Rivals ? - Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Raine felt like a schoolboy, as he was sitting there sniveling on the couch, admitting that he had fallen madly in love with his rival and that they really wanted to be together but that their clubs would never approve.
Diana let him talk without interrupting him, stroking his back soothingly. It was nice to let it all out. Of course he had vented to Angel as well, but since he was a Mayan too, he hadn't been completely honest.
"Do you love him more than you love the club?" Diana asked softly.
In silence, he stared at his knees. He couldn't simply ignore the fact that he was talking to the Old Lady of his president.
She squeezed his shoulder. "You can be honest with me, Raine. I know how important the club is to guys like you, but I also know what it's like to love someone very much. I'm a wife, a mother."
He sighed softly. "The club has definitely been a great support. But Juice... It feels like he's making me whole again. I would never betray the club," he stressed after a pauze. "But I also understand that I can't be with a Son and stay a Mayan. I don't mind handing in my kutte if it means I no longer have to hide my relationship, if Juice and I can openly love each other." He bit his lip. "But I don't know if they're gonna give me that chance. They might as well hurt him... to punish me."
A tear slid down his cheek as he voiced his deepest fear. He was ashamed because he thought about a scenario in which his club would willingly want to hurt his partner, but he couldn't shove away that fear.
"And does he want to give up his club too?"
Raine nodded. "I think so."
Diana grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Then I believe Marcus will give you his blessing. Maybe not right away — I know my husband, he needs time to deal with this. But he loves you like a son, Raine. He wants you to be happy. And if the club can't give you that happiness, then I believe he'll support you in taking another path."
Raine pursed his lips. He wanted to believe her, but he was afraid that she was only trying to cheer him up. She hadn't seen the disappointment on their faces, hadn't felt their anger. They were all convinced that he had betrayed them. They couldn't see Juice apart from his club. In their eyes, the fact that he loved Juice meant that he loved the Sons. Instead of his own club.
Diana leaned towards him and kissed his cheek. "Why don't you check up on your sister and go back to your boyfriend?" She squeezed his hand once more. "You sound like a powerful couple that can overcome this. Have faith in each other, in yourself and in your clubs, and remember that everyone makes mistakes — especially when it comes to love." She caught his glance. "And I don't mean that your love for that boy is a mistake, but it might have led to wrong decisions."
Raine nodded slowly, although he still believed that Juice and he had taken the right steps during their relationship. The only decision he regretted was sending Juice to Sasha. If not, he could have informed the club about his relationship. They probably still wouldn't have liked it, but at least they wouldn't have beaten his lover to pulp.
The memory of Juice's bruised body caused a pang in his chest. Before anger would take over control, he stood up and went upstairs to the guest room where he had spent many nights when he was younger. The two girls were in bed together, Sammy had wrapped her arms around her niece. From the doorway he stared at the two. He realized all too well that their father was in danger because he was involved in a gang. What if they had caught one of the girls? If he wanted to protect what was left of his family, he should either break with the gang life or cut ties with his family. And he would never do the latter.
No — he just wanted to start over.
With his family — and with the one with whom he hoped to have a family of his own one day.
. . .
Chibs closed the door to Chapel behind him. Well, here we go.
He had no choice but to reveal Juice's secret to his brothers. He had told the others that he wanted to bring something to the table, and so all the Sons were there, even Tig who was still in rehab. Juice was the only one absent.
"Where's Juice?" Jax asked, giving Chibs a questioning look. A couple of years had passed since he had been the guy's sponsor, but the others still seemed to think that he was responsible for him. And he had to admit, often he felt that responsibility as well.
"That's what I wanted to talk about."
They all turned their heads towards him. Chibs shoved back his chair and took a seat. After Raine's phone call, he had taken fifteen minutes to prepare himself for this conversation, figuring out the best way to bring the news, but there simply was no easy way.
"I know something about Juicy I kept to myself," he started after lighting a cigarette. He leaned on the table with his forearms. "I believed it was up to Juice himself to tell ye but by now it's too late."
The rest looked at him impatiently, and he decided not to waste more time.
"Juice has a boyfriend."
A wave of astonishment went through the room. Tig chuckled softly. "I knew it."
"And he's afraid we're gonna judge him?" Jax asked. "Sure, it's unusual." He shrugged his shoulders. "But not forbidden. None of us cares what he does in his bedroom."
Chibs was relieved to hear their response, although he hadn't expected anything else. They all loved to tease Juice, but they loved him as much as anyone else.
"I'm afraid we do care this time," said Chibs with a sigh. "You remember Raine? That guy who wanted to help Hap and Tig when you were driven off the road? Skye claimed that he was her boyfriend, right?"
The others stared at him, a confused frown on their foreheads. It felt like no one wanted to tie his words together, as if no one wanted to face the truth.
"Well, it turns out he's not Skye's boyfriend, but Juice's."
Tig's eyebrows skyrocketed. "That's a fucking joke, right? He's bending over for a Mayan?"
Chibs ran a hand through his hair. "Apparently," he sighed.
"Unbelievable." Clay shook his head. "How can that boy be such an idiot? I bet there's a mic sewn to his kutte, they might have listened to any word we've said for God knows how long. What a moron.  Can't believe he really fell for that."
Those were assumptions Chibs had had too "I've seen them together," he said. "In the hospital." He hesitated, but then said honestly: "I don't believe the Mayan is playing him. He almost died trying to help you." He glanced at Happy. "And he just called with Juice's phone to tell me his father's missing and that Juice thinks there's a connection to Mary's disappearance."
Opie raised his head when his mother was brought up.
"The Mayan called you?" Bobby asked thoughtfully. "Why didn't Juice call you?"
Chibs let out another deep sigh. "The Mayans have also discovered that their brother sleeps with a Son. I guess they drew the same conclusion as we did: that Juice was playing their brother. They gave him a good beat up. Raine assured me that Juice would be fine. But the reason he called... is because these lovebirds hope that we can bury the hatchet to form a united front against whoever's targeting our clubs."
Clay shook his head stubbornly. "No way. I don't like this at all. As far as we know, they could be the ones behind this. Who says the guy's father really disappeared?"
"But what's in it for them?" Opie sighed. "If they'd had my mom, they could've contacted us long ago, don't ya think? Why waiting so long?"
"Maybe they want us to expose ourselves," Clay said.
"We could meet on neutral ground. Three members of each club," Jax suggested. He let out puff of smoke. "Mary's been gone for a week now. I agree with Ope. This ain't their style. I don't think it's the Mayans who are after us."
Clay snorted. "So you're saying it's coincidence that a Mayan hooks up with Juice? Come on man. It's obviously a set-up. They've just changed their strategy and our idiot walks into their trap with eyes wide open. We're wasting our time."
Chibs remembered the pleading tone of Raine's voice. No, he didn't believe it was an act. "It can't hurt to meet on neutral ground and exchange some thoughts," Chibs insisted. "I'd like to go."
Jax kept his glance for a moment. "Me, too."
"Me too," Opie said. "It's about my Mom. We don't have any other leads."
With a deep sigh Clay agreed.
Jax turned to Chibs. "Can you arrange a meeting with Alvarez' men?"
He nodded severely, aware of how delicate the situation was.
When the meeting got out of hand, Raine was the only one who could protect Juice.