Day 12

Westbrook, Montana

Nearly two weeks. It had been nearly two weeks since she came to Montana.

Abel had asked her the day before when they were going home to Daddy, but she hadn't been able to answer him. She just kept holding out hope that Jax was soon coming home. In another week and a half it would be Abel's seventh birthday, and she dreaded the thought of celebrating his birthday in this town. Thomas was four now, and even Blakely was fast approaching her second birthday. Her babies were growing up, and it made her heart ache to know Jax was missing it.

It was currently nearing midnight, and all the kids had long since gone to sleep. Jessie sat by the window, counting up the cash she had left and staring at her silent phone on the windowsill as if willing it to ring. She put away the money in her purse and glanced over at the kids, Abel and Thomas cuddled together with Blakely in between them like they were protecting her. With a smile, Jessie got up to go and tuck the blanket closer around her kids, kissing each of their foreheads. What had she ever done before she had children? At that exact moment, her phone began ringing, and she dashed to get it before it woke up the kids. "Hello, Jax?"

"Hi baby, how's it going?" Jessie could swear that his voice was the most wonderful thing she'd ever heard.

"Jax, you don't know how long I've been waiting to hear your voice. When are you coming home? Me and the kids miss you so much. Abel's dying to be with you on his birthday." God, let him say he was on his way right now.

"I promise I'll be seeing you soon, babe." His voice sounded strange, but Jessie chose to ignore it because he was promising to come home. "Just don't give up on me, okay?"

That was definitely strange of him to say. "Baby, are you okay? You don't sound okay."

"I'm fine, Jess. Just real tired. But I promise I'm gonna see you soon. I gotta go, but I'll call you again when I can. Love you, Jess. More than anything."

"Love you too, Jax. Always." She wanted to say more, to keep him on the line and just imagine he was there, but then there was a dial tone, and silence. He was gone just like that.

Jessie tried to find comfort in his words, but it was hard to get past the weird tone of his voice. She had always been able to read Jax, to know what he was really feeling behind his charm and unpredictability and all the walls he'd built. She had always known him like the back of her hand, but tonight was an exception. Nothing was evident from his call except for the fact that there was clearly nothing she could do at this point, and so she sighed and got up to get ready for bed. In the bathroom, she flipped on the hot water, peeling off her clothes and taking a look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes trailed over the dark hair she'd given herself, her hands coming up to run through it. This wasn't her. She was ready to be blonde and beautiful and happy with her husband again. Trying to shake the thoughts from her mind, she turned and stepped into the shower, the steamy spray rushing over her and melting away some of her stress. Tiny black streaks of mascara ran down her chest as the water washed away her makeup, her long hair flattening down to her back. Jax always loved sharing a shower with her. She could almost feel his rough hands on her, hands hardened by gun grips and handlebars and fistfights, ones that could still feel like silk when they were roaming over her body. He was her soulmate, the other half of her heart. God, she needed him. She needed him to be here and holding her and kissing their babies goodnight like he always did, no matter how late it was when he came home. She needed Jax more than anything else in this entire world. Before she knew it, tears were mixing with the water pouring over her face, and she slowly sank down to sit on the floor of the shower. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rested her forehead on her knees and cried.

She was a true student of Gemma, never one to show much emotion of her own and more equipped to handle others' feelings. Jessie had never been too good at facing her feelings, and since this shit had happened they had become overwhelming at times. She needed Jax, needed the stability he provided to her though he never truly realized that's what he was doing. Finally she decided this was enough of this sad shit, and she forced herself to get up and wash herself and her hair before turning the water off. Squeezing the water out of her hair, she dried off and went back into the room to dig one of Jax's T-shirts out of her bag. It smelled just like him as she pulled it over her head, and she breathed in his scent as she smiled. There was her reassurance. Nudging the kids over gently in the bed, she lay down and pulled the blanket up to cover them completely.

She was just settling down beside Thomas when the door to their room was roughly kicked open.

Masked men in black grabbed her by the arms, tying a gag around her mouth so that she couldn't scream. Her three children were still sleeping, a trait all of them had inherited from Jax. Jessie fought and kicked as hard as she could, but the men were stronger and one of them punched her soundly in the gut. It doubled her over, gasping for breath around the fabric in her mouth. Then she was being dragged outside, the men so skillful and quiet they barely disturbed the dirt of the parking lot. She was pushed into a waiting van, nearly rolling head over heels into the opposite wall of the vehicle. She tried to right herself and scream, but suddenly a sharp pain took over her head and everything went black.

Kyle tucked his gun back in the waistband of his dark jeans, settling down on the floor of the van beside the limp body of Teller's wife. Knocking her out would keep her quiet for the trip to the airstrip, where Edward and the other Irishmen were set to meet them and pick up Jessie. They had wanted her dead, but for some reason now they wanted her delivered to them. The kids would be taken to the nearest hospital and left with a note instructing whoever found them to call Gemma and have her come and pick them up, the real target of this mission being their mother. Kyle smiled at the thought of the reward he would be pocketing when they arrived at the airstrip.

Everything was going exactly as he had planned, and he couldn't wait to get the Irishmen's money.

At the airfield, a small private plane sat waiting, Edward and four other Irishmen waiting for Kyle's arrival. As promised, the black van pulled up at exactly 1:30, the door sliding open to reveal Teller's wife lying unconcious, her dark hair spread around her face. Stepping out, Kyle lifted her limp frame into his arms, carrying her over to the Irishmen.

"The plan wasn't to kill her anymore, Kyle." Edward glanced over Jessie, unsure if she was dead or not.

Kyle scoffed, rolling his eyes. "She's alive, man, I didn't kill her. Just had to knock her out. Teller's got a real fiesty little thing on his hands." He transferred Jessie into the arms of one of Edward's assistants, who took her towards the plane. "Now where's my money?"

Edward produced a thick manila envelope from the inside pocket of his suit coat, handing it over to Kyle. "The Irish Kings would like to thank you for your help." He waited until Kyle was almost back to the van before he pulled a gun from his waistband and shot him twice in the back. It was a brief moment before he crumpled to the ground, blood pooling beneath his body as the envelope of cash skittered across the dirt. The other three men with him also pulled guns, finishing off the two men with Kyle. With a smile, Edward retrieved his money before leading his men towards the plane.

"Come gentlemen, we have a flight to Belfast to catch."