Juice woke up in the strange bedroom early in the morning feeling like he'd been hit by a train. Though his sister had tried to get him to talk the night before, he found he'd been too tired to do so, too weak minded to delve back into the chaos that was his life at the moment. Jo had understood and after they'd shared a beer in mostly silence, she'd showed him to a rather large guest room at the end of the hall. It was a cool room, well decorated with plenty of light. Sitting up in bed, he ran his hand over his face, staring at the small burner on his bedside table. It was the last phone he had that Angela still had the number to. His last way of contacting her. Reaching out for it, he flipped it open and stared at the small home screen with the tiny picture of her and Evie. His thumb hovered over the speed dial number that would connect him with them. He knew he couldn't do it, couldn't call them. It would jeopardize his whole escape plan. But, man, did he want to. Even just to hear her greet him and then hang up. She'd know, though. She'd recognize the number and the whole thing would be for naught.

Lying back down, he stared at the teal colored ceiling, watching the blades of the white ceiling fan slowly spin. Upstairs, he could hear his nephews and brother-in-law running around getting ready for their days. Jo had mentioned the boys had some summer camp that her husband, Dino, would take them to early in the morning. He was glad they'd be gone when he finally went up there; it'd give him some time to sit and catch up with his sister. It'd been way too long since they'd gotten a chance to do so.

With a grunt, he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He stared at the shower for a minute before leaning forward and turning it on. With a shaking hand, he slid the shower curtain closed and sat down on the toilet seat. Closing his eyes, he let the steam fill his lungs as he imagined Angela was there with him, just beyond the curtain listening to him like she always did. "I'm sorry, baby. Know it hurts right now, but its all for the best. I promise, Angel. I'll see you again soon. We'll be together, okay? We'll figure it out. Promise."

Sighing, he ran a hand through his short hair, scratching at his scalp. It was the longest his hair had been since he'd been in county, and he had to admit, he liked it. Liked the anonymity it brought him. He no longer was the outlaw with the tattoos on his head, with his hair hiding them, he was just a normal guy. No one looked twice at him anymore. Pulling the curtain back he frowned at the empty shower. "Soon," he told himself, knowing it was only a matter of time until Angela would be there. Stepping inside, he got under the hot spray and sighed again. "We'll be together soon."

After taking a long, hot shower and making sure the house was clear, he slowly walked down the hallway, taking in the pictures that lined it. All pictures of his sister's family. From the looks of it, they were a happy bunch that had travelled all over the place. He stopped in front of one of the boys with his mother and frowned; he hadn't talked to his mother in almost a year. Not since they got out of prison. She knew all about Angela but not about Evie.

"She fell off the wagon again," Jo's voice said from down the hall. " 's why we haven't heard from her in a while. Her and Freddy started using again. Pain meds this time. Told her to call me when she's sober. She's toxic to my boys. Don't want 'em around her like that."

"Can't blame you," he said on a sigh. "Haven't talked to her in a little over a year. She stopped showin' up on Skype."

"She sold the computer Dino got her. No laptop, no Skype. Surprised she didn't hit you up for cash," she commented, moving to stand next to him.

Juice shrugged a shoulder. "Only ever talked to her on Skype. She doesn't have my number otherwise. You hear from her recently?"

Jo sighed, raking her hands through her dark hair. "Nah. Last I heard, she was in the pen. Drug charges. Least I know she's safe there."

"How fucked up is that?" he asked on a chuckle. "Happy Ma's in jail so we know she's safe?"

"Felt the same way when I heard you went inside, to be honest," she said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes.

Juice hung his head down. "You heard about that?"

"Yeah. Got Dino keepin' tabs on ya," she explained with a shrug. "Thought about goin' to visit ya, actually, but when I called to ask, they said I'd have to call your girlfriend to schedule it in. Apparently, you had quite a list of people waitin' to talk to ya."

He chuckled, nodding in agreement. "When it wasn't her, it was one of my brothers confused about computer shit. Hated those visits. Nothin' like watchin' your girl walk in and seeing her get re-directed to someone else. Killed me every time."

"Re-directed?"

"Her cousin is a Son. Got locked up the same time I did. When I had visits with my brothers, she'd see her cousin. Always planned the visits for the same time, so we could at least see each other," he explained on a small smile. "Was the highlight of my week."

Jo turned her head, her light brown eyes sweeping over him. "Bet it was the highlight of hers too."

He shrugged a shoulder before nodding to a picture in front of him of her and the boys in Disneyland. "You went to California?"

Jo pressed her lips together, crossing her arms as she nodded. "Uh yeah. We uh...look, Wonka, I didn't know what you were into. Outlaw motorcycle gangs are really not somethin' I want my sons exposed to. Don't want 'em growin' up with that shit like we did."

"It's a club," he rasped, correcting her on instinct. At her raised eyebrow, he shrugged a shoulder. "It's not a gang, it's a club."

"Juan, Boy Scouts are a club. The shit you've been doing...ain't no club, bro."

Juice smiled sheepishly; she wasn't wrong. "I know," he admitted, feeling more like a traitor than ever. "Wasn't like that when I started. I mean, there was a little outlaw shit, but...nothing like this."

"So what happened, Juan? One minute, you're ridin' high with your wife 'n' baby, the next you're here, alone. She leave ya or you running?"

He swallowed hard as he thought of all the crap they'd been through. "I fucked up, Jo. Big time. Did a lot of really bad shit along the way, but she...she never left me. Even at our worst, she hung in there," he said, laughing in disbelief. "But I...I let our President control me. All because of that fuckin' sperm donor of an Old Man we have."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Yeah, you're gonna have to explain that a little better. Ya lost me, bro."

"Its this old, fuckin' outdated bylaw. We...no blacks allowed and that asshole is..."

"Jesus Christ, are you kidding me with this shit?" she asked, anger injected into her words.

Juice nodded a bit. "The local Lieutenant threatened to tell the club about them if I didn't rat, so I...I did everything I could to save the club, Jo. I didn't rat. Not then. And Miles was an accident and then all this shit happened with Angela and Mel and then the kid's mom and Evie and the clubhouse blew up. Like literally. Those Irish pricks put a bomb in our clubhouse and we just barely got out alive. Then I had to run and Angela isn't s'posed to know I'm alive and now I'm here and she thinks I'm dead and its just...really fucked up."

"Yeah, I didn't get any of that. I'm gonna make you food 'n' you're gonna sit down and very slowly walk me through everything."

And that's exactly what he did. He spared no detail in his tale either, just dove into it while pushing the food around his plate. He wasn't hungry. His stomach was in so many knots, he wasn't sure he could keep it all down anyway. Jo listened intently the whole time, scowling and making her own little comments as he went. He was halfway through telling her about the craziness that happened with Angela and Mel when Jo's phone went off.

"Shit. Pause for a sec. This might be the boys' camp. Fuckin' monsters. They get sent home one more time 'n' I'm pullin' 'em from the camp, I swear," she muttered, grabbing her phone and checking the screen. Her eyes widened a bit as she looked up at him. "Shit, its Angie."

Juice felt his heart rise into his throat. Instinctively, he reached out for it, but she held it away from him. "Answer it!" he exclaimed, his nerves buzzing. When Jo hesitated, he panicked. "Jo! Please!"

"All right, all right! Just chill! I'ma put it on speakerphone. You gotta keep your mouth closed. Don't know why you're pretendin' you're dead yet, but if you gotta play that way, keep your fuckin' mouth shut."

He closed his mouth, mimicking zipping it up before gesturing wildly for her to answer the phone. She chuckled, tossing her hair over her shoulder and clearing her throat. " 'lo?" she greeted, much to Juice's chagrin. "Angie! Sweetheart! How the hell are ya?"

She gestured once more for him to stay quiet before pressing the speaker button. Juice held his breath as Angela's voice came through crystal clear. "Jo, I gotta...I...He..." she began, stumbling over her words. His heart lurched in his chest at the sound of it. "Shit, I can't...I don't know how to say this."

Juice swallowed hard, reaching out to grab the phone only to have Jo slap his hand away. She grabbed it instead, moving away from him. "What's going on? Start from the beginning, hon."

Angela took in a shaky breath, and he knew she was running her fingers through her hair or twisting one of her rings nervously. God, he missed her. "I don't know how much you know about the club or what he was into or how...fucked up its been lately."

"Got the sense somethin' was up when I got a call from that lady bitchin' about where he was," she answered, her hand rubbing circles on Juice's shoulder.

"Right. Forgot about that. They found him and they...we tried to get away, but we trusted the wrong people 'n' they...they took him," she explained before sniffling a bit. "Jo, he's dead."

Juice wasn't shocked by her blunt language; she was a mortician and knew better than to use vague terms to talk about death. She'd told him once using words like 'gone' and 'no longer with us' could give hope to families that their loved one was still alive. It was best to be blunt and truthful first and then use softer language after. While Juice understood that, it'd clearly caught his sister off guard. She turned away from him, exhaling softly. "Shit. What the hell happened?"

Angela's voice was shaky when she replied. "They said he ran, that they went after him, guns blazing, and he...he caught a bullet and laid down his bike," she managed to get out before a soft sob escaped her hold.

His sister looked at him with wide eyes as if she was only just realizing how dangerous the life he'd been leading was. She reached out and grabbed a hold of his arm, pinching him as hard as she could. It took all his willpower not to cry out in pain. "Holy shit! That's...that's insane."

"I know," she sniffled, letting out a shaky breath. He could tell she was breathing harder than usual like she did when she got too worked up. "They uh...they buried him somewhere 'n' they won't tell me where. I can't...I can't take care of him. I can't...I'm sorry, Jo. I'm so sorry."

"Easy, Angie. It's okay, sweetheart. Breathe a sec, okay?" Jo coached, raking her hand through her hair. "You don't got to apologize to me, hon. You didn't do anything. I know that. This isn't your fault, okay? I don't blame you."

Angela let out a soft sob that broke Juice's heart. "God, Jo. There were so many things I coulda done differently. I should've been stronger, forced him out before he got into this whole mess like Tara tried."

Juice grabbed her little to do list pad and quickly scrawled, Tara was murdered before she could get out. Jo's looked at him in disbelief, and he tapped on it, nodding emphatically. "Wouldn't a worked, Ang. You know how loyal my brother is. He would've been miserable without 'em. That's why you stayed, huh? Juan loved that club; it made him happy. You loved him, so you stayed."

"It was easier to stay than to run, to be honest. By the time we finally figured out a way to do it, it was too late. I should've pushed to leave earlier. We could've been safe. Living out somewhere better than this goddamn shithole."

Jo gave Juice a pointed look, and he knew she'd be talking to him about not getting out when they had the chance. "Nah. He wouldn't've listened. Haven't talked to the guy in years, but his head was always thicker than most," she said, reaching out to swat Juice's head. Juice ducked out of her reach with a scowl. "He loved you, you know. First time I talked to him in years was 'cause a you. He knocked you up and called me just...flippin' out. Excited, happy, and scared shitless."

A sad laugh came from the other line. "He was a great dad."

"How's baby girl doin'? Evie, right?"

"Yeah, Evie. She's good. Too young to really realize what's going on which I'm told is a blessing but...I hate that she'll never know him. He left us video after video that I'm s'posed to show her for these momentous events, which is...God, I love him so much for that, but what about the little stuff? Her first steps, her first word, her first date? All that shit. Shit he'd have loved to be there for, he won't be. And that sucks. I know what its like not to grow up with a dad. That's something I never wanted for Eves."

Jo sighed, shaking her head slowly. "I know, sweetheart. I know. How're things goin' over there for ya? Must be hard staying in that town."

"You have no idea," she replied, sniffling again. "I can't stand talking to anyone here anymore. Especially the Sons and everyone associated with them. Already bruised my knuckles on one of their hard heads, this keeps going on and I'm going to have to start keeping my hands bandaged to keep them from getting mangled."

Juice bit his lip to keep from laughing. That was his girl, a fighter to the end. He grabbed the notepad again and scrawled, Who?

His sister chuckled, a proud grin spreading across her face. "That's my girl. I knew I liked you, Angie!" she exclaimed. "Wonka's mentioned a few of 'em. Uhh Chips, Twig, Quail? They all got weird ass names. Which one you hit?"

Her laugh coming over the speaker warmed Juice's heart, bringing tears to his eyes; he missed her so much. "Chibs, actually. He came over to give me the bad news, and I just...lost it. I saw red, Jo. Couldn't help myself. Landed a punch square to his jaw. He's lucky they made me put my gun down before they started talking. Woulda kept hitting him too but Tig grabbed me. Asshole."

"He hit you back?"

Juice knew the answer to that one before Angela said it; Chibs would never hit her. Not if Happy was in the room. He shook his head slowly. Angela's answer was exactly what he thought it would be. "Nah, 'course not. I'm sure he wanted to. Sure a lot of them want to."

"Sounds like hell," Jo replied, shaking her head. "I got an idea, though, why don't you come on over here? You and Eves. We're in Texas, now. It's fuckin' hot as hell, but we're planning on going up the lake house in a couple weeks. You two should come. Unwind. You tell me about my brother like you knew him, I'll tell you about the little shit I grew up with. It'll be good for both of us."

There was a long pause, and Juice held his breath. What if she didn't want to come out? What if they never got reunited? Angela's soft sigh came over the phone sending shivers down his back. "I'd love that. I really would," she replied, though the tone in her voice told him an excuse was going to follow.

"But..." Jo drawled out.

"I'm in the middle of an adoption, actually, and I kinda...I need to see it through before I go anywhere. No way am I leaving my kid behind here with all his crazy family."

"Another kid, huh? What's the story with this one? Juan never mentioned having another kid."

"He's a really sweet teen, lost his parents to club shit, so I kinda...took him in," she said on a laugh. "He's been a godsend, though. 'specially now. I don't know what I'd do without him. Love that kid."

Jo smiled warmly. "Well, then, you fix your shit 'n' then get out to Austin as soon as possible, sweetheart. I ain't takin' no for an answer. I'll pay for you and the kids. Both of 'em. Just get your feisty little ass out here."

"You don't have to do that, Jo. Give me a year and we'll make it out there."

Juice's eyes widened. No. A year? A whole year without his girls? With them thinking he was dead? No way. "Jo..."

She held up a finger glaring at him. "No dice. I'm givin' you a month or I'm personally comin' over there and pushin' you on a plane."

Angela's laugh was genuine this time, and Juice couldn't help but smile at the sound of it. "All right, Jo. Whatever you say," she replied, her voice warming Juice from the inside out. God, he missed her.

"Holdin' you to that. I'ma bug you 'til you're in front of me, Mrs. Ortiz," she threatened, winking at him as she did so. Juice shook her head at her, fighting a chuckle of his own. "Know we never met, but I love you, sweetheart. You and Evie meant everythin' to my brother, so you mean a lot to me too. 'n' I'm here for you, okay?"

"Thanks, Jo. Love you too," she murmured softly. He could hear Bones calling her name in the background and frowned, knowing what that meant; she had to go. Her tired sigh was audible through the phone. "Shit. I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

"Sure, hon. Talk to you soon. Stay strong, Angie."

"Yeah. You too."

Jo hung up the phone and set it on the counter before looking over at Juice. "I like her," she stated with a proud smile.

Juice smirked in return, nodding his head. "Knew you would," he muttered, pushing his cold food around his plate. "You really think she'll come visit soon?"

"If she doesn't, I'm going to go over there and bring her myself. Wasn't kidding about that," she said, grabbing the plate from him and going to wash it. If there was one thing they both had in common, it was their OCD-like cleanliness. "In the meantime, you're gonna get a job to get some cash since the house next door is gonna go for sale in a few days 'n' I think it's a good investment for ya. I know you got the money now, anyway. Ang might have it tied up, but as soon as she sees ya, I think she'll be all for it."

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his head. "How the hell do I get a job when I may or may not have an APB out on my name?"

Jo scoffed at him crossing her arms over her chest. "Please, like you and Dino don't know how to make fake IDs 'n' shit. Plus, D's company can hire you. Its techie gaming shit. You'd love it."

Juice bobbed his head, not at all opposed to his sister's plan. He loved the idea of moving in next door. Of Evie growing up with her cousins close by. He scratched nervously at his forearm, right where his reaper was wondering what people at a "techie" company would think of his tattoos. "Know any tattoo places? Need to get this shit covered."

"C'mon, lil' bro, I'll take care of ya," she said, patting his arm. "Got a guy downtown. While you get that thing covered, I'll grab the boys 'n' we'll go get some ice cream while they drive you crazy with questions."

"Sounds good," he said on a nod.

"Good. Now go fix your hair, so we can leave already. It's a fucking mess."

Juice chuckled as he pushed away from the counter turning to walk back to his room before hesitating. "This is going to work out," he stated, not feeling nearly as confident as he wanted to. "Right, Jojo?"

She gave him a warm smile before pulling him into a tight hug. "Right," she assured him, rubbing a hand over his back. "We'll get your girls to you soon, bro. Just have a little faith, okay? It'll all work out."

----------------

Juice picked at the medical tape on his arm as he waited outside the tattoo shop for his sister to pick him up. The tattoo artist had done her best to convince him not to black it out. Had given him pamphlet after pamphlet about getting it lasered off, but he just couldn't do it. He wanted it over and done with as soon as possible. Now, he had a black, even rectangle on is forearm, and he'd never felt lighter. Finally, he'd removed the last part of him that was attached to the club. They were as dead to him as he was to them. Now, all he had to do was get his wife back, and everything would be perfect.

Jo's huge suburban pulled up, it's custom purple paint gleaming in the sun. Her rims were blacked out, her windows tinted as dark as they could legally be. He smirked; his sister was a badass even in her soccer mom SUV. Standing up, he jumped into the passenger's seat.

He looked behind him to see two eight year old boys staring back at him, both with closely shaved heads, one with glasses. Both of them were talking a mile a minute to each other, laughing like mad men. "The one with the glasses is Mikey, other one is Donnie. Had to shave their heads 'cause of a lice problem," she explained, looking up at them in the rearview mirror. She let out a loud whistle, earning both of their attentions. "Boys! This is your Uncle Juan."

"Hi Uncle Juan!" they both said in unison before laughing hysterically.

Donnie leaned forward a bit, a big smile on his face. "Dad said you rode motorcycles and that you're the best hacker he knows! Me and Mikey are working on making new cheat codes for Minecraft! Dad's helpin', but he says you'll be better at it."

"Yeah! We want to make it so you can steal other peoples' stuff!" Donnie put in excitedly. "Can you help us?"

Juice chuckled, shrugging a shoulder. "I'll give it a shot," he replied on a shrug. "How was camp?"

"We started learning to program a robot! It was awesome!" Donnie exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

"It's a nerd camp," Jo explained on a shrug. "They're nerds. Just like their father."

"Live long and prosper!" shouted Mikey.

"And may the force be with you!" Donnie finished off with a wide grin before they both screamed, "Turtle Power!"

Juice laughed, a real laugh. He couldn't help it. His nephews were the spitting image of their father. Geeks to the max. "D teach 'em that?"

Jo nodded, rolling her eyes. "Along with insisting on naming them after half of the Ninja Turtles, Dino has also trained them in his nerdy ways. You should see their comic book collection."

"Mama help us put it all in number order in our secret comic book lair!" Donnie stated, kicking his Captain America tennis shoes against the seat and making them light up.

"That's cool, dude," Juice stated, fussing with the bandage on his arm.

Jo slapped his hand away from it. "How'd that go?"

He shrugged, staring out at the landscape as she drove. A Harley roared by, and he tensed, clutching onto the door handle for a moment. Jo's hand settled on his arm softly. "Relax, Juan. You're safe here. No more lookin' over your shoulder. Just relax."

Juice let out a shaky breath and nodded slowly. She was right. For the first time in years, he was completely safe and soon enough, he'd have his angels with him. As soon as they were there, everything would be perfect. They just had to get there. And soon.