A Love Note from me to you: Thank you for your patience y'all! I promised a certain someone I would def have a new chapter out by the end of the week and HERE I BE! Thx for checking on this story. *hugs for you* And for y'all coming with the new story follows/favorites & author favorites/follows & all that good stuff...YOOOOOOOOOO! I see you and thank you! *kjx*

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Chapter 19: From Stockton To Lodi

Juice flipped his vibrating phone open without looking at it, walking back to his bike on the street outside his house. "Yeah."

"Where are you?" Shit! Clay's voice was the last one he wanted to hear.

"At the house. What's up?"

"Just get here."

Goddamnit! Juice pressed his lips into a straight line to keep from asking more questions about why he needed him at the clubhouse. Maybe it was something he could do from Ronnie's room so he wouldn't have to go, but Clay's tone told him not to push it.

"Alright."

He stared at his phone not wanting to make the call to her - to disappoint her again. It was only just after five, maybe whatever Clay wanted would be quick. Dialing, he waited, slowly becoming more pissed that his plans to spend the rest of the day with Ronnie were being squashed.

"Hey, boy."

Her voice coming across the line had him wishing he hadn't answered Clay's call at all. "Hey, girl."

0.o.0.o.0

Juice had sat in front of his laptop for so long his ass was going numb. It was nearing 10 pm and he had re-scanned the security cam footage from the day of the break-ins again. Now, he was skimming an actual VHS tape from the owners of a thrift shop a block away from Cody's. They had just gotten back into town, so it was Juice's first time viewing it. His leg bounced as he rubbed his tired, scratchy eyes and massaged the ache in his shoulder out.

There's no way these guys didn't make a mistake, he told himself. They had to make a mistake. And then he saw it. He had been so busy following the guy on the bike, he had missed it. A Ford pick-up - newer model with dark tinted windows.

Re-scanning the rest of the footage for it, Juice smiled in victory. His adrenaline surged and he could feel things clicking into place. There it was, leaving every business around an hour before closing on the days of all three break-ins and on the street in front of Cody's during his 'last call' hour. The windows were too dark to see how many people were inside but when they pulled off, the streetlight caught the right portion of their license plate, giving him a partial to check on. All of that wouldn't add up to much more than being another source of frustration but then Juice caught where they finally made their real mistake.

They moved from being parked down the street from Cody's and swung into the lot behind DD's donut shop, where Chibs had asked Juice to install a camera and a timed light for Keefe and Aiden's safety since they came in to work early morning hours while it was still dark. It was motion sensitive, with sensors installed on the rear door and the awning poles, but in order to keep it from coming on for every pedestrian walking by or wandering cat - once it sensed motion it waited a full minute before lighting up and only did if it continued to sense it. It wasn't cheap but that favor was about to pay off for the SONs in a major way.

Juice frowned at what was unfolding in front of him. He watched three men get out of the truck. Two of them were big, bearded and wearing beanies low on their heads. One of them had a ponytail and the other had no hair showing at all and a darker tone of skin. The third man made up for his smaller stature with the bat he carried. That explains how they got Cody off his feet. He had no facial hair or hair showing out from under his skullcap. The two larger men were adjusting their waistbands in a way that screamed they were armed. But the most important move was made by the smaller man, when the security light came on he looked right up into the hidden camera. Juice's mouth turned up in a lopsided smile as he paused the feed and took a screenshot.

Got you.

Juice knew that going to Clay with this incomplete information wouldn't get him a dismissal for the night. Hell, it probably wouldn't have garnered so much as a thank you. Accepting his continued confinement, he typed the partial plate into the California DMV database search, letting it run while he hopped onto his bed to call Raniyah.

0.o.0.o.0

5:46 am. Juice woke up to burning eyes, a dry throat and an empty bed. Feeling for his eye drops, he rolled over to give himself a couple of hits in both eyes. Keeping them closed to let the cooling solution work its magic, his thoughts went immediately to his last conversation with Raniyah the night before.

"I had hoped I could get back. I mean…I wanted to. You know that, right?"

"Of course." He could feel her smile through the phone. "It's okay. You're still coming tomorrow though, right?"

I hope so, he thought. "Yeah…yeah. I promise. When I get this done." He could hear her yawn, triggering one in himself.

"Sorry," she giggled but it was cut off by another yawn. "You'd think we didn't get that nap today, damn."

"Pssh! You go to one party and you need to sleep it off for the whole weekend?" Juice stretched out and closed his tired eyes. "That's kinda good for our image."

"Shut up. Y'all's invitations should read: Party with the SONs…you'll almost die."

Juice chuckled with his eyes still closed, "That's why they come."

Raniyah snorted, "Yeah. The 'Clubhouse Experience'. Rated five stars in the Charming Post."

"You know you liked it."

"Well, I'm biased."

Juice smiled wide at her admission. Ronnie felt heat warm her face in his silence, embarrassed at the slip.

"I wish you were here though." Juice could tell by her lowered tone that she was snuggled up in bed and he was trying his damnedest not to picture it.

"Yeah, me too."

As time ticked by their yawning increased in frequency and the silences stretched out, but neither wanted to end the call.

"Jay?"

Barely hanging on to wakefulness, he could hear her moving around. "Hmmm?"

"I've dropped the phone twice."

Chuckling deep, he called it a night for them both, "Alright, alright…go to bed."

"Nite."

"Nite"

Right before he pressed the button to end the call, he heard a sleepy, "Love you."

He was tempted to say it back.

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Getting up, he wiggled his finger on the pad to wake up his laptop. The search had ended sometime during his snooze.

He scanned the list for connections to local addresses or family names. Stockton? Four possibilities were from Stockton. Early or not, he hurried to call Clay.

0.o.0.o.0

"Hey, girl."

"Hey boy!" Raniyah grinned into the phone, "They setting you free?"

"Yeah in a little bit. Can you come up here?"

"Okay. I already showered and stuff so 20 minutes?"

"Cool," Juice looked up to few guys pulling into the lot. Not wanting to get caught up in a new assignment, he rushed her a little. "Hey, hurry up, okay?"

When Raniyah drove into the gate, she hadn't even put her truck in park when Juice came out. She smiled watching him do his half jog, half trot over to her window.

"Hey!" She grinned.

He wasted no time. Opening her door, he announced, "I wanna take you somewhere. Scoot over."

Sliding over into the passenger side, she watched him put on his seat belt, excited but a little disappointed by the rushed greeting. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." Putting the truck in reverse, he pointed at her as soon as she opened her mouth, adding, "Don't ask. We're gonna have to get gas."

Pulling into the gas station, Juice bristled and all but growled at her when she tried to hand him her card to pay. While the truck filled up, he came to her side and opened the door, "Get out for a second."

Sliding out, Raniyah questioned, "Why?"

As soon as she got both feet on the ground, Juice tugged her roughly into a hug. Raniyah let out a little squeak and then melted into him, finally getting what she had wanted since she woke up that morning. He turned his face into her neck murmuring like a confession, "I wanted this."

The smell of whatever cologne he was wearing made her want to nuzzle in. Juice's hold on her was tight with intermittent squeezes while she spread her hands flat on his back, her fingers slowly flexing - her nails dragging causing the saliva jets in his cheeks to kick on.

"Me too."

"Good." His voice vibrating the patch of exposed skin on her shoulder had her hands snaking under his shirt, but he twitched and backed away immediately, dropping a kiss on her forehead. Glancing around, he whispered in a warning tone, "Don't start."

Her guilty giggle made his face begin to warm, "Just get back in the truck, girl."

A few minutes later, Raniyah was settled back enjoying the wind whipping through the cab on the winding roads they traveled to her surprise. Watching him drive with one arm slung over the top of the steering wheel, she smiled when he looked her way.

"Soooo…what did you do for your birthday?"

Juice snorted at the vague question, "Which one?"

"Your 18th?"

The one after I left. Juice smiled, squelching the nervousness Ronnie had for asking. He was getting used to her constant questions but he'd swear he had talked more with her in the last thirteen days than he had with everyone else in the last three months put all together.

"I was working at a big church. The pastor was this huge black guy. He looked like he could be in the NFL or something but he had this tiny, little wife. I met him by the bus station on the corner of their property. I thought he was just some guy but he waved at somebody so I asked him if he thought the church might have work. And he said yeah. Weird right?"

"No. A blessing. Hope you prayed that night."

"I didn't but somebody was…'cause they were cool." The pause he took to think had her twisting in her seat a little to be able to face him more. "They let me work with their custodian. I don't know why they let me but they did. I didn't say nothing about it, but my birthday was on the info sheet they made everybody fill out. I was going to get myself a real hotel room that night. Like a treat for me. But the pastor's family made me dinner, with a cake and everything. I got a card with money in it." Juice looked like he still didn't believe they did that for him. "They were really nice like that."

"It sounds like it." Her soft smile matched his. "Did you stay there long?"

"About five months. I did anything they needed. Mowed the grass and there was a fuckin' lot of it. Vacuumed and emptied the trash. They had stuff going on almost every day so, I cleaned bathrooms, helped the window cleaning guys...whatever they wanted."

He smiled going back in his mind to a piece of his past that he could hold fondly, "They had crazy high ceilings in the sanctuary. So one day all I did, all day long was change the light bulbs in there 'cause the custodian was scared to be on the lift. That was the first time he bought me lunch." Juice's eyes were sparkling with laughter, "He was a real chicken shit. And cheap. But he never gave me a hard time when I didn't know how to do something. He just showed me how and left me alone."

"They paid me better than anybody else did, too. It felt like a real job. I would sneak and sleep in the equipment shed some nights instead of wasting my pay on a place to stay every night till it got cooler. Then the pastor got moved to another church…somewhere in the south, I think and the new pastor said he didn't need me."

A look crossed his face that she couldn't read and disappeared. Ronnie waited for him to tell her what happened after that but he changed the subject.

"I liked Chicago though." Outside the windows, the highway was going from all hills and valleys to spread out, residential areas. "The people, the food…aw, fuck the food! And there was always something going on. I used to go to the aquarium and spend half the day there. You ever been there?"

"I have…a long weekend thing with daddy after graduation." She corrected herself seeing the look of what-the-fuck on his face, "Not high school! College graduation…How crazy would it have been if we had been there at the same time, right?"

"Too crazy."

She hadn't mentioned her father before now and Juice felt like a dick for not asking about her family more. When he met Raniyah her parents were already divorced and her father was working and traveling a lot. He came to the house once when Juice was there but other than that he didn't remember much else about the man beyond the pictures in Raniyah's room. "How's he doin'?"

"Good. Calls every month like clockwork. He's still in Italy. Says work is good. He remembers you, ya know."

Juice looked doubtful, "He only saw me once."

"Yeah, but it was right after the first time you spent the night at the house and ma had told him you did." Cracking up at the look on Juice's face. "I'm his only daughter. It was not a coincidence that he came over that day."

Before either one of them could get caught up in that memory, Juice turned the truck onto an off-ramp of sorts. "That's where we're going." Juice pointed to a fancy banner reading 'Food Truck Festival' stretched high up between light posts decorated with huge balloons. "Welcome to Lodi."

Lodi had their Food Truck Festival twice a year and the Grim Bastards MC provided unofficial security to keep the rowdies and would-be thieves away since every truck would be carrying cash. It won brownie points with the city and the participants liked knowing the MC was looking out for them.

Food trucks were lined up on the street at the downtown park, some had tables and chairs in front of them and some had benches. There were tons of people milling around and mouth-watering smells filled the air. Paying to park close to the main walk, Juice settled his arm around Raniyah's shoulders as they walked through. He was stopped several times by orange-shirted men in cuts and Raniyah was introduced to too many of them to remember all their names.

Juice nudged her toward a BBQ truck with a few Grim Bastards clustered together at a table by it.

T.O. looked up and raised a hand in greeting, "Hey, man! You came out!"

The MC President stood up as Juice approached. Juice shook his hand and leaned in for a hard clap on the back, "I had to get out here. I know where good food is at."

"Hmm, you got good taste," he smiled with a nod toward Raniyah.

Juice introduced her but didn't bother to explain or correct him and taking her cues from Juice neither does Raniyah. Jerking his head toward the truck behind T.O. "This is the one truck I was hoping to see."

"Long Beach's finest, man."

"You got that right."

Turning, T.O. called out to the dreamy-eyed woman in the window. "Minah! Baby! Hook my boy Juice up for me."

Popping out of the truck's back door, she strolled their way. "What's in it for me?" her whiskey-soaked voice carried, causing the staff inside the truck to smile in response.

Once she got closer, T.O. leaned across the table, cupped her head and pulled her to him for a deep kiss. Looking him in the eye, she sucked her teeth lightly. "You woulda given me that anyway."

"And a lot more."

"Mmmm," she sassed him, teasing, cutting her eyes at him for effect.

Switching her gaze over to the two, she smiled, "Juice, baby. Am I feeding you or all of SAMCRO today?"

"Just us," he grinned, pleased that she remembered him every time they came out.

"Okay." Winking at Raniyah, she smiled showing a little gap between her front teeth, "Now him I know, but you ever eat with us before, baby girl?"

Raniyah relaxed in the friendly woman's presence, dimples popping, "Nope."

Minah smiled even wider, "Then I'll get y'all a sampler plate with a little extra. Find somewhere to sit, I'll be back in a minute."

When she came back, she carried a plastic bag in each hand, setting them down on the table. In one there was a container holding rib tips, two chicken thighs, sliced beef and a sliced hot link. And in the other, a wax paper bag of mini cornbread muffins, and little tubs of coleslaw, potato salad, collard greens, and candied yams, balanced on top of two larger cups of mac-n-cheese.

Minah pointed as she pulled things out of the bag. "That's spicy and regular BBQ sauce, okay? Went ahead and put it in to-go containers 'cause there's no way y'all can kill all that and leave walking upright."

Juice stood up, digging in his front pocket, "What do I owe you?"

"Keep your money for her, baby. I got you. Enjoy."

Juice smiled but immediately went to the window and put three tens in the tip jar.

At first bite Raniyah moaned, scrunching up her entire face "Oh my gaaaaaaahd!"

Juice chuckled at her comical contortions while she chewed, "You've been holding out on me. I hate you."

"You love me."

"Boy, please! I love her."

A few minutes in, Juice's phone rang. Wiping his hands, he doesn't step away to answer, giving Raniyah his side of the conversation. "Yeah?….Today?….In Lodi."

Raniyah couldn't read if he was bothered by the topic of conversation because he kept his head downcast.

"Ronnie's with me….I can do that." Hearing her name, Raniyah looked at him again. "I just saw him, send me his number." Juice spent less than a minute typing at hyper speed once his phone sounded off again with a notification. Pocketing his phone, he looked around scanning the crowd before focusing back on their meal.

Juice gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." He said it like he meant it but his eyes scanning the crowd again told her otherwise.

Wrapping things up, she stood up to put the containers back in their bags and stretched, groaning.

"You good?"

"My butt is tired of sitting. It's all I do these days."

Juice made a show of trying to look at it. "Hasn't flattened out."

"Shut up!" Raniyah swung for his arm but he twisted out of the way, "Can we walk for a while?"

"Sure." Looking over he noticed T.O. standing in the main walkway making eye contact and Juice immediately got up, "Gimmie a second."

While Raniyah stood there fussing with their bags, Minah came by with a smaller brown paper bag. "This is for Chibs, baby."

She stayed while Raniyah situated it inside their plastic totes. Together they watched the two men's faces alternate from smiles to frowns. "They never take a day off do they?" Minah mused, Raniyah's shrug was non-committal. Minah looked over at them again and patted Raniyah's shoulder softly before she left.

They were looking at something on T.O.'s phone and neither one of them looked happy about whatever it was. Juice pulled out his phone to take a picture of his screen. They shook hands and T.O. gave Raniyah a wave before heading off.

Juice's familiar trot back over to her was relaxed and so was his face. His smile quieted her concern, "Sorry. Ready?"

"Yep! You good?"

"Yeah."

Picking up their bags, he rolled his eyes at her squint, laughing, "Knock it off tough girl and I'll buy you some churros."

Allowing him to put his arm around her to propel her into the foot traffic, she looked up into his face and squinted again. Juice smiled knowing she wanted to bug him. Yanking her into his chest, he repeated, "I. Am. Good."

She slapped his stomach. "You better not be lying."

"About the T.O. shit or the churros?"

"Both!" she snapped back, pinching at his waist. "But especially the churros."

After a few laps through the festival, they bore the long line for churros. They shuffled through the queue, with Juice never taking his free hand off of her. With hot, cinnamon-sugar sticks of delight in hand, they walked back to the truck where Ronnie insisted on finishing them before getting in, daring him to dirty her seats with the uncontrollable sprinkles of sugar that fell with each bite. Leaning against the side of the truck, she asked, "How long did you stay there? In Chicago?"

"Almost two years…trying to get my feet on the ground. Seems shorter though."

She didn't know what that meant. Prodding a little more, she asked, "Why'd you leave?"

Juice's mouth twisted up into a tiny smile and he averted his eyes when he answered, "A girl."

Raniyah's face lit up with laughter, "Boy, stop it!"

Juice rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, still not having told her about the married woman he got involved with…or the engaged one after that. I went from working in a church, straight to living in sin. Shrugging his shoulders, he gave a tilted grin. "You asked."

When Juice opened the passenger side door for Raniyah to get in, he looped his arm around her waist, before she could get past him. "Wait a minute."

Wetting his lips, he settled into a warm, plush kiss. Nudging and nipping slightly, he took his time, waiting for her to respond. Later, Juice would remember how hard his heart was pounding when her hands suddenly twisted fistfuls of his shirt, her knuckles digging into his back as she pulled him closer. Her tongue's bold kitten-like laps on his bottom lip were all the invitation he had been waiting for. Gripping the back of her neck he drew her up to kiss her, deep and unrestrained - tasting her lingering cinnamon and sugar. Releasing her only for the pleasure of hearing her shuddering breaths when he recaptured her mouth again. This time he didn't stop her when her hands snuck under his shirt, running a shiver up his spine. Instead, he allowed his hands the freedom to slide over the curves of her hips and pull her in.

A loud whistle from a group walking by reminded them that they could be seen. Pulling away slowly, Raniyah's smirk dipped her dimples as she got in the truck. Shaking her head, she cut her eyes at him, "You are a problem."

Closing her door Juice gave her a fake scowl, his eyes playful, "Pssh! You're the problem."

He could hear her faint giggles while he walked around to the driver's side.

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A/N: Welp folks...Hang on to your britches it's full throttle from here on out! See you next chapter! *kjx*