Happy New Years everyone! Enjoy the newest chapter :)

Opie leaned against the wall, bringing the bottle to his lips. It was getting close to eleven and he knew he should be making his way home, but the thought made him tense. He found himself hanging at the club later and later just to keep from arguing with Donna. He hated trying to juggle the two things he loved. He wished it was a hell of a lot easier.

He turned his attention to the door when he caught a glimpse of Juice coming into the clubhouse. Juice had slipped out over an hour ago without saying anything which meant he was meeting Abby so Opie couldn't help but wonder why he was here. Juice looked frantic. He began walking in Clay's direction then turned erratically back to the door. This went on several times until he froze in his spot, looking down at something in his hand.

Pushing himself off the wall, Opie moved in his direction. "Juice," he bellowed, stopping in front of him. Juice was fixated on what looked to be a bracelet in his hand. Placing his hands on Juice's shoulders, he watched his eyes snap up. They were filled with tears. Shaking him, he tried again, "Juice, what's wrong?"

"Abby, something's happened."

"What do you mean, something happened? What the hell are you talking about?" Opie questioned.

"We were going to meet in the parking lot of the diner, but when she didn't show I went looking for her," he paused, swallowing hard. "The waitress said she left with Jake Darby. When I went to look around, I found this; it's the bracelet I got her for Christmas," he stopped and sniffed hard, clearly trying to keep his emotions in check. "Jake took Abby."

"Holy shit," Opie choked, trying to keep a level head.

He felt Juice pull away from his grip, which had lightened up, to take a step in the direction of Clay and Bobby. With one quick motion, Opie grabbed his arm and jerked him back. "What are you doing?"

"We have to tell them," he blubbered.

Opie nodded in agreement. He knew they had to tell the club, but telling the others that Abby had been taken would expose the secret relationship. He caught sight of Jax heading toward the bar for a refill. "Jax," he called out, motioning for him to come over.

Jax strutted in their direction. "What's up Ope?"

"Jake Darby took Abby," Opie announced. "Juice found her bracelet on the street after she didn't meet him in the parking lot. The waitress confirmed that they walked out of the diner together."

Running his hand through his hair, Jax muttered, "Ah shit." He pointed to where Clay, Bobby and Tig were smoking cigars. "We have to tell them. This isn't something the three of us can handle ourselves."

Opie nodded, he needed Jax to validate what they had to do. Turning to Juice whose face was completely expressionless, he placed his hands on Juice's shoulders and stared him straight in the eyes. "You have to be prepared for what might happen when this comes out."

"I just want Abby back," he mumbled.

Jax and Opie gave each other a nod before stepping in the direction of the others. Opie glanced over his shoulder to make sure Juice was behind them. He was in line with every step they took.

Stopping in front of the trio puffing away on cigars, Jax cleared his throat. "We have a problem Clay."

Clay blew out a sea of smoke and locked eyes with the VP. "What kind of problem?"

"We just found out that Jake Darby has Abby."

"WHAT?" Bobby screeched, almost dropping his cigar on the floor. Tig grabbed it from his grip and snuffed it out on the ash tray beside them.

"What do you mean he has Abby?" Clay asked gruffly.

Opie glanced at Juice, trying to will him to speak. Sure he could say something, but it would just bring more questions and eventually Juice would have to speak up. Time seemed to drag on so finally Opie decided to chime in. As he began to open his mouth, Juice stepped forward almost zombie like and began to answer the question.

"I was to be meeting her, but she was running late. When I went…" Juice was cut off by Bobby's hand up.

"Did you say you were meeting her? Why the hell were you meeting Abby?" Bobby asked, his voice growing increasingly irritated.

Watching Juice, Opie could feel his heart begin racing. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he was preparing himself for anything. He caught Jax's eyes which looked just as nervous as his. In unison, both men took a step forward so they were standing beside Juice.

"Abby and I have been dating since June," he answered calmly. There was no hint of nervousness or worry in his voice. It was if he accepted the fate that could potentially greet him upon unveiling the truth.

Bobby began pacing the floor, running his fingers through his curls while looking manic. He was mumbling to himself, but nobody could make out what he was saying. Everyone's eyes were fixated on him, waiting to see how this piece of information was going to impact him.

Finally Clay spoke up, taking charge. He pointed to Jax, Opie, Tig and Chibs. "Let's get back to the diner. Find something that can tell us where Jake took her." He paused, looking at Bobby. "Talk to the waitress at the diner and look around outside. Get plate numbers of cars in that area. Maybe we'll get lucky and can trace something to someone involved."

Opie nodded, taking a few steps behind his brothers to go fulfill their orders. He heard Juice behind him. "I want to go," he stammered. "I can't just…"

"No, I'm going," Bobby interrupted. "I want to make sure my niece gets back here safe and sound."

He pushed past a shaky Juice and threw the door open. Opie looked back at Juice. "Stay put. I'll call you if we find anything." He watched as Juice shook his head, tears glistening in his eyes as he walked backward until he sunk into one of the bar stools. They needed to get Abby back as soon as possible.

Juice sat on the bar stool staring into space for what seemed like forever. A couple of the guys that had stayed behind tried talking to him, but he couldn't recall anything they had said. It wasn't until Opie called him with a couple plate numbers to run that he began to function again. The last thing Opie said to him before hanging up danced in his head. "You need to pull yourself together Juice; for Abby."

Opie was right. He had to get his shit together and fast. The faster they could get Abby back, the more stable he would feel. The guys were on their way back and he had one piece of information for them based on the plates he ran through his system.

His eyes darted up as the door swung open. Bobby was storming toward him with a wild look in his eyes. He recoiled back, waiting for Bobby to hit him, but instead Bobby just stopped and barked. "Did you find anything?"

Shaking his head wildly, he averted his eyes from him and looked at the focused yet sympathetic eyes of Ope. "The plates on the truck gave me a hit. The truck belongs to George Decker," Juice paused, feeling Bobby's eyes drilling into him. "This George guy was in Stockton on drug related charges for selling with some of his fellow Nord brothers."

"Great, so we go out to where this George fellow lives and see what he knows," Chibs chimed in.

Shifting in his spot, Juice looked down at the paper he was holding. "Here's the problem; he's dead. He was killed during a fight in Stockton between the Nords and Guerillas."

"Ah shit," Jax exhaled.

Juice watched as Jax began pacing back and forth while Opie removed his hat looking enraged by this information. The only thing this information confirmed was that it was definitely the Nords who took her; which wasn't in question.

Clay spoke up, doing what he did best; giving orders. "Jax," he began. "You, Ope, Chibs and Bobby go out to where this guy lived. See if you can come up with something." He turned to Juice. "Tig, Juice, Hap and I are going to track down Laroy. Let's see if he's heard any talk about this newest development in the Nord/Mayan alliance." Clay looked Juice up and down. "You good?"

Juice nodded, swallowing hard. "I'm good." He continued to ignore the stare down Bobby was giving him. He couldn't believe that his fellow brother wasn't doing something to physically hurt him, but he had a feeling that at some point the shock would wear off and he needed to be prepared.

On the way to the parking lot, Jax brought something up. "Someone should call Gemma. She's gonna want to know what's going on."

Clay shook his head no. "It's after midnight. There's no reason to wake her and get her riled up. She isn't going to do anything except give everyone a headache."

Juice knew Gemma would want to know that something had happened to Abby. Abby was like a daughter to her; she cared deeply for Bobby's niece. He was half tempted to sneak off to give her a call, but he was already in deep shit with one of the senior club members, he didn't need the President bringing down his wrath.

Strapping on his helmet, he zoomed out of the parking lot with the rest of the crew; saying a silent prayer that they resolved this quickly with everyone in one piece.

Jax slammed the door to George Decker's house. They came up empty. The place had been cleaned out and what little bit that was left shared no information as to where Abby was. He lit a cigarette and shut his eyes, lifting his head up to where the moon shined on his face. Opie was still instead not willing to accept that there were no leads. Bobby had come outside some time ago and was leaning against his bike, head down, puffing away on a cigarette. He had barely said a word to anybody from the moment they got here. Chibs was trying to keep everyone focused and on track, but Jax knew he was probably doing that to keep himself together too.

Looking down at his phone, he knew he had to call Clay to let him know there was nothing here. He hoped that the other guys had tracked down Laroy or someone that could give them something to go on.

He began to stroll over toward Bobby to check on him when his phone rang. Stopping in his tracks, he looked at the number not recognizing it. He heard the door shut behind him as his other two brothers came onto the porch.

Waving the guys over, he answered the phone. "Yeah." There was silence on the other end. "Hello," he responded again with a little more force in his voice. He heard a little rustling in the background, but still nothing. "Okay, asshole, who is this?"

"Jax."

His heart skipped as he heard the muffled voice of a female on the other end. He heard his name uttered again and realized it was Abby. "Abby," he yelled. He ignored the three guys behind him as they began talking at the same time. He could feel Bobby practically standing up against him. "Abby, where are you?"

"Jax," she whimpered. "They want the guns."

"Who wants the guns?" he asked as he began to pace around in a circle. The guys moving in closer.

"The Nords. They want the guns," she sniffed hard, sounding as if she was trying to keep from breaking down. Jax could tell she was trying to be brave, but he imagined she was falling apart. "When?"

"In an hour. Someone will call you with details, but Jax," she paused, taking a deep breath. "If you don't get the guns, something will happen to me."

"Abby, we'll get this taken care of. Hold it together and trust me." He brushed away Bobby's hand as he tried to grab the phone. In the background, he heard what sounded like a bunch of dogs barking.

"Jax," she began again. "Can you tell Juice…"

He heard some rustling in the background as Abby shrieked and the phone went dead. He stood there for a few seconds frozen as the shrill pitch rang in his head. The two of them certainly had their share of ups and downs, but he loved her like a sister and this was tearing him a part.

"What the hell is going on?" Opie demanded.

"The Nords want the guns," Jax spoke, slamming the phone shut. "We have an hour." He finished as he stalked toward the bikes. They needed to get a hold of Clay and get back to the clubhouse to come up with a game plan; the clock was ticking.