A/N-Okay, I know I said this chapter was going to be lighter but it didn't exactly happen that way. Thank you to everyone who reviewed or put this story on their alerts-it means so much to know you guys are having as much fun with this as I am. Enjoy!


TRUE LOVE WAY

Chapter Four

Emma turned over in her bed and yawned, catching a bleary glance of the alarm clock sitting on her nightstand. Almost 7:00. Plenty of time to get some coffee, shower, grab a bagel on her way, out and still have plenty of time to spare to get to the office nice and early. This had quickly become a habit for her ever since CaraCara's new business plan had officially been picked up by their 'investors'-and she'd completely thrown herself into making it work. With a tired exhale, she tossed her blanket off to the side and yawned again as she padded out towards the kitchen.

7:03. Still plenty of time.

As she knelt down to grab a filter from one of the bottom shelves, she heard some shuffling behind her. When she heard the refrigerator open, she turned her head only to see Juice chugging some milk and waving at her...which would've been fine if he had been wearing more than just white boxer briefs.

"Morning, Emma." He grinned at her before taking another gulp of milk.

"Hey, Juice..." she waved back awkwardly and fought the urge to shield her eyes. "Um...do you maybe think you could, I don't know...throw on a pair of shorts next time?"

Juice looked down at his attire and shrugged good-naturedly. "Sure...sorry, I didn't know you were out here...I'll, uh, remember that next time. Don't wanna scare ya."

He winked at her playfully and she grimaced, shaking her head even though it was hard to stop the smile creeping onto her face. Awkward encounters aside, she didn't mind Juice hanging around-even though she had heard some things the night before that she wished she hadn't—and even if their relationship was still underwraps so Tig didn't beat Juice to a bloody pulp, her best friend was happy. And Dawn was nothing but diligent in getting what she wanted. Besides, she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen that glow in Dawn, that illumination raditating from her eyes and her cheeks and she even carried herself differently, almost like she was walking on air...so in light of that, Juice's presence in their apartment was quickly becoming easier and easier to tolerate.

Juice put the cap back on the milk and closed the refrigerator before waving to her with a wide, self-satisfied grin. "You know, you ladies have a pretty nice set-up here. Could use a bigger TV though."

"Oh yeah?" She cocked an eyebrow at him, willing to play his game just for the hell of it. "Feel free to bring one over one of these days...it's not like you aren't here enough, you know..."

He froze for a moment, like he was trying to figure out if this was an appropriate joke or not, and then, a beat later, a lazy grin spread across his features. It wasn't difficult to see why Dawn was so crazy about him.

"Well," he was saying now. "Maybe I could hook you up if you're really, really nice to me."

"I think I'll let Dawn handle that one then."

"Probably for the best, huh?"

She just chuckled and rolled her eyes at him as he threw another good-natured grin her way and backed out of the kitchen, hands up in mock-defense. If anything, she was just grateful that they got along...this situation would be a hell of a lot worse if he was a douchebag. When she heard Dawn's bedroom door shut behind him and some muffled noises, she decided it was time to get her ass moving.

About an hour later, she was sitting in the office and as she took another sip from her coffee cup, she did a quick run-through of the day's schedule, including a conference call with one of their distributors and it was shaping up to be a pretty full day before it even really started. It was amazing...only a few weeks before, she'd been sitting in her car, dreading going inside and now, here she was—showing up early and eager to work. Of course, the work itself was gratifying and to be able to have a hand in helping her mom hold on to her business was enough to keep her going. The working conditions, on the other hand, were a different story altogether.

It was probably for the best not to dwell on that particular situation—especially since just the thought of Ima's dark, icy, daggers for eyes made her shiver...or want to punch the table beneath her. She'd quickly learned that the best way to handle Ima was to ignore Ima but sometimes that proved to be more challenging than she could handle, especially when she overhead Ima complaining to Lyla that Jax hadn't returned her phone calls or her text messages since "his kid" was born. For a split second, she'd almost pounced on that, for a number of reasons, but had quickly caught herself and retreated back to the office. Then, of course, there was the incident where they'd gotten into a screaming match when Ima had shown up over two hours late for the third time that week. Thank God Bobby had been there to pull her back into the office because she didn't know what would have happened if he hadn't.

But she wasn't going to get anything genuinely important done if she spent all her time at CaraCara fuming over Ima and her shit attitude. So with that in mind, she shifted her attention back to the papers in her hand and the emails on her computer...and then had to pee. Stupid coffee went right through her.

With a frustrated huff, she rose from her chair and headed to the bathroom—if it wasn't one thing, it was the other thing. When she got back to the office and finally ready to get some real work done now, she skidded to a stop when she realized she wasn't alone in the office anymore. A short, stocky man with dark, thinning hair and glasses too small for his overly round face was standing in the middle of the office, flipping through some files on her desk.

"Can I help you?" She asked sharply as a wave of uneasiness rushed through her.

The man looked up and smiled darkly, his eyes squinting through his glasses with a glint she couldn't quite place. All she knew was that the look in them rooted her to the ground as her stomach slid into a tight knot.

"Well, hey there," the man replied, his smile only widening as he spoke. "You must be Luann's daughter, Emma, right?"

She swallowed nervously and nodded slowly, her mind still not completely able to register just what was happening. "How did you get in here? I locked the door when I came in this morning."

"Well," the man chuckled. "Since you asked so nicely, my name is Georgie Caruso and I'm one of your mother's business associates...she gave me a key a couple of years ago."

Her eyes narrowed as something clicked in her head. Luann had mentioned someone named Georgie a few times but never in a pleasant capacity and if he was one of her 'associates', like he'd said, she was sure she would've already known about it. There was no way he had a key. At least not one that Luann had given him. Self-preservation was kicking in and she knew she had to at the very least keep him talking, figure out what the hell he was doing here until someone else got to the office. Maybe if she could just get to her phone...

"What do you want?" She asked coolly, hoping she looked as calm and collected as she needed to.

"I have a business proposition for you that I think you'll be very interested in." His eyes seemed like they were scaling her entire body, going up and down and then back up again and she suddenly felt very cold.

Trying not to alert him to her alarm, she calmly folded her arms across her chest and looked him square in the eye. "A business proposition? From one of my mother's business associates?"

Georgie's hands immediately rose up in defense. "I guess I should've said it was more like...business acquianctances...yeah, that would be a more accurate description."

Well, he'd done nothing but confirmed what she had already suspected.

"What makes you think I would be interested in your 'proposition'?"

Georgie didn't hesitate. "Because I know what Luann is payin' you and I'm prepared to double that salary if you'll come work for me instead."

She could herself from laughing out loud and shook her head. "Just like that, huh?"

"Word on the street is that you've single-handedly turned CaraCara around in a matter of weeks. I could use a woman with a brain like that in my operation."

"And just what exactly is your operation?"

Georgie seemed a little taken aback that she didn't know and pulled at his collar with an agitated exhale. "Lacuna Films."

She shrugged. "Never heard of it."

"My company had the best selling title in this region—that's nothing to sniff at. We got four AVN awards this year and ten films in the can already. I need someone that can come in and really manage things for me...I've got retirement to think about."

"And you think I'm just going to quit my mother's business and come work for you?"

He smiled again and took a step closer to her, which toppled her renewed sense of control in this situation.

"Look, Emma, like I said—I'm prepared to double your salary. Trust me, I have no problem giving a gorgeous, smart woman like you all the control in this relationship. You'll be on top, Emma. I think a woman like you would like that."

The thinly veiled innuendos pushed her over the edge and she was ready for him to get the hell out of her office.

"Listen, Mr. Caruso, thank you for the generous offer but my answer is no." She pushed through clenched teeth.

His eyes narrowed and he took another dangerous step closer to her. "You're makin' a mistake, Emma."

She laughed out loud and shook her head. "Are you kidding me? I would never work for you."

"And why is that?"

She laughed again and all the disgust, frustration, and uneasiness she'd been feeling in this situation was too much to keep pushing down. "Because you're an asshole and you creep me out."

While she'd subconsciously been aware that her answer wouldn't be received well, she was not prepared for him to advance on her and grab her roughly, too roughly, by the arm and squeeze, sending slivers of sharp pain down her forearm as she gasped in alarm.

"Bad move, Emma. You don't know what you're doin' here." Georgie spat, his face red and twisted with malice.

"Are you threatening me?" She tried to struggle out of his grasp but he just tightened his grip, sending another wave of spiky prickling through her arm. This time, she couldn't stop the sharp cry from escaping her lips and his eyes glinted victoriously.

"What do you think?" He snarled in her ear. "You're going to end up working for me one way or another...you might as well get used to it."

"Threatening me isn't going to get you what you want." She shot back as he abruptly tossed her arm back to her and headed for the door.

She struggled for breath as she watched him stalk out of the office and into the hallway. The second she lost sight of him, she scrambled to the door and locked it behind him. She stumbled back a few steps as the realization hit her that she was okay, she wasn't seriously injured—her arm was throbbing at her side and she was positive Georgie's menacing grip was sure to leave a bruise—but if that was all that had happened then she was overwhelmingly lucky right now.

With a shaky exhale, she fished through her purse for her phone and dialed her mother's number, somehow, in spite of her trembling fingers.


Luann paced anxiously from one end of the office to the other as Emma leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Her mother had, naturally, shit a brick when she'd gotten her call and had high-tailed it over to CaraCara as fast as she could. The second she'd opened the office door for Luann, she'd been stunned when Luann immediately pulled her to her, enveloping her in her arms and squeezing her tightly. Even the unshed tears in her mother's eyes had shocked her as she put both hands on her face to get a clearer look at her.

"Emma..." she whispered hoarsely as she held her. "Please tell me you're alright...God, if anything had happened to you...I'd kill him!"

"Mom, I'm fine." She'd replied unconvincingly.

Luann just pulled her into her arms again and held her tightly against her. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had displayed these types of emotions towards her...the mama bear persona wasn't something she was used to and she certainly wasn't used to her mother actually acting like a parent for once. All that did was add to her already pounding head.

And then Ima had stumbled into the office with a split lip and a black eye crying that one of Georgie's guys had threatened to do worse if she spent another day filming at CaraCara. As Luann comforted Ima, Emma had sat carefully in the background, not wanting to make a bad situation worse. If she was being completely honest with herself, the sight of Ima bloody and barely able to open her left eye was not something she ever wanted to see again. She'd often thought about what it would be like to punch Ima in the face—and that she would've deserved it—but now, seeing the byproducts of that kind of violence made her sick to her stomach.

Having just been on the receiving end of Georgie's own personal brand of persuasion, she felt sorry for Ima, especially since what had happened to Ima was much worse than what she had experienced. And now, as she watched Ima hold an icepack to her eye, she was grateful to only have a bruise as a souvenir from the experience.

When Luann had whipped out her phone to call Jax, she'd listened as her mother erratically recounted the events of her and Ima's encounters with Georgie. Her nerves were getting the best of her and she couldn't stop her leg from jumping nervously the deeper the conversation with Jax got. When Luann tossed her phone back in her bag and blew out a shaky breath, she knew Jax was on his way. He'd given Luann strict instructions to stay in the office, lock the door, and not open it up for anyone but him. And that was exactly what they were doing now.

"I just don't understand how the hell that fucker got in here..." her mother was muttering to herself as she continued her pacing. "He's tryin' to run me outa business...we finally get things goin' again here and he swoops in to fuck it all up...and then to lay hands on my daughter and my best girl...he's takin' this shit way too far."

"Jax will take care of this, Mom." Emma reassured her. She was starting to feel even more on edge the more she watched her mother wear down the carpet.

Ima perked up at the mention of Jax and for the first time that morning, she didn't feel so bad for Ima.

"Yeah, well," Luann had finally stopped her pacing. "I hope to God Jax takes one look at your arm and at least puts that mother fucker in the hospital or something."

"Her arm?" Ima spat out. "What about my god damn face?"

Luann rubbed her face with her hands and blew out a breath. Emma swallowed uneasily and tried to divert her gaze anywhere but on Ima, who currently looked like she was about to lunge out of her chair and throttle her from across the room.

They must have sat there in silence for at least another ten minutes, with Luann pacing, her fist clenched angrily at her sides, Ima with her menacingly evil glare, and Emma leaning back against the wall with her eyes closed, trying to forget all this had even happened, as they waited for Jax to finally show up.

A few minutes later, all three women sitting in the office jumped when someone pounded on the door.

"Hey, it's Jax. Open up." His gruff voice echoed from the other side of the door.

Luann had barely gotten it open before Ima launched herself at Jax, latching her arms around his neck and refusing to let go. Emma immediately stood at his arrival, her breath beginning to tighten in her chest as she craned her neck to get a glimpse of him beyond Ima's hysterical antics. She watched, feeling a little out of her body, as Jax abruptly untangled himself from Ima's grasp and subtly pushed her away, his eyes wild and searching.

When his eyes pierced through her, she felt like all the breath left her body. And in an instant, the wave of uneasiness she'd been riding evaporated. Even though her breathing was still a little ragged, just the sight of him let her know that everything was going to be alright now.

Suddenly, he was bounding towards her and his hands were on her shoulders, practically making her jump out of her skin at the jolt from his touch.

"You okay?" He whispered hoarsely, his eyes shining with an alarming mix of fear, worry, and concern.

She nodded slowly and then his eyes moved down to her forearm with its ugly, unmistakable purple bruise. She subconsciously covered it with her other hand as he stepped away from her, his eyes still trained on the area her hand was masking.

"Someone want to tell me what the hell happened here? Who the fuck is this guy, Luann? How did he get in when Emma was here alone?" He spat, looking to her mother for some answers.

"I used to work for him," Luann answered quietly. "Well, I should say with him..."

Emma briefly shut her eyes, not needing another reminder of just how involved her mother was in the porn industry.

"We both started separate businesses," her mother continued with a shaky voice. "We've always been competitive but never like this."

Jax stared at her, his eyes narrowing into dangerous blue daggers. "How did he get in?"

"He said he had a key," Emma offered quietly. Jax turned to face her again at the sound of her voice and he squeezed his eyes shut briefly before rubbing a quick hand over his mouth.

"There's no way he should have a key," Luann tried to explain.

"His guy punched me in the face, Jax," Ima cut in, putting herself effectively between Emma and Jax as she spoke and she reached up again to grasp a fistful of his cut.

He pushed her away again and gestured for her to take the chair across the room.

"I can see that," Jax replied exasperatedly. "Go sit over there while we figure this shit out, Ima."

Her eyes just about fell out of her head at his words and she gaped at him for several moments before he impatiently gestured towards the chair again. She marched over to the chair and plopped herself down in a huff like a naughty toddler who'd just been reprimanded as she put the ice back on her eye.

"Well," Luann started again. "He's clearly going the intimidation route here...I just can't believe he would go that far...he's always been a scumbag but this is takin' it to a new level."

"Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about that fucker. I'll take care of it." Jax replied, his eyes glaring with stern determination. "There's a prospect outside and he's gonna stay the rest of the day, make sure you ladies get home alright. After that, I'll talk to the club about keeping a prospect here around the clock to make sure everyone's protected."

Luann nodded quickly. "Thank you, Jax, for taking care of this. I really appreciate it."

Jax's eyes drifted back to Emma as he nodded. His eyes lingered on her for a moment and she felt like she needed to sit down under the weight, her breath ragged again. And when he left the office...to take care of it...she collapsed in the first chair she could find, exhausted and overwhelmed.


As Jax stalked down the hallway, he didn't waste a second to call Clay on his prepay.

"Yeah?" Clay's gruff, tired voice answered and he had to remind himself that it wasn't even 9:30 in the morning yet.

"We got a problem at CaraCara, Clay," Jax started quickly, casting a quick glance behind him as he walked, making sure Emma was still in the office.

"Shit. What happened?"

"One of Luann's old co-stars, Georgie Caruso—has his own studio now—broke into the building this morning and threatened Emma. He's trying to get her to work for him and he grabbed her. Then Ima shows up this morning after the fact with a beaten-in face and says that one of Georgie's guys did it and it'll happen again if she shows up for another day of filming."

"Everyone alright?"

Jax blew out a breath and squeezed his eyes shut as an image of Emma's bruised forearm flashed through his mind. "Yeah, they're fine. But we gotta handle this, Clay. He's tryin' to strong arm his way into shutting CaraCara down by threatening Luann's best employees. That can't happen again, Clay."

"Well, clearly the bastard is just cherry-pickin' now that CaraCara is finally makin' some money…the timing is pretty convenient." Clay mused.

Jax blew out a deep breath, more than a little frustrated that Clay was not reacting to this situation exactly the way he would've preferred. "Look, Clay, you've made it clear since day one that this is my operation. So let me handle this fucker. Our friend, Georgie, needs to be put in his place."

"You gonna be able to keep your head, son? The last thing the club needs right now is another dead body floating around—especially on account of pussy. You need to remember that this is about business, not your ties to CaraCara."

He exhaled exasperatedly and ran a hand over his face. "My personal life has nothing to do with this shit, Clay. I cut ties with Ima a long time ago."

Clay chuckled into the phone. "That's not what I meant. Listen, do what you need to do to get this asshole off Luann's back but take Tig and Opie with you for backup."

"Right. I'll let you know when it's done."

He flipped the prepay closed with a shaky breath and dug into the back of his jeans for his cigarette pack. Shit, his nerves were completely shot and his hands were trembling so much he could barely light the fucking cigarette. What he needed to do now, while he waited for Tig and Opie to show up, was get his shit together. As much as he hated to admit it, Clay had been right. He had to keep his cool and even though nothing would make him happier than to pummel Georgie Caruso into the ground, that was not the best way to handle this situation. So he was grateful for some time to pull himself together enough so that he was in complete control when he was finally face to face with the fucker who'd been stupid enough to put his hands on her.

Emotions were a fucking bitch and at the moment, he was struggling to keep them all at bay. He squeezed his eyes shut as the image of Emma's forearm, with its purple and red handprint for a bruise and her scared, wide eyes. It was all he could do not to pull her into his arms and just fucking hold her, audience be damned. And now, it was all he could not to punch a hole through the cement wall he was currently leaning against.

But what set him on edge the most was his knee-jerk reaction to Luann's phone call that morning. He almost hadn't even answered it but then quickly realized that Luann never called him and that there was no good reason why she was calling him before 9:00 in the morning. As he listened to Luann's hysterics, the second she'd uttered the words "Emma" and "threatened", he'd just about tore his room apart even though he could barely see straight. And then, as his immediate rage subsided, he'd felt suddenly cold as another emotion coursed through him: fear.

This was not an emotion he was used to feeling—apart from when Abel had been born. He didn't know what to do with this feeling of complete helplessness. But the longer he listened to Luann, the colder he felt. He kept bracing himself for the worst, that Emma was being taken to the hospital, that she'd been beaten, that she had a broken bone…and when that never came, a wave of relief rushed through him so quickly it'd almost knocked him to the floor. She was okay. She was going to be okay. And that shit was never going to happen again.

His hands fisted tightly at his sides as he resisted the urge to punch the wall again. He couldn't stop himself from picturing the scene that had taken place in the office that morning. Georgie scaring the shit out of her, threatening her…touching her…if he was being completely honest with himself, that was the part that enraged him the most. Sure, the threats were enough to warrant an ass-kicking but the fact that he had touched her and left a mark on her skin made his blood simmer. He took another drag from his cigarette to muster up some semblance of control. He was going to need every bit of it.

When the roar of motorcycle engines reached his ears, he was overwhelmingly grateful. He was fucking sick of waiting for the chance to do to Georgie exactly what he'd done to Emma.


As they pulled into Lacuna Films' parking lot, Jax quickly took inventory of his surroundings. The building itself looked like it had been well-maintained over the years and there were many expensive, shiny cars and SUVs parked in the lot next to it. Georgie was clearly doing well for himself. So why the hell did he need to try to scare Emma, and Ima, for that matter, into working for him? His business wasn't failing, like CaraCara nearly was but maybe Clay was right, maybe Georgie was just a lazy businessman who didn't see the need to cultivate any true success on his own. Still, the fucker was about to get his ass handed to him, even if he didn't know it yet.

"You gonna be alright, brother?" Opie asked quietly, lowering his voice as they walked up to the front entrance of Lacuna.

"I'll be better when this bitch is put in his place." Jax barked out sharply. He immediately regretted his tone; he didn't mean to take any of this out on Opie…he just needed this shit to be over.

When they walked through the door, he felt a switch go off in his head and he was automatically in battle mode, ready to engage and put the fear of God into the stupid asshole.

"Hey, Georgie!" Jax yelled down the hallway. "Where the fuck you at?"

He waited a few beats before storming down the hallway, Opie and Tig right on his heels, searching for the ball-less son of a bitch who was probably cowering under his desk somewhere. Two large, muscular security guards in black immediately approached them but Jax didn't back down, meeting them toe to toe and looking them right in the eye. He wasn't leaving until this was finished.

"I have a business meeting with your boss," Jax spat. "You wanna let him know I'm here? I'm a little early."

The security guards exchanged knowing glances before one of them turned around. Georgie Caruso had appeared behind them and Jax briefly registered the feel of Opie's hand on his shoulder as a pre-emptive action just in case he flew off the handle. But as he took in Georgie's wide, swarmy black eyes barely camouflaged by those too-small wire glasses, he knew he was the one in control of this situation. This was gonna be fun.

"Georgie," he started coolly. "In case you missed it, we have an appointment. Now."

Georgie turned white and nervously began to backpedal inside an open office, bringing his two lapdogs with him. Tig shut the door behind them as Georgie laughed nervously.

"I'm sure you know who we are." Jax folded his arms sternly across his chest and stared at Georgie as a flicker of recognition crossed his eyes.

"Yeah," Georgie nodded carefully, his eyes flicking back to the security guards behind him.

"Good, then I'm sure you know why we're here."

Georgie shrugged. "I got no idea, Mr. Teller."

Jax's eyes narrowed menacingly as he closed the distance between them, getting right in his face. "Stay the fuck out of CaraCara. If you even so much as sniff around there again, I won't be so nice next time."

Georgie laughed out loud and just shook his head, holding his hands up in mock-defense. "You can't tell me what to do…I saw a way to expand my business and I took it, alright?"

He could feel his nostrils flaring and felt his hands clench at his sides. "You're gonna find a different way to expand your business, got it?"

"Oh come on, you guys think you're so tough, right? You don't scare me and you can't fucking tell me how to run my business!" Georgie spat.

Jax couldn't stop the low snarl that escaped his lips as he advanced on Georgie, taking two fistfuls of his shirt collar as he pushed him up against the wall. Georgie's lapdog immediately pounced but before they would pull Jax away from him, Georgie just waved an arm at them.

"It's alright, boys; let him get it out of his system." He laughed to his security guards before turning his cocky gaze back to Jax, which only served to enrage him further.

"Now, Mr. Teller," he continued. "Where were we? Oh right…you were tryin' to tell me how to run my business. But I think I know what this is really about…you're not happy about the way I went about things this morning and I understand that. I overstepped my boundaries."

"You said you had a key, asshole." Jax spat through clenched teeth, still maintaining a tight grip on Georgie's collar.

"Oh yeah…I just picked the lock." He winced as Jax pushed into the wall a little further. "Jesus Christ…"

"You broke into CaraCara and threatened Luann's daughter…you're fuckin' lucky I don't rip your head off right now. Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to put your hands on a woman, you sick fuck?"

Georgie's eyes seemed to glaze over and his face broke out into a wide grin. "Oh I see what this is really about…you can't really blame me though, right? I mean, you've seen her…"

Jax's face twisted maliciously and he slammed Georgie's head into the wall. "Watch yourself, asshole."

The security dogs were on him immediately but he shrugged himself out of their grip as he took a step back, feeling Tig and Opie right behind him, ready to pounce if necessary.

"You know," Georgie said with a grimace as he rubbed the back of his head. "I can see why you're so protective of her…those legs, those tits, those big, blue eyes…shit, I'm gettin' all excited just thinkin' about her. You know…she'd look really good in one of my movies…like mother like daughter, right?"

A split second later, Jax's fist connected with his jaw. So much for staying in control.

Georgie's head knocked backwards against the wall and he slumped over limply as he tried to regain his bearings. Tig and Opie were instantly in between them, trying to keep security at bay and stop this 'meeting' from becoming an all-out brawl.

"Come on," Jax barked to Tig and Opie. "We're done here."

He almost got out all the way out the door before he turned back on his heels and ignored the cursing he heard from Tig's direction. Jax squatted down to where Georgie still laid, rubbing his jaw with a pained expression and jabbed a finger in his face.

"Let me make this clear," Jax spat out venomously. "If I ever see you anywhere near CaraCara again and if you so much as come within a mile of Luann's daughter, your face ain't the only thing I'm breakin'. Got it?"

The cocky, self-satisfied grin slid off of George's disproportionate features as he nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I got it." He mumbled.

Satisfied with that response, Jax turned on his heel and stalked out of Lacuna Films.


Agent June Stahl sat back in her chair and swiveled around to take another gleeful glance at her handiwork—an entire map of Samcro and everyone associated with them, enemies known and unknown included. It had taken her almost the entire night before to put everything in order and now that it was finished, she felt like she finally had the visual she needed for such an elaborate plan. She'd been almost manic about it—wanting to get every single detail right, every single connection, even if it wasn't entirely a confirmed connection—she needed all her information organized in order for this to work.

The second she'd gotten the call from Charming PD, she'd pounced on it. Of course, Deputy Hale hadn't exactly counted on the details but if he was smart, he'd just sit back and allow her to do the job she was hired for and stop meddling.

After a string of dead ends and zero leads, this new opportunity to establish herself was one there was no way she was going to pass up. To bring down the mother charter of the Sons of Anarchy...that was too sweet to resist. And then, in a brilliant twist of fate, she'd gotten the tip that had completely upheaved her original plans and handed her the bust of a lifetime—bringing down not one but two organizations. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

And if everything went as planned, she was barely going to have to do anything but sit back and relax as the two criminal organizations ate each other alive. Then all she'd have to do was simply arrest the survivors, which would probably be few and far between.

When her phone buzzed on the desk next to her, she sighed tiredly as she glanced at her caller id. This man had been a thorn in her side the minute he'd agreed to work with her and she was beginning to regret ever approaching him in the first place. He'd better have something good this time.

"Stahl." She clipped into her phone.

"Hey boss."

She rolled her eyes at the sound of his breathless, overly heavy voice on the other end. "What do you need, Caruso? Finally make some progress?"

He sighed and mumbled something under his breath that she couldn't quite make out. "No...I need some backup though. It didn't exactly go the way I thought it would this morning...Teller went after me."

Her eyes narrowed and she fisted a hand on her hip as she gripped the phone a little tighter. Thank God she didn't really need this idiot to make everything happen the way she needed it to. The man was clearly inept at doing just about anything right.

Hale appeared in the doorway and she held a hand up to silence him. He quietly shut the door behind him and took a seat across from her.

"What the hell happened?" It was getting increasingly difficult to keep calm every time she spoke to this incompetent asshole.

"I...um..." he stammered. "I tried to convince Luann's daughter to come work for me...I didn't mean to grab her but that bitch just made me so angry."

"Jesus Christ, Caruso!" She yelled into the phone, making Hale jump from across her. "All you have to do is shut CaraCara down. It's a failing business...it can't be that hard."

"I'm sorry, boss," he murmured quietly. "I'm trying...I offered her double her salary, had one of my guys rough up Luann's biggest moneymaker...now I'm have Teller all over my shit."

"Yeah, well you have no one to blame but yourself for that one. What did you think was going to happen? Jesus, you have the sublety of a sledgehammer."

"So...can I have that backup?"

Stahl laughed mirthlessly. "I have half a mind to shred our deal altogether. Is this really what you called me for? Maybe I should just take immunity off the table right now-"

"No...no!" Georgie cut her off in alarm. "I...uh...I got something! This morning...when Teller went after me...punched me in the face after I made an, um, off-color remark about Luann's daughter...I think he's got a thing for her."

Stahl took a moment to wrap her head around this new little piece of information. As the pieces began to click together, she quickly glanced at one of the notecards she'd just finished pinning to the bulletin board and smiled. It was all snapping together perfectly.

"Good," she said coolly. "Finally something I can use. Listen, Caruso, because you've been such a big help to me today, I'm willing to give you one more chance before I hand you over to the feds. Maybe this time, since it's your last shot and all, be a little more subtle with your scare tactics, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am, I mean...thank you. I'll get the job done, I promise...I won't let you down again."

She rolled her eyes again as she tossed her phone back down to the desk. Quite frankly, she couldn't care less if Caruso followed up on his end of their agreement because at this point, she had no intention of actually following through on hers. Besides, she'd just been handed another wonderful twist of fate that was only going to make the fireworks—explosions was more accurate—that were sure to follow once this little piece of information was out in the open all the more entertaining.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Hale's quiet voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Doing what?" She replied with a sly smile.

He blew out a breath and ran a hand over his face. "Stirring the pot like this. Can't we just wait until-"

"This is just the pregame, Deputy," she cut in knowingly. "All this just leads us up to the big show. The main event...it's gonna be beautiful watching them crush each other."

"But you're just stirring up trouble right now...how is this actually making a difference in these cases?"

She just rolled her eyes again. "We've been over this already. Putting pressure on Samcro from all sides is only going to make them that much weaker when the big show arrives. Caruso was maybe a bad idea but now I've got some ammo that might give me another hand to play so I guess it was worth exploring that angle. Besides, you'll never believe the intel Caruso, of all people, just handed me..."

She gestured towards the giant bulletin board behind her with every space filled up, arrows, post-its, and notecards resting next to each picture. "Our friend Caruso just told me that Teller attacked him after he made a comment about Emma Delaney...seems Mr. Teller harbors some romantic feelings for Ms. Delaney. Very sweet and romantic, I know, especially for an outlaw. But, as you might remember, our damsel in distress used to date him in college."

She gestured to the picture of the man she was referring to as she spoke and Hale's eyes just about fell out of their sockets.

"Of course, Big Otto's pride and joy had no idea who he really was...but we couldn't have asked for a better development. When Teller gets brought up to speed on his soon-to-be old lady's history...the possibilities are just endless..." She trailed off, her mouth practically watering at all the fantastic directions this could possibly play out.

"I don't know, June," Hale exhaled softly. "Someone could get hurt."

"That's not necessarily my problem, is it? You called me here to bring down Samcro and that's exactly what I plan on doing. Now, if you're not happy with my methods then get the fuck out of this office and let me do my job. This is my god damn show, Hale!"

Hale held up his hands in defense and blew out a deep breath. "Alright."

"You know," Stahl turned back to him with her hands on her hips. "With all the excitement today, I think it's time I head over to Teller-Morrow and introduce myself. You think they're having a big party at their clubhouse tonight?"

"Yeah," Hale nodded. "They always do on Fridays."

"Perfect." Stahl's mouth curved into a wicked grin as she spoke. "I've always been the life of the party."


As the elevator doors opened, Emma felt like she could finally let out the breath she'd been holding all day. The white-washed hospital walls had become oddly comforting to her these last few weeks but then again, this was the part of her day she looked forward to the most. And after the shit day she'd just had, she needed this more than ever.

She turned the corner and was immediately greeted by the friendly nurse waiting for her at the nurse's station.

"Hey, Claire." She smiled warmly. "How's he doing today?"

"Well," Claire spoke as they walked closer to Abel's room. "His breathing is right where we need it to be. His heart is getting stronger every day...all signs point to the little guy going home very soon."

Emma blew out a relieved breath as they approached the incubator. She peered down inside and smiled softly at the growing baby inside. Abel seemed to have grown at least an inch or so since he was born and a patch of blonde hair was slowly coming in on top of his head. But his eyes had stayed exactly the same and suddenly, he was focusing intently on her, reaching up to her with a tiny fist.

"He recognizes you...you know that, right?" Claire said softly next to her.

She wasn't entirely sure what to do with that information so she just smiled briefly as the nurse stepped outside. As she looked back down at Abel, she moved her hand until it was resting directly above where Abel's little fist reached up to her.

"Hey Abel," she whispered. "I missed you...I had a really crappy day, but I think I feel a little better now."

He yawned in response, his eyes still focused right on her, and his arm went up and over his head before resting down on the blanket covering him. She chuckled and swallowed as the stirring in her stomach she always felt when she was here welled up inside her. All she wanted was for him to just get better...so he could go home and start to be normal, have a normal life...she closed her eyes as she thought of how he'd been brought into this world and said a silent prayer of thanks that Wendy had eventually come to her senses and checked into rehab. That was best for everyone involved.

The door creaked open behind her and she turned to see Jax standing in the doorway, his eyes shining as he took her in. He grinned widely as he sauntered over to where she stood and placed a hand on the incubator.

"Hey there, little man." Jax whispered before turning back to her with a wink. "How's it goin' today?"

"The nurse told me on my way in that everything's exactly where it should be...breathing, heart rate..." She answered for Abel with a smile.

His grin only expanded and she felt her heart just about jump into her throat. But then his eyes shifted down to the edge of her sweater, which she had pushed up a little her arm to get it out of the way, and was now exposing half of the remnants of her earlier encounter with Georgie.

He swallowed as he reached out to lightly graze the untouched skin next to the bruise and she could barely stop herself from shivering at his touch. His eyes were burning into her, almost seeming to burn right through her...and she was starting to feel light-headed.

"You sure you're alright?" He whispered hoarsely.

She nodded quickly, probably too quickly and forced a smile. "I'm fine, Jax."

His eyebrows rose at her rushed reply.

"Really...I'm fine." She pressed again at the unspoken question in his eyes.

"How bad does it hurt?" He had completely turned to face her now, his attention focused entirely on her and she only barely realized that his fingers were still lingering on her forearm. All she felt was heat.

"It's a little sore but it's nothing some ice and a little tequila won't cure." She shrugged, adverting her eyes back to Abel's sleeping form, not wanting to look him in the eye as she lied. It wasn't just a little sore. It fucking killed...but she wasn't about to tell him that.

"Well," he murmured. "That piece of shit is never gonna bother you again."

She nodded, allowing herself to turn towards him and she swallowed nervously when he took a tiny step closer to her, quickly closing any space between them.

"Thanks, Jax," she whispered. "For taking care of that..."

He nodded, his blue eyes smoldering into hers and she didn't know how she was still breathing. A hand snaked out and wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her closer until she was in his arms completely. She closed her eyes and leaned into his cut, loving the feel of the leather against her cheek. For the first time that day, she felt truly relaxed, truly at peace and all the bad shit that had went down that day was just a distant memory. Everything else just disappeared around them.

"I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you, Em." He whispered into her ear.

His arms pulled her in even closer and then suddenly, she felt his cheek against hers. His head dipped lower until she felt his forehead pressing into her neck. Then, without warning, his hot breath grazed her skin and she shivered in his arms. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable, and feeling like her entire body was going to crumble in his arms. His lips lightly kissed her neck and she couldn't stop her hand from sliding from his shoulder up to his neck and tangling it in his hair. When she felt his lips on her neck again, her lips parted as his hands wrapped around her waist tighter, pulling her into him until she could feel every muscle, every ripple, down to the tell-tale hardness in his jeans. His lips were slowly making their up her neck and when her legs threatened to give out on her, a hand slid up from her waist and into her hair to steady her.

His lips continued their ministrations until they were curving up her jaw and on her cheek. Jax moved his head back just enough so he could meet her eyes and her lips parted again as she took in a shaky breath. His eyes had melted into warm pools of sapphire as they shifted from her gaze down to her lips. His tongue flicked out and ran along his bottom lip—she thought she was going to explode—and then, ever so slightly, he started to lean in closer to her, his eyes locked intently on her lips.

And then someone cleared their throat.

"Mr. Teller?" A low voice ventured out behind them.

The spell was immediately broken and their necks snapped to face the white coat clad intruder, Abel's doctor. Emma shivered again, in spite of their audience, as Jax took his time to untangle his hands from her hair and slide around her waist. The heat of the hand that remained locked around her waist was making her feel even more light-headed than she already was and for a fleeting moment, she was grateful there was a doctor in the room in case her body gave out on her completely after what she'd just experienced.

"Sorry to interrupt," Dr. Branson started slowly, taking a cautious step inside the room as he spoke. "The nurse told me you were here and I wanted to check in."

Jax nodded quickly. "Sure thing, doc."

"Abel has been responding exactly the way we need him to. Breathing, heart, digestive system, everything seems to be putting him right on track to go home soon."

Jax's eyes lit up and he glanced down at her with a wide smile before turning his attention back to the doctor. "That's great news, doc. When can we hold him though?"

Dr. Branson smiled warmly as he stepped up to the incubator to get a closer look at Abel, who was currently kicking the blanket off of him. "I think tomorrow would be just fine."

She could barely register the news herself before she felt both arms around her again, holding her to him in a quick embrace.

"This is fantastic...I can't believe this," Jax ran a shaky hand through his hair as he spoke, casting a quick glance at his son. "Tomorrow..."

Dr. Branson nodded to both of them with a kind smile before excusing himself. Emma watched him go and then shifted her eyes back to Jax, who was staring down at his son in awe. She carefully inched to the side, needing to put a little space between them and if he noticed, he didn't show it. The weight of what had almost just happened before Dr. Branson walked in was making her head spin.

"I...um...I think I should get going. After everything had happened today, Dawn is probably going crazy because I'm not home yet." She chuckled nervously.

His eyes immediately flew to hers and when she saw the glimmer of disappointment in them, she almost gave in to his silent pleading. What she needed right now was a little space and a little time to process what the hell had just happened. Neither spoke as she reached for her long-forgotten purse on the rocking chair next to Abel.

She leaned over the incubator and waved to Abel as he reached up to her again. "See you later, buddy."

Her eyes flitted briefly to Jax, who was fixated intensely on her interaction with his son. She couldn't allow herself to dwell on that, not until she figured this out at least.

When she turned away from him and started towards the door, his hand shot out and clasped over hers.

"Hey," he murmured softly, his voice and his grip pulling her back just enough. She couldn't have pulled away if she tried. "You're gonna be at the clubhouse tonight, right?"

And at that moment, with the way his eyes pierced through her, there was only one answer she could give. When her voice failed her, she just nodded, a small smile edging up on her face.

"Yeah," she finally replied shakily. "I'll be by later with Dawn."

A lop-sided grin slid onto his features and she thought her heart was going to combust inside her chest.

"Good," he grinned back at her. "I'll see you later, darlin'."

She could only smile back and waved awkwardly as she backpedalled out of the room, his fingers sliding through her hand the further she got. And when she was finally in the safety of the elevator, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes as her hand pressed into her neck, the feel of his lips still lingering and once again, she couldn't stop herself from shivering.


A/N-So, lots of stuff going on, right? They're inching closer and closer towards something physical and the next chapter will be a gigantic leap forward in that area when we see what goes down at the clubhouse. Of course, admitting feelings will be more of an uphill battle. But there are some serious problems on the horizon-and really, Stahl and Georgie are going to be the last of Samcro's real problems.

Hopefully, everything made sense; I know there was a lot of jumping around in this chapter but it was necessary. And...I hope you had as much fun reading this as I had writing it! The next chapter should be up as fast as I can write it. Please r/r!