Blood vs. Loyalty

Fruit for the Crows

Holly woke up the next morning to a note from Jax. He had to go see Alvarez about something that morning but as soon as it was over, he would pick her up and they would go. She sighed softly, getting up to take a shower. They would've left last night, but they ended up fucking each other and falling asleep. Their bags were already packed and by the door. She was just coming downstairs to make some coffee after getting dressed and doing her hair, looking over when Gemma came in.

"Hey. Are the kids ok?"
"Yeah. Neeta's at my house with them. But I came by to get some more diapers and wipes and I found this in the front seat of your car."

She took the paper from Gemma, her hands starting to shake as she read the note.

'You and your family will die by my hands, stupid whore.'

She looked at Gemma, not knowing what to do, watching her call Jax. She put the letter on the table and sat down, putting her head in her hands, trying to keep from panicking anymore than she already was. Unsuccessfully. She started hyperventilating.

Holly walked into the clubhouse, holding onto Abel, who was screaming for Jax, Tommy and Valentina were both asleep, Gemma taking them back to Jax's dorm to nap. She looked over when Chibs handed her his cell before going to help patch Alvarez up.

"Jax? Are you ok?"
"Yeah. Are you?"
"I'm freaking out a bit. Or a lot."
"Is that Abel I hear screaming?"
"Yeah. He's asking for you."
"I'll be back as soon as I can. Promise me that you'll stay at the clubhouse? If you have to go anywhere, you take someone with you. I mean it, babe."
"I will. Stay safe, baby. And come back to me."
"I will. I love you."
"Love you too."

She hung up and put the phone down, focusing on trying to get Abel calmed down. Gemma had to take him from Holly so she could get a few seconds to calm her own mind. Not that it helped much. Chucky came over to tell Clay that Eli was there to talk to Holly. She sighed deeply before getting up and going outside and over to Eli.

"What're you doing here and why do you need to talk to me?"
"We got from an anonymous source that they think you're in danger. Any validity to that?"
"Everyone's in danger every day. You're gonna have to be more specific, Eli."
"I hear someone left you a death threat?"
"How could you possibly know that? Unless you put it there."
"I didn't put anything anywhere. Is it true?"
"No. And even if it were, I wouldn't tell you. I don't want or need your help. I'm perfectly fine. Now get out of here."

He chuckled and looked at her with a smirk.

"You know you and your kids are safer without the club, right?"
"Thanks for that insight, now leave. Because there is absolutely nobody here that wants your input. On anything. And you're gonna leave Juice alone. He's been fucking spun out since your last meeting with him and you're gonna get him killed. And I won't let that happen. So leave him alone. Or it'll be the biggest mistake of your life. Do you understand me?"

Holly sat in the dorm, watching a show on her laptop, the babies in their portal cribs as Jax came into the room, carrying Abel inside and closing the door behind him.

"We'll go up another weekend. I already called the hotel and canceled the reservation. Paid the cancellation fee."
"I'm sorry, babe. We should've left last night like planned."
"It's ok. We would've had to come back to deal with this."
"I would've turned my phone off."
"It's ok, Jax. I'm not mad."
"I feel bad."
"Don't. You'll get to the bottom of the note, take care of the problem and things will go back to normal."

He put Abel onto the cot they had before going over to kiss her, cupping her face gently. She put her hands on top of his as she looked at him.

"Are you sure you're ok? This is a lot to deal with."
"I'm fine, Jax. I'm where I need to be, the kids are ok and I have you protecting me. I'll be fine."

Holly walked over to Rat when Jax left, making sure that Jax was totally gone before looking at Rat.

"I need you to keep an eye out for the kids. I have something I have to do and I can't take them with me."
"Jax wants you to keep someone with you."
"I'll be fine. I'll be safe where I'm going. But I do need you to keep quiet about it, ok?"
"I can't lie to Jax."
"You're not lying to him. I am. You wanna be patched in? I'll ensure that it happens when your year's up if you keep an eye on the kids."

She didn't let him say anything else before grabbing her purse and keys before leaving, going out to her car and driving off, going to the cemetery before calling her uncle, waiting for him to answer.

"Holly? It's late there, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. But I need your help. I'm in trouble and I can't go to the club with it."
"Why not?"
"Because Clay's going off the deep end and I'm afraid of what he could do to me."

She heard shuffling in the background, sitting against Donna's headstone, waiting for his response.

"What happened?"
"When Jax left Belfast, Maureen put letters in his bag from his dad. I found them and had Jax read them after he got out. John Teller thought that he was gonna be killed by Clay. And then he died. It was ruled as an accident, but I got the report of his death. John only ever let one person work on his bike, and that guy ended up dead too. Now, this thing with the cartel....."
"Cartel? What cartel?"
"Galindo cartel. They have the club selling them guns from the Irish and muling coke through Charming."
"How does this equal danger for you?"
"Gemma found a death threat in my car a mere hour before the leader of the Mayan MC gets shot. If it's a coincidence, it's a hell of a coincidence. I'm not an idiot. I know what would, or could, happen if the guys fall out of favor with the cartel."
"Alright. Don't panic, Holly. I'll look into this for you. In the meantime, I'll send someone to stay with you. Give you and the kids some extra protection. Ok?"
"Thanks, zio."