Juice knew he was a complete idiot for feeling jealousy when Kozik was hugging Alex, but it felt like the man was holding her just a little longer than anyone else. Her voice sounded more girly because she was so enthusiast to see him again, while she was making jokes about skateboarding and breaking legs. Her sponsor threw an arm around her shoulder as he headed inside, to the bar. 

If anyone would feel deeply betrayed, it would be Kozik, Juice realized. He might be a friendly guy, more social than most of them, but he could get mad pretty well too and the idea that he had trained a girl to become a Son for a year, would mess with his head – just like it had done with him. The only reason that Juice had forgiven her so easily, was because she had been a better friend to him than anyone else. Whether Kozik would also be so forgiving – especially after twelve months instead of three – remained to be seen. 

Juice entered Chapel, after the intel they had gotten from Romeo they had been convened for a meeting as soon as they were back in the clubhouse. He sat down in his chair waiting for the others. Kozik was the last one entering the room, a beer in his hand. 

As soon as everyone was around the table, Jax reminded them to the fact that this feud with Lobos Sonora had gotten personal now they had tried to abduct his old lady. There however was no one taking the bait; they all promised to have his back, Juice no less than the others, and to join him on his warpath now they knew the location of the hostile cartel. 

Lobos Sonora wasn't the only problem that had to be dealt with today; Clay sent Bobby, Opie and Tig to Georgie Caruso to force him to call off his deal with Asian investors who were about to support Jacob Hale with his run for mayor. 

"The rest of us will blow those bitches to pieces," Clay decided. For a moment his eyes rested upon Juice, who could barely keep himself from shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Take your boy with you. Like to have a extra gun around and he's more stable than the others."

"Uh, you mean Shane?" Juice muttered, scratching his neck. "It's not like I'm his sponsor or something," he muttered, not wanting to give in to their teasing.

"Heard you did an even better job." Kozik gave him a meaningful wink and Juice wondered what the hell Alex had told him during their last call. 

"Think he would love some action. He might even reward you with a good suck," Chibs added with a smirk.

Juice had the feeling that flames were coming out of his cheeks. He had thought to get used to comments like these, but the topic was only making him feel more awkward and he even felt the urge to tell them that they weren't talking about a guy at all. "He's just a prospect man. You really want to bring him along?"

The last thing he wanted, was Alex joining a mission like this, even though he knew his objection would make her angry. 

"Kid got more balls than you," Happy said. "Ain't a bad idea to have 'im around."

Juice knew there wasn't much more he could say about it, so he nodded. "Okay. I'll get him."

"You got five minutes with those balls, Juicy," Chibs chuckled. "Then you gotta be done."

With a face that had never been redder, Juice hurried away from the room, getting his act together as he headed to the working place. He nodded to V-Lin, who had taken Miles' place a few days ago, and walked to the back of the garage. Alex was bending over a car with the hood up, earpieces in while muttering some sentences now and than. Juice looked around, making sure that nobody saw them and laid his hands on her hips, grinding his waist against her ass. She jumped up, bumping her head against the hood. His arms glided around her before she would lash out again, tugging away her earpiece and kissing her nek. 

"It's just me," he muttered against her skin, a smirk crossing his lips. 

"Next time you get a punch in the face, like everyone else," she warned with a grunt, turning towards him and looking around suspiciously. 

"Nobody sees us," he whispered. "They gave me five minutes."

"For what?"

Meaningfully, he moved his eyebrows up and down, but a deadly glare from Alex told him that he would only get a smack in the face if he shared the suggestion of his brothers. 

"Never mind. We know where Lobos Sonora is hiding and Clay wants you to go with us. An extra guy because Ope, Bobby and Tig gotta go somewhere else."

"We gonna blow their brains out?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess. Got a problem with that? I tried to change their minds, so they wouldn't –" He swallowed the rest of the line as her eyes grew very dark. 

"You tried to convince them not to lemme join you guys?" she hissed. "You have any idea how honored I feel for being asked while the other prospects aren't? And you wanted to fuck that up for me?!"

"I..." His shoulders slumped down. "You're a prospect. You shouldn't be in a danger like that. It feels like you're only getting the shit of being a full patch member, and not the positive sides."

"You hear me complain?"

"No but –"

With a sigh he let go of the subject, knowing he would only make things worse. He gritted his teeth and followed her outside. Of course she was right – but it still sucked. A week ago they had been willing to sacrifice her, when the cartel needed a body and when she had been the most obvious choice since she was the newest prospect. Would they leave her just as easy to die this time, when they had to choose between a full patch member and a prospect? All Alex could see were chances, but he... he also saw the risks, the dangers. He had witnessed how little value her life had in the eyes of his brothers, just a week ago. Maybe she didn't care much about her own life either, but he did...

. . .

"Damn, that was a quickie," the men chuckled as Alex entered the clubhouse. 

"I'm very skilled," she answered with a grin. It was obvious that they had sent Juice to her on purpose, probably to tease him. "So we're goin' on an assholes hunt, I heard?" 

Tig raised his eyebrows. "And here I thought that's what you and Juice were doing in the garage."

"Already done with that one," Alex winked, taking her Beretta from her hip and checking her munition. 

Kozik waved the gun away. "We take some heavier shit with us."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Okidoki."

Adrenaline streamed through her veins. She had no problem with blowing up a cartel; those assholes targeted vulnerable family members to attack their enemies. Tara had been a victim – and something might have happened to Jax's kids as well. The world was better off without assholes like that. 

It wasn't a long ride, but it was taking enough time to help her clear her head and to shove away her anger around Juice. They left their bikes at the side of the road, close to two black vans belonging to Galindo's men. After they had all taken a machine gun from the truck, they sneaked through the forest until they found a small campsite. 

Shots were made immediately. She ran for cover behind a tree and fired back. It had been a while since she'd held a large weapon like this, but it already felt familiar. 

Two man dropped dead because of her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Juice was closely monitoring her and she swallowed a frustrated sigh. His feelings for her would become the dead of him one day. She pushed away the thought and focused her attention on the campers again. She counted six more people. Romeo had pushed himself to the front, interrogating some of the men in Spanish. The Sons came closer when there were no longer guns pointed at them. The second guy that was questioned, told them the rest of the cartel was hiding deeper in the forest. 

Romeo and his man clearly weren't font of loose ends; they put a bullet in the brains of the remaining men. Alex didn't move a muscle, she however saw Juice flinch with every bullet impact, not being able to take his eyes off the dead faces. 

This clearly wasn't where he was supposed to be; in the field. He should do his nerdy tricks behind a computer instead of witnessing a mass murder. Soon it would take her days to ease his mind again and she resented the fact that none of his brothers realized that. They should have sent him with Opie. 

The group divided up. Chibs and Jax would set up an ambush with Galindo's men, the others would head for the camp. 

"You're comin' with me," Kozik's voice sounded next to her. 

Alex nodded obediently. Her eyes shot to Juice, feeling relieved when she saw that Clay was taking him under his wing. With the heavy gun ready, they spread through the bushes. Alex' breathing was calm, her glance alert as she listened to her surroundings. Twigs snapped underneath their boots, no matter how hard they tried to muffle their footsteps. If someone would walk behind them, one would undoubtedly notice that they were moving in a cautious way looking very similar, giving away their military background.

Suddenly a click resonated through the woods. A coldness raced across her skin; she knew that sound all too well. A landmine. A moment later someone screamed "Mines!" somewhere to her right, followed by a deafening blow. 

Alex was so startled that she almost stumbled. Juice's face flashed before her eyes, but before she could panic, guns started to rattle, pulling her attention away. 

Alex sped up her pace, her eyes aimed at the ground, skillfully looking for oddities, for something exposing the presence of the deadly bombs. She had to find cover, she didn't dare to look up to search for their firing opponents. Just when she wanted to tell Kozik to keep his eyes on the trees, she saw something blink in a stray ray of sunlight. 

"Watch out!" she yelled. She lunged towards her sponsor, grabbed his arm and dragged him to the left. 

Too late. 

There was an ear-splitting blast, lifting her from her feet and throwing her on the ground. Something warm spattered on her arms, and at the same time something sharp and hot drilled its way into her lower leg. She screamed. Her ears were ringing, she was panting like a mad dog. Sharp stabs plagued her head, her vision became blurry. 

You were too late, a ghastly voice sung in her head. You were too late, once again.

. . . 

Hey all! Still enjoying this story? (:

I wanted to let you know that I started another Juice fanfic, it's called "Taste of Vengeance" and this is the summary:

As Juice wakes up in the morgue, he discovers that he has turned into one of the mightiest creatures on Earth. The road is open to countless possibilities, but he is still drawn back to the club with nothing but vengeance on his mind. Will his former girlfriend be able to lure him back to the light or will he be unstoppable on his path of destruction?

You'd be the best if you check it out <3