Juice sent Katy a text to let her know what happened. Then he headed over to St Thomas to wait for news on Gemma with the rest of the club.
The guys gathered in the church chapel. It would do as their own chapel for today.
Bobby brought up the mercenary they had discussed before. Time was ticking if they still wanted to use him.
"Pull the trigger," Jax told him. "I'm making sure my mom's okay then I'm heading north." He was worried about Gemma but he had to remain focused on what mattered. Abel. The others agreed. They still planned to go with him. Bobby reminded them that they still needed money in order to go ahead with that plan.
Tig turned to Juice, "Okay, these drugs we took from the rednecks, what are we looking at?"
"Steroids and Adderall I can dump on the street. The rest of it is that HIV shit. It's gotta be peddled to the clinics," Juice thought back to his childhood in Queens. Dealing drugs on the street was the first thing he ever got locked up for. He hoped this deal would be a bit more straightforward.
Jax looked thoughtful, "You should go to Lumpys, see if you can unload the steroids," Lumpy was a friend of the club. An elderly Jewish man that ran a boxing gym in Charming. He didn't condone the use of steroids himself but there were others in the gym that might.
"Okay," Juice replied, "I'll call the Chicken Man, sure he'll gladly suck up the Adderall," he smiled thinking about the strange little man they had had dealings with in the past.
Tara popped her head round the door of the chapel. The men all stopped talking and turned to see who it was. She looked straight to Jax, "Gemma's awake, she wants to talk to you," Jax nodded, leaving the room but Tara lingered in the doorway. Seeing her made Juice think of Katy again. He hadn't heard from her. He wasn't worried yet though. It had been late when they got back last night and it was still early now. She was most likely still sleeping.
"Chibs, Juice, can I talk to you for a minute," Tara looked between both of the men. Juice looked at Chibs, confusion on his face as he followed the older man from the room.
"Katy was brought in last night," Tara told them, Juice immediately started asking questions but Tara held up a hand to silence him. "Unser found her at the side of the road near Chigger Woods. Half her face caved in, a bloody knife in her hand. She's sedated at the moment but I can take you to see her. Once she wakes up Unser will need a statement, we'll find whoever did this."
Juice was shell shocked. How could this happen. He had been gone less than a day. He started planning in his head how he could have her protected when he left to go North.
Tara led them to her room then left to join Jax with Gemma.
Chibs was the first one through the door to her hospital room. His face full of rage as he looked down at his daughter. She was almost unrecognisable. Bandages covering her left eye, bruises visible all over her face and neck. He sat down in the chair beside her, remembering when she had sat beside his bedside all those months ago. He looked up at Juice. Expecting to see his own rage mirrored back. He was surprised at what he saw instead.
Pure concern etched his face. Juice moved slowly towards her, then gently started stroking her hair. "Who would do this?" He said softly. His eyes reaching Chibs' "I dunno," the Scot replied, "but I'll find them, and I'll fucking kill them," he said a look of steely determination in his eyes. Juice nodded. "Tara said Unser brought her in? We should talk to him, see what he can tell us," Juice suggested, his eyes never leaving Katy. He blamed himself. How could he have let this happen. He should have been with her. Protected her. How was he supposed to focus on drug deals while she was lying in a hospital bed. The same thought seemed to be crossing Chibs mind. "I'll get one of the new prospects to come watch her. Get him to call us as soon as she wakes up. She wouldn't want us sitting here with oor thumbs up oor arses," Chibs pulled his phone from pocket already dialing.
"Get Phil, he seems least likely to fuck it up," Juice said. Chibs nodded and made the call. Less than ten minutes had passed and Phil walked into the room in his new Prospect cut.
Juice finally tore his eyes away from Katy, "She wakes up, or there are any changes in her condition, you call me immediately," he stared at Phil. Phil was much larger than Juice, taller and wider, but he still cowered at the look in Juice's eyes. Phil nodded then looked at Chibs, Chibs rose from the seat, freeing it up so Phil could sit down. "Aye and once you've called him, you call me next." He looked back at his little girl then turned and left. He didn't want to see her like that.
Juice lingered a little longer, he stroked Katy's hair again, leaning down to gently kiss her forehead, noticing that not an inch of her face wasn't swollen and bruised. She would wake up. She had to. He didn't want to imagine what might happen if she didn't.
__________
Chibs went to find Jax, quietly telling him what had happened, the few details they had so far, when he spotted Unser walking through the corridor. "Oi," he shouted at the old cop, "What the fuck happened last night!" He demanded of him. Juice had joined now as well. A look of grim determination on his face. He wanted to hear this too.
"I was driving around, nothing unusual, I was heading back into town, passing Chigger Woods just where the old creek starts when I see someone at the side o' the road, covered in blood, arms waving. I pulled over, and there she was. Didn't see nobody, didn't hear nothing, put her in the car and brought her straight here." He told them honestly.
Juice looked at him, disgusted. If that shit old cop kept Charming safe the Sons wouldn't have to. Juice blamed himself sure, but he blamed Unser as well. "What the fuck would she be doing all the way out there?" He knew the old man wouldn't be able to answer. But he had to ask.
"She had on, what looked like, running gear. But she also had a sweet little knife in her hand. Covered in blood that wasn't hers. It's at the station now, running tests to see if we can find out who the blood does belong to. My guess, that's the scumbag we need to be looking for," he looked at the men gathered around him, realising it wasn't just Juice and Chibs listening to his tale. "I swear that's all I know, she awake yet?" He asked looking straight to Juice. Juice shook his head.
"I'll be back when she is." He said as he turned to leave. His brothers followed leaving Unser standing alone in the hospital hallway.
__________
Chibs went with Jax and Opie, hoping keeping busy would keep him distracted.
Juice, Tig and Bobby headed over to Lumpys gym. Tig and Bobby chatted to Lumpy while Juice snuck through to meet with his buyer.
"There they are," he handed the box of steroids over to the boxer, taking an envelope full of money from the man before going out to rejoin the older men. Usually he loved a visit to Lumpys, it was a great gym and he had a lot of respect for the old man. Juices eyes darted to the number on Lumpys arm. Finding himself wondering how old Lumpy had been when he found himself in a concentration camp. He shook his head. He needed to focus. He still had to shift the Adderall before he could head back to the hospital and wait for Katy to wake up.
The three bikers headed out to an empty industrial estate to meet the Chicken Man.
"He's a little paranoid," Juice explained to Bobby and Tig, "Just hang back, let me deal with him," the two men stayed where they were and Juice walked over to the van.
"Juan Carlos," the man said to him, Juice smiled, almost no one called him that. Though Katy has recently started doing it when he left his laundry lying around, "I presume you have the stimulants," geez this guy was formal for a tweaker, "and I assume these stimulants are in your backpack bag?" Juice chuckled this time.
"Yes Chicken," he said smiling at the guy, "May I assume you have the cash," he mimicked the man's formal tone.
"Yes, would you mind getting in, talking this way makes me feel very conspicuous," Juice agreed. Standing at a van window like this, it definitely looked like a drug deal.
He slipped his bag from his shoulders and climbed into the van, realising too late that the Chicken Man was not alone. Calaveras.
"You tell Clay, my bullshit MCs got some reach," was the last thing he heard before they beat him and stripped his cut from his back. There were three of them, two held him down while the man with the bruises on his face punched him repeatedly. The Chicken Man shouted his apologies from the front of the truck "I've ran up a bit of a tab with these Mexican fellows," he said, as if that excused what he had done.
The men threw Juice out the back of the van. The one that gave the beating shouted out to him as they were driving away, "Oh and tell your old lady she got lucky, she pulls a knife on me again and I'll fuck her with it," the van peeled away, the doors shutting before Juice had a chance to respond. Tig and Bobby helped him from the ground taking in the state of him. "Aw shit, look at that, now we gotta get you to St Thomas too," Tig said, lacking any sympathy. That was a positive thought for Juice though. That's where Katy was. And now he was pretty sure he knew who attacked her.
__________
Katy woke up, dizzy and confused. She looked around the room, realising she couldn't see out of her left eye. She spotted Phil sitting in the chair beside her reading a book. She'd never seen any of the MC guys with a book before. Under other circumstances she would have laughed but she didn't have the strength. She tried to speak but her voice came out as a croak, she lifted her hand and rubbed at her sore throat, memories of the attack slowly returning to her. Phil noticed her moving and jumped from his chair. His phone already in his hand. Chibs walked in the door at that exact moment. His business for the day was done and he had come back to check on her. When he saw she was awake he went over to her bedside, Phil leaving the room as he tried to contact Juice.
"Hey darlin' how you doing?" Chibs smiled gently down at her.
"Water?" She managed to say, and Chibs pressed the button for a nurse to come. She was there in an instant before leaving to get water and a doctor.
A few moments later she returned, helping Katy to a sitting position and giving her a glass of water. The doctor wanted to check her over now that she was awake so Chibs gave them some privacy to do just that.
The doctor explained that her left eye would heal, the reason she couldn't see out of it was the bandages. She asked for a mirror but he told her that wasn't a priority at the moment. He asked her some question to check her memory. She seemed as okay as okay could be in this situation.
The doctor finally left and Phil came back in, he seemed to be looking everywhere in the rooms except at her face. "Juice will be here soon," he promised as he sat back in the chair. Katy relaxed slightly. She wasn't looking forward to telling him what had happened. Wondered if the prospect was his idea or her dad's. She didn't think either of them would allow her to be alone ever again after something like this.
___________
Juice walked into the hospital in search of Clay, he had to tell him what had happened with the Chicken Man. As he strode through the corridors his phone rang, he answered it curtly, chastising himself for that when he realised it was Phil, Katy had woken up. He told the prospect he would be there soon and to not leave her side. He had now been attacked by the same guy. This wasn't going well.
He found his brothers in the hall near the chapel, explaining to them what happened, "Salazar and two CL jumped me in the Chicken Man's van, they took my cut," he confessed, ashamed that he had allowed that to happen. Although maybe allowed wasn't really the right word. It's not like he gave it to them, it was three on one.
Chibs looked disgusted, "You let a goddamn puppet club strip your patch?" Juice looked at him, seeing how angry he was, it was just going to get worse when Juice told them the rest. "This is on me," he said when Jax had asked Tig and Bobby where they had been during this. "There's more," he said, looking at Chibs, "When Salazar threw me out the van, he mentioned Katy, I'm pretty sure it was him who jumped her last night," anger surged through him remembering exactly what Salazar had said. He didn't repeat it, Chibs didn't need to hear that.
Clay filled them in on the intell TO, of the Grim Bastards, had managed to gather on the Mayans. Jax and most of his brothers went to follow up on that lead.
Juice turned to Clay, ashamed, "I'm sorry," was all he could say, it didn't feel like enough. He had let his club down. Having your cut taken from you was a huge dishonour.
"Come on hero, let's get you patched up," Piney said leading him away.
"I can't, Phil just called, Katy's awake," Juice needed to see her more than he cared about getting his own injuries dealt with.
Clay and Piney walked Juice to Katy's hospital room. They waited outside to give them some privacy, Phil coming out to join them.
Juice rushed to her bedside, smiling gently at her, "Hey baby," he said softly. She glanced at him and her one visible eye widened, "Juice your face!" She said shocked. He grinned, "Don't worry about me, I'm here to check on you, what happened?"
She told him everything she could remember. She had wanted a distraction so she went for a run, got a bit turned around in the woods but was making her way back to town when a guy she had never seen before attacked her. She explained that she had pulled her knife out to protect herself but he had knocked it from her hand. He listened carefully, everything in him working on not interrupting her. He couldn't help but smile when she explained that she had stabbed the man in the dick. Now what Salazar had said to him made a little more sense.
He waited patiently for her to finish. She looked at him expectantly. She told him what happened to her, it was his turn now. He wanted to confirm with her that it has definitely been Salazar. "Did you get a good look at him? Did he have a busted up nose?" She nodded, "He was wearing a cut that I didn't recognise, and a president patch, whoever he is."
Juice took her hand in his, kissing it gently. "It was the same guy that smashed me up and took my cut," he finally admitted to her. He was horrified that a club issue has blown back on her. This wasn't the first time one of the women had been the target of rival retaliation, but it was the first time it had happened to Katy, and Juice vowed to make sure it was also the last. They sat there together a little longer, he told her all that had happened the night before, let her know that Gemma was in the hospital too. Today was not a good day for the club. Juice pulled the chair closer to her bed and tried to get comfortable, he was in a lot of pain but he didn't want her to know that. They sat chatting about anything and everything for about an hour, until Katy started to yawn. Juice was just telling her to get some sleep when a doctor came in. It was Tara. "Jesus Juice look at your face," she said shocked at the state of him. She sent him away to get himself cleaned up and turned to Katy, "Can I get you anything?" She looked down at her friend, helpless in her hospital bed.
"A less dangerous pass-time for my man would be a good start," Katy replied smiling, Tara smiled back, "I think we'd all like one of those," thinking about all the dangerous situations Jax ended up in, and thinking about poor little Abel. Tara looked around shiftily then closed the door. Katy eyed her suspiciously with her good eye. The swelling on her face had gone down a lot but she was still black and blue.
"What is it?" She said bluntly as Tara crossed the room to stand by the bed.
"I need someone to talk to and I don't know who else I could go to, I didn't want to talk to you about while you are in here but it's a time sensitive issue," Tara paused looking down to see Katy's reaction, Katy raised her hand in a motion that indicated for her to continue. "I'm pregnant," she finally whispered. "And I don't think I can keep it," she said, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at the girl who had become one of her closest friends. Katy pushed herself up a bit in the bed before taking Tara's hand in hers.
"Whatever you need to do, I'm here. I support whatever decision you make," Katy smiled at Tara as best she could, it was probably not a comforting sight but she needed to support her friend. Tara's eyes spilled over at the comforting words, she leaned down and pulled Katy in for a hug. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear, "And thank you for not asking any questions," Katy shrugged. What questions could she ask? She wasn't about to ask if it was Jax's, she knew it would be. She guessed this was not something Tara wanted anyone else to know, and that meant keeping it from Juice but it wasn't her secret to tell so she would stay silent.
Juice walked back into the room as the two women broke from their hug. He looked much better, all the dried blood washed from his face and a calm look in his eye that most definitely came from the good painkillers. He was glad Katy had a friend like Tara, doctors said she would have to stay in a few more days, he made a mental note to get Lyla and Amelia to visit as well. He didn't want Katy getting lonely trapped in the hospital. Especially since it looked like he wouldn't be able to stay for long.
"Jax needs me to do some clubs shit," he explained to the women standing before him. "Phil's outside, he'll come back in when Tara leaves, I'll be back as soon as I can," he walked over to Katy, kissing the top of her head before turning to leave.
__________
All he had was a licence plate number. Jax said he needed a home address, nothing else. That wouldn't be too hard to find. Juice booted up his laptop and got to work. Glad to have something to focus on however briefly.
He quickly found all the information he needed and called Jax.
After telling Jax the address he said, "Do I wanna know why you just had me find June Stahls home address?" He couldn't help himself. The database he was using gave him all the information on the registered owner of the vehicle.
"Nope, but I'm sure you'll find out when it's necessary," Jax said as he hung up on him.
Juice didn't care about being left out of the loop. He just wanted to get back to the hospital, get back to Katy.
__________
Katy looked over at Phil sitting in the chair. It was getting late. "You gonna head home soon Phil?" She asked him, wondering what exactly his instructions had been.
"No ma'am," he said, looking at his feet rather than at Katy, "I've to stay with you until Juice comes back," she sighed softly. She thought that would be the case. Phil was nice and all but what she wanted right now was peace. She knew better than to ask him to leave though, poor guy probably would if she told him to, not wanting to piss her off but he would never get that top rocker if he pissed off Chibs and Juice like that.
She turned onto her side and tried to get some sleep.
When she woke a few hours later she noticed Phil was gone. Juice was snoring gently in the chair which he had pulled right up to the side of the bed. She noticed his hand lying beside hers and she reached out to hold onto it.