I think I forgot last chapter to say that Adara Munson belongs to Nixie De Angel! I think I spaced out on that one. Sorry, Nixie! SOA belongs to Kurt Sutter, and my own characters belong to me, Jack, Esther, Everett and Kary, Sailor and Madison.
The one person that had the hardest time winning Madison over had been Juice. Juice wasn't really a kid's person, but Happy had been clear, during the week Sailor and Madison had first spent over. Make the kid love you, or transfer. Far. So Juice had downloaded a ton of kids movie, sat there through most of them, and had won the kid over with candy hearts and licorice. Then it was in the bag, Sailor would work on convincing Madison,' father to get a two bedroom in San Francisco, and she was going to get her things in order to move to Charming.
That had been three weeks ago, and now he was about to touch down in Los Angeles, he was losing his mind. Three weeks being alone had been so hard. He had become everything he hated in an old man, he was needy and clingy, holding on to that contact with Sailor and Madison with a thread, because there was nothing he could do to reach his oldest daughter. Sailor had so much patience with him right now, she knew he was losing it, and he had confided over the phone about a week ago that hurting people, shooting guns and generally chasing thrills was not making him any calmer. She had given him permission to fuck crow eaters until his little heart was content, but after six in a row, he had to come to the conclusion that nothing but his daughter could fix him.
You can't ping a burner phone. Juice had tried anyways, just to get him off his back. He looked up Kary and Esther's bank statements every day. He couldn't take much more.
And right now, he had to stop in Gardena. See for himself. It had been almost a month, he was going crazy.
In the driveway, the Honda Accord, not the other crap car, he knew that was gone. He knocked at the door, but there was no answer, he went around, and at the fence, saw Jack and his kid playing in the yard, the guy didn't look so bad, but didn't look good either.
-Hey.
-Really? Patrick, get in the house. You, you get out of here, before I call the cops!
-I didn't make Esther cheat on you.
The kid went into the house, and Jack walked over, he looked pretty pissed off, but Happy knew he wouldn't call the cops on him.
-Your phone? In our bed?
-Everett. She told me it was the only way she could think of getting my number, and getting you out the house.
-You spoke to her? Is she ok?
-I didn't. Since Esther skipped town. It's been driving me mad.
-I can't even hate you, God damn it... She never even loved me. Guess I was just a contingency on her great big scheme.
-You have any idea where they could be?
-She was still in love with you. Probably still is.
-The gash ruined her chances. I'm getting married and I'm having a kid in eight months. I want Everett. Where are they? Kary, Esther and Everett.
-Kary got married, three days before they skipped town.
-To who?
-To whom.
Happy scratched the inside of his ear impatiently, he was about to reach over the fence and bitch slap the guy. He exhaled sharply, before staring a hole through him.
-To who?
-Some guy. Polish. Big money. Pawlicki.
-Where's this guy from?
-Poland? I don't know, she met him in Vegas last year. He was there for his bachelor party. Never made it to the altar.
So Kary was still a slut after all. At least he has something. Katarina Pawlicki. He texted that name to Juice on his way to his bike, before hauling ass to Compton, he had promised to help Sailor move.
She already had the moving truck over, and she had started with the boxes, it felt good that the box was shoved in her friend's arms and she veered out of her way to come straight to his bike and give him a big, welcoming hug. Feels so good.
-You're here.
-As promised. Thank you for putting up with my crankiness, the past three weeks.
-We're just waiting on you to bring the heavy stuff out, and once we're home, I'll keep your crankiness in check.
-With your gash?
-My gash, my hands, my lips, whatever you want.
-Too good for me, old lady.
-Get to work, man! I want to be out of here before sunset.
No, not right this second. He wants to hold her a moment longer, he likes that she's so familiar in his arms, after three weeks of nothing.
It takes much longer than she had anticipated, not that it matters, Madison is at her father's for the whole weekend, he's going to drive her to Charming in a few days to check out the place. Sailor had not mentioned the attic half-filled with old stuff she hadn't sorted. And he couldn't force her to deal with that now, it was her dead kid's belongings, and she just hadn't come to terms with getting rid of that stuff. It would go back in the attic, in Charming.
What had sold Sailor on Charming the most had been befriending Venus. He had an inkling on the drive to Tig's house that it would be this way, but Sailor had been so glad to meet the older Southern gal. Within three hours, they were chatting and shopping like life-long friends.
Finally, around ten, he pushes his bike up the ramp and into the truck he's going to drive, Sailor is taking her Navi. And they are off, goodbye, Los Angeles.
It's nearly four in the morning, when they get to Charming, their house, rent-to-own, nine hundred dollars a month to Luann was the final deal struck. He'd taken the checks back from Piney, and had paid a year in advance. And he had put a bed in the master's bedroom, so they could go to sleep straight away. Not Esther's lumpy bed, that was out of the question.
He was waking her up with a little bit of boning when Juice barged in, apologized and stormed back out, it sent Sailor into a fit of laughter, as she tossed away from him.
-Kids are up, darling.
-Gonna strangle that cock...
-You're gonna what his what?
-Shut up.
His clothes, in the living room, Juice is pacing. Nervously, the guy is so OCD it isn't even funny anymore.
-What do you want?
-Got a hit on the name you gave me last night.
-Hit? Where?
Juice just lifted his head, and had this super intense, need to take a crap look he often had, as if it could convey the message he was trying to p...
That cunt!
-She's in Tacoma, isn't she?
Juice's nod was barely perceptible, Happy just filled with so much anger, he grabbed a lamp that was sitting on a table nearby and hurled it at the wall, the table followed suit. Sailor came running, worried about the mess he was causing and alerted by the noise he was making and his string of cussing, Juice got between them, bringing her back towards the kitchen while he finished working out his immediate anger.
He tossed his kutte on his back, he took it off when he came in earlier, it was very ceremonious for him, to decide a place to put it after almost ten years of not being able to wear it. But this morning, he could not give any less care to it as he rips the coat rack off the wall while yanking his kutte from it, slams the front door and goes to fight with that lock on the truck, he just took his gun out to shoot it open when Sailor gets beside him, that stops him, the ricochet could hurt her. She better have a reason to be there.
She's trying to keep her expressions in, her face is blank as she takes the keys from him and unlocks the padlock and removes it, Juice filled her in, he knows, but he doesn't care. He pushes the rolling door up, yanks the metal ramp off, climbs on, he has to stop when Sailor grabs his ankle over his jeans. He looks below, right now he's towering over five feet above her.
-You're going to get Everett?
-Yeah.
-When you come back, we're getting married. And we're gonna fight for her custody. But you have to come back. With all your parts attached.
What was that all about? She let go of his ankle, pulled her vest closer to her before heading towards the house, she's got a vest and unlaced combat boots, but no pants on, just her underwear. Once he pulled his bike off the truck, she's back, this time wearing shorts and a beanie hat, she has his back pack in her hand and his sleeping bag under her arm, she hold it out for him to take, the back pack is heavy, he's got a few clean shirts, a couple bottles of water, a container with food and... His spare gun and a clip?
-What's that for?
-Precaution. I'll have all your brothers here keeping an eye on me. But who's keeping an eye on you?
He smiles, pulls her closer to kiss her, promises he'll be back with Everett soon, and he'll keep her posted.
-Don't. I'll do what I can, Happy, in the here and now, but I don't want to hear about the things you're about to go do to your ex. Ok?
-Yeah.
-Go. Go, before she goes elsewhere and you made holes in the living room wall for nothing.
She's got this look on her face, he can't quite define it, somewhere between sadness, deception and the fact that she's stuck here doing all of this by herself, getting the house ready for her daughter. But before he can consider saying something that may make her feel better, she put a brave face on, her lips twist upwards, he decides to steal her beanie and put it on, just to hear her protest. At least she's smiling when he leaves.
It's Quinn he enrolls to come up there with him. Because Quinn is capable of keeping his mouth shut. Of not trying to stop what he's about to do. He's not on a path of destruction yet, but he's well on his way there.
He has missed Seattle. It had been far too long since he came this far up north, and he had missed it. It was a nice and quiet place. Beautiful scenery. Across the street from the Tacoma Clubhouse, the Luzon Building isn't standing anymore, that was too bad, he used to sneak girls in there, forever ago, gone in 2009, says Lee, the Tacoma charter president.
Jax used to get his peace sitting on the Charming clubhouse rooftop. That wasn't much of a view, he much preferred the rooftop of the five stories Tacoma clubhouse. It has a nice partial view on Mount Rainier. It was beautiful in the declining daylight.
A quick call to Juice, Kary had went shopping in Downtown Seattle, today. And he had found an address for Josef Pawilick in Magnolia. Beautiful.
He barely slept, because of his excitement, and was out of bed early, making sure his gun was nice and ready to fire, and that he had a silencer, before going in the storage, and dusting off the old tools, he would make Kary talk. Because if Kary was here, Esther had to be close-by.
Thoughts? Don't forget to check out the poll before I post chapter 30, it"s sort of important!