JPOV
I was sitting in the clubhouse when the door swung open and Chibs ran through.
"You're going to want to see this, brotha" Chibs said running back out without waiting for me to respond. I grabbed my beer and ran out after him. What I saw when I got out there almost dropped me to my knees. Sitting on the ground wrapped into herself was a girl who had been beaten beyond recognition. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and her head tucked between them. She was shaking.
"What the fuck is this?" I asked Chibs incredulously.
"I don't know. I pulled into the shop and she was curled up against the building. Do you think we know her?"
"I don't know. We should get her inside and get her cleaned up. Call Gemma and Clay and get them here. I'll round up the others from the clubhouse." Chibs bent down and picked her up and she violently flinched away from him. Chibs ignored her and reached out anyway.
"No! Don't touch me! I want Jax! Jax!"
Fear and rage coursed through my veins when I heard that voice. I knew that voice. My vision went red and I shoved Chibs out of the way and picked her up. As I was running to the clubhouse I was praying to a god I wasn't sure I believed in. It's not her was all I could think. I had to make myself believe.
I laid her on the couch and ran to the back rooms banging on doors as I went.
"Pussy and beer can wait. We got an emergency in the main room!"
There were several thuds and one cry of "you dropped me!" before all the doors opened nearly simultaneously.
Once all the guys were converged into the main room, I went back to the couch to survey the damage on the girl. Her feet had welts and cut marsk, her legs were bare and had varying bruises. Some new some old, but there were many. There were also cuts in varying stages. She had a pair of underwear and a shirt that was ripped apart. You could see the protrusion of a rib on the right side and a cut across her abdomen that was still bleeding. The skin around her collar bone was sunken in and the bones were sticking out. She was extremely malnourished. I could not make myself turn her head up to face me. I could see the swelling on her cheekbones. I finally got the nerve to move her head when the front door banged open. She looked up and I jumped back like she had burned me. I fell to my knees and rocked back and forth. Before I realized, I had starting crying. A face I haven't seen in person in 10 years, but have seen in my dreams every night for 12 years was looking up at the open door. I felt Chibs hand on my shoulder.
"Brother. Jax, you alright? What it is?" Chibs asked worriedly. Before I could respond, Gemma did.
"It's the past freight training through his heart" she said icily.
A murmur of confused questions hung heavily in the air. Before anyone could voice them completely, Gemma spoke again.
"It's Tara."