Jax was seated at the kitchen table talking to Opie. Next week Jason, Rusty, and Lucky would be moving to Charming. "I got the call tonight. The Reno chapter voted to let Jason and Rusty go. Now all we need is to make sure that they get voted in here."
Opie said, "Shouldn't be that difficult. Clay is the only one that might try to raise an objection. But he can't do it without looking like a cantankerous prick. I've already felt out Chibs and Juice about the transfers. They both seem to be on board."
"Good, I want this to go smoothly. The more votes we have going our way the better."
"You really worried about Clay making a play for the president's patch?" asked Opie. He looked at his friend concerned about the level of worry he saw on his face.
"He's been too calm and accepting of the fact that I am running roughshod over him. When have you ever known Clay just to lay back and take it? He's working on a way to get me out of the big chair you can take that much to the bank."
"I still wish you would have let me put a bullet in his head when I had the chance," said Opie.
Jax shook his head. "If you had we would all be facing a RICO case right now. Your kids would be left with Mary for the rest of their lives. That's gotta scare the shit out of you."
Opie laughed heartily. "Point taken, brother. Point taken. How are things with you and Tara?"
"She's adjusting to the lifestyle. She doesn't like it even though she is trying to be supportive. This isn't the life that she wanted. And it damn sure isn't any safer. Not to mention she's got to look at Clay's fucking face and know that he tried to kill her. But she's really stepped up. When I told her about Jason transferring here she offered to look for rental places before they got here to make the transition easier. What is going on with you and Lyla?"
"That shit is over and done with, brother. I rushed it for all of the wrong reasons. I hooked up with her because I was still grieving for Donna. I asked Lyla to marry me because I wanted her to quit the porn business. I tried to be okay with her line of work but at the end of the day I wasn't okay with it. I don't know a real man that would be."
Jax shook his head. "One that doesn't give a fuck about her. I mean if she was just another hole then yeah…it'd be okay. But not someone that is your wife."
"And finding out about the abortion was really the last straw. We were both lying to each other and I am not even sure why. I was relieved when she filed for divorce. I didn't want to be the one to do it. I hope your marriage has better luck than mine."
Jax glanced at the yellow gold band on his ring finger. "You and me both, brother. The reception next week should be fun. It'll be a good way to celebrate my new marriage. Not to mention Jason and Rusty transferring into SAMCRO."
"Gemma going to be back in town by then?" asked Opie.
"Yeah, she should already be back home. She told me that she was flying back tonight. Clay put a call in to the Irish this afternoon. Galaan said that they'll make a trip back to the states in two months. Apparently, they can't make the trip any sooner."
Opie shrugged his shoulders. "Well, they are wanted in any number of countries. I'd imagine sneaking into the country isn't the easiest of feats with all of the heightened security. You know times have changed when you need a passport to cross over into fucking Canada. The cowboy days are definitely over."
Tara walked into the kitchen.
Jax looked up and saw the strange look on her face. "What's wrong, baby?" he asked, as he walked over to her.
"I just got a call from the hospital. It's your mother."
"What about her?" asked Jax with a confused look on his face.
"They need you at the hospital, Jax. You're her next of kin. They wouldn't tell me anything. They just said that they needed you at the hospital now," said Tara.
Opie stood up. "I'll come with, Jax."
Jax just stood there in shock for a minute.
"Jax, you need to go…now," said Tara trying to snap him out of the daze he seemed to be in.
Jax nodded numbly. "Yeah, I want Phil to come over here to keep an eye on you and the boys."
"I'll call him now," said Opie taking out his cell phone and walking out of the kitchen to make the call.
"They didn't tell you anything?" asked Jax.
She shook her head. "I love you."
"I love you too," Jax responded.
He looked at her briefly before walking out without another word. He climbed onto his bike not bothering to wait on Opie. Jax sped off in the direction of St. Thomas hospital.
When Jax arrived he carelessly parked his bike and rushed into the hospital. He went straight to the nurses' station. "I'm Jax Teller. Someone here called me about my mother but they wouldn't give my wife any information."
The nurse's eyes widened and then saddened a little. "My name is Gina. Mr. Teller, come with me, please." She walked around the desk to collect the panicked man.
"Just tell me what is going on!" Jax demanded.
"I-I can't. I am not authorized to release that sort of information. But I can take you to a private waiting room while you wait for someone that can," Gina explained.
"Is she dead?" asked Jax. He refused to move. Jax didn't want to be ushered away to some quiet room. He wanted to know the truth.
Gina opened her mouth to speak and sighed in relief when she saw a female doctor walking up the hall. "Dr. Sanders, this is Mr. Teller."
Dr. Sanders said, "Mr. Teller, let's have this conversation somewhere a little more private."
"I already told her that I ain't going anywhere until I know what the hell is going on. What aren't you telling me? Is my mother dead?"
Dr. Sanders cleared her throat. "No, your mother isn't dead. However, she is having emergency surgery to reduce the swelling in her brain and to fix a bleed that we spotted."
Jax's shoulders slumped and he didn't know what to say for a moment. "What happened to her? Was she in some sort of accident?" asked Jax finally looking up into the woman's face.
"Your mother was brought in following an assault. That is all we know at this time. Sheriff Roosevelt might have more information about what happened. I can only inform you of her medical condition," said Dr. Sanders.
"And what is that? Brain surgery is serious right?" asked Jax.
"It is serious but she is in the hands of a very skilled neurosurgeon. Of course there is always the chance for complications but at the moment we aren't anticipating any. But the next 24 hours will be crucial to see if she will regain consciousness."
"Because of her head? I don't understand. You aren't speaking English right now!" yelled Jax.
Opie finally made it to the hospital and put and hand on Jax's shoulder.
Jax looked back at Opie not sure what to say. "Just tell me what happened to her, doctor."
"Your mother was brought in with facial and cranial injuries. She suffered from broken ribs as well. She had ligature marks on her neck that look to be the result of manual strangulation. EMS was advised when they picked her up that she was non-responsive and unconscious when she was found. We have reason to believe that she wasn't breathing for a period of time. Without proper oxygen the brain starts to shut down. Even if she survives the surgery there is a chance that she is suffering from some sort of brain damage. We won't know until…well if she wakes up."
Opie said, "Who called EMS?"
Dr. Sanders opened the chart in her hand and skimmed over the information. "Elliot Oswald, he administered CPR. He identified himself as her boyfriend and said that we should call Mrs. Morrow's son."
"Don't call her that…" said Jax.
"What?" asked Dr. Sanders confused.
"She's divorcing the son of a bitch. Don't call her Mrs. Morrow. Call her Gemma or Mrs. Teller. Or Ms. Madock just don't call her that!"
"I understand. I am going to go check on the progress of Gemma's surgery. I'll be back with an update as soon as there is one." She headed through a set of double doors that led to the OR.
Jax looked at Opie. "I want you to find Clay. I want to know where he was tonight. I want to know what he was doing."
Sheriff Roosevelt walked over to the two men and said, "Jax…"
Jax said, "I need a minute." He walked off.
Opie look at Roosevelt. "What are you doing here? Waiting to pick the bones?"
He shook his head. "I know you have a low opinion of law enforcement but a woman getting attacked in her own home is something that I am going to make damn sure doesn't happen again. Any idea where Clay Morrow is?"
"Why?" asked Opie quirking an eyebrow.
"He's a suspect. I've got an eye witness account that he has threatened the victim on several occasions. Not to mention she has a restraining order against him. And they are going through a divorce. He's naturally going to be my first suspect. This works out better if he comes in for questioning. If I have to find him on my own I am going to think that he has something to hide. Be sure to pass that message along for me." Eli walked off to confer with two of his officers.
Opie shook his head. They needed Clay alive. But if he was responsible for this he didn't know how to make that happen. He went outside to get some privacy and called Chibs and Happy.
Jax walked into the chapel and spotted Elliot Oswald sitting in one of the pews. He walked over and grabbed him.
Jax screamed, "What happened? Don't lie to me! I will kill you right here and now!"
Elliot was stunned out of his prayers. "I don't know, Jax."
"What do you mean you don't know? You were supposed to be with her! She didn't get home until tonight!" yelled Jax.
"I dropped Gemma off at home around 7:00 tonight. I left for maybe two hours. I came back with steaks for dinner and the place was wrecked. I found Gemma on the floor in the bedroom. She was unconscious and barely breathing. There was so much blood. I...I..."
"How'd you get into the house?" asked Jax staring him down. His eyes scanned the older man's body for any signs of a fight, but there were no such marks.
"Gemma gave me keys to the house a couple of weeks ago. She has keys to my house, too. I didn't do this to your mother. I'd never hurt her like that. I could never hurt Gemma. You have to know that this was Clay. He has it out for her. I tried to convince Gemma to get an alarm system but she's been dragging her feet. I told her that Clay was dangerous. I told her!"
Jax released his grip on Elliot seeing the anguish on the man's face. He really was broken up about Gemma's situation. "What do you mean that Clay has it out for her?"
"He showed up a couple weeks ago with a gun. Clay threatened her. He said that she'd be sorry for betraying him. It would have really gotten out of hand of Tig wasn't there to break it up. I tried to get Gemma to take the threat seriously but…she said that she could handle Clay. And for some reason I believed her. I was only gone for two hours…that's it. Just two hours. I went home to get clothes and then I stopped by the construction office. There were some contracts that I needed to sign and I ended up getting stuck at the office talking to a couple of my foremen. She looked so broken when I found her. At first I couldn't even tell if she was still alive."
Jax's blood boiled thinking that Clay was responsible for the attack on Gemma. He'd let the bastard live because of the CIA and this was what happened.
Opie walked into the chapel and pulled Jax to the side. In a lowered voice, he said, "I tasked Chibs and Happy with finding Clay and taking him to the club. The sheriff is looking for him too. What do you want us to do, Jax?"
Jax closed his eyes for a moment. "Turn him over to the sheriff. We don't need Roosevelt poking around the club house for any reason."
Opie nodded. He knew that Jax was making a painfully difficult decision for the club. Clay couldn't die. Not yet anyway. But the CIA didn't say anything about him not going to jail. If they wanted him cut loose they'd have to work their own magic on that. "You got it, brother."
He left the chapel to give Chibs and Happy the order.
