A/N - Sorry I missed you guys yesterday but I hope this makes up for it. Our villain is up to no good again... with some horrible consequences.

Nero looked forlornly out of the window, he was bored out of his mind and he wanted to go home but he knew he had another week of recovery to do at Saint Thomas. Not that he wasn't already trying to get up and move about, much to the nurses' annoyance.

The light sound of someone knocking broke him from his longing and he beamed as he saw Nina slip into the room. His joyous expression soon dissolved as he saw the sadness in her eyes.

"What's happened?" he said instantly. Her lip twitched, she had been determined not to say anything but it was near impossible when he asked so directly. Seeing her welling up made him want to get up but she moved to his side quickly.

"Someone's taken Emily." Nina was trying to keep it together as she spoke. "Daddy, she's gone."

Nero's eyes flickered as they roamed over her, he could see the cut on her neck and noticed her hospital admission tag. "Who?"

Nina knew how important it was to give him every detail she had. She stumbled through the story as clearly as she could, breaking down as she spoke. Nero held her hand tightly as she told him everything. He could feel the anger growing within him as she mentioned her suspicions about Jax.

"Daddy, Chibs doesn't believe me," she whispered. It was the straw that broke her back, she suddenly struggled to breathe. "I know it was years ago but Jax caused all of those problems before. I swear it's him."

"Probably," Nero said with a nod. "I know you wouldn't say it if you weren't sure."

Nina was trying to keep her cool as she spoke. "What if something happens to her?" she murmured. "She's all I have, Daddy."

"Nothing's going to happen to her," Nero said clearly. "I'll reach out to Alvarez, get word from Tig inside. You leave this with me, babygirl, you know I'll fix it." He rubbed her cheek gently with his thumb, wishing he could do more but knowing his hands were tied stuck in this place. He tilted her head up, looking at the stitches in her neck. "Who did that?"

"Irishman," she murmured. "Happy killed him."

Nero grimaced. "Lucky guy," he chuckled. "Because I'd have made it hurt." She knew that, it was why she'd come to him. She leaned against him, trying to find comfort as he kissed her head gently. "They won't hurt her, Nina, she's valuable. The Irish will want something for her to be returned, she'll be okay."

"I'll give them anything," she said assertively. "Just tell me what. Can you ask them?"

Nero shook his head. "That relationship's not open to me, little mama," he said. "That's SAMCRO territory. Chibs, he should be on that. Or Clay."

Nina nodded, Clay could be her answer. "He was picked up with Tig," she explained. "But he should get out today, Chibs said. I'll ask him." She smiled a little. "Although it's not exactly like he's a big fan of Padillas."

Nero laughed at that, at least she was making jokes. "Yeah, that Gemma thing probably didn't put him on side." He nudged her. "Try him, him and Jax have never really seen eye-to-eye, maybe he can give you something."

Nina nodded as he rubbed his thumb along her knuckles constantly. Nero knew just how to relax her, even when they had been apart for so long, he was instinctively her father when she needed him most.

"Chibs, he'll be trying to keep the peace," Nero said gently, trying to encourage her to sort things out with him. He'd much rather Nina was in Filip Telford's protection than the volatile Tig Trager's. He tapped his temple. "Sometimes it takes him a little longer to see the bad, you know? Trusts with his heart."

"Well he's making a bad call," Nina said, shaking her head. Nero sighed.

"I know." He gave her a smile. "You talk to Clay, I'll get to Marcus. We'll sort it out, I promise."

Jax was feeling desperate as he paced anxiously in Clay's house. He rubbed his hands together, keeping a steady eye outside as he waited for the police escort to arrive back. This was a big decision, one of the biggest he had ever made, but there was no doubt about it, it had to be done if was going to keep his nose clean.

He could lie to Chibs about Galen. If it all worked out, they would probably kill each other anyway and he could have seat back with no issues at all. He pulled out his phone as he heard Clay's Harley out the front and dialled Tara.

"Can you come to Clay's?" he asked as footsteps crunched up the drive. "Twenty minutes?"

He could hear Tara talking to Abel before she murmured, "Sure, I'm just leaving the boys with Gemma. Everything okay?"

Jax smiled. "Just peachy, baby." He hung up just as Clay walked in the door. He looked over Jax with suspicion as he kicked the door shut in the face of the police officer. Jax wrinkled his nose as he saw the bruises on Clay's face. "You had fun then, brother?"

Clay ground his back teeth together as he looked over Jax and moved slowly across to the fridge. He pulled out a drink and motioned to Jax for one, but he declined. Clay shrugged.

"You come to my house, no hugs and kisses and refuse my beer?" He chuckled. "I piss you off that bad?"

"You wanted to," Jax said coolly. He rested his hands on the buckle of his belt. "I know what you were going to do. Rat, like a little kid." He shook his head. "Where's the trust, brother?"

Clay pursed his lips. "Us at the top of the table, undemocratically. Didn't sit right with me. Using a kid to do it? That ain't how we do shit. Like a couple of women." He was serious, Jax could see that. He tugged at his beard for a moment. "What is it with you and this girl? You got a hard on for her or something?"

Jax laughed and looked down at his feet. Nina had been trouble since the second she arrived, he should have just killed her in the first place but she was making things worse and worse. "Enchiladas aren't my thing," he muttered.

Clay smirked and took a long sip of his beer. "Milk white pussy more your flavour, huh?"

Jax could feel his ears prickling. He steadied himself against the couch and looked at Clay steadily. "Did you tell Tig?"

He was blunt, he needed to know. Clay knew what he was asking but he shook his head. "Kept us isolated, they're shipping him to county tomorrow. Didn't get a chance to see him." He smiled. "Or fill him in, if that's what you're worried about."

That was all Jax needed to know. Without hesitation, he snatched his gun from the small of his back, silencer attached, and shot Clay in the chest. The blood spurted out as Jax shot again and again, his neck, his head, until Clay's hulking corpse fell flat to the ground, his face smacking against the polished wooden floor. The dark red blood started to pool across the boards and Jax sighed as he watched it, closing his eyes for a moment before making his way across the room. He reached up into the cupboard for one of Clay's handguns.

"Sorry, brother."

Tara knocked lightly and, finding the door unlocked, slipped inside. She gasped as she saw Clay on the ground, dead, and Jax motioned for her to be silent. She clamped a hand to her mouth in horror.

"He was going to kill me," he said instantly. He waved the handgun in his grip. "I had to."

Tara felt like she was going to be sick as Clay's cold eyes stared at her, wide and open. She could see the bruises on his face from the fight with Tig and presumed Jax had administered them. She stammered to say something, but Jax had already moved back to her side, cuddling her close.

"I knew something was up, it's why I called you," he lied. "But I need your help." He brushed her hair back from her face. "The guys, there's going to be questions if he didn't get a shot off, Tara. I need you to help me make it clearer."

He was offering her the gun and Tara stared at him with wide, confused eyes. "Are you crazy?"

"Nina has some theory about me going after her kid," he said firmly. "But it was Clay. He was going to kill me and then frame all that shit about her disappearing on me, he had some crazy deal with the Irish to run the gun distribution. This is the only way we can protect our family, Tara."

Every word was untrue, but it was perfect. Tara could feel her defensive instincts coming into play. She took the gun Jax offered her. He turned around and pointed to his upper left shoulder.

"Just here," he said, tapping the spot. "Just one shot here, they'll never believe me if I tell them what happened, he isolated me deliberately. We struggled but I had no choice, it was him or me. It's got to be clear. Please," he added in a whisper. "I don't want anyone hurting our boys in some sort of retaliation for something I didn't do."

She didn't need any more convincing. Taking a few steps back, she held her arms straight and took the shot. Jax grunted with the impact but took it, steadying himself against the wall, the searing pain in his shoulder was one he would have to deal with to protect his lie. Tara's hands were shaking as she dropped the gun on the counter, he could see she looked weak, the pressure of the situation had forced her hand and now she was confused. Jax picked up the weapon and wiped it down before he bent low and put it in Clay's hands, pressing a fresh set of prints onto it.

"Thank you," he whispered, kissing Tara passionately. "We did the right thing." He looked down at Clay in disgust. The lie was safe, Jax thought that Tig didn't know and now Clay was dead, it would never come out. "I swear, we'll be safe now."