relief. At least he wouldn't hurt Sasha.
He swallowed.
"Ah, we're back?" His voice sounded dismissive. "Where is he?"
"Who?" Juice muttered. Thinking clearly was impossible; flashes of pain were still rolling through his skull.
"You fuckin' serious?" Esai snarled. "You're gonna play dumb? We caught you red-handed while you were shoving his niece in your car! You're really tellin' me you didn't take his father?"
"W-what?"
Juice's head snapped to the left when the man hit him again, this time with his fist. The pain made him grumble, it felt like his rough rings were tearing his skin. He tasted blood and spitted on the floor.
"Where is he? Where is Elijah?"
Juice kept silent. For what could he say? That he was Raine's boyfriend? As if they would ever believe him... And even if they did — what consequences would it have for Raine? He didn't want to think about what they might do to his lover.
Another slap in the face. Juice hung his head in defeat.
Esai however grabbed his chin and forced his head upwards. His eyes were vomiting fire. "You won't leave this place alive, but if you tell us where Elijah is, there is a chance we send your body back to your club instead of feedin' it to the hogs."
The prospect to die did stir up his fighting spirit. He sat up straight. "I've never met this Elijah! Why would I want to kidnap him?"
Esai spitted in his face. "Because you found out my homie is banging your girl for months."
Damn it — this was ridiculous. This however was a result of the lies Raine and he had created themselves and he couldn't simply disprove them. "I got nothing to do with this."
"Then what were you doin' with Sasha?"
Juice heard how weak his defense sounded. "Sammy... Sammy asked me to pick her up."
The lie was too obvious — the anger in Esai's eyes told him he wasn't buying it.
"You're gonna talk, just wait," he hissed between gritted teeth. "And once we're done with you, we'll piss all over your bleeding body. Raine will piss all over your bleeding body." Esai looked over his shoulder and yelled something in Spanish to some Mayans who were watching them from a small distance.
Raine would find him... half-dead, or maybe even dead... Tears jumped into his eyes. The truth was burning on his lips, but he didn't dare to reveal it. They wouldn't believe him anyway, it wouldn't save him. Maybe they found the thought that he was sleeping with their friend even worse than kidnapping his family.
Another man joined them, a mountain of a man.
"This is Lucille," Esai introduced him. "Any idea how he received his nickname?"
Juice stared at the baseball bat the giant was holding in his hand, the end of it was nonchalantly tapping against his boot. The wood was covered in dried blood.
"So one more time," Esai said. "Tell me where Elijah is."
Juice couldn't answer him. Anxiously his eyes shot back and forth between the two Mayans, but neither of them showed a sign of compassion. Lucille swayed back his bat and lashed out at Juice's shoulder.
Juice cried out in pain once the wood hit his body. He squeezed his eyes, fighting the tears because he didn't want to show his weakness. There however was no point it; a raw pain wrestled itself to the fore. Physical pain, mental pain. Pain because he would never get the chance to see Raine again, because he would never hear his laughter again, because his lover would find him here on the ground, clubbed to death like a mad dog. Pain because Raine needed to live with the fact that his best friend had murdered his lover.
"Please," he heard himself beg. "It's — it's not what it looks like."
The only answer he received, was the baseball bat. Time and again. On his arms, his chest, his knees — everywhere except for his head.
But Juice had no illusions; he knew that fatal blow would come too.