Anissa's POV
Donna and I rocked out to late 90s, early 2000s hits as she assisted me packing up hair supplies and wigs to send to black salons out in Compton. We had been out in the shop since five this morning and it was already approaching 1 o' clock. We had taken a break, helping Donna with her school application to Lakeshore. She seems to be more upbeat, a little more youth to her spirit. I didn't expect her to catch on really quick to the bleaching process of wigs, but I stand amazingly corrected.
"Are you going to the party tonight with the boys?" Donna asked, sealing one of the five boxes of products.
I hunched my shoulders, unsure about my answer as labelled. "I don't know… ever since that accusation that they insinuated about me with the Niners, my soul hasn't really been up to be around them." I said.
"And Chibs? You don't have to answer." She said, moving onto the next box.
"Chibs and I are good. We had a heart to heart, so no hard feelings on my part." I replied.
"Well that explains why Jax has been moody for the past few days. I think Opie mentioned that he has been trying to talk to you." Donna said with no real intent behind it, just stating facts about the situation.
I rolled my eyes, playfully. "The only reason I saw Jax yesterday was because he is the father to my niece and I went to see her. I can admit I gave him the cold shoulder." I explained, chuckling.
Donna laughed as finished taping the boxes. "Listen, this not me coming to their defense and excusing their behavior. I know I would feel the same exact way, but they do participate in illegal activities, so earning that trust and that loyalty will be a hurdle for you, but once you earn your way in… they're your big dysfunctional family. Even though I wish in a perfect world Opie wasn't a part of that life, the guys have definitely filled a void in the absence of my own family." Donna said. I walked over to help her load some of the boxes on the wagon to take out to my company van.
"I can respect that, doesn't mean I want to jump right in the fray. Especially if Clay is there. He is definitely on my shit list forever. There is no coming back from there." I explained, not missing the slight flinch that Donna gave as I went over to prop open the door, feeling the heat of the sunshine through the glass pane. The dry breeze was a slap to the face on top of the 90 degree weather.
"Clay has never been my favorite person. There is just something about him… just stay out of his way, AJ." Donna fidgeted as rolled the cart to the back of the truck. "Anyways, Opie harassed me into going, so I'll be there to be mental support." Donna went back into her happy disposition, pushing her pixie hair out of her face.
I stayed quiet for a second, reflecting on how Donna was acting, something familiar about her mannerisms to me. I pushed the thought to the back of my head for another time. I smiled brightly, easing into comfortable waters. "So, how are you and Opie? I heard someone was super late yesterday to a meeting at the garage." I wagged my eyebrows naughtily, causing Donna to scoff out a laugh with hers reddening from embarrassment.
"I do have to say that I was definitely in my head and it was soo good, I can't even lie! But even though we have some work to do to get back to us, we finally talked and it has been so long since we've been honest with each other. This weekend, Opie and I will sit down and make lists on what we both want to see each other to work on and if he doesn't have to do any runs, we are going out on a date! Jax is going to watch the kids for us on Saturday night." Donna explained.
"I'm glad to hear that. I might make an appearance tonight if I'm up to it. No promises. Help me with the cart." Donna helped me put the cart into the van, then slammed the doors shut in the back.
I probably sat in the car for twenty minutes staring at the damn garage, before I decided to go in. I noticed there were a lot more motorcycles in the lot than the usual ones that I have seen. I gave one look in the rearview mirror, fluffing blue rooted, vibrant green wig. Seeing that my makeup was on point, I got out my renegade. I wore a pair of army fatigue joggers with a black leather bralette/crop top. I internally smirked at Chibs expression when he sees me. At least this time around I wasn't wearing heels, but my black mesh high tops that were way too damn comfortable to be these cute. I looked on in shock as I came to the front of the entrance to see men already passed out drunk.
"Damn, the party only just started an hour ago." I mumbled to myself as I went around the distracted bikers into the garage. Man, it was so packed in this damn place, but I'm sure someone grabbed my ass. Ignoring the urge to cuss the group of men out, I quickly got myself to the bar where Donna was posted like a wallflower. She brightened up when she saw me approach, relief settling on her features.
"I'm glad you made it! If I had to suffer through locker room talk for another minute, I was going to shoot someone. You look really cute." Donna complimented, handing me Mike's hard Lemonade margarita from the ice bath from the top of the bar.
"Thanks. You too! I like this look on you." I said, liking the knit crop top, though hers was a little more modest than mine, with Khaki frayed shorts to match.
I cringed at the loud, heavy rock music that was damn near ready to take out my eardrums from the heavy bass. "Who are all these people?" I questioned as I hung my purse behind the bar. I took the stool next to Donna, decapping the beer she gave me.
"The Tacoma branch is just passing through, before they head home, so that's the reason for the last minute party, though the boys don't need many reasons to party." Donna explained, before taking a sip of her beer.
"You look bored out of your mind, Donna." I commented as I scanned my eyes across the crowd for Chibs.
"As I mentioned before, I'm making a new effort with Opie to be more involved, at least on the social aspect of things, and having a little bit of fun. But crowds have never really been my thing, especially where drunk men are involved." Donna explained.
"Well, I'm happy for the both of you are making active changes to get back on track. It shows how much you love and respect each other. You guys are going to last a long time, I just know it." I smiled.
"ANISSA?!" I heard someone squeal over loud music, causing me to look around and my eyes landed on a friend of mines.
I almost tripped over the stool as I saw a face I haven't seen in about four years. "OH MY- PEACHES!" I yelled, pushing some bodies out of the way to embrace her. Peaches was another I came up with in LA, but she had disappeared off the map about four years ago. The girls had checked hospitals all over LA looking for her, but nothing turned up. Peaches was a full figured woman with a fluffy personality to match.
"Oh, it's so good to see you, AJ." Peaches said, pulling back to look at me. We held each other faces with teary eyed smiles to match our elation.
"Where the hell have you been?! We were looking everywhere for you!" I asked, fluffing her jean collared.
She wiped at her eyes, before she started to speak. "Gurl, I had ended up in Washington and was charged with an assault . Gave me two years, but it definitely saved my life. I got into the prison rehab and got myself off that cocaine and completed my GED. Once I got released, I saw no reason to come back to LA. I started over in Tacoma, got a job as a server and got back into school for Business and Management. I had to stay in a couple of women's shelters, before I got a place. Once I got life back on track, I didn't look back, but I did miss you guys!" Peaches explained.
"Well, you look amazing and in good spirits. I'm soo happy for you." I started to cry, pulling her into another hug. Most time, I didn't hear a lot of success stories for sex workers. Either Johns, jail, or drugs takes our lives."
She hugged me, rubbing my back. "Awe, don't cry AJ! You know I'm a sympathy cryer." She said, causing me to laugh. I pulled away with a smile.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but how did you get entangled with these guys?" I asked.
Peaches smiled brightly with happiness. "I'm soo not entangled with the club, but one of the members of the Charming Branch. We met a year and half ago when Charming was up in Tacoma. They came into the diner that I was working at the time and the rest was history." Peaches explained.
I 'hmmed' as I guessed the Charming member that had Peaches enraptured. "It's Bobby, isn't it?" I guessed correctly when her beaming smile brightened.
"Yeah… wait! How are you tied into the Sons?" Peaches asked, fluffing her hair backwards.
I smiled as I leaned in. "I'm dating Chibs." This caused Peaches to make an 'OH' expression.
"So, you are the one that got Maddie 'big mad'?" Peaches smirked, nudging my shoulder.
"Who the hell is Maddie?" I questioned in confusion. Without answering, Peaches turned me into another direction, causing me to finally see my baby for the first time tonight, but my mood bled into annoyance as I saw a white woman with a big ass trying to push up on him. Chibs looked borderline aggravated as his hands were locked around her wrist to keep her from advancing.
"I guess that Chibs was fucking her and they were a 'thing' for the moment, but he stopped seeing her more than a few months ago. I can see why, got the man whipped!" Peaches laughed, interrupting my intense glare as my annoyance and giddiness warred on inside of me.
Did I just say 'giddiness'? Oh no, Chibs got me turning into a teenager. "Ok, I'm going to trust that Chibs will handle it, because I do not want to fight. Lets go have a drink!" I said, walking back to the bar, seeing Donna still in her spot. "Damn Donna, my bad. I didn't mean to leave you." I apologized as I went behind the bar.
"Oh no, that's fine. It was really a sweet moment to witness." Donna said, smiling at Peaches.
"Well Peaches, this is Donna. She's my friend in the making and my assistant. Donna, this is Peaches. One of the sweetest people you will meet." I said, introducing the two ladies. They shook hands while complimenting each other. We all delved in conversations as I started to make Margaritas for the three of us. On the back counter, there were walnut brownies. "Ooo la la!" I said, snapping open the container to pick up one. I turned around with the container. "Guys, want one?"
Donna stopped for a moment to look at the snacks. "Sure." She grabbed one, immediately sinking her teeth in it. Peaches grabbed one, before continuing to talk with Donna. I snacked on the brownie, before restarted on my margaritas.
Chibs' POV
I was finally able to shake off Maddie about 20 minutes ago, finally getting into my pool match against Happy. "Fuck, she's clingy!" Happy griped as he aligned his pool stick to make a shot.
"I had to change my phone number about two months ago. Fucking Christ, I'm just glad AJ didn't see her. I do not need that headache."I complained, pinching the bridge of my nose.
We were interrupted when Tig came over to the nearby couch, lifting the pillows. "Where the fuck are they?" Tig mumbled with agitation.
"What are you looking for?" I questioned, watching as Tig looked under the pool table.
"I'm looking for my brownie edibles. Those shits are expensive." Tig groaned. Before I could answer, there was an abrupt pause in the music.
'Ain't that DJ Chose over there?
Looks like DJ Chose
What's up, Bri?'
The new song started to play causing the men in the room to stop, looking around confused.
"Chibs, is that AJ on the bar?" Happy asked, causing me to look in the direction of the bar. My eyes widened as I saw AJ twerking along with another woman I vaguely recognized along with Donna. Opie broke through the crowd with Jax on his heels, causing me to move forward as well when the boys started to get rowdy.
"OKAY DONNA! GRAB THEM ANKLES! CAUSE SHE THICC!" AJ started to chant, encouraging Donna to bend over and shake it. Donna was cracking up so much as she tried to swing back and forward.
"Donna, what the hell are you doing?!" Opie asked, trying to get his wife down, but she swiped at his grabby hands.
"Baby… baby, look what I can do!" Donna started to giggle as she bent over again, shaking her ass with a little provocative twirl to it. Opie lost it when one of her hands lewdly caressed from her ass to her pussy. Opie caveman her over his shoulder, causing her to giggle uncontrollably.
"Well, that explains where my brownies went." He lifted up the container, but he was ogling my girlfriend.
"Tig, what the hell is in those?" Jax asked as he was cracking up as he watched Donna pretend she was flying from being up on Opie's shoulder.
"Weed and they were laced with LSD." Tig explained, tossing the left of the brownies on the camera.
I approached AJ from behind as she was shaking up from above, grabbing her calves. "Having fun, love?" I asked.
AJ looked down with blown out pupils with a hyped up smile. Bobby was already getting Peaches up from the floor as she played an imaginary flute to a tune she could only hear. "Baby, let me drive the boat on you!" AJ said excitedly, grabbing the nearest cognac bottle.
I chuckled as I knew that was her favorite term to feed shots to people. "AJ, let me get you down before you hurt yourself." I said, trying to get the bottle out her hand.
She pulled away childishly with a pout to her lips. Tig stayed behind the bar, ready to catch her if she fell. "No! Let me drive the boat!" She said shaking the bottle.
I sighed, thinking of ways not to strangle Tig tomorrow. "Will you get down if I let you drive the boat?" I asked, trying to compromise with my high ass girlfriend.
She wiggled her eyebrows with a nod. She squatted down, hovering alcohol above my lips. I let her pour her shot and she pulled the bottle away, I wrangled it out of her grasp and grabbed her off the bar, causing her to let out a squeal. I planted her on her own feet, holding her close. She planted her face in my neck, moaning as she sniffed me. "My nipples are hard." She said with confusion, pulling away to look at her breast. "Baby, look." I pulled her hands away from her breast to her from pulling down her top.
"I promise I'll look at them later. Let us go get you in bed." I tried to reason. Just when I was steering her away to the dorms, she stopped to look at Happy. Happy looked at the startled look AJ was giving him, causing him to look behind him. "Happy, don't move! There's a snake on your head!" She whispered menacingly, causing Happy to smirk.
Happy being Happy just to antagonize the situation, swiped at his head to brush off the 'snake'. "Damn, I didn't mean to get it on you AJ." AJ immediately started to scream her head off as she brushed her hands over her body to get the 'snake' off.
"Chibs, it's in my hair!" AJ squealed. I grabbed her again, pulling her back in my arms. I pretended to stomp on the 'snake'.
"AJ, I got it! It's dead." I said as she looked around frantically in fear, but I got her attention as grabbed her face to look at me. "Baby, I got you." I said as she went back to face planted into my neck. I picked her up bridal style as I glared at Happy, who was cracking up with Jax.
For the next few hours, AJ was all over the place. She went from making snow angels to dancing to a nymphomaniac. I had to redress her about four times. It was about three in morning, before she finally crashed.
Anissa's POV
God, I felt like shit! My mouth felt like the Sahara desert with a pounding migraine to match. My Apple watch flashed that it was 4:30 p.m. I crawled, literally, to the bathroom as my body was screaming it's displeasure.
I soaked in my hot shower for a good minute as the two Excedrin I took were working it's magic finally. I added some leave in conditioner in my hair, before throwing it into a bun. I looked when the bathroom door opened, revealing Chibs with a coffee cup in his hand.
"You are not seeing any snakes, are you?" Chibs asked in a teasing manner, but I didn't know what he was talking about. I accepted the hot tea that he handed over with a sigh of happiness.
"Damn, what happened last night? My head is all fucked up." I asked, before taking a sip.
"Somehow, you, Donna, and Bobby's girlfriend friend got into Tigs' edible stash last night." Chibs explained with an amused smile on his face.
I groaned with irritation. "On a scale of 1 to 'I need to jump in a hole', how much did I embarrass myself?" I asked as Chibs caressed my hips.
"Well, Jax got a lot of blackmail material on you." Chibs admitted, laughing as I faked cried in my hands.
"He's never going to let me live it down." I mumbled as I walked back to our bed, throwing myself across it.
"Don't worry too much about it! The boys and I have had our share of our piss drunk moments. Anyways, Peaches told me to give this to you since she had to head out back to Tacoma." Chibs offered me a piece of paper with a number on it.
"Man, I'm mad that I wasted the night with her." I said, putting the slip of paper on the night table. "Did you have to go into the garage?" I asked, snuggling into the covers.
"No, I don't." Chibs kicked off his shoes to slide in the bed with me to snuggle.
Chibs and I were watching Steve Wilkos show, sitting up in bed as we ate pepperoni pizza. "You have ten siblings?!" I questioned as we somehow got on the topic about family.
"Yep, nine brothers and one sister. Most of them still live in Scotland, but my sister and two brothers live in Ireland." Chibs explained.
"By the same parents?" I asked, laying across Chibs lap.
"Six of us to my mom and the rest of them to different women." Chibs said, massaging the back of neck with his thumb. "What about you? I know you said you only have Toni."
I sighed. "I have five siblings in total. I only met four of them in the last few years. I found out after my mom abandoned me with her brother, she went on to finish her PhD to become a surgeon and got married to a fellow surgeon during residency. They ended up having three children together. A daughter and a set of twins. Ari is the one I haven't met, but from the twins, she's a terrible person." I said.
Chibs frowned as his little massaging strokes stopped. "Your mother… did she ever come back for you?" Chibs questioned.
I shrugged my shoulders. "No. If she did, it was after I was taken from CPS when I was nine. She didn't show up to any hearings and my father wasn't in the picture at the time. Anyways, the twins, Shiloh and Shila, ended up finding out about my existence after they were rummaging in the attic and came across my birth certificate. Then, they hired a private investigator with their Dad's credit card and she tracked me down." I laughed as the memory popped in my head.
"These little brats, at the age of twelve, got on a plane and came out to the shitty apartment I was living in before. Talk about a surprise!" I pinched my forehead at the stress of the past memory.
"That's nice to at least have some roots. From the fondness, I can tell you bonding with them turned out well." Chibs said.
"Yeah since that day, I talk to them one a week. Last year, they came down to spend the summer with me." I picked a piece of pepperoni off the pizza to nibble on.
"What about the two other siblings? I assume from your father's side." Chibs questioned.
"The twins convinced their mother to tell me at least about my father. Yeah, turns out Andrew, my dad, didn't know about me. When Sheila, my mother, found out she was pregnant, Andrew was already deployed on a marine's assignment. She gave me some info that led my search to Fort Worth, Texas where Andrew is an active General at the Marine base. Three years ago, I wrote a letter to the base with contact info. I didn't really think he was going to answer, but maybe… three weeks he called me. He invited me down to Fort Worth. I was expecting a black man when I was searching for Andrew in the airport, but white guy or biracial what I found out later. He is married to Ophelia, a black woman that is a chef and owns her own restaurant. Christian and Sage, my brothers, followed in Andrew's footsteps and joined the marines." I said, hearing my phone vibrate on the night table.
"Well, I'm glad you were able to get a little bit of closure." Chibs said.
I was getting ready to reply when my heart stopped when I saw Toni's name flashed across my locked screen. I tapped the text, confused with a little apprehension as to where she wanted to meet. I stalled over the keyboard as contemplated on what to say.
AJ, I need U 2 meet me at Jades in Chinatown. Hurry plz! -Toni
"Babe, you good?" Chibs asked.
"Yeah…" I whispered, trailing off as I sent an 'ok'. I got off the bed and went over to the draw Chibs gave me for my personals.
"Where are you going?" Chibs questioned as I stopped in the doorway of the bathroom to look back at me.
I thought about lying as I stopped in the middle of putting on my shoes, but shook my head at the notion. "Toni wants me to meet her." I responded, watching as Chibs tense up as came more into the room.
"Without any explanation where she's been the past few months?" Chibs asked, blocking the exit, so I wouldn't leave.
I sighed. "I know… I don't like it either. But I won't be gone for long." I placated, grabbing keys off the hook.
"Where does she even want to meet?" Chibs asked, grabbing his boots to put on, causing confusion to sprout.
"What are you- Why are you putting on your shoes?" I questioned.
"I don't like the fact that your friend is texting you out of the blue, especially this late." He took the keys from my hand as he ushered me out the house.
Chibs pulled up to Jades, an Japanese cultured lounge on the edge of Chinatown. You would think it was a cute little place for tourists, but anyone working the night hours knew the rumors about the place. When I mentioned the place to Chibs, his features darken as the reputation has reached to Charming. The place was Yakuza hotspot for child sex trafficking. Even though Michael irritated me with his snakey ways, he never crossed that line.
"I can go from here, Chibs." I argued, not trying to get Chibs caught up in bullshit that might go down, but he shook his head. He tossed his cut in the back seat, then put his gun in the glove compartment.
"Put your gun in there." I grabbed my revolver, before following his directions. I grabbed my purse as I exited the truck. Chibs met me on the other side, taking my hand in his. I followed his lead into the Jades' lounge. As soon as the doors opened, we were met with two bodyguards. They were dressed down in black tailor suits with black eyes to match.
"Let me guess… Anissa?" The guard questioned, taking my purse from my hands. He handed it off looking over Chibs with a inquisitive look. "There was no mention of a plus one." The guard said. "Arms up."
Chibs and I followed what he said, trying to get done with this. "Onoko, take them over." The guard ordered, keeping my purse at the front as Onoko led us over to the lounge spot. Chibs sat me inside, then sitting in front of me, keeping his watchful eye on the guards.
My eyes looked up when I heard footsteps, seeing an Asian descent man walking from the back with a mirthful glint in his eyes. I heard a slight wheeze, huffing from behind him. Seeing the guard from earlier dragging a struggling Toni by her hair, causing me to stand up from my seat, but Chibs quickly planted my ass back in my seat.
"Toni… what did you do to her?!"I questioned angrily as the new man dragged his chair across the floor, causing a screeching sound.
"Man, get your hands off of me!" I heard someone grunt as Onoko tossed someone else on the floor next to Toni. My eyes widened as the man with the busted eye looked up at me.
"Miss Johnson, let me make this as quick as possible. These two individuals stole money from me and when I gave them a chance to make it back, I found them trying to make a run for the border. Toni made a last ditch effort in naming you so that you would have the money to pay me back." The man, causing Chibs and I to look at Toni in shock as she looked away, rubbing at her nose. The first time I took in Toni saw that she lost a lot of weight with dark circles darkening her eyes. She had track marks up and down her arms.
"Toni, what did you get yourself into? And why is he here?" I questioned angrily as I took in Caleb, the pimp that turnt us out when we were on the streets of Houston at age of 12.
"Toni and Caleb were… managing the product for me." The man provided.
"Sato… she doesn't need to know any of that." Toni moaned, wiping sweat from her brow.
Sato laughed as he turned in his chair to stare at the pair, but my mind was lost when I tried to decipher his meaning. I looked to Caleb, then back to Toni as it started to dawn on me. My eyes started to tear up as I held back a muffled sob. "Toni, please tell me you didn't do what I think you did?" I questioned staring down at Toni.
"I did what I had to do to survive." Toni defended, getting angry.
I scoffed as if I was seeing her as a new person. "No, you don't give me that bullshit! You helped these people groom children. You have a fucking daughter, Toni!" I grunted out, rising with every word.
Toni stood on her feet, wobbling. "Don't give me that sanctimonious shit! It wasn't too long you were on your back." Toni spitted out viciously, catching the table so she wouldn't fall down. I lunged across the table to grab at Toni, but Chibs grabbed me around the waist, pulling me away as I fought to get away.
"That might be true, but I'll go right back to my knees or straight to my grave before I willingly allow kids… KIDS get preyed on by sick fucks! So, this was what you were doing everytime I asked you where you were getting money from. Running the fucking streets with Caleb while you should have been being a mother." I asked, trying to catch my breath.
"As much as this was amusing, I don't really care. Either you are going to pay their debt or not." Sato said, standing up and smoothing down his suit.
Chibs turned me to him, making me look at him. He wiped at my eyes, before talking. "We can walk out of here right now and don't look back. You don't owe them anything and I won't think any less of you." Chibs said, staring intently back at me.
I let out a stuttering breath as I sniffled as I turned to face Sato. "I'm no friend to Caleb, so whatever he has to pay he can do on his own, but I'll pay her share of debt." I mumbled, hands clenched to my sides.
Sato stared for the moment as contemplated. "Toni was able to earn back $20000, so her outstanding debt is $70000." Sato said, now a bright smile on his face.
For that, I breathed with relief that I had that money from Chance and wouldn't have dip into my savings. "AJ, I can pay it. You don't have to." Chibs said with earnest emotions.
I smiled sadly, rubbing at Chibs' cheek as I shook my head 'no'.
"Come on AJ, I looked out for you! You would be dead if it wasn't for me." Caleb argued trying to crawl over to me, but I jumped when Chibs took his boot to Caleb's face, breaking his nose.
"You hoped to your fucking God that I don't see you outside this place." Chibs snapped, yielding to me as I pulled him back.
"You have an account I can transfer and I'm going to need my phone." I said anxiously, ready to get this over with. Sato waved over Onoko, who had a laptop ready with an account on the screen. The guard brung over my purse, sitting it down in front of me. My hand started to flare up with tremors as I accessed the foreign account. I did the transfer, watching the screen load. The transfer was instant seeing the money show up in their own account. I pushed the computer away, feeling dirty even contributing to this. Chibs grabbed my hand, helping me up from the booth. I pulled out the foreign card with the last of $5000 on it. I tossed it at Toni's feet, giving her a depleted look.
"We can't come back from this, but Nyla needs her mother. If you were smart, you would take that money and get right." I watched as Toni looked away, grabbing at the card nimbly.
"Toni, it looks like you get to see another day. I suggest you don't show your face around here again. I've been known to have a happy trigger finger. As for you Caleb… what will I ever do?" Sato asked, tilting his head to the side, hands tucked in the pockets of his trousers.
My eyes glanced to the left as Chibs herded me towards the exit, seeing a little girl no older than five, peeking out of one of the rooms. Her brown eyes looked at me curiously, but when she noticed my glance she disappeared back in a room. "Keep walking, AJ." Chibs whispered sadly, grasping onto my hand tight, keeping me from crumbling to the floor.