Lieutenant Sheriff Althea Jarry was already seated in a booth, waiting for the Sons to answer to her house call. Scoops looked so innocent, in comparison to the clubs' other businesses, but it was nothing but a guise for the MC to show the town that they were not the monsters everyone made them out to be. Jarry looked up when she heard the sound of footsteps, and noticed a female coming down the stairs between Jackson Teller and Filip Telford. He moved on fast, she thought.
"How can we assist you on this fine day, sheriff?" Jax asked, tinted with a hint of sarcasm. He and Chibs settled into the booth as Ari stood to the side. She leaned on the backboards and looked down at the sheriff. The other woman eyed her up and down, passing judgement without even knowing who she was. Yeah bitch, I'm just his whore, Ari wanted to say out loud.
"Don't play games with me. As it is, the news I bring affects all of you. Unser has gone missing, reports say he hasn't been seen at TM since last evening. Do you know where he might be?" Jarry eyed Chibs, who exchanged glances with Jax. No one noticed Ari shuffle her stance at the mention of Unser's name.
"We don't have a clue. We've never had to worry about him, he always came and went as he pleased," Jax offered.
"Alright then, how about Ortiz?" She continued. "He's the only person out of your crew that we haven't gotten a statement from regarding the night your wife was killed." Jarry heavily emphasized the last bit. "Do you know anything about his whereabouts?" Both men shrugged. If Jax noticed her jibe, he didn't let on.
"The boy disappeared," Chibs implied. "We don't know anything."
"Wow, really..." Jarry spoke, feeling exasperated, knowing she'd get no cooperation from these two. "I have one more question," she stated, now focusing her attention on Arianne. Jax scowled as she started her interrogation. "Who are you?"
"Arianne Winston. I'm an old friend of Jax's, basically raised here in Charming, then grew the fuck up and got out of town," Ari said in one breath.
"And you're here because?" The sheriff raised an eyebrow.
"Favors," Ari responded. Jarry was about to bombard her with another question but was distracted by an object hitting the glass window. They all rose from the booth, catching a glimpse of a Triad member using a brick to break the glass, and then throwing a grenade into the shop.
It all happened in the blink of an eye. Jax was screaming at them to get out, Jarry scrambling past her, Ari noticing the gun unstrapped in her holster, then grabbing it and taking aim at the Chinese man's head.
Her ears rang as the shot and explosion mingled as one. Jax tackled her to the ground and she instinctively covered her face to block out the debris. Her head swam in circles, and she rubbed her eyes to try and get them to focus. All she heard was Jax's heavy breathing, his full weight on top of her making it hard to catch a full breath. The pain on the back of her head was excruciating, and she let the wave of black carry her away.
She was kept in an ambulance, still on-site of the explosion. Jax refused to have her moved despite the EMT's wanting to transport her to the hospital to get proper treatment. The doors were left open, a testament to Jax making good of his promise not to let her out of his line of sight.
When she opened her eyes, an EMT was leaning over her, trying to stitch up a cut on her left eyebrow. "Good morning, sunshine," he joked. "I'm just about finished..."
"You're funny..." Ari chuckled painfully. "How long was I out?" She tried to pull herself up but the EMT said no. To accommodate her instead, he raised the head of the bed so she could take a peek outside. Within the chaos, she spotted him. Jax was directly across from her, sitting on the hood of a cop car, trusty cigarette in tow. Chibs and Jarry were arguing right next to him. Her eyes snapped back to the handsome EMT.
"Honestly, you've been out for an hour or so. We wanted to take you to the ER to get tested for a concussion, but your friend out there wouldn't budge. You could've died of a brain hemorrhage," he informed Arianne. "Still could, unless we get you cleared."
"So dramatic. But I think I'm good. Can you please help me up so I can find out?" She pleaded.
"Can you sign these forms for me first?!" He held out a clipboard. "It covers my ass so your friends cant sue if you die on the street and it also states that I told you all the dangers about refusing treatment." He smiled.
"Matt," she read on his name tag. "This is by far the weirdest way a man has ever tried to flirt with me." She scribbled her signature at each "X" he pointed at, then paused and looked up at Jax. He was pissed.
She had bigger problems on her hands because Jarry was making her way towards her. Matt helped Ari sit up, even though she felt fine moving without his assistance. "I better give you guys a moment," he patted Ari on the hand and then stepped out of the vehicle.
Ari lifted her wrists up, flaunting the universal motion of "cuff me" in the sheriff's face. Looking past Jarry, she saw Jax hop off the cop car, only to be held back by Chibs. The Scot whispered something in Jax's ear, and whatever it was, calmed him down. The sheriff pushed her hands down.
"I underestimated you," Althea admitted. "You gave me a big lead. One shot, and it made it's mark. You gave me a way in to investigate the Chinese. I'm taking credit for the kill by the way, it was smart of you to grab my gun."
"I didn't have one to begin with," she supplied.
"From now on, make sure you're packing," Jarry ordered. "I apologize for judging too soon." And with that she left. The woman had some balls, Ari had to admit.
Matt climbed back inside to attend to her, but she was already trying to pull out her IV. "Damn it, you are stubborn. Are you sure about this?" Ari pulled on the line again. "Stop that, I'll take it off. You'll bleed out in my ambulance if you keep this up."
Once he was done, he made his final evaluation and noted that other than having a hard head, she was cleared from his care. Ari stepped out and breathed in smoke. She took in her surroundings. The giant black hole that was Scoops, tons of personnel weaving their way past her, the bright lights and sirens going off around them.
She saw Happy and Bobby with Quinn and Montez by their bikes, Venus and Rat hanging on to Tig, and Chibs and Jarry by her car. Jax did not move one inch. He didn't notice anything or anyone else but Arianne walking forward and when she reached him, he finally allowed himself to loosen the tension weighing on his shoulders.
"You alright?" Ari questioned.
"No," he confessed. He knew Ari wanted him to elaborate, but there were no words to describe what was boiling inside of him. He was relieved that she didn't push further.
"You still have my guns?" Was her next question. As Piney's last heir, his collection was hers. Along with the Ducati, the guns were also maintained in her absence.
"They're at your dad's," Jax informed her. "Ari...I just want you to know..." He broke off.
"Hold that thought Jax, it's Nero." The Impala rolled in, brakes squealing as Nero stopped the car. He got out and started power-walking towards Jax, but was suddenly interrupted by a phone call. Ari and Jax watched Nero's facial expressions change like a mood ring. First confusion, then concentration, disbelief, and finally, shock. Nero's face had gone white as he shouted out one word, "Diosa!"