AN: SO sorry again for the long delay; had a big work presentation that ate up the last two weeks. Hopefully things will be calmer at the office, and I can update more frequently. Also, I have to admit, writing about a certain blonde whore made me a little nauseous.
Special thanks to Ohne Namen & Mrssilvers for keeping me on my toes :-)
Chapter 9: THINKING ABOUT THE THINGS I DO
The man's definitely going to be Governor someday - if not President - given his clear talent for captivating and manipulating anyone with a dick or a pussy. Jarry tries to hide her amusement as the hardened blonde madam - who'd greeted them with cool, barely contained hostility - melts into a fawning puddle at Nick Reese's feet just seconds after they start talking. A cop for almost twenty years, she's lost count of the number of whores she's seen set ego-flattering traps for high-step guys like Reese, but Collette Jane's girlish giggles don't sound anything like the practiced seduction of a seasoned professional.
But then again none of the "escorts" they'd encountered proved immune as Reese charmed through the icy roadblocks tossed their way when Jarry launched her questions. Even the horrified johns had warmed to Reese once assured that the County Sheriff and the Chief Deputy AG weren't there for any kind of a bust. Just a murder investigation.
Talking to the madam's a formality though; they got most of the information they needed before they even set foot in the whorehouse. Before leaving for Diosa, they'd stopped at the Sanwa county jail to visit the original source of the lead, one of Collette's girl's named "Kitten," who Jarry's deputies had busted for cocaine possession after initially pulling her over for speeding - not the first time for either charge. Desperate to avoid a lengthy sentence, the nervous whore had announced that she knew something that might help solve the shocking double murder that'd rocked the whole county.
And so they'd grilled her about everything she saw go down between the late Dr. Tara Knowles and her husband outside Diosa just a couple of days before the good doctor's violent death - apparently the Tellers' marital fight that day wasn't the only thing Kitten had witnessed. Jarry had been sitting next to Reese when the whore told them about both of her boss' hook-ups with Jax Teller - the last time resulting in "the wife" catching them together and beating the shit out of Collette prior to pulling a gun on her cheating husband. Nothing changed in Nick's polite smile or congenial tone, but Jarry felt him freeze - like suddenly she was sitting next to a fucking glacier.
"You're barking up the wrong tree if you think Jax had anything to do with killing his wife," Collette tells them, her eyes lingering on Reese. "He was crazy in love with her, everyone could see that." Something dark flickers across her face; it's gone in a flash, but enough to tell Jarry that the blonde madam didn't regard Teller as just a business partner or a casual fuck.
"Judging by your tone, I get the sense you don't think that's necessarily a good thing." Jarry pounces, narrowing her eyes into a probing gaze. Did Collette Jane want Jackson Teller enough to get rid of her competition?
The madam shrugs and takes a sip of her coffee. "Jax's domestic situation is none of my business. But if you must know - generally speaking, I've never been a fan of love; it makes people weak."
It's then that Reese tells them that he has to leave for a meeting in San Francisco; rising to his feet, he thanks the madam for her time before heading for the door. Jarry watches with avid interest as Collette jumps up to waylay him, whispering in his ear as she strokes his arm.
Reese steps back, flashing his mega-watt movie star smile at her - although the ice in his eyes could freeze hell. "Thanks for your offer." He extracts his arm from Collette's grasp. "But I'm really not interested in fucking your rancid, diseased cunt." Turning to Jarry, he tells her he'll be in touch later then walks out the door - leaving the two women gaping after him.
Later that afternoon, Jarry checks her phone to find a text from Reese. "Get two warrants. Search Diosa. Then arrest the head whore for whatever you find."
Jax scowls at the dead, bloody bodies of the Niners littering the ground. Goddamn bastards. In a shocking move, the Niners ambushed the Mayan's Stockton charter, trapping some of the members in their clubhouse - including Alvarez, who'd decided to stay overnight instead of heading back to Oakland, and Nero. It'd been his friend's frantic call that'd jarred Jax awake this morning - fully clothed on his couch after passing out from another whiskey-fueled bender, Reese's photos of Tara scattered all over the place. After promising to get there right away, he'd called Chibs to mobilize SAMCRO to ride out for Stockton.
Although most of the members of the new Mayan charter live in town, Alvarez deliberately set up the clubhouse well outside the city limits to avoid the scrutiny of the Sanwa Sheriff, headquartered in downtown Stockton. It's as if Marcus knew shit like this would happen.
They'd arrived to find the two factions exchanging a hail of bullets - the army of Niners, taking cover from behind their SUVs, blasting away with their automatic weapons while the Mayans returned fire from inside their dilapidated clubhouse. Even though it looked like Black out-numbered them all, SAMCRO carried the element of surprise - taking out many of the Niners from behind. It's Tig who alerts them that one of the SUV's trying to escape down the dirt road leading to the freeway. Unwilling to let the deserting Niners get away, Jax signals for Quinn and Montez to follow him in chasing down the fucking cowards.
It's a miracle that none of them get shot despite the torrent of automatic fire that spews from the speeding SUV; an even bigger miracle that their bullets send the black Escalade spinning out of control to slam into a tree. His Brothers quickly dispatch the two Niners in the car before hauling August Marks out of the back seat.
Jax's a little shocked to see the Niner's de facto leader, as Marks usually followed the same MO as his mentor, Damon Pope - using the Niners as a private army but never getting his hands dirty to avoid the taint on his legitimate businesses. Hate and rage surge through him like a life force; even though Pope had orchestrated the events leading to Opie's brutal murder, Marks had been his top lieutenant, heir to his empire, so - fair or not- Jax hated and blamed him as well. For business reasons, he'd tried to separate the two kingpins in his mind knowing Marks represented the best solution for getting SAMCRO out of guns - but then the goddam asshole blew that to hell with this attack on the Mayans.
He glares at the man on his knees; maybe a couple of weeks ago, Jax might've shown the man some mercy - might've played the situation to his Club's advantage. But then a couple of weeks ago, he still had a vision for SAMCRO; a couple of weeks ago, the dream for his own future happiness still lived. But now it's all gone; now all he's got hate - and blinding, burning rage over everything that he's lost.
Staring down into Marks' defiant, hate-filled eyes, Jax decides to take a stab in the dark before sending the son-of-a-bitch to hell. He'd discounted any thought of Marks' responsibility for Tara's murder simply because he didn't see a motive, but now that the fucker pulled this shit…
"I have to say, I'm kind of surprised to see you here, August. Kind of a fucked-up move attacking Brown like this. Makes me wonder what other fucked-up shit you've done recently…" Jax points his gun at Marks' head, his fingers itching to pull the trigger. Although if it turns out that Marks murdered Tara, there's no fucking way Jax would settle for a bullet to the brain. Too easy - and not nearly enough torturous pain. "Anything you'd like to confess?"
A flicker of confusion crosses Marks' face before realization dawns. "You're out of your goddamn mind if you think I had anything to do with what happened to your Old Lady," Marks retorts scornfully. "If I wanted to hurt you, Teller, I'd cut your fucking head off. I wouldn't waste my time on worthless pussy."
Jax's rage spikes another thousand degrees; red mist coating his vision, he whips the goddamn shitbag across the face with his gun. Sneering at the man's grunts of pain, Jax holsters his gun and pulls out his knife; bending over Marks, he holds his knife against the bastard's neck until blood trickles down his skin. "No one fucking talks about my wife like that…I'm gonna have to cut out your goddamn tongue."
Despite the blood pouring from his face and neck, Marks laughs out loud. It's as if he knows that Jax's going to kill him and wants to rile the shit out of the SAMCRO President before he goes. "Okay, I take it back. You know, I saw your wife once…fine, fine piece of ass - much better than you deserved, Teller, since you spent all your time with the redneck crackers in your pathetic MC. Shit, I should've fucked her. She would've left you stupid ass for sure - and hell, might still be alive."
Snarling as fury overtakes him, Jax jams his knife deep into Marks' throat - perversely enjoying the sight of the dying man convulse with pain before twisting the blade deeper until the fucker stops moving, his dark eyes open and sightless in death. Maybe Marks didn't have anything to do with killing Tara, but in attacking the Mayans, he could've hurt Nero. Jax had been too fucking late to save his wife - not to mention goddamn nowhere near finding the walking corpse who murdered her - but at least he could avenge this threat on his friend. And unleash all the hate and rage that's been building and boiling inside him since Tara died.
Jax yanks his knife out of Marks' throat and wipes the blade clean on the grass; rising to his feet, he spits into the dead man's bloody face. Turning around to tell Quinn and Montez to get rid of the bodies, he spots Rat standing next to them.
"Jax, you need to get over to the clubhouse." Rat tells him quietly. "It's Nero."
Speeding off on his bike, Jax feels the stabbing pain in his head return, along with the nausea churning in his stomach. Shit, it'd been a fucking miracle that he'd managed to ride here - much less engage in a gun fight with the Niners' army - but somehow his hate and anger kept him afloat.
He bursts into the clubhouse and freezes in his tracks at the sight - a few dead Mayans lay on the floor surrounded by glass, debris and blood from the hail of bullets the Niners had blasted into the room. Then his eyes lock on to the true horror: Nero, lying on the ground, eyes closed as blood pours out of his side, drenching the thick towel Chibs presses against the wound.
"Holy shit." Jax runs over, dropping to his knees next to his friend just as Nero's eyes pop open.
"Hey Mano." Nero whispers, smiling weakly. "Didn't duck fast enough."
Jax clasps his hand. "You're going to be okay, Nero." He darts a glance at the blood-soaked towel before glaring at Alvarez. "We need to get him out of here. He needs a fucking doctor." Sharp pain claws him at the reminder that SAMCRO no longer has a Club doctor.
His anguish must've spread across his face because Alvarez squeezes Jax's shoulder. "He'll be fine, Ese. But we can't risk taking him to the hospital. I called our doc, he'll meet us in Charming."
Bobby steps forward, phone in hand. "I called Diosa…Lyla says they can take care of him there."
Jax frowns. "Why go all the way to Charming? What about Diosa here? Did you call Collette?" Although the thought of setting foot in that place makes him sick given what happened the last time, he's got to focus on Nero.
A strange expression crosses Bobby's face. "Couldn't reach her...Look, it'll be easier if we take him back home."
Jax looks down at Nero, who nods slowly before closing his eyes. "Okay, buddy. We'll be with you all the way." He squeezes his friend's hand before stepping aside to let several Mayans take the wounded man and carry him outside to a waiting van. Walking alongside Alvarez, he watches Chibs jump into the back with Nero then Happy and Rat and several Mayans take off on their bikes to escort the van to Charming.
"What the fuck happened here, Marcus?" He whirls around to rage at the Mayan president. "Jesus Christ, what'd you do to get Marks so fired up that he'd come all this way to kill your ass?"
Alvarez stares at the dead Niners that his soldiers had piled up to put into another van. "Me and Marks…bad blood for a long time. He's wanted me dead since Jesus was a baby, but after the shit that went down last time with LaRoy, Pope always made us play 'nice' - stay away from each other, control our own. Would be bad business for everyone if we went to war. But after Pope was gone, after Marks got control of the guns, he must've thought it was time to get rid of me and my crew and then, Lin and the Triads. With us gone, Black would control all the Bay and Sanwa."
"Shit, man. I didn't know things were this bad between you guys…" Jax shakes his head in self-disgust; actually he hadn't given one goddamn thought about what it would really do to the other crews if Marks got the guns. All that'd fucking mattered to him was pushing his vision for SAMCRO forward, which meant extracting them from the Irish. That fucking single-minded goal had blinded him of so many things; had he paid fucking attention to the shit happening around him, maybe this wouldn't have happened. If he paid fucking attention to the shit happening around him, maybe Tara would still be alive.
Alvarez eyes the blood covering Jax's shirt and jeans. "You took care of Marks?" At Jax's nod, he shrugs. "It's fixed now. We knew the assholes were coming; knew that Marks wanted to be the one to kill me - because his crew fucked up so many times before. We got a hold of one of their guys; had him call and say that they had me trapped here…" He grins slowly at his cleverness. "But I didn't think he'd bring his entire fucking army. If you guys hadn't helped us, it could've been me and my soldiers dead in those piles."
Jax stares at him, anger spiking once again. "You knew the Niners were coming here? Jesus Christ, Marcus! Why didn't you tell Nero to get the fuck out before those pricks got here? He's not part of your shit with Marks."
Alvarez turns to stare at the pool of Nero's blood on the floor. "Shit…this was his idea. End it once and for all. I'm not as young as I look, Teller. One day, those shitheads might've finally caught up with me…what would've happened to my family, my crew?" He turns those intense black eyes on Jax. "I know now why you wanted SAMCRO out of guns, Jax. Your way of protecting your family and your Club…But it's the other way for me. Controlling the guns in the Bay, we can make sure that someone like Pope or Marks don't get that kind of power again. It's the only way we all survive. You know what I'm asking you here…"
Watching some Mayan soldiers drive off with the dead bodies, Jax sighs then nods. "The Irish liked Marks because of his pipeline, his contacts. But I guess you're a likeable, friendly guy…" He smirks at Alvarez, who shoots him the bird. "If we can convince those Irish assholes that you've got enough reach…Now that Marks is dead, they won't be able to say no. And there's this old Italian guy I know who you can meet. All the mob families listen to him…"
"Thanks, Ese." Alvarez shakes his hand. "I meant what I said that I was sorry about what happened to Tara; sorry for you and your kids. You let me know if you need anything from me. Mayans are pretty good at retaliation…"
"So what the hell was that back there?" Jax asks Bobby as he mounts his bike and straps on his helmet. The pounding hangover's still fucking with his head, but a guy with no eyes or ears could tell his Brother's holding back about something.
Bobby sighs as he lights a cigarette. "Didn't want to say it in front of everyone, but Diosa here got raided last night. Collette's in jail for drug possession; apparently they found a shit-ton of coke in her room."
"Jesus Christ…That happened last night? Why the fuck didn't any of you tell me?" Jax shoots incredulous glares at each of his Brothers.
Bobby and Tig exchange glances, before Bobby replies. "I tried calling you last night, but you didn't answer your phone; then you called hell-bent on hunting down Reese. Given all that shit you were dealing with, it just didn't seem right to load you down with more…And then this morning with the Nero and the Mayans…"
Jax runs his hands through his hair as he calms down from the shock of Diosa getting raided; truth be told, even if they'd been able to reach him with the news, he wouldn't have done anything differently last night - taking care of Tara and going after Reese would've remained his top priorities. And then finding out Reese's past connection to Tara had knocked him on his ass. Besides, he stopped giving a shit about earning big from Diosa or anywhere the day he lost Tara; all of his plans had revolved on giving her the beautiful life that he'd promised so many times.
He flips open his phone that he's more or less ignored except for talking to Bobby last night and then Nero this morning. Fuck, there had to be over a dozen voice messages from calls he'd missed. Well he's got no time to listen to them now; instead he dials Gemma's number to break the news about Nero. This should be fun.
His mother takes the news well over the phone; however, the initial shock must've worn off quickly, because when they arrive at Diosa, he finds her waiting for him - practically frothing at the mouth, her eyes wild with fear. "What the hell happened, Jackson?" She flies into his arms. "No one will tell me anything; they won't even let me see him."
"He'll be okay, Mom." Jax squeezes her shoulder before pulling away. "Chibs is with him now and the Mayan doc's on his way here from Oakland." He starts for the back rooms where they'd taken Nero, stopping when she grabs his arm.
"So far away...What if Nero can't wait that long?" She bites her lip as a tear rolls down her face. "Isn't there a doctor anywhere closer? Shit, can't we just take him to St. Thomas?"
Jax shakes his head, feeling the same worry and grief etched on his mother's face. "We can't take him to any hospital, they'll notify the Sheriff the second they see that gunshot wound…And Nero's got a record." Jax swallows hard as the grief squeezes tighter. "SAMCRO had the only real doctor around here..."
"Oh Jesus…" His mom's face crumples before she slumps against him, sobs wracking her body. He hugs her tight, commiserating in their shared sorrow.
It doesn't seem humanly possible to ache for Tara any more than he already does, but now with Nero injured, he longs for the brilliant doctor who'd treated and saved so many - including most of the important people in his life. Despite Jax's assurances to Gemma and to himself that Nero will be fine, he doesn't trust any doctor who's not Tara - fuck knows what kind of medical training the Mayan doc has. It's a horrifying to think that the goddamn monster who'd murdered Tara could ultimately be culpable for Nero's death as well.
As he feared, the Mayan doctor's more like Chibs, a former military medic with some hands-on training, instead of a real surgeon like Tara. Even worse, the guy's pretty new to the job given the Mayan's last doc got shot full of holes when Lobo Sonora attacked Alvarez's drug operations in Oakland.
"Well?" Jax prods the man who, after checking out Nero's injury, looks as pale as his patient - not a good sign. Although, Alvarez glaring daggers at him probably doesn't help the guy's confidence.
"Judging by the entry wounds, he caught three bullets in the lower abdomen; one's a through and through, which is good." However, his grim expression belies that good news. "The other two are still in there. If we're lucky, both are lodged in his ribs or some muscle tissue, which would stop them from puncturing any vital organs. That said…without x-rays, I can only guess at the extent of damage."
Alvarez's black eyes bore holes into his MC's doc (also known as Mateo). "I don't want your guesses," he snaps. "I want to know what the fuck you're going to do to fix him up."
Exchanging uneasy glances with Chibs, Mateo explains the dilemma: they could operate, but depending on where and how deep the bullets had lodged, attempting the extraction could do more harm. However, if allowed to remain, the bullets could cause sepsis or become dislodged and wreak havoc internally. Talk about stuck between a fucking rock and a fucking hard place. Jesus.
Now it's Jax's turn to exchange glances with Chibs as Bobby rubs his shoulder reflexively; apparently they're all remembering the night that Tara pulled those monstrous slugs and shards out of Bobby before either blood loss or infection killed him. Christ, they need her now; he needs her now…more than any goddamn thing in this fucking universe.
His mother's fingers dig into his arm as she starts to shake uncontrollably; this time he doesn't have a single fucking word of reassurance for her. Instead, he turns his gaze to Alvarez. "Doesn't feel right to do nothing. Mateo and Chibs should try to get the slugs out. If they can't…" He glances at the door to Nero's room. "We have to take him to St. Thomas. He can't die, there's a kid depending on him…"
Alvarez returns his hard stare before nodding and motioning to the men to get started, then following them into Nero's room. Jax turns to Gemma, who's still shaking - her eyes fixed on the door closing shut. "You should go back home," he tells her. "There's nothing you can do here, and I'm going to need the boys to stay with you for a couple more days."
"Okay," she whispers before turning to him. "What are you going to do? Are you going to stay here?"
He nods. "For a little while. I got some shit to handle later, but I'll stay close in case anything happens." Kissing her cheek, he gives her quick hug then watches her walk to her car. Then sitting down at the table, he pulls out his phone to listen to all his missed voice messages. Apparently he's in high demand by more than just his Brothers and Gemma.
Rosen's office calling to schedule an appointment
Barosky demanding to know what the fuck happened at Diosa
Ally Lowen wanting to schedule a time to talk (Jax had to listen to the message twice to make sure he heard it right)
Barosky calling again
Stockton County Jail asking if he'd accept a collect call from Collette Jane
Barosky demanding a fucking call-back, fucking now
Margaret Murphy asking if he could meet her and her husband, Dave, this afternoon to talk about Abel
There's a ton more calls from Barosky's number, but Jax doesn't give a shit, dialing Margaret Murphy's number instead. Tara's old boss answers almost immediately with the news that her husband's been able to get Abel to talk. Jax tells her that he's heading over to St. Thomas right away.
Striding towards the door, he tells Bobby that he's headed out only to stop short when his Brother tells him it'd be a good idea to clean up first. Shit, he'd forgotten about his blood spattered shirt and jeans.
As he rides home to change clothes, he can see her vividly - just like the night she and the surgical team had saved Abel. Those beautiful green eyes darken with disappointment when she spots the blood on his shirt. "Clean yourself up, Jax," she rebukes him softly, backing out of his arms. He wants to tell her that killing Marks was necessary to save Nero and the Mayans, to prevent a bloody street war, to momentarily satisfy the goddamn fucking rage inside of him for losing her. To forget for a minute that so far he's completely failed at avenging the person he loves more than anything.
"Actions always have consequences." He can hear her say, like she's told him so many times. This time he's thought through any possible consequences, and there's nothing. With Marks and most of the Niners dead, there's no threat of blowback - whatever remaining members would be too small and powerless to do shit. The Irish will give control of the guns to the Mayans, who Jax knows will deal fairly with all the other crews and MCs; despite the fact he's a violent motherfucking killer, Alvarez's an honorable leader. The streets will be in good hands with him.
If only he'd been this prescient when he'd agreed to let Tara get so involved in SAMCRO business, especially the RICO mess with Otto. That's when all this hell started. If only he'd thought through the consequences then.
He walks into their dark bedroom; even though she went to bed a while ago, he senses she's still awake - unable to sleep after the horrifying ordeal she'd suffered the day. Not that he can fucking blame her. Shit, standing in the shower, he couldn't stop hearing the hollow ache in Tara's voice as she described the brutality she'd witnessed, couldn't stop thinking of Otto murdering that nurse in front of her. Jesus Christ, Tara was there in the room…what if Otto hadn't stopped his murderous violence with the other woman? What if he'd gone after Tara, too? "He saved the MC, but he needed to hurt you…the way you hurt him…someone you love." Jax had crushed the bar of soap and stormed out of the shower stall.
Dropping his towel, he climbs into bed and pulls her tight into his arms, burying his face in her hair. She shivers from the initial contact with his still-damp body then burrows closer. "I'm scared, Jax." She chokes back a sob. "What if everyone thinks I was in on his plan to kill her? Oh my god…poor Pam. That poor woman…"
"Hey…Don't cry Babe." He reaches over to turn on the bedside lamp. Framing her face with his hands, he brushes her tears away with his thumbs before pressing his lips to her forehead. "No one's going to think you had anything to do with what happened. You had no idea Otto was capable of killing an innocent woman. Shit, none of us did or I wouldn't have let you within a million fucking miles of him."
She shakes her head, spilling more tears down her cheeks. "I never thought of the consequences of all this lying and sneaking around to see Otto at the prison. All I could think about was getting SAMCRO clear of RICO, then you would be safe, our family could stay together."
"It's going to be okay, Tara." He strokes her hair and drops a kiss on her lips. "I'm not going to let any of this shit blow back on you. I promise. You, me and our boys…we're going to be fine."
Closing her eyes, she nuzzles his chest. "I love you so much, Baby. I love our life together…It's what I've always wanted, a family with you. I'm just so scared that I could lose it…"
He shifts so that he's looming above her. "You'll never lose me or our family. I've told you before…I'll love you forever, Tara. You're stuck with me for a while."
Running her fingers through his beard, she pulls his head down to fuse his lips to hers. Fear, anger, grief evaporate instantly as heat overwhelms them. He strips her quickly, then takes his time to savor the intoxicating softness of his wife's body from the top of her head down to her toes. Smiling as she moans his name and grips his hair, he swirls his tongue around her stiff nipples again and again and again before kissing his way down her stomach to nuzzle the damp silk between her smooth thighs. Draping those long legs over his shoulders, he plunders slowly - licking and lapping her plump pink lips until she's soaking wet and gasping with pleasure.
"Do you want to come like this?" Jax rubs his fingers against her clit before pressing a light kiss to the ultra-sensitive bundle of nerves, drawing breathy moans from her. "Or…" He stares into her desire-glazed eyes and wraps her hand around his brick-hard cock. "Do you want me inside of you?"
She answers by squeezing his dick so hard he nearly comes in her hand. Pushing all the way into her, he growls hungrily as she wraps her legs around his waist and grinds against him. "You'll always be inside me, Baby." She nibbles his ear then buries her face against his neck to muffle her screams as he fucks her hard and slow, over and over and over for the rest of the night.
"And you'll always be inside me…I love you, Tara." Lifting her hand, he kisses her wedding ring before drifting off to sleep.
"Actions always have consequences." He hears her say again, worry and sadness lacing her voice. "You keep saying you want to change things, but you keep repeating old behavior. You can't have it both ways." It's all going to work out, Babe," he answers out loud. "It's all going to work out. Nero will be fine, and I'm going to get our boys out of here. I made you that promise, and I intend to keep it."