The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most - An SOA Fan Fiction

Chapter 16

Tig was always impatient but even more so now. He danced along the side of the motel, his eyes scanning up and down the long row of rooms for any movement. It wasn't a nice place, there was no computer system or real records being kept which made getting a room number a more personal task. Jax was going to have to smooth talk something out of the young girl behind the counter, not that that ever presented a problem; it just took longer than Juice getting the information for them.

"My sister is really worried; I hate to see her so upset. He just split, he's got a history of, you know," Jax twirled his finger in the air and rolled his eyes. "I promised her I'd make sure he was okay."

"I'm really not supposed to."

Jax leaned on the counter and sucking in his bottom lip, he smirked. "Haven't you ever been in love?" The girl nodded, her cheeks flushing under his gaze. "I just want to give her peace of mind, she loves him and she's really worried."

"Keith, you said?" The girl asked, she tried to be coy but her obvious attempts to flirt were clumsy and utterly adorable. "Yeah, I have a Keith Albrecht in nine. You said he's crazy?"

"Very." He nodded, his eyes a little wider to drive the point home. "But you don't have to worry, he's only dangerous to himself." Jax clicked his tongue and shot her a wink on his way out. "Thanks, darlin'."

Jax jogged down the gravel parking lot, a thick layer of dust darkening his sneakers with every step. "Nine," he pointed to the opposite row of rooms. "No cowboy shit, I mean it."

With a petulant sigh Tig pulled his gun as they stalked toward the room. The door was unlocked, not a good sign. Jax slid it open, standing back from the doorway but had his gun drawn, as Tig moved, gun first, into the room. "Nothing," he muttered under his breath before checking the bathroom.

"Goddamn." Jax's arms fell to his side as his eyes landed on the wall across from the bed and focused, it was a massive, crudely thrown together collage of Amelia.

"What is this shit?" Joining him in disgust Tig inspected every photo. They had to be from Denver, most anyway, but there were some of her as a child, which added a new level of worry. Any other faces featured were scratched out; in some Amelia had obvious bruises that we're still healing. Things became very clear to Tig in that moment. "How long did you know?"

"She never told me, brother. We talked a lot, I tried to help her get out but she never told me he touched her."

In a fit of blind rage, Tig began ripping the photos down and tearing them apart, he didn't even want to keep the few from childhood, they were tainted now. Howling, he hurled the lamp across the room and moved to the bed with his hunting knife in hand. "Sick. Piece. Of. Shit."

Jax let him work it out, slicing and stabbing at the mattress and pillows. There would be no functioning for Tig if he walked around with that kind of rage coursing in his system. "Brother," he ventured but Tig was oblivious. "Tig!" Jax looked out the door to see the commotion had definitely drawn some attention. "We gotta go before they call the cops." The little counter girl was in the middle of the parking lot, phone in hand, staring at the room unsure of what to do. "Pull your shit together." Jax swiftly left to try and get a handle on the situation. It ended with a lot of smirks, a 'darling' or two and a wad of fifties just for extra security and damages.

Amelia began to tidy up after their dinner, rinsing dishes and beginning to scrub few pans they'd used to make dinner together. Before the attack she'd learned a lot from Gemma, mostly how to cook, it wasn't gourmet but good, classic comfort food. In Denver she never wanted to so her skills were rusty but she and Juice had done an okay job working together. With the last of the leftovers in his hands, Juice came behind her to pull a container from the cabinet above her head. Just the unexpected creaking of the floor made her jump, she turned and shoved him back with wet soapy hands. The food went flying, Juice stumbled back against the island with a grunt.