Chapter 2
"I need you to set up a meeting with me and the Sons of Anarchy." I tell him after telling him my plan. "I'll get word to him and set up the meeting." he tells me. "Thank you Ronnie." I tell him. "Randi, why are you wanting this?" he asks. I look at my hands, remembering all the times he called me Randi growing up. I was always called Miranda but when it he called me Randi, I knew he was worried about me. "You know I don't make decisions without getting all of my intel and making sure that everything is legit." I say and he nods. "Apparently Teller is having Ortiz handle his dirty work and making him believe he can get into the good graces of the club again because some cop told Teller that Ortiz was a rat when he didn't sign a deal or give information and now Teller has enlisted you to take him out and not given you all of the information." I tell him. "I see. Well, I'll set this up but Randi, why are you so hell bent on saving this guy?" he asked. "There's something about him that I just can't get out of my head." I say and he smiles. "I'll let Teller know he can trust you. Just tell me what you need me to do." he tells me. The guard comes in to tell us that time is up. I hug my brother before they cuff him and lead him back to his cell.
That afternoon, I am standing inside a warehouse by the Stockton docks, my security detail with me when we hear the rumble of Harley's. Looking at them, they all dismount and walk up to me. Teller holds out his hand and I shake it. "Miranda Hastings, I'm Jax Teller." he says. "Nice to meet you Mr Teller." I say. "I hear you have a proposition for me that Tully says I won't be able to turn down." he says. "I do." I say as I address the entire club. "We're listening." he says. "I'm prepared to offer you a couple of things. I can take care of Henry Lin for you. As well as helping get the H to Tully's middle man without coming through Charming. And to sweeten the deal a little more, I'm willing to hand over August Marks." I tell him. The entire club looks at me shocked. "How are you able to do that Darlin?" he asks, smirking. "I have several crews that work for me that will handle transportation so they will not run through Charming for Tully. I have arranged for Tully to handle Lin for you, at my say, of course. And, August Marks, well, let's just say that he's a rather large thorn in my side." I tell him. "How do we know you will follow through on this, Lassie?" the Scottish man asks. Logan steps forward and says "Tully is on the line, boss." He puts the phone on speaker. "Hey Teller. Miranda is good to her word. All I'm waiting on is her say that this deal is a go and Lin will be handled." Tully tells him. "Thank you Tully." I say before Logan walks away, speaking into the phone. "What about Marks?" A man with black hair and bright blue eyes asks. I motion for one of my other men and they bring August marks out of one of my SUV's and he's bound and gagged. They look at me shocked. "Okay. What do you want in exchange?" Teller asks smirking. I smirk back before saying "Ortiz." They all look at me shocked but none more than Ortiz. "Can I ask why?" Teller asks as his smirk gets more prominent. "I feel he would be more beneficial for my cause than yours." I say. Teller looks from me to Ortiz and back again. "Please feel free to step to the side and vote if you need to. I understand this is something the club needs to talk about. But there is one condition." I say and they all look at me. "Once you agree to this deal, and I'm sure you'll see that you're getting the better end of the deal, what happens to Marks and Lin after this is no longer my concern. But that same stipulation goes for Mr Ortiz. What happens after the deal is made is no longer your concern." I tell him.
The club steps to the side and they silently cast their vote with Ortiz standing to the side looking down at his shoes. A few minutes later, Teller steps forwards and says "We took a vote and we will accept your deal." he says. The Scottish one steps over and says "Give us your kutte." He takes off his kutte and hands it to the Scottish one who I heard called Chibs. "I have a truck coming to get his bike, we will have it repainted and I assume he has to get his tattoos covered?" I ask and Teller nods. "I'll make sure you get the photos showing it's done." I tell him and he motions for his guys to get August. "I'll call Tully and have him move forward with Lin and he will contact you with proof it's done." I tell them. Teller shakes my hand again but before letting go, I say "Remember this deal. What happens with Marks is no longer my business and what happens with Ortiz is not longer yours." He nods and says "Absolutely."
We wait on the club to leave with August and I walk over to Ortiz. "Mr Ortiz, if you'll come with me please." I say and he won't look me in the eye but just nods. We head to the SUV and Logan opens the door and I get in with Ortiz getting in behind me. He doesn't say anything all the way home. We pull up into the garage and Logan opens the door and Ortiz gets out with me behind him. Walking to the door, we head inside and I tell Logan "We'll be fine from here. Goodnight Logan." He nods before leaving us alone. We walk into the kitchen and I ask "Are you hungry?" He doesn't speak, just nods. I open the refrigerator and pull out a casserole and put it in the oven. "It will be about a half hour before it will be done if you'd like to shower." I say. "I don't have anything here." He tells me. "Follow me." I tell him. He follows me to the spare room where there are clothes on the bed already. "I had Logan pick up a couple of things. Tomorrow I will send my guys to the clubhouse to get your things." I tell him. Showing him where the shower is, I tell him "When you're done just meet me in the kitchen." He nods before going into the bathroom to shower.
A few minutes later, he walks into the kitchen and I am pulling the food out of the oven. Sitting down at the island, I plate the food for both of us and grab two beers out of the fridge. "Thanks." He says simply. I sit down across from him and he hesitates before taking a bite. "I promise it's safe to eat." He nods before taking a bite. He empties his plate and I say "There's more if you're still hungry." He shakes his head but still doesn't look at me. Once we finish eating, I put the dishes in the dishwasher and put the leftovers in the refrigerator and turn to him. "Let's move to the living room so that we can talk. I'll explain everything." I say and he follows me to the living room.
Sitting on the couch, he sits on the other end. "I know you're wondering who the hell I am." I say and he nods. "My name is Miranda Hastings. I'm a very prominent but silent player here in Stockton. My brother is Ron Tully." I say and his eyes snap up to mine and I see fear in them. "I don't share my brother's views but no matter what, my brother will do what I ask." I say and he doesn't seem to relax. "I found out some things that just didn't sit right with me so I spoke to my brother to get him to help me. You were going to be going into Stockton but Mr Ortiz, you weren't going to be coming out. Teller made a deal with Tully to take you out once Lin was handled." I tell him and he doesn't respond. "I couldn't let that happen to you Mr Ortiz." I say. "Juice. Just Juice." he says. "Well, Juice, I couldn't let that happen. Not when you didn't do anything wrong." I tell him. "Why would you help a rat?" He asks. "You never signed a deal. You never gave information. I don't see where that makes you a rat." I say. He looks at me shocked but I continue. "So, here you have two options. One, you can walk away and move on with your life. If you choose this option, I will make sure you have the means and the transportation to do so. Or you can stay here with me, get to know me, give a relationship with me a shot, and help me run my empire. No matter what you choose, there will be no consequences. I will still make sure you have what you need either way." I tell him. "Why are you helping me, Ms Hastings?" he asks. "Call me Miranda or Randi. And I'm helping you because from the moment I saw you coming out of the brothel in Stockton, I've not been able to stop thinking about you. I saw how sad you were and no one deserves to be that sad." I tell him. He finally really looks at me. "The coffee shop." he says softly and I nod. "Look, just take the week and think about it. We'll spend some time together and get to know each other a little and then Friday we'll talk and see where you're head is at and go from there." I say. He nods. "Let's head to bed. Logan will be here early with your things." I tell him and he nods again. We walk to the hallway where my room and the spare room is and he stops before going into the room. "Thank you, Miranda." he says. "My pleasure Juice." I say before we head into our respective rooms.