Rivals ? - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Raine tensed at the click of a gun close to his head. Immediately he looked over his shoulder. It was Martinez, with his 68 years he was the oldest Mayan. A quiet man who kept to himself, who didn't speak up often and who, usually, didn't wave with guns. As far as Raine knew, he always stayed out of conflicts. Not because he was afraid to share his opinion, but because he believed every discussion to be a waste of time. He'd seen it all. It was visible on his weathered face, the circles under his eyes. Raine knew that his son had been murdered a few years ago, but the involvement of the Sons was new to him.
His heart leapt in his chest, his palm felt sticky against Juice's. His boyfriend looked at him from his periphery, as if he wanted to read in Raine's eyes in how much danger he was.
Raine didn't know. This man was erratic. When it came to the death of a child, everyone was erratic.
"Calm down, Martinez," Marcus spoke, his voice sounding both respectful and compelling. "Our priority is to find Raine's old man. Unless you know a better way to find him, we're going to that meeting with the Sons now. Time is precious."
"I demand justice," Martinez growled. "I'll never get a chance like this again."
"You're neither getting this chance now!" Raine snapped. "Take your fucking gun off my boyfriend's head. If anyone else lays a finger on him I swear I will kill you!"
It was stupid. Of course it was stupid. He couldn't exactly attack ten men. But the emotions were raging through his body — he just wanted them to leave Juice alone, instead of using him as an outlet for their anger or a way to repay old grudges.
"Shut your mouth, Raine," Marcus cut him off.
Angrily, Raine clenched his jaw.
Marcus aimed his glance at Martinez. "Lower the gun, Martinez. I will not say it again."
Suddenly, the man lashed out, hitting the back of Juice's head with the gun. The man already stood so unstable that his legs collapsed immediately. Quickly Raine caught him. Anger flamed across his jaws as he heard some of his brothers laugh and call him a pussy. Fucking assholes. He was sure they all would have whined  if they'd been manhandled with a baseball bat themselves.
Martinez grumbled, calling him a traitor before rushing past him. He slammed his shoulder against Raine's with such a force that Raine almost lost his balance.
Raine wrapped one arm around Juice's waist. The man was leaning into him, he could feel his battle against the pain. He however didn't dare to show him the affection he deserved, afraid he would only add fuel to the fire.
"Come on, let's go outside," he said quietly. "We'll wait there until they're ready to leave."
Juice said nothing. He stared at the floor.
Rained helped his boyfriend through the crowd until they reached the door. Outside, he helped him in a bucket seat. Six of them were placed around a table on which were two full ashtrays. Once Juice was sitting, Raine examined his head, looking for the spot where Martinez hit him. He found a graze, the skin around it was red. He would have a huge bump on his head, later today.
Leaning over Juice, he kissed the tattoo on the right side of his head before sitting next to him. There was an awkward silence between them. They hadn't experienced a lot of them and Raine didn't really know what to say.
"They're never going to accept us, do they?" Juice's voice sounded hoarse.
"No, I guess not," he murmured. They had known it from the start, but deep down, he had hoped for some understanding.
"Maybe we should stop."
Juice's words made his heart ache. He wasn't serious, was he? This was because of the pain he was feeling, he wasn't thinking clear, right? Or did he misinterpret his words? "You mean we should leave our clubs?"
"We've been part of our clubs for such a long time. And we — we're together for only a short period. We didn't even have sex yet. We're still in an early stage and..." Juice shrugged.
Raine had no idea where these words were coming from. Was he scared? Was this a lack of confidence? Either way, he didn't agree with his words. "Stop it," he said in a stern voice. "You know that I love you and I know that you love me. Don't pretend that what we have isn't real. The reason we haven't had sex yet, is because there are so many others things that connect us beside the physical attraction. Only because we find it so important that we are both ready, it hasn't happened yet. It's a sign of respect and patience, of love. It's not proof of a lack of those things. I would protect you with my life and I know you would do the same, Juice. If that ain't love, I don't know what is."
Juice cast his glance down. "Sorry. I just have this feeling I'm ruining your life."
"My life was already destroyed when my little sister died." He took Juice's hands in his. "You gave meaning to my life again. You made me whole again. I love you so fucking much, Juice. You give me more than the club's ever given to me. You're my home. Not them."
If his brothers would hear this, they would probably kick him out right away, but it didn't make his words any less true. He glanced over his shoulder. Esai was standing in the doorway, watching them. Luckily he was too far away to catch his words. Once their eyes met, Esai looked away.
Was it disgust what he was feeling? Or regret?
His attention returned to Juice when his fingertips caressed his jaw. Juice caught his glance. The love that Raine saw in his eyes, caused a chill down his spine. He never doubted Juice's love — after all, last night he told him that he wanted to marry him — but this time, Juice himself was convinced of his love again too.
"I'm sorry," Juice said softly. "I wouldn't know what to do without you."
Raine bent his head, brushing his nose with the tip of his own. "You don't have to, for it's not gonna happen."
Juice's lips bent into a smile. The sight of it still called up butterflies in his stomach, no matter how often he had seen that smile. Right when he wanted to kiss him, he heard voices. Marcus Alvarez and Antonio, their secretary, stepped outside.
"Vamos," his president said shortly. "I texted you the address, we make sure we're behind you."
Raine gave a nod before turning to Juice. He was tempted to help him on his feet, but he knew his friend well enough to know that he didn't want to look weak. With gritted teeth he got up and without Raine's help, he managed to walk to the car.
. . .
Raine parked his car in a semi-crowded shopping street. They were supposed to meet in a neutral bar. He thought it was a wise decision — it was much better than some remote place where one could expect an ambush. A bar undoubtedly helped to create a little less hostile atmosphere.
Juice and Raine headed to the entrance of the bar, where the two Mayans were already waiting for them. The three bikes of the Son stood close to the door. From his periphery Raine peeked aside to see what Juice wanted. Their secret had came out now; for Juice, this was the moment he had to face his angry brothers. Moving his hand to the side, he hooked his pinky with Juice's, loosely, so his boyfriend could pull his hand away when he found that more comfortable.
Alvarez opened the door and entered the room, followed by Antonio.
Juice and Raine went inside after them. After a few steps, Juice's hand slipped into his and he gave a firm squeeze. Their eyes met. Raine tried to smile, but because of his own nerves the corner of his mouth was twitching.
"It's not about us now," he said, trying to convince both himself and Juice. "It's about finding my dad and that woman."
Juice nodded, squared his shoulders and raised his head. His confidence was fake, but Raine thought it was attractive anyway and it gave him strength.
Three Sons were waiting in the corner. Two of them weren't much older than Juice and him, the third one was Chibs. The three stood up once they saw Juice.
"Juicy," Chibs said, walking over to them. "You okay, lad?" Lifting Juice's chin, he studied Juice's face, concern filling his eyes.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I'm fine, don't worry."
Pain radiated from his face as his brothers greeted him with a hug.
Raine shook Chibs' hand before turning to the other two. One was tall and broad shouldered, with dark blond hair waving down his shoulders; the other had piercing blue eyes and blond hair, the vicepresident patch was sewn to his kutte.
Following Raine's example, Alvarez and Antonio also greeted their rivals. Raine shoved a chair towards the table so Juice could sit next to Chibs, where after he added a second one for himself, Juice and him being the bridge between the two clubs now.
He felt the blond man's gaze rest upon him. "Well... You like to cause a stir, huh? Providing immediate aid to two of my brothers, wrapping our Intelligence Officer around your finger, calling Chibs over here to call a cease-fire..." Turning up the corner of his mouth, he smirked before his glance wandered off to Juice. "We'll talk about you two later. If your little love affair helps us to find back Mary, you might get only one round in the ring."
Juice gave him a small smile. "I already had ten rounds. It's his turn now." He nudged Raine's shoulder and moved his hand to Raine's knee.
The men chuckled — although he could feel the shame on the side of his own club. Raine covered Juice's hand with his own, in some weird way the ice seemed broken now. Raine was relieved that Juice's brothers responded so lightly to their relationship, but it hurt that his own brothers had been so hostile.
"Let's get down to business now," Opie — the tall man — said. "What did you find out about the kidnapping?"
Alverez shoved a pile of papers forward; prints of the camera footage their Intelligence Officer had found. Jax had a few copies too; Juice had probably done the same job the past days, after which his brothers printed the results.
Now there were two stories to compare, they could finally really start their search.