Seize Control

Three days had passed since her night in jail, and now that everyone knew, they were giving her hell about it. She hadn't seen her brother or Juice to thank them, but the others had been around constantly, making jokes about her arrest.

The guys were all out on a run today, which meant Juliette had the clubhouse to herself. School hadn't started back yet, but she was getting a head start on reading for her literature class. She was nearly finished with the first book by the time they all returned. She marked the page then closed her book as she got up, but they all immediately entered the chapel and shut the doors.

They still hadn't come out after almost an hour, which just annoyed her. She picked up the books and notebook and got up to leave, but as soon as she did, the double doors opened and church was over. They all filed out one by one, some going to sit down at the bar and others going outside to the garage. As soon as Juice had stepped foot outside the chapel doors, he took one look at her and quickly hustled out of the clubhouse.

She dropped her books into the chair and went after him but she was stopped by Jax before she could get to the door. He hadn't seen her since the day she'd been arrested so he hadn't had a chance to poke fun at her yet. He was grinning widely as he threw his arm around her shoulders. "There's my criminal baby sister!"

Juliette glared at him. "Fuck you, I'm not a criminal, Jackson. The charges were dropped," she said, quickly jabbing her pointy elbow into his ribs. He winced and let go of her but then he started to laugh.

"You're welcome for that, by the way," he winked, grinning the whole time.

"Ugh, go away. I can't handle you today," she grumbled, half joking.

"You know I love you, Jules. Even when your mugshot's on the wall with the rest of us."

"What?!" she shrieked.

"You didn't know?" he asked. "Tig put it up yesterday," he informed her as she stormed over to the wall where, sure enough, her mugshot had been taped to the wall almost directly under her father's. She just stared at it for a moment. She hadn't seen the photo yet, and it was still surreal that the whole thing had even happened. It was actually a good picture of her, with the exception of the small black sign in her hands that read Charming Police Department in big white letters.

She frowned as she snatched the photo off the wall and folded it up, stuffing it into the pocket of her shorts. "I'm gonna kill you, Trager!" she yelled, not even sure where he was and if her could hear her. She was met with a booming laugh from the hallway in response so she knew that he did.

"You know if you take that down, he's just gonna tape another one up there."

"If he does it again, so help me God, I'm gonna hurt him."

Jax chuckled and patted his sister on the head like a small child. She swatted his hand away and headed for the door. She was still annoyed with Tig and her brother when she stepped outside, but when she saw Juice in the garage working on a car, she remembered what it was she was going to do in the first place.

She silently made her way over to him and leaned against the car, waiting for him to acknowledge him. He continued working at first, but after only a few minutes, he sighed and put down the wrench he was using, wiping his hands on an old shop towel as he leaned back against the car beside her. "What is it?" he asked, not really wanting to talk to her.

"I just wanted to say thanks."

"For what?"

"Convincing that creep to drop the charges on us."

He shrugged his shoulders, not looking up to meet her gaze. "He deserved what he got. Didn't have a right to press charges."

"But still. Thanks."

Without answering, he just nodded once and went back to working under the hood. She watched him for a moment as he worked, trying to ignore her standing there so close to him.

She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting....different. Did I do something?"

He shook his head as he dropped the wrench and walked away from her, over to the row of bikes. He quickly fastened the helmet strap under his chin and jumped onto his bike, speeding out of the parking lot without so much as a look back.

Juliette watched perplexed as he left. Obviously she had said or done something but she had no clue what it was. Chibs came out of the office, also watching as Juice rode out of the lot. "The fuck is he goin'? We got work to do"

She shook her head. "I don't know. He seemed angry."

He sighed. "Aye. Well, best let 'em cool off then." He slipped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her to his side. "You alrigh'?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes finally moving away from the gate where Juice had disappeared. "Yeah, fine," she answered, giving him a small smile.

She followed him back into the clubhouse, but her mind was still focused on what had just happened outside. She had to figure out what was wrong with Juice.