Jax played pool with Chibs, Opie and Piney in the Sons clubhouse, trying not to look too anxious when glancing at the clock. "So I'm guessing you and Gracie are still having a lover's quarrel, Jackie boy?" Chibs asked him.
"I guess man, I don't know what to do. She's talking to me and shit, but every night, she goes home with Happy." Jackson said.
"She's fucking with you man. You pissed her off and now you're paying." Opie said with a chuckle. "Remember when I blew off dinner with Donna's parents for a run? I didn't get pussy for a week."
"Pay your dues Jackie. She'll come around." Piney said as Grace walked in followed by Happy. She walked over to Gemma, Tara, Cherry, Donna and the kids. Happy joined the guys, greeting each in turn, Jax responded with only a head nod.
"Are we cool Jax?" Happy asked.
"I don't know, are we?" Jackson asked, staring him down.
"Nothing's happening man, just friends. I think she's waiting on you to kiss and make up." Happy advised him. "Grow a pair and take your woman back."
Jackson contemplated for a minute. "How long until we need to leave to meet Darby?" He asked Chibs.
"30 minutes." He answered with a smirk. Jackson smirked back and walked over to the woman, taking Grace by the arm and pulling her gently into one of the back rooms without a word.
"Yes?" She asked him as he shut the door behind her. Instead of speaking he pushed her down on the bed kissing her almost violently, unbuttoning her shirt, and attacking her breasts with his mouth. "What are you doing?" She gasped, trying to push him up to look at him.
"If you want to stay together, then prove it. I want my woman." Jax growled in her ear, kissing her again. She hesitated a minute and he continued whispering. "You're mine Grace. I love you. If you still feel the same, show me." He challenged.
Grace flipped up to straddle Jax, unbuttoning his jeans and pulling them and his boxers down, his manhood standing at attention. She smiled up at him, taking him into her mouth, sliding her lips up and down slowly, making Jax groan in pleasure. She continued licking and sucking, massaging his balls with her free hand, letting enough saliva fall from her mouth to keep him lubricated. He sat up just enough to put his hand in her hair, gripping it tightly but not painfully. "Damnit darling." He mumbled feeling himself get close. "Fuck…" He said lowly as he came, spilling into her mouth. She swallowed a few times before sitting up looking at him.
"How is it, I'm the one pissed at you, but you're the one getting a blow job?" She asked, walking into the bathroom to take a swig of mouthwash. Jax gave her his signature lazy smile, crossing the room to kiss her.
"I'll return the favor later, darling." He promised her with a wink. "I've gotta go though. Meeting with Darby."
The Son's walked to the picnic table where Darby waited. They had chosen a neutral meeting place in a park a town over. Clay, Jax, and Tig sat across from Darby, Junior and another Nord. The rest of both groups stood behind the others, trying to look menacing. "So, what could the great Redwood Originals want to talk about with us?" Darby asked.
"We want to know what it will take to get you to leave Grace alone." Clay said, getting to the point.
"She blew up our house." Darby said.
"Yeah and you know she wasn't working alone, so why just go after her?" Jax asked, trying to keep his temper in check.
"To send a message." Junior said bluntly. "Besides shes the only one we know was involved that I would wanna fuck."
As soon as the words were out of Junior's mouth, Jax jumped across the table, grabbing Junior's collar, trying to get a punch in. Samcro and the Nords pulled the two apart, sitting them down and making sure they were calm cool and collected before continuing. "15,000" Darby said. "and our beef with you and your old lady goes away."
Clay glanced at Bobby, the club treasurer who gave him a small nod. "15,000 and you call off your dogs?" Clay asked.
"Exactly." Darby promised.
"What about him?" Jax asked nodding his head towards Junior. "He gonna follow orders?"
"My son will do what I tell him." Darby reassured.
"Fine, lets arrange a drop off for tomorrow and bury this shit once and for all." Clay declared. The two groups stood to go their separate ways, and Junior grumbled to his father as they got in his explorer.
"Son, all I said was their beef with the Nords would die. What Mr. Westin and Zobel decide to do to send a message to Samcro is completely separate. Their plan for Gemma didn't work, perhaps it's time to escalate the situation?" Ernest suggested. Junior smiled, nodding in understanding at what his father was suggesting, and pulled out his phone.
"I want to take you out tonight." Jax said to Grace while they got ready for their day.
"Out? Like a date?" She asked in disbelief. It had been a few weeks since the Sons had paid off Darby, but their issues with Zobel had been growing and Jax had been at the clubhouse or making runs almost every night.
"Yeah, like a date. Like normal people." Jax said wrapping his arms around her. She scoffed at the idea of them being normal, but thought it was a nice gesture on his part.
"Alright, I'll be at the studio, should be able to open it back up by the end of this week." She said happily.
"That's great babe, I'll be there around 6." He said, giving her a peck as they walked out the door.
Cherry and Grace sat in the middle of the floor surveying their work. They had made the place look practically new again, and ahead of schedule. "Jax is taking me out tonight." Grace said absent mindly to her friend, examining her nails.
"Aw, how cute!" Cherry exclaimed, "where are y'all…" Cherry trailed off as the sound of the bell on the front door chimed. The girls exchanged confused glances, Jax wasn't due to show up for another hour, and they weren't expecting any visitors. They got up, and were shocked to see a handful of men walking into the studio. They had Aryan Brotherhood tattoos like the Nords, but none of the faces looked familiar. "Shit." Cherry whispered. The only way out of the studio was blocked by the group of men.
The men didn't waste time with banter, two walked towards Grace, while the other three walked to Cherry. One grabbed Grace from behind, and placed a damp cloth to her face. The smell of ether invaded her senses, and everything went black.
Jax sauntered into the studio at 545, pleased that he was not only on time, but early. His smile dropped when he saw Cherry tied up and gagged, she began screaming when Jax walked in and he went over to her pulling the gag off and untying her as she spoke. "I don't know who they were, we didn't recognize them. It happened so fast Jax…" She said, tears streaming down her face.
"Where's Grace?" Jackson asked frantically, looking around.
"They took her."
Grace woke up, blinking several times to adjust to the dim light, trying to take in her surroundings. She didn't recognize anything, and immediately became aware that her arms were above her, handcuffed to a minimalist steel bed frame. She pulled against the restraints a few times, but there was no sign of the cuffs or the frame giving. She heard footsteps and turned as much as she could towards the noise. She couldn't see any faces in the darkness, but did see the unmistakable red glow of a recording light on a camcorder. Her blood ran cold and she finally found her voice. "Shit."