Rivals ? - Chapter 61: Chapter 61

This man was Sasha's father.
Timothy might as well have slapped him in the face. This was the man who abandoned his sister when she was pregnant. And now he was suddenly interested in his daughter? Now Rosa was dead?
His hand shot forward and he grabbed the man's collar. "And where did you find the fucking nerve to show your ugly face right now?"
"I..." Timothy gave him a dazed look. "She's my daughter."
It sounded weak.
"You were a sperm donor. Nothing more," Raine huffed. He knew the man wasn't registered as Sasha's father; Raine was designated as her guardian.
"I want to get to know her."
"So you can abandon her again?" Raine taunted. He pulled the man closer and slammed him back against the wall. "Don't think so. She lost enough people."
"I know," Timothy muttered, his glance cast down. "I heard Rosa died."
Raine didn't respond. He needed to collect all his self-control not to punch him in the face—and ever since that stunt Esai pulled, his self-control wasn't something he was proud of anyway.
"Stay away from her," Raine said eventually, his tone dark. He let go of the man.
"I'm her father," Timothy repeated. "I have rights."
"Bullshit. You never acknowledged her as your daughter." The look on Timothy's face convinced him the man already knew that. He looked like a slick lawyer—it wouldn't surprise him if that hadn't been a lie he told Skye. "Rosa is no longer here to confirm that you're Sasha's father."
"There are DNA tests..."
"My niece will participate in no such thing. Every idiot can claim that he's her father."
The man clenched his jaw. "Don't think I'll give up this easily."
Raine grabbed the man's collar again, pulling his face closer. "You're walking a very dangerous path."
This time, Timothy tried to wriggle himself free. "I am walking a dangerous path?" the man shot back. "You are the one in a gang! You're an aggressive asshole! And I won't—"
Esai's fist smashed against his jaw. "You deaf? Fuck off. Sasha is well taken care of and she sure as hell doesn't need a worthless piece of shit like you."
Timothy's lip was split by Esai's blow. Anger flared in the man's eyes. "A child doesn't belong in a gang."
"A child belongs with someone who's there for her," Raine snapped. "And where were you when her mother was sick? When she died? Were you the one holding her hand during the funeral? Did you tell her that her mother had gone to a better place? Did you answer her questions when she wondered where her daddy was?"
Timothy turned his face away. "And I regret that. My relationship with Rosa... It was never meant to go somewhere. I already had a family, a wife, and when she got—"
"I don't want to hear it."
His pathetic excuses only fueled his anger. Did Rosa know she was sleeping with a married man? He doubted it. And he hated the fact that this asshole filled his head with questions about his sister which she would never be able to answer.
"But what if Sasha wants to know her dad? Won't you let her?"
"She has a dad." Or she would have, soon.
"You're her uncle."
"No shit." He glared at the man. He obviously meant Juice—in that respect, she lacked no father figures—but he felt no need to explain his relationship to that man. Yet, the thought of Juice made him question his opinion.
Juice neither knew his dad—he had left soon after his birth. It had scarred him. He didn't come from a warm family, like Raine himself—it was one of the reasons he felt drawn to the club.
Would Juice want to meet his dad?
With his hacking skills, Juice was able to find him. Yet, he'd never done it—at least not that Raine knew of. Why was that? Was he scared his father would still reject him? In that case, the lack of contact sustained an insecurity he didn't want for Sasha.
How would Juice feel when his father would reach out to him?
He shouldn't make this decision for Sasha. When the time was right and she wanted to get to know her biological father, he wanted her to have that possibility. That would be much harder when he let that idiot walk away right now.
"If she wants to know you, I'll make sure she contacts you. What's your full name?"
"Sander. Sander Matheson."
Raine gave a small nod. Then, he stepped away from the man.
"It might take years before she's able to make that decision. You will deprive years of contact with her real father."
Raine clenched his fist. That asshole really didn't know when to stop!
"You did that yourself by not acknowledging your own daughter. And you're doing it again, by playing the creepy lurker at a playground and accusing me of being a bad influence. You could have contacted me like a normal human being, instead of forcing us to almost beat the answers out of your mouth."
Sander was silent.
Raine had nothing left to say either. He turned around and walked away. In silence, Esai went to walk next to him.
Raine still didn't know what to say to him. For a brief moment, it had felt like nothing had changed between them.
But it had.
And he didn't want to hold on to the illusion that things would ever go back to the way they were.
. . .
Juice was exhausted when he finally entered the street his house was in. It was close to 11 and he had been on the road since early in the morning. After declining the offer of the mysterious gang selling supersonic weapons, Clay still wanted to expand their arsenal and thus, various meetings with the IRA had taken place. Yesterday, the first shipment had arrived which they'd accommodated in a new, larger warehouse today. The whole day, Juice had been busy carrying crates and patrolling the surroundings to make sure nobody found out about the new building and its contents. For a moment he had been afraid that he needed to stay all night, but they'd ordered Half-Sack and the new prospect to guard the warehouse.
Juice hoped Half-Sack would get his full patch soon, for then he could finally leave the club.
He'd told the others about his engagement and to his surprise, they'd organized a small party. They'd laughed and partied and Juice had been plagued with doubt. Did he really want to leave the club? Things just started to feel normal again... Yet, the hesitation had been brief when Jax asked him to wait for the wedding until Juice had officially stepped down, being no longer a member of the Sons of Anarchy.
Juice understood and agreed. If this meant they could part ways in a friendly manner... He wanted that just as bad as he wanted to be with Raine. He was done with all the drama. It was time to embrace happiness.
Juice slowed down. Right in front of his house, he saw another bike. A smile crossed his lips, the exhaustion fading. Yet, he prepared himself for bad news. They hadn't planned to see each other tonight and most times Raine stopped by unannounced, he needed company—because they gave him the silent treatment, or because he felt lonely. Feelings Juice could hardly rejoice in, no matter how much he liked spending time with his boyfriend.
Juice got off his bike, walked to the front door and put the key in the hole, yawning.
The lights in the living room were dim and he heard the tv. He found his boyfriend and best friend on the couch, even though they looked aside immediately.
"Hey." Raine showed him a tired smile. "You're late, man."
"Tell me about it," Juice muttered. His boyfriend made room on the couch and Juice flopped down. A few months ago Mouse started to watch all Marvel movies and shows in chronological order and one look at the screen was enough to figure out what they were watching. "Luke Cage?"
"Uhu. There's a hot guy in it, he looks exactly like you."
"All I have to do is wear shades, huh?" Juice gave him a crooked smile.
"And a suit. I can't remember I've ever seen you in a suit."
Chuckling, Juice pressed a kiss to his jaw and laced their fingers. "I expect an appropriate occasion for it soon."
Raine leaned towards him to kiss him, but Mouse pulled him back. "Save your love sessions for the bedroom. That you two have plans to marry now, doesn't mean that I want to be the fifth wheel. I'll join you guys or we all do nothing."
Juice met Raine's eyes. Was that something he wanted? It wasn't the first time they were joking about it. Threesomes weren't new to Mouse and him, but Raine... He actually hated the idea. Even though such a lustful experiment had matched with his former "relationships", things were different with Raine.
Raine lifted the corner of his mouth and winked at him before he looked over his shoulder to Skye. "Sorry Mouse. I like these weddings plans; the last thing I want is for Juice to feel a spark for his ex again." The man stood up, pulling him on his feet. "And that man of mine looks so tired that I'm glad if he doesn't feel asleep before he even took his socks off."
Juice showed a hint of a smile. Raine wasn't wrong. He really was tired.
Together they went to the bedroom, where Juice found a bit of energy to take off most of his clothes. A content sigh left his lips as he snuggled up to Raine's warm body. His boyfriend wrapped an arm around him.
Even though Juice was tired, he didn't want to ignore the reason why Raine was here. He turned his head to look at his friend. "How was your day?"
Juice's eyes fluttered shut when Raine's hand glided across his chest.
"We don't have to talk about it now."
"Yeah, we do. I can listen with my eyes closed." He opened them. "And I can even keep them open for you."
Raine chuckled. "Such a sacrifice you make..."
"With love."
Sniggering, Raine tickled his side until Juice slapped his hand away. "Okay okay... I'm serious." He sat up straight, one leg over Raine's. He grabbed the corner of the blanket and covered Raine's upper body. "No more distraction."
His grin told him Raine wanted to make a comment—perhaps about switching off the light or about his ruggedly handsome face—but eventually, he became serious too.
"I saw Timothy today. Or well, his real name is Sander. He's Sasha's dad. At least, that's what he claims."
Juice stared at him. He expected Raine's brothers to have done something shitty, but not... this. "Woah, Sasha's dad? For real?" He tried to remember what he knew about Rosa's ex, but all he knew was that he walked out on her when she was pregnant. "What did you say?"
"That he needs to stay away from her," Raine answered in a dark tone. He heaved a deep sigh. "You know—if he didn't call me an aggressive asshole nor questioned Skye about the bruises on my face... I don't think I'd wanted to keep him away from Sasha. It's not that I would ever give up the guardianship, but she has a right to get to know her biological father. But now? I already hated him for walking out on my sister, and now he's criticizing the way I raise Sasha—come on as if he deserves a parent of the year award. Asshole."
That Sander-guy hadn't brought it up in a very smooth way. Juice understood Raine's dismay all too well.
"I have his real name. Thought you could find him if Sasha ever wants to meet him." Raine sat up too. "Or will this hurt her?" He caught Juice's glance. "You know how it feels when your father walks out on you. Would you have acted differently?"
Juice hesitated. "Every day, I wished for my father to come back." He bit his cheek. "But I had no father figure at all—only my mother's flings. I didn't have an uncle who treated me as his own son, nor a grandpa who was there whenever I needed him, nor an... uncle's boyfriend who'd love to consider her as his own foster daughter." He laid a hand on Raine's upperarm, covering the brand the Mayans left on his skin. "You were there for her since the day she was born. You know better what she needs than that asshole. If you believe this is what's best for her, I agree. I don't believe she'll lack any fatherly love. And if she wants to meet him, later, we'll make that happen. When we have a quieter life, have a stable family, and when she's older—and when he no longer comes up with bullshit, stating that you can't be a good dad." He leaned into his boyfriend, softly kissing his lips. "For you are, Raine. You do what you can for that little girl, even when it's hard to combine your personal life with the club life. You work towards a better future. For her. For yourself. For me." He smiled. "For us."
Raine's brown eyes found his. He smiled like one only smiles at a loved one. "For us."