Disclaimer-As much as I would love to keep Happy and the rest of the Sons, I don't actually own them. Except for my OCs. And Kozik, since Mr. Kurt Sutter keeps blowing up poor KJ. I also don't own Evil Ink, but I'm borrowing the name.
Kozik left her sitting on his ride and ducked into Evil Ink, nodding to the tight little blonde cutie behind the counter.
"Eddie with anyone?" He asked her, turning backwards and flashing her a charming smile.
"No, he's alone, can I tell him who is-" But Kozik waved her off and headed for Eddie's office, knocking on the doorframe.
"Herman Kozik! What brings you to my humble establishment?" Eddie stood and hugged him, and Kozik slapped him on the back enthusiastically.
"I need a favor, Eddie." Kozik told him and motioned for Eddie to follow him to the front of the shop, stopping when they had a clear view of Ace, still sitting on Kozik's bitch seat.
"You got yourself an old lady?" Eddie smiled at him.
"Hell no. That one belongs to Happy." Kozik said, laughing as Eddie's face went from surprised to flabbergasted.
"What's she doing with you then? And what do you need from me?" Eddie was putting the pieces together pretty quickly, one of the things that Kozik liked about him.
"She's an artist, needs a job, I thought maybe you could help her out." Kozik said.
"Is she any good?" Eddie scoffed. "I can't put a gun in her hand if she sucks, Kozik."
"She's done a lot of the Killah's ink. Just check out her portfolio, you'll see." Kozik dared him.
"Well if Happy trusts her with ink, it's the least I can do." Eddie started toward the door with the intention of calling the girl in, but Kozik grabbed him by the back of the shirt, halting his progress.
"Listen, Eddie, she's been through some serious shit lately, and her and Hap are going through some stuff. I'm trusting you to take care of her when she's here, and I don't think I have to tell you what Happy would do if anything happened his girl here, do I?" Kozik's voice was low, and left no doubt that he was deadly serious.
"I understand. What's her name?" Eddie asked, starting for the door again.
"Ace Perez." Kozik grinned when Eddie looked shocked again. "Yeah, you heard me."
No Other Man Alive
Juice snapped the ring box shut and passed it over, confused. Happy took it and stared at it for a long minute before he opened it. Inside was a heavy, plain black Titanium band, large enough to fit his hand.
"That sneaky little bitch." Happy marveled and pulled it out.
"Why did Ace kick you out?" Juice asked, sitting up and facing him, eyes narrowed.
"Because I fucking suck at being an old man." Happy told him, rolling the ring along his palm. "You seem to have that shit down."
"From what Jenna tells me, Ace thinks you hung the moon, I can't imagine anything you could do to change that." Juice pointed out, sparking another joint and passing it over. This time, whenever Happy passed it back to him, he just held onto it for a minute and then passed it back. Happy was too busy watching the ring to notice.
"I accused her of fucking Shark. But it wasn't just that, you know. I can't keep my head on straight around her, I feel like all I do is screw her over. What the fuck is in this?" Happy cut himself off with iron force of will.
"It's just a locally harvested hydroponic." Juice told him, putting it out. "So what's with the ring?"
"I told her I wouldn't wear one, so she refused to wear one, either." Happy yawned, and then grinned. "Apparently she gives as good as she gets."
"So she bought you a wedding ring and then kicked you out?" Juice didn't even try to mask the skepticism in his voice. He waited a long time for Happy to answer, but the hardcore assassin was asleep, hand wrapped around the ring and his gun on his chest. "Poor bastard."
No Other Man Alive
Kozik dropped Ace off and headed back out to find Bowie, he knew that speculation was probably running wild about his involvement with Ace and he needed to make sure that his President was going to back him. He always liked riding into Bowie's gated community, the MC made the security guards nervous as hell, and he always made a point to rev a little harder here. Bowie did the same, and it really chafed the asses of Tacoma's well moneyed business men.
"Thought I heard you, sugar!" Cat was in the front yard, with gardening gloves and a gigantic hat on, and still managed to look like she belonged on the Upper East Side. She peeled her gloves off and wrapped her arms around Kozik, rubbing his back as he hugged her back.
"Hey Cat, is Bowie in?" He asked her, kissing her on the cheek.
"Sure is. You alright, sugar? You look tired." Cat asked, tucking her arm into his and pulling him toward the house.
"Nah, I'm fine. Just gotta talk to him about this shit with Killah and Ace." He told her, yanking the brim of her hat down playfully before heading inside to find his President. He missed the flash of a frown across her face.
"Yo, Prez!" Kozik called, closing the door behind him and dodging around the table in the entryway with its huge flower arrangement.
"Study." Bowie answered, and Kozik toed off his boots before he headed up the stairs. Tacoma Sons might be hard riding, foul mouthed, and violent, but not a single one would risk tracking dirt on Cat's white carpet, not even Bowie himself.
Bowie was sitting at his desk, smoking a cigar and shuffling through some paperwork. He put the papers aside when Kozik came in, though. "What can I do for you, Koz?"
"Just checking in on this shit with Happy." Kozik answered, dropping into a chair and accepting the cigar Bowie flipped to him.
"Yeah? Is his old lady gonna be a problem for me?" Bowie asked cynically. "If she is, she's gotta go."
"Nah, Ace high will be fine." Kozik told him, shrugging off the raised eyebrow.
"Has anyone tracked Happy down, yet?" Bowie sighed, rubbing his temple.
"Nah, Tiggy talked to Quinn, Hap hasn't checked in with him." Kozik told him. "He's still in the wind."
"Any ideas on where he would go? Did anyone check his mother's place?" Bowie had clearly been letting Happy's whereabouts weigh on his mind.
"Happy is Quinn's problem, not yours." Kozik reminded his president.
"He's going to be my problem when he comes back and kills one of you for fucking his old lady." Bowie pointed out drily.
"No one is fucking Happy's old lady. I don't even think Happy is fucking his old lady." Kozik laughed, puffing on the cigar.
"You can't tell me that there hasn't been some questionable shit going on with that broad." Bowie said. "I can't put this charter at risk, you know that."
"Sure, there's a little line crossing, but that shit lands on Happy. If he wanted an opinion on how his old lady was going to be treated in his absence, he should have stuck around."
"You will not let this blow back on my charter. Any trouble, and I'm calling Quinn to come pick her up, got it?" Bowie stabbed the cigar out in the ashtray on the desk, between them.
"Absolutely, Prez." Kozik agreed.
No Other Man Alive
"Uh-uh, I don't think so." Tig plucked the bottle from Ace's hand.
"I promise I won't drink the whole thing." Ace rolled her eyes, trying to snatch it back.
"Not a fucking chance in hell, sweetheart. Come on." Tig dragged her down the hallway to his room. "Where'd you go with Kozik?"
"To get a job." Ace answered, flopping down on Tig's bed and watching him as he pulled a prescription bottle with no label from the medicine cabinet, and then filled up a Solo cup with water from the tap.
"Did you get one?" Tig asked her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He put the cup on the nightstand and opened the bottle, shaking a pill out.
"Of course. You've seen my work, I'm awesome." Ace scoffed, all false bravado.
"Open." Tig ordered her, dropping the pill in her mouth and handing her the cup. She took it and swallowed the pill down.
"Should I be worried that you just roofied me?" Ace asked, sitting up.
"Actually, I kind of did. Sleeping pills." Tig grinned at her. "Go to bed."
No Other Man Alive
"What the hell did you give me?" Happy groaned, sitting up. It was full dark outside, which meant that he was late for his shift warming a bar stool.
"It was just weed, man, I swear." Juice told him, closing the laptop.
"Get up, we're going out." Happy told him, rolling off of his bed. "Tell me you brought a hat to cover that shit on your head."
"Yeah, I'm not stupid. What are we doing?" Juice stomped his boots back on, ignoring the dickhead look Happy shot him.
"Getting a drink and watching." Happy told him, looking at the ring in his hand again like he'd just remembered he was holding it. He dropped it in his pocket and slid into his holster, then zipping the hoodie up to his chin. Juice followed him out to the truck and got in, pulling his own hat down and checking to make sure his ink was covered.
"Why don't you just wear the ring, man?" Juice asked him, spinning his own wedding band on his finger.
"Told her I wouldn't. I already let her put her name in my skin." Happy shrugged and pulled the truck out toward Fallbrook.
"So if you already did that, what's the big fucking deal about the ring? It's not like you don't already wear rings, what's one more?" Juice pointed out, and Happy gave him a sideways look that was half snarl.
"You ain't as dumb as you look." Happy commented.
No Other Man Alive
"Rise and shine, dollface!" Tig kicked the door repeatedly until Ace opened it, hair a tangled mess and eyes only half open. She squinted up at him in confusion.
"It's eight o'clock in the morning. Why are we awake?" She asked.
"Because you're going to eat and hit stuff." Tig answered, like this should have been obvious. "Get dressed."
Ace closed the door in his face and strongly considered just going back to bed, but experience had taught her that Tig wasn't going to let her get away with that. He'd just find a way to let himself in and drag her out. In the bathroom, she splashed water on her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror, it was funny how you could feel so different on the inside and still look like nothing had changed. Groaning, she pulled her jeans on and the one sports bra she had, since her boobs were still sore from all the braless time she'd been giving them, and then added another long sleeved shirt. She carried her boots down the hall to where Tig was cooking in the kitchen.
"What's on the menu today, Chef Tigger?" She snarked, hopping up to her accustomed place on the counter.
"You know, I like you a lot better when you're too drunk to talk." He said, dumping a plate in her lap.
"Then I guess you shouldn't keep taking away my whiskey." Ace snorted, and set to work on the food. "How many more days do we have to do this?"
"Until I say so or your old man shows up, whichever comes first." Tig said, leaning with his back to the counter, next to her.
"So only a week and a half left on babysitting duty. You must be psyched."
Tig looked at her quickly, eyes narrowed. "You've heard from him?"
"No, definitely not." Ace laughed. "He has an appointment to get his cast off. There's no way he will miss it and push back riding."
"You are a scary bitch, you know that, right?" Tig asked her, eyebrows coming together.
"Uh, no." Ace said, giving him a sideways look.
"You working tonight?" Tig changed the subject, taking her empty plate and putting it in the sink.
"Yeah. Six to close. Eddie put some of my stuff up on the website, so maybe I'll actually get some decent work." Ace mused, pulling her boots on and jumping down.
"That shithead treating you alright?" Tig asked, following her down the stairs.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure Kozik told him who I was, though." Ace told him, and tossed the roll of tape to Tig, presenting her hands for wrapping.
"That a bad thing?" Tig asked, pulling on the mitts.
"It's a dishonest thing. We aren't together." Ace answered, starting to throw punches at the mitts.
"Nah, that's not how this works. You guys are together until Happy says you're not." Tig said, keeping Ace moving.
"That's stupid." Ace grunted, trying to control the movements and put Tig on the retreat.
"No, you're stupid if you think he's gonna quit you after all the bullshit he's gone through to get you. A man don't let some punk break his hand over a girl he ain't planning on keeping." Tig was shaking his head, pushing back at her.
"Well I'm sure he did at the time." Ace snapped.
"Jesus Christ, what the hell did you two say to each other?" Tig said, putting more and more pressure on her until she was sweating.
"He accused me of cheating on him. Ouch!" Ace winced as Tig caught her in the side with the flat of the mitt, and then swiped the sweat off of her brow, where it was dripping in her eyes. "Jesus, Tig, lay off for a second."
"No." He swatted her on the side of the head.
"I can't fucking see!" She growled at him.
"And you think if someone comes at you again, they're going to wait for you to be ready? Time out bad guys, I'm schvitzing!" He mocked her in a ridiculous falsetto. "I told you what we were doing, it's not my fault you were stupid enough to wear jeans and long sleeves."
"Fuck you, Tigger." Ace snorted, trying to dodge back far enough to get some breathing room. She pulled the hem of her shirt up, trying to get it off before Tig recovered, but just as she got it over her head, he kicked her feet out from under her. "Oof."
Ace lay flat on her back, shirt tangled in her arms, up over her head. Tig didn't offer to help her, just stood over her. She finished pulling the shirt off and wiped her face with it. "That was a seriously dickhead move." She snorted, and then started laughing. She stayed flat on her back, laughing until tears ran down her cheeks, while Tig stared at her like she'd lost her fucking mind. Maybe she had.
"Tell me she didn't hit her head." Kozik asked, coming down the stairs.
"I'm fine, Kozik." Ace gasped and put her hand out for an assist. Tig didn't help her, so she rolled on all fours and pushed herself back up. The scar on her side was jagged, and still the purple red of healing flesh.
"Which one did that?" Kozik asked, nodding at the scar. "One of the dead ones?"
"I wouldn't know. I know Rivera wasn't there, but he never told me anything else." Ace answered and rolled her eyes when Tig slapped her elbows, forcing her guard up. She noticed the look that passed from Tig to Kozik, she was getting weirdly used to watching them have conversations without saying a word. She still thought they would make a tremendous couple. "Either tell me what happened or quit eyefucking each other, it's annoying."
"Anyone ever tell you that you're smart mouth bitch?" Tig asked, dropping a shoulder to try and ram her in the stomach, but Ace managed to get him with a good one on the back of his head, which left Kozik wheezing on the stairs.
"Just you, Tigger." Ace panted, out of breath. "Wait, no, that's a lie. My first husband did, too. Like a lot."
"We got most of them when we went to get Hap." Kozik told her, a little solemnly. "But Rivera had already left, and so had that gash from Indian Hills."
"Are they still alive?" Ace asked, letting Tig cut the tape off of her hands.
"Dollface, I don't think Happy would be in the wind if they weren't." Tig told her, and he noticed the weird look that passed over her features.
"Is that what you two think he's doing?" She asked, sitting down at Kozik's feet.
"Well he's not at his mom's, Quinn hasn't heard from him, and he didn't go down to Charming. Where else would he go?" Kozik asked rhetorically.
"Are you sure he isn't still in Tacoma holed up with some Jack and a fuckbuddy?" Ace asked, wiping the sweat off of her chest and stomach with the balled up shirt, then headed up the stairs without waiting for an answer.
"Hey!" Kozik called after her. "Do you not understand who we are? He couldn't hide out in my city for an hour before I'd be dragging him back."
"Yeah, you keep thinking that." Ace snorted, not turning around. "I'm going to take a shower."
No Other Man Alive
"Exactly what are you expecting to find out that you haven't already?" Juice asked, following Happy into the bar they'd been haunting.
"Unless you've tracked down Rivera, then we're still looking for him." Happy answered, stopping outside to light a cigarette. Juice shook his head and leaned back against the building.
"Dude, why don't you just go back to Tacoma? You know I'll track this guy down eventually, and you'll be the first one to know." Juice told him, and rolled his eyes when Happy glared at him. "Have you even checked in, yet?"
"Have you?" Happy shot back.
"My old lady knows where I am." Juice muttered, and clutched his stomach when Happy backhanded him with the cast.
"Where does Jax think you are?" Happy asked him, looking back over his shoulder across the street to where his cut was hanging.
"On a buying trip, I think. Jenna purposely gave him a wrong number." Juice answered.
"How long can she hold him off?" Happy asked, curious, trying to put Ace in that position. He figured that she could probably stonewall a charter President without blinking an eye, with all her single minded focus.
"A while. If she thinks he's going to push her for information, she'll call." Juice told him, and Happy was impressed with Juice's calm confidence in his old lady. Jenna wasn't cut from the same cloth as Gemma or Cat, but he knew that Ace had leaned on her in Charming and that was a pretty solid endorsement.
"Can you reach out to Parada?" Happy asked, finished with his smoke, but not moving to go into the bar. He put his hand in his pocket and spun the ring around a fingertip.
"Romeo? Sure, but Jax will hear about it before I'm even off the phone." Juice shrugged, shifting his weight, trying to figure out what they were doing just standing around on the street.
"Fuck it, you're right, this is just jerking off. Come on." Happy said, gaze still across the street. Three Bastardos came out of the pool hall, and instead of moving off to avoid notice, this time Happy stood his ground, not hiding that he was watching.
No Other Man Alive
Ace stopped short in the doorway to the bathroom, towel wrapped around her, thank God. Tig was flipping through her sketchbook and sitting on the bed.
"Uh, what are you doing, Tig?" Ace asked, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping a really tight grip on the towel. It was like a sucker punch to the gut remembering the way Happy had stripped the towel from her in the shower. She wished like hell that her pussy would have cooperated that day, it felt like if they had found their footing on that side of things, maybe Happy wouldn't have left when shit got all fucked up.
"Making sure you're not about to slit your wrists or something." Tig said, and flipped the book around. "I like this."
"Ok. Why do you think I'm suddenly suicidal?" Ace asked, and grabbed her clothes, retreating back to the bathroom.
"I know you got all fuckin' weird over hearing about Rivera and the hooker." Tig called.
"Not at all, Tigger, I'm fine." Ace said, pulling the tank down over her stomach, checking the mirror to make sure it reached her waistband. She ran a hand through her hair, making a face at the memory of all the times he'd done it, stroking through it absentmindedly while they lay in bed. "They'll both get what's coming for them."
"You know you sound just like him, right?" Tig said when she came out of the bathroom. "It's fucking creepy."
"I'm nothing like him." Ace spat, voice venomous.
"Riiight." Tig snickered.
"Come on, let's get some food, I'm starved." Ace said, sliding her arms into her hoodie, there was no way she was walking around with his name all over her. Bad enough that she had to face the lie branded on her stomach every single day.
No Other Man Alive
Juice groaned and pulled a pillow over the back of his head. It had to be close to six in the morning, and Happy was driving him up a fucking wall with his pacing. As the days wore on, Happy had been sleeping less and less at night, and drinking more than usual. He never got sloppy or out of control, just more self contained and if anything, scarier.
"Dude. If you have to keep pacing, go do it outside." Juice mumbled from under the pillow. "Better yet, smoke a joint and go the fuck to sleep."
"I would, but that shit you brought makes me talk too much." Happy complained, but lay down on the bed anyway.
Juice flopped over on his back and sighed loudly. "Just call her. Or better yet, go back to Tacoma and talk to her."
"No. Not until I've got this shit settled with Parada and the Reds." Happy said, voice hard.
"You're an idiot." Juice stated matter of factly.
"The fuck did you just say to me?" Happy was on his feet in a heartbeat, and Juice sat up to face him.
"I said you're an idiot. You can kick my ass for it if you want, but that won't change it. You're so blinded by what they did to her that I bet you can't even see what you're doing to her."
"Fuck you. My old lady knows where she stands with me." Happy backed up a step to make sure he didn't follow through on the impulse to grab Juice by the throat.
"Dude. You accused her of cheating and then skipped town. Ace is a tough chick, but I don't think any chick is that tough." Juice told him, and lay back down, closing his eyes.
Happy stood there speechless, turning what Juice had said over in his mind. He finally left the room, throwing a shirt over his shoulder. He wasn't particularly concerned anymore whether anyone knew who he was. He sat on the tailgate of the truck, watching the sun rise, fiddling with the phone in his hand for a long time. When the sun was all the way over the horizon, he flipped the phone open and dialed before he could pussy out. It didn't even ring, just went straight to the stock voicemail greeting that he'd never bothered to change. He hung up without bothering to leave a message. He considered trying Tig's phone, but knew that doing that would have far reaching repercussions, so he put the phone away and lay back, closing his eyes. At least this bed had the advantage of being out under the sky.
No Other Man Alive
"Ace high, come on, you're gonna be-" Kozik called, stopping when the door flew open. "Whoa. That's different."
Ace pulled her long, newly brunette hair over her shoulder. She'd taken the time to blow it out and without the curls, it was even longer. The deep hue changed her whole look, her eyes and skin looked paler against the all the dark.
"Well that's exactly what I was going for, Koz." Ace smiled and stepped back. "Give me two seconds to get my shit together."
Kozik watched Ace as she grabbed her sketch book, shoving it in her bag. She pulled on the hoodie she'd been hiding her ink behind, and grabbed something off of the dresser.
"Hey." He stopped her and held his hand out. "What's that?"
Ace looked at him suspiciously for a minute, then shrugged and dropped it into his hand. She slung her bag over her shoulder.
"We ready?" She asked him, daring him to comment on the ring he was studying.
"Sure." Kozik said, handing it back to her, studying her while she put the ring in her pocket without looking at it. "I brought the car."
"Is it raining?" Ace asked, locking the door and pulling it closed.
"No, but I'm really attached to my balls, Ace high." Kozik laughed, then laughed harder at her confused look. "I've been letting my brother's old lady ride my bitch seat all over Tacoma, in case he was close enough that word would get back to him. Clearly, he ain't in the area or he'd've shown his face to kick my ass for that already, but that don't mean I'm gonna keep pushing my luck."
"You really think he'll care?" Ace scoffed, sliding into the front seat and pulling her feet in so Kozik could shut the door.
"About the only thing I could do to disrespect Happy further would be to actually sleep with you." Kozik answered, no longer joking, but very solemn.
"So why did you do it, then?" Ace pulled her feet up Indian style, angling toward Kozik.
"I couldn't think of any leverage more powerful than you." Kozik shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "And I'm fucking pissed off at him for the way he's acting."
"Me, too." Ace snorted.
"Yeah, you fucking should be."
No Other Man Alive
"Meet is set for tomorrow." Juice nudged Happy awake as the sun was starting to go down. He'd tried to wake the bastard earlier, but Happy hadn't budged. This time he came awake immediately, sitting straight up, and Juice gave him room to orient himself.
"Where?" Happy asked.
"Santa Maria, down the coast." Juice answered. "Nine."
"Yeah, that'll work. You sure you don't want to just head back to Redwood. Jax ain't gonna be happy to see you with me tomorrow." Happy offered Juice an out, he knew the kid had put his own ass on the line and didn't want him to catch too much shit for it.
"Nah, Jax is going to be pissed at me no matter what I do." Juice shook his head.
"If you ever decide Redwood ain't for you, man, I'll put in a word with Bowie for you." Happy offered.
"I might have to take you up on that. Shit hasn't been right since I went behind his back and gave you Ace's location. It makes Jenna nervous." Juice told him.
"Just say the word, brother." Happy told him. "What kind of firepower did you bring?"
"My regular pieces and an MP7, club stock." Juice answered, looking nervous. "What are the weapons for if Rivera isn't here?"
"Are you any closer to finding out where he is?" Happy ignored the question.
"I know he switched IDs headed to the East Coast. Still working the rest of it." Juice told him, following Happy into the room.
"Good. Pack your shit, we're gonna get a little dirty before we leave." Happy told him, folding his clothes meticulously and putting them in his bag.
"What do you mean dirty? Like how dirty?" Juice asked suspiciously.
"Find me a hardware store, off the grid, one of those little mom and pop places." Happy grinned, starting to look forward to the night's work.
No Other Man Alive
"Hey, dollface, you busy?" Tig looked into the space Ace had taken over at Evil Ink. She was leaning back in her chair, boots up the desk, back to the door.
"Do I look busy, Tigger?" She asked, hanging her head back to look at him, upside down.
"No, you looked bored. What's with the hair?" Tig asked, yanking on her hair. Ace sat up fast, flipping the hood up.
"Needed a change, that's all." Ace shrugged, eyeing Tig carefully. "What are you doing here, Tig?"
"I wanted some ink, came to the best." Tig smiled charmingly, and Ace lifted an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "That and I wanted to talk to you."
"What's with you and Kozik trying to push Happy's buttons?" Ace sighed. "I'm not stepping between you and him if he flips out when he sees it."
"Don't worry about me, I can handle the Killah." Tig smiled, looking a little off of his rocker.
"Mmm hmm, you really believe that?" Ace snorted. "I'll do your ink and I'll listen to whatever you have to say. What are we doing? I'll talk more if you make it big."
"Toss me your book. Do I get the friends and family discount?" Tig asked, flipping the book open to the bulldog with the Do or Die collar he'd seen earlier.
"Hell no, Tigger." She snorted, laughing when he shot her a wounded look. "I need the money."
"Mercenary bitch. How long will this take?"
"Depends on how big you want it and where. And I swear to God if you say your ass, I'm going to tattoo something very large and very gay on it." Ace warned, starting to pull things out for the piece.
"That's cute, sweetheart. Nah, back of the shoulder, big as you can make it in under three hours." Tig told her, and handed her his cut, which she held for a minute before going back to what she was doing.
"Cool. Hop down, shirt off." Ace ordered absentmindedly, opening her drawers and pulling out inks. "Do you need me to make a stencil or can I freehand this?"
"Nah, I trust you." Tig unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it at her head.
"Aw, I'm touched, Tiggy."
No Other Man Alive
"Yo, Bill!" Happy called, coming through the back door of the familiar tat shop. Everything in this place screamed Ace at him. Years of coming through this door to see her, tying her in with all the shit he did for his club. He missed the quiet with her. Her space was filled up with some young guy with a shitload of piercings, it looked all wrong for anyone else to be there.
"Hey, Happy!" The old man pushed up from his desk, and shook Happy's hand. "How's our girl?"
"Uh, she's alright. It's been a weird coupla months, Bill." Happy shifted uncomfortably. "Listen, I have something I need to take care of in the neighborhood."
"Oh, I know where you're headed. Figured I see you sooner or later. What do you need?" Bill asked drily.
"Just want to leave two rides in your lot, we'll move out quickly. One truck, one Harley." Happy said, pulling an envelope from his pocket, but Bill shook his head.
"I'm not taking your money. Go do what you need to do, I never saw you or your vehicles." Bill clapped him on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Bill." Happy rasped, looking over his shoulder at Ace's old station one more time.
"Anytime. Give Ace my best."
No Other Man Alive
Ace loved the rhythm of tattooing, it always lulled her, whether she was one doing the work or not. Tig was leaning forward on the back of the chair, and she was on the rolling stool, legs to either side of his left hip. She leaned over for ink and leaned back over Tig's shoulder.
"We've been at this for almost an hour, Tigger, and you haven't said a word." Ace muttered, wiping down the field. "That's a lot of ink for the silent treatment."
"Sorry, dollface." Tig answered, looking over his shoulder, his face close to hers. "That thing earlier with Rivera and his bitch being in the wind, that bugged you, right?"
Ace looked up at him, sharply, a little startled to find him so close. "Well, yeah, of course it did."
"Why? You hafta know I wouldn't ever, I mean ever, let something happen to you again." He murmured.
"Tig, what happened to me wasn't your fault." Ace wiping the ink off of her glove and squeezing his arm.
"I don't know, if I had gone after you instead of him, might've changed things." Tig shook his head.
"Hey." Ace put her stuff down and snapped off her gloves, and rolled back far enough to look him in the eye. "If it wasn't that night, it would have been another one. I'm fine, Tigger, I promise."
"If you're so fine, then what's bugging you about those two being on the run? Your man isn't going to let them slip by him again." Tig told her, and rubbed a thumb across the thin scar under her left eye. Ace jerked her head back, out of his reach.
"Jesus Christ, it always comes back to him for you, doesn't it?" She snarled, and rolled to get another pair of gloves.
"What? You want to go after them yourself?" Tig snorted.
"Shut up and hold still, Tigger." Ace sighed.
No Other Man Alive
"How much longer are we going to lay here?" Juice whispered shifting around in the bed of dead leaves.
"Well, there's eight of them in there, dickhead, I was planning on waiting until the odds were a little better." Happy growled, and rolled like he was going to get up. "But if you wanna roll now, hero, let's go."
"No, I'm fine, get back down. Jenna will kill me if I get shot again." Juice muttered. "It's three, we can't wait much longer or we're not gonna make it to the meet."
"We'll make it, chill out." Happy told him. "I haven't been sitting in that bar drinking shitty beer for nothing. They leave one guy overnight, everyone else clears out by four at the latest."
"And the one they leave?" Juice asked, and Happy looked at him like an idiot.
"Dies a little quicker than the rest of them. What the fuck do you think I'm trying to do here?" Happy growled.
Before he rolled back down, Happy pulled the ring out of his pocket again, spinning it.
"Just put it on, already." Juice sighed, watching him. Happy glared at him, but did it anyway. It looked strange, plain on his hand. "Three more down."
Happy looked up from his hand, watching the three men get in their cars and drive off. These weren't young punks, they were older harder, first generation thugs. If he had two working hands, he would be in there finishing this shit, and fuck what their big name associates thought about it. It was probably a good thing he couldn't, if he caused any more shit for his club they'd probably put a bullet in the back of his head. He had to start reasoning instead of reacting. He looked down at his ring finger, spinning the black band around. He had to admit, it wasn't a bad band to wear if he had to wear one, completely different from the rest of his rings, but still fit.
"That's the last four." Juice murmured, and Hap nodded, settling in while they scattered.
"Go take a walk, make sure the front is dark." Hap ordered, getting to his feet, pulling his weapon. He waited for Juice to get to his feet before he crossed the lot to the back door, putting his back to the wall next to it. He breathed deeply, calming himself, ready to eliminate one more threat. He watched Juice come around the corner.
"All clear, just the one." Juice whispered, and Happy nodded.
"Don't let me get shot, I think Ace would kill us both." Happy laughed and held up three fingers, then two.
No Other Man Alive
"What if I did?" Ace asked, over an hour later. They'd both been silent for a long time.
"What? You want to go after Rivera?" Tig asked, looking back over his shoulder at her. "Are you serious?"
"I'm good with a gun." Ace said defensively. "And he can have Rivera. What Rivera did wasn't ever about me. I want that bitch."
"That's what you've been weird about all day? You think you got the balls for that, sweetheart?" Tig smirked at her.
"Just think about it, Tigger. It's the only thing I can think to do to take back what they did to me." Ace bargained. "Please, Tig."
"Quit for a second." He told her, and snagged her by the knee, pulling the stool around in front of him. He studied her face, and pulled the stool even closer, until they were barely inches apart. "If that's really what you want I'll look into it for you."
"Thanks, Tig." Ace breathed, and Tig kissed her on the forehead.
No Other Man Alive
Happy pulled a chair over to the wall, standing on it. He holstered his SIG and slid his hand between his leather and the wall, pulling the nails out, dropping the nails on the floor. He slid the cut on and the leather embraced him like a long time lover.
"Spray paint." He barked at Juice, who tossed it to him.
"You're sure you want to tag this?" Juice asked, looking nervous.
"Oh yeah. I want em to know I'm coming." Happy laughed, finishing off the big smiley face in place of his cut. He jumped down from the chair and stepped over the body on the floor and headed for the front door. "Come on, we got a long ride, brother."
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