Rivals ? - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Juice's bottom lip felt raw because he kept gnawing on it while he awaited how the conversation developed. Although he wished he could have stayed at Raine's place for more than one night, he knew he couldn't. His brothers had questions. Questions he had to answer.
And so, he had called a cab this morning which had taken him to the clubhouse. First they discussed the events of the day before. Opie told them his mother didn't know much about the men who had taken her; she had gotten into the car voluntarily when her abductors threatened to pick up her grandchildren from school to burn them alive.
Whoever they were — they were a bunch of insane people.
But very well organized people, for they still lacked information.
Interrogating the hotel's personnel hadn't given them a lead, nor did the records. They were still playing catch-up, they didn't even have a theory of what exactly was going on.
It didn't take long before the subject was ended, creating a tense atmosphere. Juice could feel their burning glares and he didn't know where to look. Did they expect him to say something? To offer his apologies? To tell them he was going to break up with Raine?
In the end it was Jax who leaned forward, his arms resting on the table. "What do you expect from us now, Juice?"
Restlessly, he toyed with the silver skull on his thumb. He hadn't prepared himself for a question like this. More than anything, he had expected them to criticize him.
"I don't know," he muttered. "It took me months to accept my feelings for him. I get it if you are... in shock."
"In shock?" Piney sneered. "Well, that is a hell of an understatement. This is treason of the worst kind."
Juice gritted his teeth. He knew Piney clung to old values. He was one of the founders of the club, he was famous for his racist comments — which always made Juice feel uncomfortable because of his own origins — and apart from that, there was a lot of old grudge. He had probably seen brothers die by the hand of Mayans, just like the man who had put a gun to Juice's head yesterday. Nevertheless, he had gotten his ex wife back because of Raine and him, so he had hoped for a little bit more understanding.
"I didn't betray anyone," Juice muttered.
"You didn't answer my question, Juice. What do you expect from us?"
"That you're not going to hunt him down." Hesitating, he looked around before casting his glance down again. "That you give me the liberty of choosing my own partner."
Another grim silence fell. He could hear their thoughts; nobody wanted to give him that freedom but they neither wanted to be the first one saying that out loud.
"How do you picture this, Juice?" Jax asked after a while. "What if you are turned against each other one day? It wouldn't be the first time that our clubs are involved in a shooting. You won't shoot at him and you'll put us all in danger."
"He won't shoot at me either."
Clay snickered in disbelief. Tilting back his head, he stared at the ceiling. "This is fucking ridiculous. Why are we even discussing this?" He turned his gaze back to his men. "I don't want a Mayan sucker at my table. It's simple as that. If you need a cock to suck, you can take mine."
The idea alone made him shudder. Heat ascended to his cheeks and he no longer dared to look at his president. His brothers chuckled, but Juice found it a gross insult. As if that was the only reason he was with Raine.
"What if I'm no longer involved in matters concerning the Mayans?" he suggested. "The past years it hasn't been much of an issue anyway." Hopeful, he looked up. It was Chibs who he was looking at, at who he was pinning his hope. He had known about their relationship for a while, he had kept their secret to himself.
Bobby scratched his beard. Opie lit a smoke. Nobody said anything, but their faces told him they thought about his suggestion.
Suddenly, it landed. They no longer trusted him. It stung, fierce like the blow of a hammer.
"Raine and I have been friends for months. We never talk about our clubs."
"You told him about Mary," Clay reminded him. "You should have discussed it with us first."
He was right. It had been an impulsive move; he had barely been able to think because of the pain. All he had wanted, was help.
"You're right. But there was not a chance I was damaging the club."
Jax sighed. "You know what the problem is, Juice? We all know how loose your lips are after a few glasses of beer. I'm sure your boyfriend knows that too. It might be sunshine and rainbows now, but there will be a time when things won't be all rosy. And he might... take advantage of you."
"Isn't that a risk we all take?" he asked, feeling annoyed. "Some of you are blind drunk every night, and you all take random chicks to your room."
"It's not the same," Jax said.
Juice snorted. He thought it was bullshit. He trusted Raine with his life and he knew Raine did so too. They even had shown it to their clubs, the both of them.
"Raine wants to leave his club," he said. "Now his sister is gone, he has to care for a two year old girl. A month ago he got a bullet in the stomach, yesterday his father was kidnapped... He wants a safer life. Soon, he won't be a Mayan anymore."
The men exchanged looks.
"I think he just tells you what you wanna hear, Juicy," Clay sighed.
No. It was nothing like that.
But who would understand? Clay and Opie were the only ones in a serious relationship, all the others had kids and ex wives who they never saw. What was the cause of all these divorces? A lack of trust? Adultery?
"Well if you believe you can't trust me anymore, I probably should take a step back as well."
"Would you give up the club?" Clay sneered. "For a Mayan?"
There it was. The question he had feared from the beginning. He began to toy with his ring again. "Raine is more than a Mayan," he answered. "He's my best friend. My partner. I would walk through fire for him." He dropped his eyes. "I don't want to give up on him. The club is important to me, you're like family... But if you can't accept me for who I am and for who I love..." His shoulders tensed. "Then you might not be the family I thought you were."
Another heavy silence fell. Juice's heart was hammering in his chest.
Across from him, Chibs heaved a sigh. He rubbed his face. "Juicy is right. If this is the path he wants to follow... We should let him leave."
The truth was out. It was impossible to be a Son and have a relationship with Raine. He had known this the whole time, but there was still a bitter taste in his mouth. He knew he was disappointing everyone in the room and doubt started to grow.
Would Raine really make the the same decision? Or had it been his emotions speaking yesterday, would he change his mind now he thought about it with a clear mind?
"You can't just leave," Jax said. "You have certain responsibilities. We rely on you for our tech shit. You won't leave before you've trained someone who can take over your tasks. We know shit about computers."
It would take a year before a prospect could patch in, which meant that he would have to stick around for another year too. At the one hand he liked the thought that he could phase out and that he didn't have to give everything up in once. At the other, he knew he would feel like some third-rate club member from now on.
"From now on, we'll keep you in the dark about matters involving the Mayans."
Juice nodded slowly. He had no choice. And if anything, he was relieved that nobody forbade him to see Raine during the following months. They were probably hoping that Raine and he would lose interest in each other soon; it would definitely be a surprise when they heard that they wanted to marry. It hurt to think that no one of his surrogate family would want to attend his wedding, except for Chibs maybe.
"Okay. I'll find a hacker and train him and I will not mingle in matters involving the Mayans, or whatever other stuff you don't trust me with."
He didn't care, he didn't feel the need to attend every meeting, especially not when they were discussing long term matters that weren't going to affect his life anyway. This was the right decision — and yet, a year sounded terribly long. He could already feel their gazes burning on his skin. They weren't happy with him and they neither understood him. But at least they didn't force him to break up with his boyfriend.
Right now, he could only hope that Raine could step away from his club just as easily. And that he had spoken the truth yesterday and really wanted to quit.
Before the meeting came to an end, someone pounded at the door. Half Sack — the prospect — popped his head around the corner.
"Uh..." Nervously, the boy ran a hand through his blond hair. One only interrupted a meeting when there was an emergency. "There's a fancy car at the parking lot with two fancy guys in it. They're here for business, they said."
. . .
It were two tall men dressed in expensive suits who were led through the clubhouse and towards the Chapel. The conversation they had requested would only been held with Clay and Jax — the president and VP. In other circumstances, their Sergeant-at-Arms would only join the conversation, but Tig was still in rehab after crashing into that tree a month ago.
Juice told the prospect to get him a beer and sat down on the couch. He groaned. His body still hurt like hell and he wished he could have taken it easy today. But going slow in this world — yeah, that was never going to happen. He thought about the men who had entered the clubhouse. Had they something to do with the kidnapping? Would they finally get some answers? After being in the dark for so long, it was hard to believe that their answers had simply strolled into the clubhouse.
Nevertheless, there hung a tense silence in the clubhouse that even the loud rock music couldn't drown out. The two men had had a certain vibe, an arrogance, something untouchable, which had given him a bitter tastte. In silence, he waited, while their conversation from a few minutes ago buzzed through his head. Things could have been worse, he told himself. They could have hurt him. Could have hurt Raine. But they gave him the freedom to patch out, to follow his heart. All he had to do was finding a successor. He had no idea where to find another hacker, but at least he could see a real future with his boyfriend where they were no longer tied to their clubs.
At the thought of a shared future, he dreamed away. Literally — he woke up with a start when Chibs shook his shoulder.
"Chapel," he said.
A resumption of the meeting. Juice rubbed his face. "Can I be there?"
Chibs gave him a pointed look. "You're still wearin' a kutte."
Juice got up and followed Chibs back to Chapel. He sat down at the large wooden table with the carved reaper in the middle. Their club symbol. The men were gone. there was a frosty tension in the air. Was it because of him?
"We got an offer," Clay started.
Jax snorted and looked the other way.
"Those gentlemen claim to work for a man called Cain. A new player regarding lucrative businesses. They told us they've tested us the past weeks to see how we handle stress and based on that, they've made an offer. They want us to distribute their weapons." He looked around, but he raised his voice before someone could intervene. "And not just weapons, I'm talking about a new branche within the weapon industry. Sonic weapons."
Weapons which forced you on the knees by a sound. He felt a pang in the chest when he imagined how they all fell on the ground, pressing their hands against their ears while blood seeped from between their fingers. Weapons like these... They existed in games. In movies. Not... In the real world. Juice obviously knew the military were doing research in this field, but it was a shock to see them already on the black market.
"We're talking about guns, grenades, mines and canons," Clay continued. "And no one else is selling them in the US right now — while there is quiet a market. It's a gold mine."
"Made possible by someone who drove two of our guys off the road," Jax snapped.
Clay shrugged. "Who wouldn't give a vertebrae for few million dollars?"
Easy thing to say when Tig wasn't around...
"So it was a test?" Opie said, raising his eyebrows. "My mother has been gone for days and it was all to test us?"
"A test we've passed," Clay answered indifferently. "Let's not get carried away by our emotions, we should focus on this chance. Our resilience is tested and we've passed. That's what matters."
Juice thought of his boyfriend, of his pale face when he had been in the hospital bed. He had almost died because of this 'test'. Two of his brothers could have been killed because of that stupid test. And Clay dismissed it as collateral damage. Something that could be settled with money.
It made him feel sick.
But wasn't that how they always justified their doings? Whether they were dealing drugs or guns, whether people were gunned down or not?
"They might make the same offer to the Mayans," Bobby objected.
"So we'll have to come with a better offer. The gun trade is ours while they have the drug trade. We have easier access to clients that are interested in their products."
"And yet, they also kidnapped someone with ties to the Mayans. To test them too."
"They did. They might have tested multiple clubs, gangs or organizations. We have to offer openness concerning our network and come with a good prize. We have to show them our trust."
"We don't even know for sure if they really have those weapons," Happy huffed. "I've never seen one. For all we know, we might show them our contacts while we only get toy guns in return."
"That's something to keep in mind. But don't forget about this: if we don't do business with them, our rivals will and they will have their own sonic guns. Rather us than them, hmm?"
Juice wasn't sure. He thought it was rather stupid to trust the people who ran them off the road and kidnapped parents — crimes they let them get away with. Maybe this was still a test to see what was stronger; their honor or their hunger for money.
"They gave us three days to think about their offer," Clay said. "So let's vote within two days. And Juice..."
Juice snapped up his head.
"Use that loverboy of yours to figure out what the Mayans are planning to do."
"What?" he blew up a this president. "We don't talk about our clubs!"
"Now you do," Clay answered bluntly. "At the moment you're still a Son and may the devil help you when you don't follow my orders. Find out if the Mayans are considering to take their offer and how much money they will ask."
Juice gritted his teeth. "He's never going to tell me that, just like I will never tell him what we've decided!"
"Damn it, Juice!" his president snapped. "We're talking about big money! This is much more important than your gross escapades. You're going to make that asshole talk or I will make him talk — and I will cut out his tongue once we're done talking! You got that?!"
His voice thundered through the room.
Juice flinched.
Nobody spoke up for him. They all considered it as as collateral damage when his relationship with Raine was flushed down the drain. Hell — that was even where they were hoping for!