Juice couldn't take his eyes off the printed out photo that the bounty hunter, Sergio, handed him. It was a little blurry, but he could make Angela, Cameron, and Abel out clear as day. It made everything they'd gone through to help Serg worth it. The chase in the porn stop, getting bowled over by that asshole, and chasing him down the street until the dumbass finally ended up getting hit by a damn Prius. The grainy photo in his hand made it all worth it. He traced a finger over her face, his heart aching in his chest. She was still wearing his sweatshirt, her hair in two braids on either side of her head, a diaper bag slung over her shoulder. Cameron and Abel were looking at something, but she was looking directly into the camera as if she knew they'd pull this footage. Sergio had said she was what caught his eye when he was looking through security camera footage from the train station. She'd paused in front of the camera, looking straight down the lens. An odd thing for someone to do, but Juice knew it was Angela trying to find some way to get help. To signal to someone what they were doing, where they were going. He couldn't be more proud of her.

After showing the picture to Jax and the rest of the club, he set his sights for Elena's house. He was ready to drive up to Vancouver now, but the rest of the club decided to see if they could find a more specific location. Canada was big, and since they were all out on bail, they weren't allowed to cross country lines. They needed an exact location to make it worth it. If it were up to him, they'd leave that same night and figure it out as they went, but it wasn't up to him, and he understood the reasoning behind holding off, he just didn't like it.

He and Happy rode together to Elena and Graciela's house. Both of them silent as they walked into the dark house. Graciela and Elena were both already asleep but knowing they were there was comforting to him. "Ma made food," Hap said as he turned the lights in the kitchen on. "Hungry?"

Juice sighed; he wasn't hungry. Hadn't been hungry since Angela was taken. "Not really."

"Gotta eat," Hap said, punching at the microwave buttons and watching the plate spin as it heated up.

"I'm fine," he stated, sitting down heavily at the kitchen table and pulling his laptop towards him. Unbeknownst to his club, he had another copy of the print out that was just her. He'd asked Sergio for it, and the guy had printed him a different still. He took it out of his pocket, unfolding it, and laying it on the table. He opened the laptop and went to the Vancouver train station website.

Happy set a plate and fork down beside the printed photo.  "Eat."

"I'm good," he insisted, trying to find a blue print of the station's layout to see where the cameras were. Maybe he could get a good read for what direction they were headed by which cameras picked them up at which platform.

"Eat," he repeated, sitting on the other side of the table with a plate of his own. He reached over and grabbed the print out. Juice fought every instinct to snatch it back away from him. Hap regarded the photo with a frown. "You look like a skinny shit when we find her, 'n' she's gonna be pissed."

Juice knew he wasn't wrong; Angela would be pissed he wasn't taking care of himself. Begrudgingly, he took a forkful of rice and shoved it in his mouth. It didn't taste quite as good as it normally did, but he kept eating the rice, beans, and chicken, forcing it down because he knew he needed the sustenance if he was going to stay up late again. Happy looked back at the picture, frowning as he looked her over. Juice nodded towards the photo. "Why hasn't she run? What's she waiting for?"

"Probably a minute alone with the baby. Got a feelin' he ain't letting her be with the baby alone. She ain't gonna just leave him."

He didn't know why he felt relief at his answer. Those questions had been plaguing him. He had thought that would be the first thing she did, her sole purpose for even going. Happy's response made sense, though; she wasn't going to leave Abel behind. "Right," he breathed, taking a sip of the beer Hapy had also placed in front of him. "You think we're smart to wait?"

Happy just shrugged in response and took another drink of his beer.  "No choice," he replied. 

Juice sighed as he leaned back in his chair feeling resigned. He ran a hand over his face, sighing heavily. "Yeah," he breathed, shaking his head. If it were just him, he would already been in Canada. He had a feeling Happy felt the same way. He scratched at his eyebrow, exhaling slightly. "Think I'm gonna stay here."

He raised an eyebrow in response. "You good?"

" 'm fine," he repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. "Just not good on my own. That house is too quiet without her there. Can't focus. At least here I'm not alone."

"I get it," Happy muttered, rubbing a hand over his head. He pushed away from the table and brought his plate to the kitchen, putting it in the sink. "Don't wake my Ma or aunt. They need sleep."

Juice nodded, watching as he disappeared down the hall, no doubt heading to his room for the night. He sighed, closing the laptop and standing with a groan. He brought his plate to the kitchen, cleaning it and Happy's and putting them away before trudging up the stairs, trying his best to be as quiet as possible.

He took a quick shower and put on a pair of boxers and a shirt. One Angela must've worn at some point because it smelled like her. He brought the fabric to his nose and inhaled deeply as he stretched out on the twin bed. Grabbing his personal phone, he flipped it open and smiled sadly at the picture of Angela blowing him a kiss that was on the background. It was a grainy picture; the camera on the phone was shit, but he loved it. Without thinking, he pressed the speed dial number that would connect him to her. He knew her phone was off and at their house; she'd left it behind when Cameron took her, but he just needed to hear her voice. Even if it was her answering machine.

"Hey, you've reached Angela Ruiz. I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, I'll call you back. Have a great day! Bye!" her voice came clear over the phone. Warm. Happy. She'd recorded her voicemail the exact same way since New York. He knew every word, every cadence of her voice.

"Hey, it's me...Juice," he replied on instinct once the beep sounded. He mentally smacked himself on the forehead. He did this every time as if she wouldn't know who it was. "I um...you're not gonna get this like anytime soon, but I just...I needed to hear your voice. This feels...stupid, but I...I dunno, Angel. I dunno what to do here without you. Kinda goin' a little nuts, to be honest. But I'm gonna find you. I won't stop until I do."

He let it pause there for a moment before sighing softly. "This is stupid," he repeated, running a hand over his head. "Gotta clean up my hair. Wish you were here to do it. You always do it better than I do. Probably gonna run outta time soon so...yeah, I just...miss you and I love you. Hope I get to tell you that in person soon. Night, baby."

Juice hung up the phone and let out a soft sigh. For some reason it made him feel better to "talk" to her. He stared up at the glow in the dark stars Angela had put on the ceiling when she was a kid, feeling calmer than he had for the past days. His eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted off to sleep hoping to see her in his dreams.

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Angela looked up as Cameron walked into the room. She was sitting up against the headboard, Abel soundly asleep at her side, his tiny hand holding onto one of her fingers. "Got him a bottle," Cameron said, handing her the warm bottle.

"Thanks." Angela carefully picked Abel up and cuddle him into her lap, offering him the bottle. He drank from it eagerly, and she smiled.

Cameron leaned over to kiss Abel's forehead, and to her surprise, he kissed hers too. " 'm sorry for this mess. You've been good to me."

The way he was talking sounded an awful like this was a final goodbye. That put her on edge. While he'd been her captor, he was also her protector. The reason she and Abel were still alive. He kept her alive because Juice saved his life. What was she going to do when he was gone? No one else would give a shit about her. "What's going on?"

"Nothin' ye should worry about. Think you 'n' the babe are safe for now," he assured her with a little nod. His eyes were watery as they looked them over. "Take care of yourself, love."

With a small nod, he disappeared out the door, locking it behind him. She looked down at Abel dread filling her stomach. What was going to happen next? Where were they going to go?

It felt like hours until the door opened again and a priest with a group of darkly clad Irishmen walked in. A bad feeling filled her stomach as she looked them over. She struggled to get to her feet, holding Abel to her chest.

"Names Kellan, Kellan Ashby," the priest introduced himself stepping closer. "Here to take you and the babe somewhere safer."

Angela didn't know how, but she knew he was lying. This was no simple priest. He had some type of power, and there was a darkness to him that she sometimes felt around her cousin. He was dangerous. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she shook her head. "We're fine here."

"With all due respect, love, wasn't an ask," he said, holding out his arms. "Give me the babe, and we can do this nice and easy. His da's on his way. We'll keep you safe 'til then."

She shook her head, wishing she had some way to protect herself. "Okay," she said, feeling hopeful at the idea that Jax was on his way. "Still not giving him to you. If we're so safe, I can take care of him until Jax gets here."

"Now, that's not how this is gonna work," the pastor said, an amused look in his eyes. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Give 'im 'ere. We'll take good care of him."

She breathed in deeply, squaring her shoulders a bit as she held Abel even closer. If they wanted to take Abel from her, they were going to do it the hard way, whatever it was. She would fight as best as she could with him in his arms. She didn't survive this long to just hand him over. No way. "He's not going anywhere without me."

"'fraid you don't have much of a choice,  love," he said on a frown before nodding to his other men. 

Angela held onto Abel so tightly, he started crying. She used her free, shackled wrist to throw the heavy chain around, hitting whoever she could before she started throwing elbows, fists, everything she could. She felt one of them come up behind her, felt the heavy arm come around her neck. She dug her nails into his thick arm, struggling against him as they ripped Abel away from her. "No!" she choked out, thrashing about to try and land a hit to his balls. "No! Stop! Abel!" 

A hand came over her face, a cloth pressed over her mouth and all of a sudden the world stared to blur around her. Everything felt heavy as she slowly fell to the floor. The last thing she heard were Abel's cries before the world went dark.

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Juice's heart stopped when he opened the e-mail from the Belfast VP and saw the picture attached to it. Cameron Hayes. Dead. A bloody cross on his head. In Ireland. How the hell did they get to Ireland without alerting anyone? Without any trace of them being picked up along the way. It was a long journey, and it seemed insane they'd be able to do it without anyone knowing.

If that's where he ended up, where was Angela? His fingers whirled over the keys of his keyboard from his spot on the clubhouse couch. His brothers were gathered at the bar now, de-stressing from the day they had. A deal with Lin's crew and the Cara Cara girls gone wrong thanks to Opie's rash reaction about Lyla.

Juice hadn't gone. He spent the day with Serg, the bounty hunter, trying to learn as much as he could about tracking. They had to give the mercenary ten grand a head to track down not just Abel but Angela and Cameron as well. That's what they'd needed Lin's help for. Knowing Cameron was in Ireland now, it was all for naught. They didn't need to pay a mercenary to find them. They'd found Cameron in the worst state possible. Dead. Was his fate the same as Angela's and Abel's? Were their pictures coming next?

"Jax, Clay, you need to see this," he said, getting up from the couch, laptop in hand. He set it down to show it to them, explaining who'd sent it to them. "Got an e-mail from the Belfast VP. Taken six hours ago. Short Strand. Belfast"

The rest of his brothers gathered around the computer, staring at the picture of Cameron. Jax looked at him, shock on his face. "Cameron's in Ireland?"

Juice nodded exaggeratedly, his heart pounding in his chest. "Then where's Angel and Abel?"

Jax ran a hand over his face, shaking his head slowly. "We gotta call Jimmy."

"Too late tonight. Tomorrow. Before our run, we'll call him. Figure shit out," Clay said with a nod. "We'll run the guns, pick up your mother, and go from there."

Juice shook his head; he didn't give a shit how late it was. He wanted to know more. "I can e-mail Belfast. I mean, shit, they just sent this to me. Gotta be someone awake."

"Tomorrow," Clay said definitively. "Ain't nothing changing between now and then. You boys get some rest."

He went to contest, but Jax's hand fell heavy on his shoulder. He shook his head slowly. "I want to find 'em just as bad as you do, but he's right."

Juice shrugged his hand off. It sure didn't feel like it. They were moving at a snail's pace. Where was the exigency? Angela and Abel could be in danger, and they were waiting until morning so it was more convenient for the Irish. Fuck that. Still, it was a direct order from his president and VP, and he wasn't going to go against them. He closed his laptop and shoved it back into his backpack. "Whatever," he muttered, feeling helpless. "I'ma go home. See you guys in the morning."

He actually did go to his home, not really feeling like making the drive all the way out to Oakland. His house was dark when he entered. Quiet. He flipped on the lights and went through the motions of taking off his boots and hanging up his holsters and cut. He stood in the middle of their living room, unsure of what else to do. He glanced at the dark hallway that led to their room, willing his feet to move so he could go to sleep. Shaking his head, he stretched out on the couch instead, trying to get comfy. Angela would be home soon enough. He knew they were close to finding her. He could feel it in his gut. They had to stop stalling and just go once and for all.

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I hope y'all are enjoying reading this as much as I'm looking writing it!! Kinda fun to reimagine the show a bit!
Let me know what you think!
💜