If I could change I would

Take back the pain I would

Retrace every wrong move that I made I would

If I could

Stand up and take the blame I would

If I could take all the shame to the grave

It's easier to run

Replacing this pain with something numb

It's so much easier to go

Than face all this pain here all alone

Jolie cursed loudly as she fought her way through JFK airport. There was something about touching base in New York that brought the pure East Coast girl out of her. In New York, she didn't have to pretend to be polite or smile, in fact that would give her strange looks. She was thankful that she was smart enough to only bring a carry on with her as she glanced over towards the baggage claim as people were starting to complain loudly about the long wait.

She contemplated turning on her cell phone but decided against it until she was somewhere that allowed her to actually hear the lectures that she was sure was filled in her voicemail. She walked quickly towards the sliding door and almost ran over a businessman who was talking loudly on his phone, allowing Jolie the opportunity to grab his cab. She threw her finger up from the back window when she heard the man cursing her to hell and back. She gave the cab driver the address and she sat back and closed her eyes as the cab made its way through traffic towards Benson Hurst.

It took nearly an hour thanks to the Good Morning America concert at Central Park before the cab finally pulled up in front of a large complex. She winced as she paid the man and hopped out of the car. She took a deep breath in before walking up the stone steps and pulling the massive glass door opened. She reached in her purse as she bypassed people to get to the elevators. Once the doors shut, she stuck a plastic keycard into the slot that allowed her to go up to the penthouse floor. She leaned back against the metal bar as she hummed along to some tacky 80s music. Once the doors opened, she turned to her right and immediately was face to chest with a rather large man.

"Uh hey." Jolie offered as she realized she didn't recognize the bodyguard.

"May I help you?"

"Tell him Jolie is here please." The large man looked down at her for a second as he contemplated his next move before giving her a curt nod and knocking twice on the large wooden door before opening it causing Jolie to roll her eyes.

"Something's never change." She muttered to herself. A few moments later, the large man appeared back at the door and nodded for Jolie to walk in. She heard the door shut behind her as she took in the scenery in front of her. She hadn't been back in quite a few years but with the exception of a few new photos, the penthouse was exactly the way she remembered it. The dark décor made Jolie roll her eyes as she always felt like the penthouse was a cross between the Addams Family and Beast's castle.

"Well I'll be damned, it really is you." Jolie turned to smile at the dark haired man in the three piece expensive suit as he came walking from the back office. "For a second I thought Diego must have been mistaken. There is no way Jolissa Ortiz would be showing up at my door after failing to pick up a phone and call in months." Jolie rolled her eyes but kept the smile on her face as she was enveloped in a familiar hug.

"Nice to see you too Lorenzo." Lorenzo Delgado was an important part of her life for years. Many of her survival skills were thanks to the man standing in front of her. Lorenzo was an international arms dealer who settled in Benson Hurst after his brother was murdered. He would frequent the bar that Jolie used to work at as a teen and the man had instantly taken a liking to the feisty Latina with the fierce right hook. He had been the shoulder that she leaned on after her mother's death and JC had skipped town.

Lorenzo walked towards the bar and poured them both a generous drink before handing the glass over towards Jolie. She watched as the older man looked her up and down. "One of the most fascinating things about you is that despite what you say, your eyes have always been able to betray your words and let someone know exactly how you're feeling. You wanna tell me why you are in so much pain?" Jolie shut her eyes at Lorenzo's correct assessment and took a deep breath.

"Can we discuss it later? I really would like to catch up." Jolie looked around. "No arm candy live here yet?" Lorenzo smiled.

"Your room is still available to you. Go upstairs, take a bath and we'll go out to dinner." Jolie loved that Lorenzo was always able to read her and know exactly what she needed. "Then I'll let you get some sleep and tomorrow, you will tell me exactly what is going on." Lorenzo said in a way that left no room for argument. Jolie leaned up and kissed the man on the cheek before she practically ran upstairs towards the large, spa like bathroom.

Jolie sat down on the ottoman in the bathroom and pulled out her cellphone. She took her long hair out of its ponytail as she waited for the phone to load. When she started to hear the beeping, she looked down to see her screen filled with text messages and voicemails. She read through the text messages and sent a generic reply to Lyla and Ron. She tapped the speakerphone button and listened as Juice's voicemails went from worried to downright confused. Opie had left a message demanding she call him when she made it safely. However, it was the final message that made her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Hope you're not running from me. I'm not done with you." The deep raspy voice was unmistakable Happy and it sent shivers down her spine. She deleted all the messages except for his as she scrolled down her contacts. She hit the right button while grabbing a bottle of bubble bath from the bathroom closest and rolled her eyes at all the female based products that lined the shelves. Lorenzo was always prepared for his many female companions that went in and out of the home.

"Hello?"

"Hey Op." Jolie announced. She heard some noise in the background and figured the tall man must be in the clubhouse. "I'm here, safe and sound."

"That's good." Opie said, his generic response let Jolie know that she was right about where he was.

"Thanks for giving him the letter by the way."

"Welcome." Jolie smiled as she heard what had to be Tig cursing in the background. She was surprised that she actually missed some of them.

"Okay, well just checking in. I'll let you know when I book my flight back."

"Make sure you do." Opie said and the pair hung up the phone. Jolie pulled the clothes from her body as she ran the filled the tub with hot water, bubble bath and bath salts. Once she was satisfied, Jolie dipped her body inside the water and let out a satisfied moan. She slid down as the jets seemed to hit all the right tension points in her body.

Jolie sat in the tub until she could no longer ignore that she was turning into a raisin. She placed the fluffy towel around her body as she walked towards the bedroom and started to pull clothes from her bag. She settled on a short sleeve black shirt that reached under her bottom, black pleather leggings and the booties that she had come to town in. She kept her hair curly as she pulled it back into a tight bun on the nape of her neck. Putting some mascara and lip gloss, she ran down the steps to try and enjoy the rest of her night before everything went to hell.

"Who was that?" Jax asked as Opie hung up the phone and placed it in his pocket.

"Lyla." Opie easily lied to his best friend as he grabbed the bottle of Jack and poured himself a shot. He looked around the room but didn't see Juice. He wanted to let the man know that his sister was safe just in case Jolie hadn't gotten around to telling him yet.

"Everything alright?" Jax asked and Opie simply nodded his head as he headed towards the door. Opie looked over to see Happy and Juice sitting down at the picnic table, sharing a joint and staring into space. It was written all over their faces that they were both missing the same girl, even if it was for completely different reasons. By now everyone knew that Jolie and Happy were fucking but no one said anything. Opie didn't know why but there had been no ribbing from any of the club members. Juice looked up when he heard Opie's boots drag across the concrete.

"She's fine." Opie answered Juice's unasked question and quickly moved his eyes towards Happy.

"I told him she left town for a few days." Juice offered as an explanation for why Happy hadn't removed from his spot. Juice let out a humorless laugh as he shook his head.

"She'll be back Juice." Opie offered as a bit of comfort but anyone within a five mile radius could see the obvious tension in the younger man's posture.

"Yeah I know." Juice said but didn't even want to try and be convincing. All three men turned towards the door as Jax came into view with his cell phone attached to his ear. Jax spoke a few words before hanging up.

"Everything good?' Opie asked.

"Romeo will be here by the end of the week, wants to set up a meeting." Jax turned and looked at Juice. "Call you sister, Romeo said to make sure that she's there." Opie, Happy and Juice glanced at each other and each hoped that Jolie would be back when she said she would be or they would have a lot of explaining to do.

The following morning, Jolie stretched her arms above her head as her eyes tried to adjust to the harsh sunlight that was covering most of the room. Jolie grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand and noticed that it was barely nine. She glanced down at Juice's text message and her stomach filled with knots as she was reminded that her reason for being in New York was not for fun. She quickly typed out a response as she stood from the bed and cracked all of the bones in her body. She was rolling her neck when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Jolie announced and smiled when Lorenzo walked into the room.

"Ordered breakfast from Paulie's." Jolie nodded her head with appreciation. Paulie's was a little corner store deli that had the best breakfast sandwiches. Jolie made a mental note to also grab a slice of real New York pizza before she flew back across the country. Food in New York may be something she missed most of all.

"Let me wash up and I'll be right down." She promised as Lorenzo turned and walked back out of the room. She quickly washed up in the bathroom and pulled a pair of sweat capris over her boy shots and pulled her hair back in a messy bun before running down the steps and letting her nose lead her towards the kitchen. She squealed loudly when she walked in the room and saw the tall built man standing next to Lorenzo.

"Stefano." Jolie practically screamed as she barreled into the man's waiting arms and smiled as he placed a kiss on her forehead. Stefano was Lorenzo's business partner and his biggest confidante. He was also the father that Jolie never had.

"Is it possible for you to ever stay out of trouble?" Stefano asked in a mocking tone even though he had a smile plastered on his face.

"Yeah well normalcy is boring." Jolie shrugged as she moved to pour herself a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table and grabbing the sausage, egg and cheese sandwich that she knew was for her.

"You ready to tell me what you're doing here?" Lorenzo asked as the three started to enjoy their breakfast. Jolie took a big sigh and started to tell her story. She told everything from the phone call she received from Chibs to Roosevelt blackmailing her brother. When she was done, she leaned back in the chair and pulled one of her legs up.

"So I'm assuming you have a plan?" Stefano asked as he took a sip from his juice while taking his daily vitamin.

"I left a box here a few years back after Chris died. I'm going to need it."

"What are you up to?" Lorenzo asked.

"I'm going to tell the truth, the whole truth. I'm going to give Romeo the contents of the box, tell him my side of things and let the chips fall where they may."

"He might kill you." Jolie shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm prepared for that. Rather it be me than Juan anyway. There is no reason why he should have to pay for what I've done." Jolie rubbed her forehead as she sighed. "I'm not sure if Romeo will really kill me. He knew better than anyone how unstable Chris was and he's always had a soft spot for me so I'm hoping that may sway things in my favor."

"Is that all you came here for? A box of buried secrets?" Lorenzo asked and the way he was looking at Jolie told her that he wasn't buying that as her only reason. Jolie smiled charmingly towards the two men.

"Actually, I may have a business deal for you two. This motorcycle club that Juan is involved with, they are way over their head when it comes to the Cartel. They are not the kind of people that do well in the mule business. They have already lost a few members and the decision to run drugs is tearing them apart, inside and out. Before they made this deal with Romeo, they were in the gun business." Jolie raised an eyebrow as Lorenzo and Stefano glanced at one another.

"So what you're saying is?"

"What I'm saying is who better than two international arms dealers to possibly work out some kind of business arrangement with a little one percent motorcycle club? If I can get them out of the Cartel, they are still going to need ways to earn money. Maybe I could set up a meeting with you guys. You have the best guns in the world, the type of guns that these small town boys have never seen before. It could be very profitable and keep my brother safe." Lorenzo and Stefano both sat back as the contemplated Jolie's request. She rolled her eyes already knowing some of the thoughts that were running through their head.

"I'll let you guys think it over. I need to do some shopping while I'm here." Jolie stood up and kissed both men on the cheek. "Tell me what you decide."