House of the Rising Son

Chapter 14

"Pop?" Mae was beaming as she bounced out of her car, Kip trailing behind, and headed right for the cabin. "Piney, you better be sober." Stepping over the threshold she stopped. The living room was a mess and there was blood spattered and smeared around.

"Is this all the bags, Mae?" Half-Sack shouted as he trudged onto the porch with grocery bags lined up his arms. "Did you put any in the trunk or just the backseat?"

"Sack." She whispered, afraid there was someone still in the cabin. That was all she needed to say. In a flash, the bags were on the floor and his gun was drawn.

He shook his head and pressed his finger to his lips to silence her. Mae watched, her heart rattling against her ribs and her breath caught in her throat, as Half-Sack stalked through the living room and to the back hall. Dropping down to the couch, she felt around her purse for her phone, but she had left it on the passenger seat of her car.

"Goddamn it." She heard him hiss. "Mae, the house is clear, but just stay out there."

"Why?" She was already on her feet hurrying back to the hall. Mae hadn't taken direction from anyone aside from Opie and Jax in a while and she wasn't about to start then. "Sack is Piney okay?"

She got her answer as she turned the corner to find Sack standing over Piney's dead body. "Mae," he sighed heavily. "He's dead." The young man had tears in his eyes as he tried to push Mae back, but she plowed through him and took a knee beside Piney. They knew right away the cause of death, shot point blank in the chest. Clay had crudely carved the letters L and S in his forehead to point them in a very different direction.

"Oh God, Pop." Mae pressed her hand to his cheek. "Jesus," she broke down and began to cry.

Crouching beside her Kip tried to pull her to stand with a gentle touch. "You need to call Ope and get him up here." She looked at him; horrified by the idea of having to tell Opie what had happened, and shook her head. "You gotta it ain't my place, Mae, you're his old lady."

"I don't even know what to say." She shook her head, ashamed of herself. "Some therapist, huh?"

Before standing, she kissed Piney's cheek and headed back out to compose herself before calling Opie. It was pointless; the moment she calmed down opening her mouth again would just upset her. Pacing on the porch as the phone rang she kneaded her favorite vein; the idea of a hit even the smallest little dose was consuming her.

--

The men met, shook hands and spoke casually for a few moments before actually settling down to business. As usual, Jax and Opie strolled ahead with Romeo and Torres. "There were eight and we found five." Romeo gestured back to the rickety barn. "I should have the other three by sun down."

Jax nodded with a tight smile on his lips as his eyes darted between Romeo, Torres and the building. He couldn't wait to get in there and let loose on the men that hurt Tara no matter how slight it was. "How'd you find out?"

With a rough, horse chuckle, Romeo shook his head. There were few people who knew his secrets, even fewer were alive, and he wanted to keep that number as low as possible. The wind picked up, whipping around some dirt as the six men measured each other by their own separate standards. Up until that moment Jax had no reason to not trust Romeo, he'd come to the rescue a few times and the shooting wasn't solely on him.

"And what happens to them when you find the others?"

"We split them. Show any others that none of us, Galindo, Sons or Mayans are going to be fucked with."

Opie was usually quiet in these situations. He only opened his mouth when it felt pertinent or he knew Jax wasn't thinking down the same line he was. As VP, he needed to let Jax run the show. He was good at his job, subtly giving Jax the guidance he needed. Right then, he needed the answer to a seemingly innocuous question.