I really loved writing this chapter. I can't tell you why, but I did. :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and original storyline.

She Will Be Loved

Chapter 63: Over It

By Love Ink

Lino sat on the ground outside of the Mayan clubhouse, closing his eyes as Fernando's screams echoed in his head. Apparently, the other prospect had been dumb enough to do a drive by shooting of Angela's aunt's house in an attempt to start a war with SAMCRO for some unknown reason. He'd thought it'd earn him his top rocker. Fernando had tried to blame Esai, saying it was him who'd said to do it to frame the Niners and further drive a wedge between SAMCRO and their crew. Esai denied it, and the Mayans all believed him because he was the president's son, and why would he do something like that? Ruin a relationship with the Sons and put them all in danger with the Niners?

It was bullshit, though. Lino saw right through it. Fernando wasn't smart enough to come up with that idea. To want to start a war so the Mayans could slide in on Niner territory. No, this was Esai trying to get back together with Angela by getting rid of Juice. The idea of Esai going so far just to win her back made Lino sick to his stomach. And the way the Mayans backed him made Lino question the club. They were supposed to be brothers, yet they had no problem torturing and murdering Fernando all based on a lie Esai had told. It should've been Esai that they were going to have to bury in some unmarked grave somewhere. Not some innocent idiot who was just trying to prove himself. It wasn't right.

Esai walked out, looking a little green and a little guilty. He set his hand on his thighs, leaning over and letting out a long breath. Lino watched him straighten up, his shoulders relaxed, a new façade coming over his face. He'd let himself feel the guilt for a minute before he was moving on.

"You really are an asshole, you know that?" Lino said, glaring at him.

Esai's brows pulled together in confusion. "Excuse me?"

He slowly got to his feet, wanting to be on even ground with the asshole. "I'm not stupid. Not going to play into your dumb little game. Everyone in that room knows Fernando wasn't behind that shit. Was you. Tryin' to get Angela back by gettin' rid of Juice like an idiot. That's fucked up! You could've killed her aunt! Could've killed her! The fuck were you thinkin'?"

"Who do you think you're talkin' to, prospect?" Esai spat back at him, getting in his face. "I didn't do shit! Was all your little partner who thought it was a good idea!"

"That's bullshit, and you know it! Fernando didn't even know where Elena lived!" he insisted without backing down. "Did you really think offing Juice would make her come back to you? Are you fuckin' crazy?"

"Worked the first time, didn't it? She came right back to me!" Esai shouted, throwing his arms to the side.

"The first time," Lino murmured under his breath. His brain was slowly making connections. "Raj got hit by a fuckin' car. The fuck did you have to do with it?"

He shrugged a shoulder, a look of guilt crossing his face again. "Nothin'."

The way he said it put Lino on edge. He narrowed his eyes at him. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do shit, all right?" he snapped, throwing his arms out to the side. "I saw them together at Christmas, and he acted like he thought he was better than me, so I had my primo Tomas out in New York tail him a bit. Figure out his deal. I didn't tell him to take him out!"

Lino stared at him in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Esai was responsible for Raj's death. "Are you serious?"

"It was an accident!" he exclaimed, a pleading note to his voice. "I just wanted to see if she was happy! Tomas said she wasn't! That the asshole kept leaving her! I told him to scare him not kill him!"

His jaw dropped at the admission. The image of Angela curled up on the couch, thin as a rail, barely breathing flashed across his mind. How could Esai do that to her? "That's fucked up! And then you...then you just...call Ang and try to start somethin' with her? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I didn't mean for it to happen that way! It just did!"

"You took advantage of her, you fuckin' piece of shit! Do you know how hard it was to put her back together after she lost Raj? It tore her apart, and you...you capitalized on that pain like a fuckin' asshole!"

Esai had the gall to look upset. "I didn't do anything!"

"You did! Your actions have fuckin' consequences, you piece of shit! Just because you're an Alvarez, don't mean you can do no wrong! You fucked up! Twice, and two people are dead because of it! And you just don't give a shit!" he exclaimed, laughing at the end because he just couldn't believe it. It was fucking insane.

"What am I supposed to do? Huh? It wasn't meant to go down like that!"

"But it did! Do you know what losing Raj like that did to her? How much it hurt?" Lino asked, his hands shaking. "She practically starved and drank herself to death because she thought it was her fault, and it was! If you love her so much, why the fuck would you hurt her like that?"

"I didn't mean to! I didn't want that! I just wanted her back! I still want her back!"

Lino laughed again. "It ain't gonna happen, Esai. Leave her the fuck alone before you end up hurting someone else!"

Esai squared his shoulders, puffing his chest again. "I'm not leavin' her alone! I'm gonna get her back!"

"She doesn't want you! Get that through your thick-ass skull!" he shouted at him, wishing he could bash it into his head. "If she ever finds out about what you did to Raj, she'll never speak to you again."

"So what are you gonna do? Tell her?"

Lino shook his head, his hands clenched into fists. He wanted to murder Esai. Pound his fists into Esai's face until he stopped breathing. "No! 'cause her learnin' that she is in anyway responsible for Raj dying will destroy her," he growled at him. Slowly, he shook his head. "I gotta go. I gotta get outta here."

"You ain't goin' anywhere. You gotta stay and help with the body, prospect."

The cut on Lino's shoulders suddenly felt like a lead vest. He hated the club, hated that they'd supported Esai. That Esai was going to get away with all the fucked up shit he'd done. That he was going to keep getting away with it with no repercussions. He wanted no part in any of it. "Fuck it," he said, shrugging off his cut and throwing it at Esai's feet. "I don't want this shit anymore."

"So what? You gonna give up on the club 'cause a some stupid bitch?" Esai shouted at his back as he turned away from him. "How you gonna explain that to the President, huh?"

Lino paused for a moment, clenching his jaw. He turned back slowly. "How are you going to explain what you did?" he sneered knowing he was safe because of it. As long as he could hold that information over Esai's head; Esai wouldn't touch him. "I'm fuckin' done. Tell your father whatever bullshit story you want. I don't care. I don't want any part in a club that allows its members to pull off shit like this. I'm out."

"Fuckin' pussy," Esai called after him as he began walking away. "We don't want a little bitch like you anyway!"

Lino didn't turn around, just held one middle finger in the air as he headed to his bike. He wasn't offended by being called a 'pussy'. Not by Esai. Esai was the weakest, dumbest, most selfish person he had ever met. If he was smarter, he wouldn't let him walk away with the knowledge he had. He'd try and kill him so all of his dirty secrets died with him. Lino wasn't about to let that happen. He was going to walk away from the club with his middle finger held high knowing that he was doing the right thing. He didn't need the club, anyway. He had his girl and his friends to support him. He'd talk to Vanessa's dad later. Tell him how he was feeling. Seek out his advice for how to proceed and stay in good standing with the club. There had to be a way. Then he was going to figure the rest of his life out. Maybe take some online classes, figure out what he was good at. Marry Vanessa and move the fuck out of Oakland. That was the life he wanted. Not this shit.

As he rode down the familiar streets towards his apartment building, he felt a hell of a lot lighter. The only thing weighing on him was the knowledge that Esai had a hand in killing Raj. He didn't know what to do with it. Telling Angela might send her into a depression worse than the one he'd witnessed after Raj had died. Not telling her would destroy their friendship the moment she found out. Slowly, he parked his bike and headed towards the apartment building, feeling even better when he saw Vanessa's car in the lot. Vanessa still lived with her parents, but she had a key to his place and spent most of the time there studying for cosmetology school. All of her school shit was at his house to keep it away from her five brothers and sisters. Her parents didn't mind the arrangement; Lino had two bedrooms, and they were under the impression they slept separately. They didn't, of course, but what her parents didn't know didn't hurt them.

He kicked off his shoes by the front door and walked towards the bedroom. Vanessa was awake, sitting up slightly against some pillows, a book in her lap. She looked up when he opened the door, her eyebrows raised. "Que paso?" she asked, her dark eyes sweeping over him. She knew him too well. He picked the book up out of her hands, setting it on the nightstand beside her. It was a romance novel. One he'd seen before at Rosa's place. Rosa and Angela were constantly trading them; had Vanessa gotten in on the book trade now? The idea of the three of them getting to be good friends made him so happy. His sisters and his girl getting along was what he always wanted. It was a brief distraction that he was grateful for. "Lee, what's goin' on?" (What happened?)

He knelt down on the floor beside the bed at her side leaning one elbow on the bed beside her and moving his other arm over her. Her brows furrowed in concern as his fingers traced over her cheek. She was beautiful. Had been since the first time he met her their freshman year of high school. Beautiful and smart. Soft, sweet, and nurturing. He was used to tough girls like Angela and Rosa. Girls who didn't back down from a fight and weren't afraid to throw a punch. Vanessa wasn't like that. It was a little refreshing to be with someone he didn't have to worry would pick a fight for stupid shit like Rosa often did. "You're beautiful," he said, leaning in to kiss her softly.

Her look of concern didn't fade. "Lino, que paso? You're scaring me."

He sighed softly, still running his fingers over her cheek. He hesitated for a moment, scared to tell her. Scared of what the information could lead to. He knew her ties to the club were deep with her father being an officer and all, but he couldn't do it. It wasn't in him to be that ruthless. "I'm done, Ness. I'm out. I don't want that life. Not for me, not for you," he murmured, shaking his head slowly. "I want to get outta here. Move north or south or whatever but outta Oakland. Let's do better. Be normal. Would you...would come with me?"

Her brows pulled together again as her hand moved to the side of his face. "Of course, I'll go with you, mi vida," she told him, leaning up to kiss him. "But you gotta tell me what happened..." (my life)

"Esai pulled some big shit, and it got some people killed. Club's lookin' the other way 'cause he's the President's son. Doesn't sit right with me. That's not the brotherhood I want," he told her honestly. Though he'd flirted with the thought she might break things off with him once he left the club, he came to the conclusion that he was wrong. She'd been with him before he'd started prospecting; she wouldn't leave him if he decided against it. He hadn't done anything wrong, and she wasn't so loyal to the club she'd pick it over him.

"He was behind what happened at Ang's house, huh?" she asked astutely.

Lino nodded slowly. "Yeah. Also behind what happened in New York."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Que?" (what)

"Yeah. Remember how we visited your primos there? The Brooklyn charter?" he asked, waiting until she nodded before continuing. "Well, he got one of his cousins to tail Raj. Wanted to scare him. His primo took it too far." (cousin/cousins)

"Holy shit," Vanessa breathed, fear shining her eyes. "Lino, if you know all this, what's Esai going to do to you?"

"Nothin'. He knows I can't tell Ang, but I got no problem going to Marcus with it. 'n' he can't hurt me without reason. And I won't tell. It'll destroy her. She already thinks what happened is her fault. Imagine how she'll feel knowing it kinda was."

She cursed under her breath, her fingers traipsing across his cheek. "I'm so sorry, mi amor," she murmured. "You don't think she'll find out?" (my love)

"She might, but I don't want to be the one to tell her. I can't. I...this isn't like when I knew E was cheating. This is...it's over, it's done. She moved on. This secret won't do anything but hurt her. She's had enough hurt. She don't deserve it. She's finally happy. Don't want Esai to fuck that up again."

Vanessa leaned in to kiss him softly. "I love how much you care about her."

He smiled at that; it didn't use to be that way. She used to hate how close he was to Angela, but the two had grown to be friends ever since the trip to New York. Lino had a feeling seeing Angela in a moment of weakness had made her less intimidating, humanized her a bit. "Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm," she hummed, nodding a bit. "Shows me how big your heart is."

"You know I love you most, though, right?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her. She nodded, her dark brown eyes warm and loving in response. He kissed her again. "You mad I'm givin' up the cut?"

She shook her head, a warm smile on her face. "Proud a you for stickin' to your morals. Never really loved the idea of you bein' a part of it, to be honest. My dad was rarely around growin' up then he went to jail for a few years, and when he came back, he was never the same. I was always afraid he'd get arrested again. Not the best way to grow up, and I can't imagine it was easy for my Mom."

He frowned; she'd never said anything about that. He'd thought she wanted him to become a Mayan because most of the men in her family were. "You didn't want me to prospect?"

"I want you to do whatever you want. I'm here to support you, Lee. Told you that. I want you to be happy, so I'm going to support you no matter what because I know you'd do the same for me."

"I love you," he murmured, catching her lips in a kiss. He didn't know what else to say. He just loved her. Loved how supportive she was. "Thank you."

She nodded, the smallest hint of a smile on her face. "Go get comfy, mi cielo. Then come to bed. We'll figure everythin' out in the morning." (my sky)

Lino kissed her once more before slowly getting to his feet. He showered quickly and changed before climbing in to bed behind her. He formed himself around her, sliding his arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her neck. "Love you, Ness," he repeated as she threaded her fingers through his. "We'll start a new life together. Me 'n' you. I'ma keep you safe."

Her lips pressed against his knuckles. "I know you will, mi vida. I love you too."

When Lino woke up the next morning, Vanessa wasn't in the bed with him, but the smell of chorizo wafted to the bedroom from the kitchen. He got up with a groan, remembering the events of the night before. As bad as he felt about Esai's confession, he didn't have a shred of regret for taking off his cut. He hadn't felt so sure about something in years. He padded his way into the kitchen, rubbing his stomach as it grumbled. He grinned when he saw Vanessa standing at the oven. "Buenos dias, mi amor," he murmured, dropping a kiss to her shoulder as he moved his arms around her. (Good morning, my love)

She tensed for a moment, elbowing him gently. "Lino! Look who came to visit!" she said, nodding emphatically to the small dining room.

Lino looked over his shoulder to find her father sitting at the table in his cut, green bandana around his head, and one eyebrow raised at them. "Oh. Hi Luis," he greeted, feeling a little nervous standing there in front of him in just his boxers. "I'ma go put some pants on."

"That would be wise," Luis replied, his face hard as stone.

Lino nodded and quickly headed back to his room, scrambling to find something decent to wear. His stomach was in knots. What the hell was Luis doing there? Was he in trouble? Had Esai given him some bulllshit story about why he'd left? What fires was he going to have to put out? He quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and one of his old t-shirts with his college's logo on the front of it. He glanced at himself in the mirror, taking in a deep breath as he said, "You're fine. It's fine. Luis definitely isn't going to kill you in front of his daughter. You're doin' the right thing."

He smacked his palm against the mirror, giving himself a high five before straightening up and striding confidently back into the kitchen. He locked eyes with Vanessa who was currently serving up two dishes of chilaquiles. "He's not mad," she whispered at him, pushing the plates at him. "He has questions. Good luck."

Lino took the plates from her, kissing her cheek as he did so. The table was already set nicely, a steaming cup of coffee in front of Luis and, if he wasn't mistaken, a cup of hot chocolate at his place. Cinnamon floating on top. The sight of it made him smile like an idiot; Vanessa always teased him about how much he hated coffee, yet she never failed to make the perfect cup of hot chocolate for him when he needed it the most. He set Luis's place down before sitting down at his own seat and grabbing his fork. He'd let Luis speak first, a sign of respect he knew Luis would appreciate.

"Marcus gave me your cut last night," Luis began, mixing his breakfast slowly. "Said Esai told him you wanted out."

"I do."

Luis nodded slowly as he chewed his bite of food. "As your sponsor, you come to me to ask for an out. Not to Esai."

Lino grimaced, he hadn't known that. Hadn't once thought of there being any kind of protocol to ask for a way out. "I'm sorry. I didn't know, 'n' Esai didn't say anythin'. If I knew, I woulda asked you first, but E and I were gettin' into it, and I just...had to get out."

"Getting into it," Luis repeated slowly as he wiped his mustache with a napkin. "You two butt heads a lot."

"Not a fan of the way he treats people," he replied honestly.

He nodded, taking a long sip of his coffee. "Mijo, I like you a lot. Think you'd make a great Mayan. No entiendo why you want out. Doesn't make sense. It can't be just because of Esai. Was what happened with the traitor what made you leave? Too much blood?" (I don't understand)

Lino sucked in a quick breath, wondering how honest to be. "I um...I didn't have a strong father figure growin' up, y'know? 's why I always liked coaches and shit. Big manly presences in my life..."

"I'm not here for a therapy session, Lino," Luis interrupted, his eyes slightly amused. "I asked why you want out because I'm debating how easily we let you out."

"Papi!" Vanessa chastised from the kitchen, a scowl on her face.

"Vanessa, please leave us for a minute," Luis said, waving her away with a hand. "Go play with your make up. Let the men talk."

Lino winced as he watched Vanessa walk away. He hated the way she was so often brushed aside by her father because she was a female. Her brothers didn't get brushed away like that. It was a common thing with some of the Mayan men. He wasn't a fan. He'd been raised by a single mother after his father died, and he respected the hell out of her and all women. "She's not playin'. She's workin' real hard to get her creds. She's real good too. Be able to open her own salon someday."

Luis smirked at him and nodded. "That is why I like you, Lino. You always stand up for my little girl. And that's why I want to know why you want to leave us."

"I um...I believe what Fernando said about Esai, and I'm...I'm tired of watching people get hurt because of that asshole's decisions. No one questions him or punishes him. I...I don't want to be a part of a club like that. That's so fuckin' merciless. I don't need that kinda brotherhood or family. I joined to protect Nessa, but I think I can do that without the cut," he explained honestly. "I want to move her out of here. Get a place outta Oakland but real close so she can still go to school and be with her family but not be in danger, y'know?"

Her father's face stayed stoic as he nodded. "And then what? You'll find a job?"

"Yeah. I had a job 'fore prospecting. I can find another one, and I'll go back to school too. Get something better. Get her a house, somewhere safe where we can start a family, and I'll be there to protect her. Not out killing people and putting myself in danger. She'll never have to worry about me not coming home. That's what I want for me, for her. I'm not cut out for this shit, Luis. Think you knew that from the beginning."

"Okay," he said, throwing down his napkin and pushing away from the table. "I'll tell Marcus you're out on good terms. My primo works at the airport in San Francisco. He's a mechanic or something. See if he can find you somethin' to do."

Lino nodded slowly, feeling relieved at how simple it had been. He'd thought Luis would push for him to keep prospecting. "Thanks, Luis."

Luis nodded as he got to his feet. "All good, mijo," he said, smacking his shoulder loving. "Take care of Vanessa. She's my favorite."

"Absolutely," he replied before a thought crossed his mind. "Hey, that question I asked you before, still good?"

Luis paused, chuckling softly. "Yeah, mijo. Still good."

He watched Luis go before relaxing a bit in his chair; that had gone a lot better than he'd thought it would. Picking up his hot chocolate, he took a long sip and moaned at the perfect flavor. Slowly, he got up and headed to the extra bedroom where Vanessa was currently standing at her desk, curling the hair on one of her test dummy heads. She was hyper focused, her brows pulled together as she pulled the iron away revealing a perfect loose curl. He started slow clapping for her, feeling triumphant when she grinned up at him in response. "Looks good, mami."

"Gracias," she replied, setting the iron down. She sighed softly. "How'd it go?"

"Good," he said, setting his mug down on the dresser. He set his hands on her round hips. "I'm out. Good standing."

Her smile widened as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I'm so proud of you," she choked out, her face pressed against his neck. He could feel her hot tears against his skin and knew they were tears of relief. They'd both known things could've gone a lot worse. She pulled away, framing his face with her hands, her dark eyes sparkling. "What do we do now?"

We. He loved that word. Loved when she said it. They were a unit. A team. Them against the world. "Marry me."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Que?" (What?)

"Get out of here with me. Marry me. Casarte conmigo. Let's ride off into the sunset. Live happily ever after. Life is short. Marry me." He didn't phrase it as a question because he knew the answer in his soul. Knew with ever fiber of his being that she was his other half, his soulmate. (Marry me)

Her brows furrowed slowly. "Lino, are you serious? You can't just...did you ask my dad? 'cause he'll kill you if..."

"Of course, I did. Three times now," he interrupted, holding up three fingers and counting them off as he said, "Two seconds ago, I asked if we were still good, and he said 'yes'. After we came home from New York, I asked and he said 'yes'. But the very first time was the night I dropped you off after our first night back together. You remember that? I'd just gotten kicked out of college, my knee was busted up, and I was a mess. I texted you. You came over to help me recover. Made sure I did my rehab exercises, kept me sane. Then when I finally could go out and we went out on a date, I knew. You were it. This was forever. Your dad said he approved but asked that I wait. Second time I asked, he told me I could whenever I felt the need to. And I need to. Now. Marry me."

She laughed in disbelief, her pretty brown eyes glassy with tears. "You knew all this time?"

"I knew in high school pero that seemed a bit too early to be getting married," he said on a shrug. He held up a finger to her. "Hold up. Lemme get something."

He ran back to his room, digging through his pants to get his wallet. Carefully, he unzipped the zippered change pocket and shook out what he wanted before jogging back. She was frozen to the spot, clearly still processing what was happening. "Paulino, is this real?"

"Real as it gets." He nodded before slowly lowering himself to one knee in front of her. He teetered a bit, his old soccer injury making his knee hurt a little more than usual. Steadying himself, he looked back up at her and held out the simple ring. It wasn't anything fancy. Just a simple gold band with a small round diamond since he couldn't afford much more. "Marry me, Vanessa."

She nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek as she knelt down in front of him and threw her arms around him again. "Te amo," she whispered in his ear before she dotted kisses across his cheek, nose, every aspect of his face before her lips final met his. (I love you)

"Love you too," he murmured when she pulled away. He took her left hand in his and slid on the ring before kissing the top of her fingers. "I'm gonna give you a great life, Ness. Promise you that. Gonna be safe and happy. No more gangster shit."

She beamed at him, kissing him again. "That sounds perfect."

Mayan heavy chapter, but I love Lino and Vanessa.
I went back and forth about making Esai a part of Raj's passing. It just felt like something he'd do, and I know a lot of you were thinking the same thing!

Coming up next: Back to Angela and Juice with lots of Jax and maaaaybe some Tara splashed in there ;)

Let me know what you think!

~Love Ink