Clay sat at the head of the redwood table, looking around at his brothers after just explaining what had happened to Stacey. He knew every single one of them would lay down their lives for his little girl, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why they'd need to. It was Bobby who finally spoke Clay's confusion.
"But why would he come back?" he asked. Clay looked over at Juice, who shrugged.
"All of my intel points to this guy being a petty con artist who moved from place to place scamming money off people," Juice said, "He doesn't seem like the type who'd make a move unless he could gain something from it."
"So why does he have it in for Stacey?" Jax asked, glancing over at Opie who was sitting silently in his seat, his nostrils flared and his fists clenched on the table, "What could he possibly gain by hurting her?"
"He doesn't want to hurt her," Opie growled, speaking up for the first time, "He wants to fucking kill her." Clay nodded sagely, turning to Juice.
"I need you to figure that out," Clay said to him, "You missed something. There's gotta be something there, some precedent for his actions. I've got a partial license plate and description of the car from some kids that witnessed the crash. Start with that and see if you can find where he is now, then I want you to go back farther and see what the fuck would make him hunt down my daughter." Juice nodded determinedly.
"Stacey is, from this point on, on lockdown," Clay continued firmly, "She is to have a patch on her at all times, no exceptions, and she'll stay at the clubhouse until we've got this all sorted out. This is number one priority right now." He looked around the table, his expression grave, as they moved on to discuss their next order of business.
SOASOASOASOA
"Lockdown? At the clubhouse?" Stacey asked incredulously, glancing around at Jax, Opie, and Clay who were surrounding her. She was used to the occasional lockdown at the clubhouse, but that was usually in situations that applied to everyone, not just her, "That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" They all shook their heads resolutely as Opie gripped her hands, looking into her eyes.
"This is non-negotiable, Stace," he said, "It's the only way to keep you safe."
"Yeah, but you're with me every night. Jax lives right around the corner. How is that not enough? I don't see why I have to stay here," she argued.
"Stacey!" Clay barked, causing her to jump as she looked at him, "This is not up for discussion. We're also gonna need your prepay. Juice is going to install some software on it so we can trace its location." She glared at him, pursing her lips and reminding Clay, not for the first time, of his wife, "And you better keep that phone on you at all times." Jax looked at Stacey, speaking quietly but firmly.
"You could have been killed, Stace. He's clearly not finished with you; he's going to come after you again. How do you think any of us would feel if we didn't do everything in our power to protect you and you got hurt?" he asked. Stacey sighed, looking at all of them.
"Okay, okay, fine. I'll stay here and you can put your little tracker in the prepay. But I'm not giving up school. That's not an option for me," she said firmly.
"Then you'll have a patch take you to class and stay with you until you're finished," Clay told her. Stacey sighed resolutely; that much she had expected but she knew what a load having someone on her all day three days a week would be on the club.
"Even if I'd had a patch with me, he'd still have been able to ram my car. No one could have prevented that," she said, knowing as she said it that she was doing little to prove her case.
"Which is exactly why I'd like to keep you locked up in this clubhouse, and so help me you keep arguing about this and that's exactly what I'm going to do!" Clay bellowed at her. She opened her mouth to argue again but closed it quickly. She hated the situation she was in, but it was Brad she angry at; not her family. If she was honest with herself, she was terrified of Brad. Seeing the blank expression in his eyes as he rammed his SUV into the side of her car looking as if he was doing something as mundane as laundry, had shaken her up worse than the accident, and she knew she was lucky to have people like the Sons to watch out for her.
"Okay okay, fine," she conceded, sighing as she looked up at the ceiling, frustrated. She walked over to the bar to grab a beer, tossing it back as the events of the day washed over her again and she shuddered. She felt Opie's hand on her shoulder and grasped it, turning around as his arms enveloped her and she buried her face into his chest.
SOASOASOASOA
Stacey had been on lockdown for barely 72 hours and was already getting cabin fever. She sat at the desk in Opie's dorm room trying to concentrate on her notes for an exam she had the next week when there was a knock on the door. Not even bothering to glance up, she called out, "It's open!" and Juice stuck his head in the door.
"Hey, can I talk to you?" he asked. She looked over at him and nodded as he made his way in and sat on the edge of Opie's bed.
"What's up?" she asked, turning to face him.
"I'm trying to pick up information on Brad, but I keep hitting all these brick walls and I thought I remembered you saying he had a grandmother he used to visit in Denver," Juice started. Stacey nodded.
"Yeah, she died over the summer," she told him, "What about her?"
"Well, we know she's not his real grandmother. All his real family is in the Czech Republic, but I know for sure he did visit Denver so I'm hoping he was at least telling the truth about visiting someone out there. Did he ever mention what her name was?" he asked. Stacey nodded, recalling the invitation to her funeral that had lain on the counter for weeks. The only reason she'd even noticed it was because it was so rare for Brad to leave anything lying around the apartment.
"Yeah, her name was Carol Henderson," she said. Juice nodded, typing the name into his phone before looking back up at her.
"Did he ever tell you anything else about her? Or about his trips to Denver? Anything at all?" he asked her hopefully. Stacey racked her brain, trying to think of anything Brad had let slip.
"All I can think of is the nursing home she lived in was called… something about the wilderness. Like… something pond or creek," she told him, thinking hard, "Barton Creek, maybe? I'm not positive. He never told me anything else about her." Juice nodded, adding that to his notes in his phone and stood.
"Okay, well if you think of anything else, let me know," he said. Stacey nodded, watching him walk to the door.
"Hey Juice?" she called. He turned to look at her, "I'm really sorry," she said, her voice full of regret. Juice looked at her, confused.
"Sorry for what?" he asked. Stacey shrugged.
"Sorry for bringing Brad into all of our lives," she said quietly, "Sorry you have to run around chasing ghosts because of me." Juice furrowed his brow, staring at her.
"Don't you dare do that," he said, almost angrily, "You got nothing to be sorry for, okay? He's spent a lifetime perfecting faking who he is – you couldn't have known." Stacey nodded.
"Yeah, I know. I still feel like shit about the whole thing, though," she admitted.
"Well don't. We'll find him and then it'll all be dealt with and over," he assured her. She nodded, giving him a small smile.
"Thanks for everything, Juice," she said before he walked out of the room. She turned back to her notes and read them over a few more times before realizing that she wasn't retaining any of the information. She sighed and stood, slipping out of the room and into the hall. She heard another door close behind her and looked around to see Wendy digging through her purse as she slipped out of Jax's room.
"Hey Wendy," Stacey said, grinning knowingly at her. Wendy glanced up from her purse and smiled back at Stacey.
"Hey, Stace, I'm glad I ran into you," she said as they walked down the hall together, "Jax told me about the car accident, I'm so sorry that happened to you. He was so shaken up seeing your car like that." Stacey nodded, taking a seat at the bar and motioning for Wendy to join her.
"Yeah, shaken up enough that I've been put under house arrest," Stacey grumbled, grabbing a beer from the other side of the bar and handing it to Wendy before reaching back and grabbing another one.
"So things are coming along with Jax then?" Stacey asked. Wendy smiled.
"Yeah, I mean, he's not a label kind of guy, you know, but…" her voice trailed off and Stacey nodded.
"Yeah, I know. They're all like that, the idiots. Just make sure he knows where you stand, you know? Don't let him walk all over you. He's used to doing whatever and whoever he wants whenever he wants," Stacey advised. Wendy nodded, leaning over to Stacey and lowering her voice.
"I really like him," she said conspiratorially and Stacey grinned at her.
"Good," she said, really hoping this worked out for Jax. It'd been over 6 years since Tara split and he really needed to move on, "That's good. I'm really happy for you guys. Jax needs a good girl, one that hasn't been on every dick from here to Washington. That's hard to find around here." Wendy laughed, nodding.
SOASOASOASOA
The next day, Juice sat in his office in the corner of the main room of the clubhouse, pulling out the information Stacey had given him on Brad's "grandmother". He really didn't think it was going to lead anywhere, but he was past the point of frustration with how little info he'd been able to get on Brad. He'd looked up nursing homes in Denver and was relieved to find the Barton Creek Nursing Home listed in the yellow pages. He picked up the phone and dialed the number, hoping this was the right one and that it would get him something.
"Good morning, Barton Creek Nursing Home, how may I help you?" the lady said.
"Hi, my name is… Clark… uh… Parker… and I was trying to find my… aunt," he stuttered, thinking maybe he should have had his story worked out before getting on the phone, "I was … adopted, and just learned that I still had family alive and I was told she was staying there. Her name is Carol Henderson." The lady on the other side paused for a moment.
"I'm sorry, sir, but Mrs. Henderson passed away this past July," the lady said sympathetically.
"What? Just that recently? Oh, I can't believe I'm only a couple of months late," Juice said, trying to sound upset, which was difficult as he was rejoicing at finding the right place, "Could you tell me, do you know if she had any visitors with her when she passed? I'd hate to know she died all alone."
"Actually, she did sir. She didn't have any family, well, that she knew of obviously, but one of our volunteers, Sam Stevenson, was with her," the lady told him.
"One of your volunteers? When does he usually come in? I'd love to be able to thank him for being there for my… aunt," Juice said.
"Oh, actually he doesn't volunteer here anymore. He started a couple of years ago, and that's when he met Mrs. Henderson. They really hit it off, she just adored him. He would still come to visit even after he'd stopped volunteering for us. I do think he'd grown quite attached to her. He was extremely upset when she passed, but we were all so grateful he was there for her," the lady said, her voice still full of sympathy.
"Uh huh, was he the only one with her when she passed?" Juice asked.
"Oh yes, he was very shaken up about it. Quite upset," the lady answered.
"And how exactly did she die?" Juice asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear, I can't release that information over the telephone," the lady told him, and she really did sound sorry, "But she was 87, after all. She'd actually been doing so well for the last several months; we all thought she was going to hang on forever. But as they say, when it's your time, it's your time."
"Right," Juice said, his eyebrows creased, "Okay, well thank you for your time."
"No problem dear, you have a great day, and I'm sorry about your aunt," the lady said.
"Uh huh," Juice said as he hung up the phone, staring into space and thinking hard. Obviously Sam Stevenson was an alias of Brad's, but that wasn't going to get him anywhere. There had to be a million Sam Stevenson's in the United States. He was willing to bet that if he did find him, there'd be a hefty balance in his account courtesy of Carol Henderson's estate.
The thing that bothered Juice the most about that conversation was the fact that Carol Henderson seemed to be doing so well until Sam Stevenson came to visit. Juice doubted it was a coincidence that he just happened to be the only person in the room at the time of her death. He sighed, running a hand over his face, knowing that he wouldn't be sleeping again until he found everything he needed to know about Brad.
SOASOASOASOASOA
Opie gripped Stacey's hand as he drove her to class on Wednesday. Stacey's car had been totaled and Opie didn't feel comfortable driving Stacey on his bike in case Brad came back and tried to run them off the road, so they'd gotten a rental until the insurance money came in and she'd be able to get a new car. He figured this was all for the better, as the rental car wouldn't be recognizable.
Opie quickly parked outside of the vet school at UC Davis and they both climbed out of the car. Opie pulled his cut off, leaving it on the driver's seat, before throwing his arm around Stacey and walking her up to the building.
"Why're you leaving your cut in the car?" Stacey asked him. He opened the door for her, letting her walk in before him.
"Trying to blend in," he said grinning. Stacey snorted, looking up at her mountain man. Even with his long hair stuffed under a skull cap, the untamed beard he sported did little to help him blend in with the rest of the clean shaven men running around the campus.
"Good luck with that," Stacey said, smiling up at him. They got to her classroom door and Stacey gave his a quick kiss.
"I'll be right out here," Opie said. Stacey nodded.
"Try not to look too creepy, okay?" she said teasingly. He laughed.
"Yeah, I'll do my best," he said, kissing her again, "Love you." She smiled, never tiring of hearing him say that.
"Love you, too," she said before walking back into her class.
The day passed with no surprises, and while that put Stacey at ease, she noticed it was putting Opie even more on edge.
"It's like he's trying to get us into some kind of false sense of security," Opie mumbled to her on the drive back to Charming, his fingers laced in hers and absent-mindedly stroking her hand with his thumb.
"Or maybe he's given up," Stacey said hopefully. Opie looked over at her harshly.
"He's not giving up, Stacey. I don't even want you thinking like that. You need to have your guard up all the time," he told her. She shrugged, squeezing his hand lightly.
"I know, it's just hard not to feel safe when I'm with you," she told him. Opie frowned slightly, watching the road in front of him.
"I'm gonna get Chibs to give you boxing lessons," he told her. Stacey rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, cuz my fists will definitely stop a bullet," she said sarcastically, "But you can get me a new gun if it'll make you feel better."
"You're a Teller. You already have a gun," Opie pointed out.
"That's why I said a new gun," Stacey replied, grinning. Opie shook his head, smiling back at her.
"What kind of gun?" he asked.
"Desert Eagle," she said, teasing. He looked doubtfully at her.
"Yeah right," he said, "The recoil would give you a black eye." Stacey looked at him doubtfully.
"Fine, then a Beretta like Jax's," she said. He grinned, shaking his head.
"Okay, I'll get you a Beretta," he replied. She smiled at him.
"Ah, you're worried about me," she said.
"I'm always worried about you, babe," he said.
"At least you know what you're worried about," she told him. He sighed, signaling to make his exit towards Charming.
"I'm not getting into that with you again," he told her.
"Why don't you trust me to know what's going on?" Stacey asked, frustrated. Opie glanced over at her, bringing her hand he was clutching to his lips.
"I do trust you. I'm not worried about you keeping our secrets," he said.
"Then what is it?" she asked, "What are you worried about?" Opie sighed.
"I'm worried… that eventually you'll think it's too much and won't want to deal with it anymore," he admitted.
"Opie… even if we weren't together, I'd still have to deal with all that stuff with Jax and Clay, and the others are as close as family to me, too. I'll always have to deal with it. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not asking you to tell me every single thing. Just… give me something so I know how much I should be worried. Otherwise I just picture you guys in shootouts or Mexican stand-offs every time you leave," she told him. Opie smirked.
"I wish it was always that fun," he joked. Stacey frowned, pursing her lips as he glanced over at her, "I'm kidding. Look, I get what you're saying. I'll try and be as open as I feel comfortable with with you – best I can do." Stacey sighed, leaning back in her chair.
"That's very vague," she mumbled. He kissed her hand again as they pulled into the TM parking lot.
"This is new to me, okay?" he said, "I've never had someone like you in my life and it scares the shit out of me. Constantly."
"Me too," Stacey murmured.
"But I don't want to cause you to be worried unnecessarily all the time, so I'll do my best, okay?" he said. She nodded.
"Just… just don't lie to me," she said beseechingly. He looked over at her as he put the car in park.
"Promise," he said.
SOASOASOASOASOA
Another week went by and still no sign of Brad. Mostly due to Gemma's constant hovering, Juice had been diligently working on uncovering several of Brad's known aliases and digging deeper into them, hoping they'd lead him to other aliases that might give him more information.
The only times Stacey had left the clubhouse since the night of the car accident was to go to class. More often than not, Opie took her, but when he couldn't Jax and Juice were more than willing to give her a ride and keep watch. Stacey always found it hilarious as students would go out of their way to avoid them when Juice was her escort. She might know him as one of the nicest guys around, but she knew the mohawk and head tattoos had to look pretty intimidating. Campus security had been a slight nuisance with all three boys, constantly questioning what they were doing there and frequently stopping by the corridors Stacey's classes were on to keep an eye on them, but for the most part they were able to stand guard outside with no problems.
Stacey was trying to be a good sport about the whole thing, knowing that everything was for her own protection, but having very little time to herself and being cooped up in a clubhouse that constantly smelled like biker and old meatloaf (she hoped) was starting to get old. She was beginning to wonder what would happen if Brad never showed his face again and they weren't able to get him – would they keep her on lockdown for the rest of her life? But she knew they had other things to worry about and didn't want to become yet another problem for them to deal with, so she kept her aggravations mostly to herself.
Stacey walked out of her last class of the day the following Wednesday, smiling to see Opie leaning against the wall looking bored as hell. She walked up to him and he pushed himself off the wall, throwing an arm around her shoulder and kissing her lightly.
"You should get a prize for everything you do for me," she said as they walked out of the building and towards the parking lot. Opie smirked, looking down at her.
"Oh yeah? Like a trophy?" he asked. She shook her head, wrapping an arm around his waist.
"I was thinking something a little more… fun," she said.
"Mmmm," he said as he unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for her, "Can't wait to see what you have in mind." She climbed in the car, grinning up at Opie. He shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. He pulled out of the parking lot and reached over for Stacey's hand, gripping it in his. Before they got very far from the campus, his prepay buzzed and he pulled his hand from hers, reaching into the console to grab the phone.
"It's Juice," he mumbled before answering it. He listened for several moments, his face becoming stonier and stonier as he looked over at Stacey, anger flashing in his eyes. She shrunk back from his gaze, bewildered, as he hung up the phone and immediately swerved over to the side of the road and stopped the car. He sat there for several long moments while Stacey sat next to him, afraid to say anything. He finally jerked open the car door and lit a cigarette, pacing in front of the car. Stacey tentatively opened her door and walked towards him.
"What did Juice say?" she asked, confused at his abrupt change in mood. He glared at her, not responding until he took a last drag of his cigarette and flicked it to the ground.
"Were you ever going to tell any of us you're fucking married?" he growled at her. She froze, allowing his words to sink in.
"What? What are you talking about?" she asked. Opie scoffed in derision.
"Juice found a certificate of marriage between you and Brad," he told her, his voice dripping with accusation, "From Las Vegas. You went to FUCKING VEGAS with that asshole?" His voice was rising. Stacey gaped at him, shaking her head as if that would make the news untrue.
"How could you go to Vegas with him without telling anyone?" Opie continued, "How could you be that stupid?"
"No, Opie… I… But we didn't get married!" she said, "We were only there for a night… that's when I got sick and we came back… early." Her voice trailed off as the mysterious illness she had accrued in Vegas suddenly made sense to her.
"What kind of sick? Nauseous? Blackouts? Dizziness?" he asked, his voice full of contempt. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the ground, nodding slowly. He threw his head back and sighed before looking back at her.
"I thought you were smarter than that," he said, making her feel even smaller than she already did.
"I just thought… I drank too much," she mumbled.
"Yeah, well while you were busy drinking too much he probably slipped GHB in your drink and ran you off to a drive through chapel!" he shouted.
"I'm sorry!" she yelled, deciding to fuel her anger instead of her embarrassment, "What do you want me to say? I trusted him. I already feel like an idiot enough for that, but I wasn't exactly expecting him to spike my drink with a date rape drug!" She felt her voice choke up as the impact of what Brad had done to her washed over her.
"Why would he have done that to me?" she asked meekly, "Why take me to Vegas just to drug me and… marry me?" Opie shook his head, his anger fading as he strode over to her and pulled her into him.
"I don't know, baby," he mumbled, "Juice is working on that now."
Opie and Stacey made most of the drive back to Charming in silence, each of them buried in their own thoughts. Stacey reached for Opie's hand but he pulled it away from her, resting it on the steering wheel. She frowned, looking over at him.
"Are you still mad at me?" she asked hesitantly. He sighed before taking his eyes off the road and glanced over at her. He reached over to take her hand, squeezing it gently.
"I'm not mad at you," he said, "I'm just… frustrated." Stacey nodded, leaning back in her seat.
"What am I gonna do, Opes?" she asked quietly, looking down at their hands intertwined.
"About what?" he asked distractedly.
"About being fucking married?" Stacey replied, "Can I get it annulled or something?"
"Juice'll work on it for you. I'm more worried about what his reasons for doing it were," Opie said. Stacey nodded.
"Any ideas?" she asked. He sighed heavily and shook his head.
"None good," he replied.
A/N - I hope you liked this chapter! Please review, let me know what you thought! Your reviews are what keep me motivated!
Also, I promise you won't have to wait long to find out what exactly Brad is up to, just until the next chapter is posted! And there'll be a lot of action next chapter as well. I should be able to have it up sometime later this week, I've just got to do final revisions on it.