A/N - There may be trouble ahead... Beer and confrontation, always love that combination!
Happy, Tig and Juice pulled up to a small bar on the outskirts of California. It was far enough from Stockton that they wouldn't be bothered, and while they could probably all make the last three hours of driving, Tig wanted the rest.
He smiled with his usual flirty charm at the young barmaid. "Beers, darlin', keep 'em coming." They sat down in a corner and the girl smiled as she brought over a tray. She giggled as she tapped Juice's bottle, she had scribbled her number on the label and she winked at him as she walked away. "You're in there."
Juice blushed and looked back over his shoulder at her. "She's pretty. Red heads are kinda my thing."
"Anything you can get is your thing," Happy grunted. Tig laughed and gave him a fist bump as they both took a long drink. It was the first after a long couple of days.
"What a fucking trip," Tig muttered, pushing his eyelids with his thumbs. "That girl's got lucky stars, of all the goddamn places to pick to meet."
"She's safe, that's what's important," Juice said with certainty. "Nero, shit, we found some security footage from a casino. The ex, smart suit type?" Tig nodded. "Conned her, sold her out, dealer gave her a bad hand."
"And she owed him." Tig started to pick at his bottle label. "This is the problem with this shit, never know what's going to happen next, right?"
They all sat in silence for a moment before Juice finally eyeballed them and asked, squarely,
"What does happen next?"
"We go home," Tig said. "And we cover for Chibs until he can get her back. If Jax finds out, he'll kill her."
It sat uncomfortably with all of them. Nina had done nothing to warrant a death threat, but Jax was the kind of man to follow through. Happy could see the nervousness in Juice's eyes, he patted his shoulder.
"We won't let him."
"I can't get right with it," Juice murmured. "She's just a girl."
"To us, to all of us," Tig agreed. "But to Jax? To him, she's Nero's daughter. She's not a friend to the club."
"But Chibs loves her." There was an earnest, innocent look in Juice's expression. "Doesn't that mean anything?"
They were all quiet. The problem was yes, it should. Nina was rapidly becoming Chibs' old lady, it was clear as day how much he cared about her. Tig was already shaking his head as they spoke.
"I'm not having another old lady's blood on my hands," he said firmly. "If anything happens to her, Chibs is this close to going rogue. He's on the edge, she would have died if you hadn't shown up. Pumping her with E and LSD, barely feeding her? Jesus, I don't even want to know how many assholes they put her with in a week. She would never have lasted. Jax let that happen."
The words sat with them uncomfortably. Juice fiddled with his fingers. "He let that happen because of spite."
"He's got a hard on for pissing off Nero and Chibs," Tig said. "He's putting his dick on the table over Gemma."
Juice shuddered at the thought, it was just like Tig to say something creepy like that. "Gemma and Nero. They're still together." He smiled shyly. "I went to the house, to find the security footage for them."
"I know," Tig muttered, wrinkling his nose a little. "Found out a couple of weeks back. Kept it quiet for, uh..." He sighed, it was all coming out anyway. "For a chance with Nina. Got Gemma to make Nero sign off on it. The night you all went to meet the Irish. The night things got... out of hand."
"Shit." Happy took another long swig of his beer. "Fucked up."
Tig smiled at that and lifted his bottle. They all clinked them together and he nodded. "Aren't we all?"
"Can I talk to you?"
Jax looked up to see Gemma walking across the lot towards him. He nodded to Bobby to peel away and headed straight towards her. Gemma motioned to the office and he followed her in, shutting the door behind him.
"You okay?"
Gemma sighed as she sat down. Coming clean about Nero, it was never going to end well but she was sure it was the right thing to do. She looked at her hands for a second before deciding to be more assertive about it, she pulled her shoulders back as she looked at Jax.
"Nero's daughter, she's missing."
Jax ran a hand through his hair. "I know, she skipped town. Went back to her ex, Charming was too much for her." He shrugged. "It's none of our business."
"How's Chibs?" Gemma gave him a sad smile. "I know they were spending a lot of time together. Before Fiona turned up so... conveniently."
Jax's face turned grey and he scowled. "You got something to say to me, Mom?"
Gemma shook her head. "You know I hate that woman, Jax. She scares the fuck out of me, there's something about her that's... It's not right. Third gen IRA, haunting around Charming? It's asking for trouble. And the Irish."
Jax was all too aware that an Irish consort would be in town for Fiona. It was part of his play. "It's not your concern."
"My family are my concern," Gemma said staunchly. "And that's you guys. I need you, I need you happy and in one piece."
"Chibs will be fine, he'll get over it," Jax shrugged. "He's got his old lady here, and I'm making moves for Kerrianne too. He'll have everything he needs in his home by the end of the week."
Gemma looked at him in surprise. "That's a lot of strings to pull." Jax smiled.
"I just want my brother to be happy," he said. "I know he likes brown but he doesn't need some 'spic whore sucking his dick when he can have his wife and child in his own home. The girl's gone, she's not coming back. You know she dipped in and out of drugs, she's probably in some junkie hole. Chibs, he's confused. Bit of young skirt's gone to his head."
Gemma's nostrils flared as she exhaled, just like Jax's often did. "Chibs is a grown man, he knows what he's doing."
"So do I."
Jax frowned and stood up, irritated by Gemma's interference. "This is club business, Mom. This is nothing to do with you. Chibs needs his head on straight, last thing I need right now is anyone liaising with Nero or his family. You're lucky you got out when you did, that guy's world is about to come crashing down around his ears."
Gemma suppressed her reaction carefully, she screwed up her nose as she looked at him. "Jesus, Jax, why? What are you planning?"
"The less you know, the better," Jax said, leaning over and pressing a kiss on her head. "Business opportunity, that's all. Good business, clean, something even Grandma won't worry about."
Gemma bit her tongue to hold herself back. Part of her wanted to give Jax a good slap, he was meddling in far more than he was meant to. "You need to keep club business and family apart, Jax," she said. "That's where Clay went wrong, when one bled into the other. This shit with Chibs-"
"Is none of your concern." Jax shot her down immediately. "Chibs is fine, stop worrying about him. Since when do you care so much? Fiona'll take good care of him when he's back."
He moved towards the door and Gemma stopped him in his tracks as he called back. "How's that nasty little porn friend of yours?" He turned to stare at her. "I heard you paid her a visit. Does Tara know?"
"Where did you hear that?" Jax could feel the anger descending, he had to hold it back, Gemma was his mother after all.
"Gossip, shop talk." Gemma smiled a little. "I hear everything, sweetheart. Maybe not at first, but it always gets around to me eventually."
Jax gritted his teeth, grinding them together. "You don't know shit," he said bluntly. "And it's nothing to do with you. You tell Tara, and..."
Gemma laughed. "And what, Jax? You going to threaten me?" She stood up, her arms crossed, and Jax backed down. "Didn't think so. Just make sure you wrap your shit up, don't get into a mess with that crabby little whore. I talked Tara off the ledge last time, one more thing would push her off and she'll take the boys. I'm not losing my grandkids because you couldn't keep it in your pants."