The Final Ride

Chapter 8

Just a short chapter today everyone! Loooong weekend over here, sorry! Xoxo

--

Dutifully, and out of his own concern for Knox, Happy raced from the clubhouse to Saint Thomas. He found Rory in what was Knox's room, her head on the mattress and her hands folded in prayer, with an envelope beside her. Happy remained silent, not wanting to interrupt her, and watched sadly.

"I know you're here," she whispered. "It's going to be a while."

"I figured," he moved snd stood by her side. "You okay?"

"No," she finally looked up at him. "I'm praying Hap, I haven't done that in a very long time."

He nodded, never having felt that need, and stroked her hair tenderly. "He won't show up," he let her know. "So you don't have to worry about that."

"Good," she handed him the envelop. "They had to cut his hair." Rory's voice broke as Happy looked to see two thick ringlets, tied together with rubber bands, in the envelope.

"Maybe you should sleep?" He suggested, unsure of how else to help her through the pain.

Rory shook her head. "I slept through Liv's surgery, I know it's not why she died but, I just can't do that again."

"Alright," he sat on the edge of the mattress and Rory rested her head on his lap.

"You talk to him?"

"I did, we got into it but I didn't do too much damage. I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him," Happy grumbled as he softly pet her cheek. "He does seem pretty upset about Knox though."

"He should be," she spat. "I never felt I couldn't trust him, Hap. I know he's goofy and stupid sometimes but something doesn't feel right. He's always been a good dad."

"Baby, Tig is selfish and he's fucking lazy," Happy explained trying to keep his bias off her radar. "This is something he'd do, not on purpose but it was an accident he let happen."

"I trusted him," she began to sob again. "I barely survived losing Olivia, Happy. I can't do it again. If I lose him I'll die, I can't."

Happy felt his eyes fill, stinging with tears, as he comforted her in silence. What could he say? He too would be shattered if Knox didn't make it but Happy felt he couldn't share those feelings, after the bitterness and struggle to accept the child, it didn't seem fair.

"I know baby, it's gonna be okay."

--

When Henry Lin arrived at the restaurant, his entourage in tow, he was surprised to find the doors still locked. Stepping back, he met the others clear the area and bust in through the back door.

"It's clear," his closest cousin announced as he escorted Henry in through the kitchen entrance. "We got a problem though."

Henry moved through the kitchen, out into the dining room, to find seven of his lower level dealers bound and gagged, beaten to a pulp scattered about the tables.

"What the fuck is this?" He bellowed in a furious rage.

His cousin and the other men with him moved through the room and gathered the men together, releasing their wrists and allowing them to speak.

"Tell him what happened," Henry's cousin ordered.

"I was working, in the middle of a sale and two guys, small, in all black, jumped me. Took my cash and my product then beat the shit outta me." Watching Henry's face slowly turn darker and darker the dealer knew he'd take the brunt of his wrath out on the them until the true culprit was found.

"We got something else," Henry's right hand man burst in the dining room from the back. "You should uhh, come back to your office."

Storming back, Henry wasn't prepared for the dead body strewn across his desk or the message scribbled on the wall.

"This is no longer Triad territory." Henry read aloud. "Fuckin' SAMCRO," he growled . "This is the cartel and Jax Teller. I know it."