Runaway ✔

050 • Juice

Being late at a club meeting wasn't something he did on daily basis. Nobody did. It was only tolerated by very good reasons – and lying in bed with Dana surely wasn't one. He hurried to the Chapel and felt the annoyed glances of his brothers burn on his face when he slipped through the door and sat down on his chair.

"Where the hell have you been?" Clay's moody voice sounded.

Juice felt a vibration in his chest. He hated to disappoint his brothers but disappointing his President was even worse. "I overslept," he muttered. "Won't happen again."

"You'd better not." Clay blew out the smoke from his cigar. "Whatcha got?"

Juice bowed forward, his lower arms leaning on the table. What did he got? What was Clay talking about? He furrowed his eyebrows and felt sweat drops itching in his neck. "Huh?"

"Are you deaf, Ortiz?"

Juice tensed as he realized everybody was glaring at him. He craved for a smoke.

Jax sighed. "That Danny-guy, Juice. That asshole Opie put out of his misery. You looked into him?"

"Eh... not yet," he muttered. Nervously he twisted the ring around his thumb. He hadn't thought about that for a minute.

"That didn't seem relevant to you?" Clay mocked.

Juice rubbed his head. Oh shit man. What should he say? "I was with Da- Chloe. She needed me."

"She sure as hell did. To find out what motherfucker kept her imprisoned all those years! If she wants her pussy licked, send Sack or one of the other prospects to her. You're our Intelligence Officer, not some whoremonger. Carry out your damn tasks!"

Juice bent his head.

"Is my sister you're talkin' 'bout. Little more respect, huh," Happy growled.

Clay snorted. "You talkin' to me? It's not my dick she's on."

Juice peeked aside. Suddenly he was glad Happy had stepped by tonight, he'd rather not discuss this over the table. He got an obstinate glance in return, giving him the impression Happy had only reacted so mildly because of Dana.

"Enough," Jax intervened. He turned to Juice. "Look into that dead guy, we still know shit about that asshole. And see if the cops have evidence leading to Opie."

Jax's intense glare made clear he should do so immediately, and he stood up.

"And I don't wanna see your ugly face before you found a lead," Clay warned him.

Embarrassed Juice turned away from the others. Even though it was all his own fault, he didn't like to be dispatched. He had no say in the decisions that would be made now.

Before heading to the office, he went to his dorm to put on his boots, and in the clubhouse, he ordered one of the Croweaters to get him breakfast.

In the office, he opened his laptop. Dana's spot was still empty. Since she'd buried her mother yesterday, nobody would blame her for taking a day off. It was better for him as well, the last thing he needed now was a distraction. Hopefully, a background check of that Danny would give him something. He hadn't found much about Maddox, and he suspected he got a man inside who shielded his data. He however had found a few houses in San Francisco that were on his name, but how the hell he'd gained so much money and power was still a mystery. There were no leads within the gun and drugs business, it felt like a dozen of people were covering him.

Maybe he would find a link through Danny.

After a few phone calls, he'd discovered Danny's real name was Owan Gregor. The first hit only led to a jail time of a few months because of being involved in a knife fight. He sighed frustrated and rubbed his mohawk. Couldn't they just have a little luck for once? As long as they didn't know who exactly Maddox was and which connections he had, they couldn't do a damn thing. Rushing into his house blindly while not knowing what kind of shit they were dealing, was just dumb.

He looked up when the door opened and a dark-haired girl entered the office with a few slices of bread and a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," he sighed.

"Anything else I can help you with?" she asked. "You look stressed." She laid her hands on his shoulders and rubbed his muscles.

"Nah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Her hand glided down his face and she turned the desk chair towards her. She leaned into him and whispered: "You know I'm happy to help you relax." She put her finger against his chest and let it slip downwards, across his stomach, until his crotch. He felt how his jeans got tighter underneath her hand and hesitated.