CHAPTER EIGHT;

Ugh, what's that noise? —ringing? Why are my ears ringing? God, my head is pounding, what the fuck happened? I was on my bike one minute, going home and then- then? I don't know what came after then, then was all black and silent.

This horrid, ghoulish groan escaped my lips when I managed to peel my eye open, the light almost making my eyes sizzle but something else wasn't right with what was staring back at me. Blurry... everything is blurry!

What the fuck is going on!?

Even after blinking multiple times, my vision still refused to work with me and it's freaking me the fuck out. I've seen some crazy things happen to some very unlucky people, even asked some what they were feeling when the events were going on and not a single person told me they woke up not being able to see straight. So, that's my next question, what in the hell happened to me? I just need to calm down, is all. It's just my head, all I have to do is lie down and try to go back to bed, and maybe I'd feel better. Rest is the best type of healing, right?

Wrong! It won't help you at all if you can't move a single fucking limb!

Snapping my eyes open again, I tried to struggle, the clanking of metal on metal filling the air around me, sending this cold chill down my spine, I was fucking handcuffed to something! "Look who's awake" The voice barely making it into my ears, the ringing wasn't as loud but it's still there, adding to the shit that's freaking me out. The sound of boots on pavement replaced the voice, but not the clanking, I think I was panicking now; I don't do it often so I can't tell when it actually happens but I'm pretty sure it's happening right now. "You don't look so hot now, princess," the voice picked up again, closer- too fucking close!

A hand reached out and grabbed my chin within the next few seconds, making me flinch, hard; one side of my face was stinging and screamed under the pressure of this person's grip, I think that's the main reason for the flinch because the pain was pretty fucking awful and then there's the fact that I hated when someone touched my goddamn face. The next thing that happened shook me down to the core however— the way my words came from my lips, if you can call whatever slurred mess that was words. I can't talk now either? "The crash must have hit you harder than we planned."

Opening my mouth, I tried to focus, "w-wh….what crashh..?" nailed it.

"What crash?" repeated the deep voice— okay, my hearing is getting better, that's good. "The crash that got you here with me and my friends, of course. You see, we could have just taken you at the gas station but the way you acted last time we met made things…. Well, a little complicated." It's a man, the person grabbing my face hard as fuck is a man. Wait, met?

Fuck, my vision needs to hurry up and clear because I seriously can't tell who this damn person is and I don't recognize the voice, shit! My lips tightened in thought, who in the hell have a wronged so badly in my life, wronged so badly they had to crash into me for a goddamn kidnapping?

To be honest— a lot more people then there should be.

"I don't react well to disrespect, Miss Morrow," he hissed, squeezing down harder on my face, causing my jaw to clench tightly. I won't give this fucker the satisfaction of my rare cry of pain. "We need you, just in case… I have a feeling your daddy isn't going to stop after what we did to that Scotsman," He added, the information sinking my heart— it was this sick fuck who could have killed Chibs! The anger within me instantly boiling over the edge, I really shouldn't do what I'm about to but right now, I don't really give a fuck. Glaring up at the blurred face, I moved my tongue within my mouth, repeatedly. The moment I gathered enough, I sent a decent amount of spit flying and by the sound, it landed right in his face. Releasing mine, the man did a throaty laugh, I think he wiped his face during it because I could make out his arm's movements but he was wearing one color and with my vision so useless, I wasn't too sure. "My friends are going to have a nice time with you— it's been a pleasure Miss Morrow."

With that, he was gone but I wasn't alone- his so called friends moved quickly after the door, to where ever the hell I was, slammed behind him. I literally didn't know they were in the room until they fucking moved and surrounded me— I almost screamed, in my eyes all I saw was white blurs with black holes for eyes engulfing me, scaring the living hell out of me, more than anything I could remember.

"W-What do you …want!" I tried to snap, twisting my head in every direction, counting three white faces.

Muffled laughter filled my ears before the feeling of many hands sent another wave of cold chills down my spine, they were fucking touching me! Screaming, I kicked up high and I think I got one, I don't know where but they replied with a pretty nice wail, I must have gotten something major, I hope it was a rib.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that, sweetheart." One spoke and by the tone of his voice, he was speaking with a sickening smile.

No matter how I look at it though, the guy was right, the one I kicked rained hell down upon me. I don't think I've ever been slapped that hard in my life but it was the many punches to the center of my stomach that had me gasping for air and begging for them to stop. Their horrid laughter was the only explanation for this whole situation and one by one, they all took turns beating me bloody, oh— I was going to make them pay for this, all of them. No one beats my beautiful face and gets away with it, I take pride on keeping my facial features looking this damn good, made it a priority to keep it clean of bruises and scars; if I have either or when this is all over, oh god— oh god! These fucks will wish they had never been born!

It's been two days already since my last beating, since I had seen anyone come back in this empty room actually; no matter how long I looked around the place, I still didn't know where I was. Oh, my vision came back by the way, after my first rest from the beatings and it's better than ever, sleep does do a person good, I should start taking more naps.

With all the time I had to myself, I was able to assess the damage; a sliced open nose that stained my face and chest with hot sticky blood, a painfully swollen eye, busted up cheek, my ribs were pretty fucked up— I think they might have broken something inside there because the pain was just ridiculous, making any type of movement agonizing. If you think that's bad, then I can prove you wrong.

At one point during the seemingly endless beatings, two of the men tried to stick their dicks in me a good three times but I put up a pretty good fight with each attempt. I wasn't the rape type— no one was. So far, i think nothing that they did would have me ending up in a hospital bed, thank god. I hate the smell of hospitals, makes me want to gag right now just thinking about it. Too much of a clean smell and thinking about all the bodies that left the world in them gave me the creeps.

My unaccompanied peace didn't last long though, the door swung open today and there they were, those white masks I was so 'fond' of seeing.

"You even brought me dinner? How sweet, maybe I should let you guys in my pants after all," I spoke up once eyeing the brown paper bag in one of the men's hands, the sarcasm in my voice even making me cringe internally, god— I really could be a bitch. I guess they really didn't want me dead, not yet at least. The bag man threw me some store bought sandwich and a bottle of water; and that's what I call fine dining. If only my moms could see me now.

"Just one thing," I started, "how can I eat this without my hands?" my stomach growling loudly as I shook my confined hands roughly against the chain link fence I was attached to. The annoying clanking of metal replacing the silence while their eyes darted back and forth amongst one another, deciding whether to feed me or just let me go and have me do it myself.

But luck wasn't on my side. A man stepped forward with a loud groan, "I'm sorry ma'am, let me help," he spoke up, bending down to retrieve the goods that were so carelessly thrown at me, I really hated when people touched my food too but right now, I didn't have a choice and I was fucking starving.

*No one's POV

This was the seventh time today that Mina didn't answer her mother's call and Gemma lost count of the times she had actually called her daughter within these past two days. She made it very apparent on how much the calls meant to her after Mina's coming back, unbelievably upset that she wasn't able to see her step-child grow up into the insanely wild woman of today— being so involved with the woman's life since she was dumped at the clubhouse at the small age of five. Gemma forced the women to promise to always answer now that they were reunited, using guilt to her advantage. The fact that this was now the second day of not hearing from her daughter, didn't sit well with Gemma at all and with the family dinner now approved by Clay, Gemma wanted her daughter with her now more than ever.

Looking up at the time on the clock, Gemma knew that neither Clay nor Jax would be available to help her look around the town for her daughter but that wasn't going to stop the woman from going with her gut. Something about Mina being gone wasn't right at all. Sighing, Gemma grabbed her cell from her purse, dialing the only able body before pulling a cigarette out of the package; flicking at the lighter while the phone began to ring, cursing at it for it's lack of a flame.

"Hey, I wanted to know if you've seen my idiot daughter around?" Gemma responded after Tara answered the phone, sucking at the cigarette's butt once the flame flickered on, lighting the death stick up, sending euphoria into her lungs.

A slight pause from Tara worried Gemma further, "Ahh…no, no I haven't… why? What did she do now?" Tara asked.

Explaining her concerns on the absence of her child and the many unanswered calls, Gemma hung up with Tara, who wasn't as much help as she originally thought. At least she knew that if the doctor caught sight of her daughter that she would contact Gemma right away. With all the shit from Chibs and the hate between Clay and Jax, Gemma had more than enough stress already and wasn't too fond of having to worry over her other child; motherhood never ends, not even when your kids aren't babies anymore.

After a few hours of running errands and being surprised by the sight of Chibs' estranged wife at the hospital, Gemma was more than done with today and beyond ready to sit down with the family and have a quiet, joyous dinner.

*Mina's POV

"Your father paid us a visit today," One of my attackers spoke up after busting the door open, interrupting my beauty sleep, "luckily everything went well, didn't seem to notice his daughter was gone. Was more worried about his guns, what a shame," he added with a smug laugh, clicking his tongue.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course he's more worried about the guns, we're not very chummy but you fucks would have known that if did your fucking homework properly," I snapped, I knew who this one was- he beaten me just hours prior to this chat. No matter how much they hid their faces, their voices were all different and I was starting to pick up on that and other things of that nature. This particular man was slightly kind with his words when he punched me, apologized a lot, and had a peace sign tattooed on his neck, weird but I'd remember if forever, photographic memory was slightly useful. The other two were harder but not much— one was significantly taller than the rest and the third was the broadest, punched the fucking hardest too. "Your boss should have gotten more brains and less brawns," I snorted, my nose wrinkling.

But you know me and my mouth, we never got into anything good, I wish I had a filter sometimes because only more beatings followed my smart ass comments. At least the guys were in such good spirits— I only got a few hard slaps to the horribly sore cheeks and my tits fondled a few times, fucking sickos. "Well, I have to feed the kids, dinner time, enjoy your sleep ma'am," and alone I was, again.

Did I ever tell you I hated the dark? It made me really lonely and made me feel like I was a child again, it's the reason why I needed to sleep with the TV on or curled up next to someone. If left alone in the dark with my thoughts, it wasn't long before I was sobbing like the little bitch I was inside. God, I'm so fucking lonely, I missed my mom.. both of them, my brother, my nephew and all the guys... shit!

Sniffing it up, I shook my head, bit my lip, my teeth ripped at some of the lose skin hanging on it— that shit stung but kept my anxiety down, helped me out a lot as a teenager suffering with paranoia and drug abuse, even now as a fucked up adult. I could really go for a cigarette, some whiskey, great weed and some nice freaking head right about now, those usually kept all the demons away one way or another.

*No one's POV

Dinner time came quickly and with all the girls who managed to come early, Gemma busied herself in the kitchen, she took pride in making food for her men, made her happy to see their faces when they ate something that tasted great. She was filled with excitement ever since the sun went down but Tara soon killed that— made her feel guilty for having that talk with her boss back at the hospital and made it even worse when she insulted Lyla, Opie's latest interest, in front of his kids. What a wonderful night this was turning out to be. Ignoring the deranged doctor, Gemma continued in the kitchen. Jax stormed in when Lyla spilled her distaste of disrespect she was getting from his Old Lady, trying to calm her and his mother, Jax kept Tara away from everyone and engulfed her into his strong grip, using all his techniques to get her to smile for him.

"Where's Mina?" Jax spoke up after Gemma called everyone to sit down, he noticed the absence of his loud mouthed sister instantly, being so used to the many years of her yelling 'me first!' whenever their mother made their favorite, which was everything; even with her absence for so many years. Jax heard her loud ass mouth every time he was at his mother's house— so many memories of the two growing up in it.

Gemma opened her mouth to reply but Clay barged into the house, asking questions very loudly, she wouldn't be able to answer anything any time soon. At least Hale stopped by, quieting the ruckus that broke out between all the men; it was over who was where and doing what at the time while someone else was in trouble and needed the other but the news Hale confessed silenced everyone completely. Luann Delany was found beaten to death on the side of the road. Things could never just be simple with the Men of Mayhem and with one more rude accusation from Clay, it was like wildfire spread within the dining room; they all were at it again, fighting one another off right there with everyone watching, screaming their heads off. Animals.

Gemma reached for the large plate she had just set down moments ago and sent it crashing down, broken shards of glass going every which direction from the force. That was one way to everyone's attention, staring bewildered at the two main men in her life, she shook her head and planted down in the nearest seat, trying to calm her nerves.

Covering her face, Gemma spoke up, "all I wanted was a nice dinner with my family..., " She began, "but no! I'm tired of the shit between the two of you!" She snapped, pointing over to both her men. "First, Chibs, then you two, Mina, and now Luann? Can I get a break from this shitstorm!?" She wailed, slamming her fist on the table, glaring daggers into everyone unlucky enough to start the mess in the room. Having about enough, Gemma stormed out and retreated into her bedroom, slamming the door hard enough for it to echo through the house. She was done with everyone.

"What's Kit' got to do with this?" Opie spoke up, catching that name and it not making any sense.

Also catching on, the men peered around the room, noticing the woman was defiantly not around, causing alarm. They all knew her and if they didn't before, they did now since she showed up, and they all knew by now how much she liked to get involved in any confrontation between her brother and father. "What is right. Care to explain— You're the only one who wasn't locked up Op?" Clay asked, even with sunglasses on, you could see some type of emotion play on his face.

Taking a moment, Opie retraced the days from his last Mina encounter, shaken by the lack of her presence around during the drama that did occur. Shaking his head slightly, "I really don't know— last saw her drinking at the bar with Gemma, the night Chibs was hit by that bomb," he confessed, the last part of his sentence going quiet, club business didn't need to be in the open with kids and other unwanted ears around.

"I drank with her a few hours after that but she took off in the middle of the night," Happy added, knowing all too well how that night was supposed to play out but was ditched by the woman completely, leaving him alone and disappointed.

Sending a hand to his temples, Jax rubbed them, feeling the headache coming. "Opie saw her drinking and she continued to drink with Happy? She must have been fucking wasted…. You let her leave?!" Jax snapped, sending his glare over to Happy, who shrugged his shoulders in defense, wide eyed.

"She's a grown woman and I didn't even know she left at first!" Happy replied shaking his head.

Everyone's eyes going back and forth. "We gotta' start looking…. She's been gone for two days, what if she's locked up for driving drunk or she could have crashed somewhere?" Bobby added after scratching at his beard, thinking of all the possibilities for a drunken woman.

Both ideas send the men in a panic, nothing good could come from either options, especially if she was caught by the police, Mina wasn't very clean with her criminal record.

"It's too late right now, let's start this in the morning, shall we?" Clay sighed, parking it in one of the dining chairs. "Your daughter has been missing since Friday and you're not worried?" Happy questioned, staring down at his president in disbelief. Jax added his own protest by storming out of the house, he also couldn't believe just how much Clay was actually 'worried' about his sister. The man loved nothing but himself.

*No one's POV continued . . .

Opie, Bobby and Happy joined Jax outside, he was on his bike ready to go but needed to finish the current cigarette in his mouth before that could happen, got too stressed out to think clearly. "I'm going to look for my sister," Jax informed the men after throwing his cigarette butt in the street, starting up his bike.

"I'm with you brother," Opie added with a nod, no matter how much shit he was feeling for the VP, Mina was special to him too and wasn't going to just sit around talking while the woman could be in danger. Happy agreed and so did Bobby, they would split up in two pairs and would look around the few roads they knew the woman would possibly go on, starting at the hotel she currently stayed at. Jax and Opie lead the other two, leaving them at the hotel before moving on, they knew the woman more than anyone else and knew where she would most likely be in the town the had grew up in. Opie took a different path than Jax after a certain turn, he had taken Mina out once when they were teens and she showed him her favorite hiding spot in the desert surrounding the little town; a hidden spot behind a huge ledge, it was there that the two made-out for the first time and it was there that Opie realized he couldn't see Mina as anything more than a sister.

Happy followed Bobby's every move, he didn't know the woman like the others did, got the opportunity to know her now and felt something different about this one. Hearing she was gone panicked him a little inside, something new but he decided to ignore it, he'd done nothing but punch and drink with the woman, he liked her company and that was it, nothing more. There could be a possibility that the damn woman was growing on him but Happy would never accept that— if any feelings were attached to her, he'd simply think it was his dick talking, fuck her and move on, like every other woman.

Bobby asked the people working at the hotel's front desk about Mina, she was well known to them, to both the biker's surprise; she had invited the workers to her room a few times for some drinking games or just to simply hang out but they always refused, thought she was a decent enough person just never wanted to get mixed up with her, knowing all too well she was a part of the Sons. She nearly screamed it with the crow on her chest.

No one wanted to be mixed up with the Sons or the people that hung around them; made being a loner easier for the ones who didn't like the attention.

The two men found out that Mina had never made it back to the hotel that night a few days ago and haven't been seen since— not a good sign at all, not when drinking and driving was involved. Shaken, Bobby took off outside, dialing Jax the moment he reached his bike; hopefully Jax would have better news.

Opie's end was a bust as well, he didn't find any signs of Mina or anyone else for that matter, the place showed no signs of being touched in years, which didn't surprise him all that much, he did tell her some bad things in this place, he wouldn't want to come back either. Opie moved his anger to a lone rock, sending it flying with a rough kick, he'd never thought he'd be in this type of situation again, being a part of the last search party when she disappeared years ago, he cursed the woman and the impact she made in his life, he loved his 'sister' too much for this shit.

Thinking about every damn place, Jax finally remembered the convenience store he showed his sister years back,

"I'm out of cigs. You got any left?" Mina asked barging into his room. She wasn't the legal age to get cigarettes, just one more year, and Jax was always her go to person, since it was his fault for getting her addicted to them in the first place, it was hard to say no. Sighing, Jax looked at the time. "Dude— it's like one in the morning, you really need to smoke?" He asked, glaring at the teen. Being a few years older and too stubborn to move out right away, he always got bothered by her, no matter if he locked the door or not. "Jax... you know how I get if I'm out. You really wanna' deal with me?" Mina pointed out, lifting a manicured eyebrow, foot tapping and a hand to the hip— she was getting more and more like Gemma every year.

"fuck Mina, you're lucky I ride around. Come on, there's only one place opened around this time but we gotta' hurry— Mom will flip if we wake her up."

He knew that was a highly possible place she could have gone to, if she ran out of cigarettes during the night, that was the only place that was open late enough to sell them and it's the place they both retreated to when cigarettes were in high demand.

Jax was more in a hurry than ever, Bobby called and so did Opie, neither with good news on their ends- it was up to him, if not, then he'd have to get the police involved. Jax couldn't help the chilling fear from spreading throughout his body, he knew something wasn't right and hightailed it down the road, as fast as he possibly could, at least if he was pulled over he could either shake them off or ask if Mina was in their hands.

A sudden glare hit Jax's eyes however, catching his attention immediately.

He came to a screeching stop, throwing his sunglasses to the floor, in the dark he could make out a slight figure on the side of the road, the sight flipping his stomach. Frantic, Jax scrambled off his bike, not caring that it fell over as he ran away from it; An old 2001 Harley fatboy coming into view as he got closer and closer. He hoped it wasn't hers, but a hand clamped down against his mouth the moment he saw the custom paint job on the side. The skull's empty eye sockets staring back at him, mouth gaping open. He knew it well, she bragged about helping to come up with the design every chance she got once coming home. It was Mina's bike, her baby, alone and busted up badly.

Dropping to his knees, Jax felt the tears start to damp the skin around his eyes every time he blinked— his sister was nowhere to be found but there was her bike, her pride and joy, without her anywhere in sight. "Mina…" Jax whispered, grabbing the packet of crushed cigarettes, he knew everything was wrong, she'd never leave either objects behind, not without a fight.

"MINAAA!"