Chapter 19

Part Two

"Who's throat am I slitting?" Tig inquired impatiently, his lust for blood his downfall.

"Brenan Hefner, Oakland port commissioner." He replied. I was shocked to hear of McKeavy's death, he had been a friend of the club for many years, having always handled the shipments from the IRA. I didn't notice when I had entered that Opie sat in his usual chair next to his father. He spoke up, volunteering for the mission. I had an odd feeling about this sudden change.

"I'm in." I said, so that I could protect my best friend. I didn't know if he was ready for this hit, considering he had just begun to adjust to life on the outside again. Clay then appointed Bobby as the third man to the job. This hit was important, if we did this, our betrayal to the IRA would be overlooked and the violence would stop. It was SAMCRO's only move.

"Let's do this smart, no colors, low profile." Said Clay, outlining the plan. Opie would run point, Bobby on his 6, and I would be the getaway driver, quick and painless. Clay continued with an announcement that Cameron Hayes and his son Edmond would be assuming McKeavy's position. I nodded, assuming that since Cameron was one of Jimmy's best men he would fill the slot better than anyone else.

"We do this, we're back on regular schedule for guns." Clay said, nods and grunts of approval filled the room. I knew the gun money had everyone spoiled. I nodded, accepting the situation as it was; screwed.

Gemma:

She sat there, unruffled under my firm gaze, more mature than I presumed she'd be. Cherry, a sweetbutt from the new charter in Devil's Tribe, made her rounds through the clubhouse, getting refills and catering to guests. Autumn smiled at her when she approached us.

"Gemma, can I get you some more coffee?" she asked, I nodded, pushing her my empty cup.

"How 'bout you, darlin?" she said to Autumn, "You want some coffee?" she shook her head.

"I can get it," she replied, about to get up and follow Cherry into the kitchen. I stopped her.

"Let her get it." I told her, adamantly. She seemed shocked, but soon conceded.

"Cream and sugar?" Cherry inquired, getting a nod from Autumn before hauling it to the coffee pot.

"I could have gotten it." She said to me, warmly. I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"You don't understand, sweetie. These girls, they need to do that; to show respect. I don't know if you realize this, but you are Jax Teller's steady girl. He hasn't been so much of a womanizer these days, and people are talking."

Cherry returned with two hot cups of coffee. Autumn thanked her and took a sip only to have her tongue scalded.

"So tell me about yourself, Autumn. What is it about you that makes my son think you are capable of being his ol' lady?" I baited, but she didn't take it. She replied.

"Hell if I know." She answered, honestly shrugging her shoulders before retrieving a cigarette from the pack in her shirt pocket.

"Well, he's in love with you. I hope you're ready for this." I admitted, lighting a smoke of my own.

"He is not. What do you mean?" she asked me, this time making whole eye contact.

"I mean, my son is not an easy man to love. This life that you're getting yourself into isn't for the faint of heart." I told her. She nodded.

"I'm just a high school senior, I don't know what I am doing with my life. I'm just trying to make it through this year. If Jax sticks around till graduation, we will talk about making a life together. Until then we are taking things slow." She explained, but I knew that slow was a crock of shit. Jax didn't take anything slow, he went full throttle on everything; a quality that was both his virtue and his vice.

"You got plans after high school?" I asked. She shook her head.

"What does your dad do for a living?" she answered quickly that he was an accountant. I nodded, "You any good at what he does?" She stared at me like I was crazy.

"I'm okay. I do well with numbers." She answered. I shrugged and figured I'd extend an offer.

"If you need a job, I can always use help at the shop; in the office." I told her. I was astonished by how much bigger her already huge eyes could open.

"You'd really give me a job?" she questioned as if it were incredulous. Nodding, I observed her. She was excited, thrilled even.

"I'd love to work for you. I highly appreciate your proposal." She responded, extending a pale slender hand to me. I shook my head and hugged her neck, almost not noticing the fresh hickey behind her ear. It was likely she hadn't seen it, the placement evading the eye at first glance, Jax's hallmark. I kept the observation to myself for the moment.

"I can't wait to tell my dad." She said, grinning ear to ear. We chatted about family for a while. I listened as she told me about how her relationship with her father had changed for the better. She spoke of him as if he were a close friend and not her parent. I found that I couldn't dislike her. I knew why my son was interested after conversing with her for a short while. Jax had fallen for her unfeigned soul. It was obvious she didn't belong around an MC, and he needed that. He needed a partner that would challenge him to be a better man.

However, he also needed a strong woman, a mother for his son and I wasn't convinced that Autumn had enough experience raising her sister to nurture my grandson.

Jax soon returned from chapel and joined us at the bar. Cherry and the other croweaters hurried to serve members a cold beer.

"And what can I get for you, Jax?" Abigail, a long time sweetbutt from down south asked. Jax flashed a friendly grin and ordered a crown and seven.

"Anything for you, ladies?" she inquired with an unmistakable southern drawl. I turned to Autumn, who was looking at me.

"What's good?" she asked me. I couldn't help but laugh a little. Jax chimed in.

"Abby makes a great bloody Mary," he suggested. I agreed, having had a few too many on multiple occasions.

"Fuck it. It's my birthday." She stated. Clay and Tig approached from behind us.

"That's right!" he hollered, "Abby, make me one of those too."

"Comin' right up!" she responded, quickly scooping ice into two pint glasses before pouring an 8 count shot in each. Then she poured tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce and tabasco before shaking each concoction. She passed to Autumn a well garnished glass of red liquid over ice. She took a sip and was surprised by the tasty bite it possessed.

"Delicious. Thank you, Abby." She replied, enjoying each sip of her drink. I tried to see beyond her, but I kept getting the feeling that there may have been nothing to see beyond. No façade under which she was hiding; no veneer to cloak the rotten person on the inside like the rest of us.

I looked over to Jax, who was staring down into the face of his young lover. He was happier than I had seen him in a very long time. If he was happy, so was I.

Autumn:

Conversing with Gemma had been more or less a comfortable experience. She was a one of a kind woman, dedicated to her family. I could tell she loved fiercely as I felt the heat of her eyes watching me with her son. He leaned down to kiss me and I accepted, feeling warmed over with emotion.

Clay approached and placed his arm around me. He distinctly smelled of cigars. I looked up to him from my barstool.

"Welcome to Club Reaper, darlin. Anything you need, you let us know." He told me, his wide grin spreading over large teeth. I nodded to him.

"Thank you." I replied earnestly taking a look around the clubhouse. Scantily clad women danced on stage to music blared from all corners of the open room. The wall of mugshots caught my eye. I studied the photos, catching sight of Jax before quickly looking away.

"Everyone looks at them, don't feel bad." Clay said to me, eyeing the wall, "That wall is an honor. All of those men in those photos did hard time for this club. Your boy is one of them."

"I didn't know." I admitted, not knowing what to say at this point. Clay shook his head.

"Doesn't matter," Jax cut in, grabbing my hand. Immediately I was following behind him to the wall. He stopped, to gaze upon one man in particular. He had long dark hair and a goatee. John Teller.

"That's my father." He finally said after a long period of silence between us.

"What did he go for?" I asked. Jax dropped his head to the ground. I slid my arm under his kutte and wrapped it around his waist.

"You're going to change this Jax. I know you are." I told him. In truth I didn't care about the crime, I didn't care about the guns, or the porn. I only wanted to see him bring his club back to the way it began.

"Sometimes I feel like everything is pushing against me." He admitted, looking into my eyes. "Thank you for believing in me; in this club."

I didn't know what to say, so I just held him. For moments we stood there discussing his dreams for the club. I took another sip of the bloody mary I had been drinking.

"Is Abel here?" I asked, breaking the silence we had fallen into. He smiled, a little surprised at my concern.

"You want to see him?" he replied, combing his fingers through his hair. I nodded and Jax took my hand, leading me to his room where Abel slept.

I gazed upon the child, his round face framed by blonde hairs. He was so beautiful. His body weight increased significantly since the last time I saw him and he looked healthy.

"He looks like me I think." Jax whispered from behind me, crossing his arms over my stomach.

"I agree." I said softly. His nose soon nuzzled into the crook of my neck, and he placed soft kisses on the tender skin.

"How was my mother?" he inquired. I shrugged, and proceeded to tell him that she offered me a job at the shop. He pulled away and turned me around.

"Is that what you want to do?" he asked, seemingly upset by this.

"It seemed like it would be a good experience, working with your mom." I told him. He shook his head.

"I mean, if that's what you want, but if you need a job I can get you on anywhere in Charming. Wouldn't you rather like the ice cream shop or something?" he asked. This time it was me who shook my head.

"If you think I want to work at the ice cream parlor, you obviously don't know me, Jax." I replied, lighting a cigarette. He smiled.

"I'm going to enjoy seeing you around the shop, but you have to know some boundaries. The guys aren't going to like you hanging around knowing anything about club business. Pretend like I haven't told you anything and don't ask questions, especially ones you don't want the answers to, okay sweetheart?" I probably should have been offended by his tone, but I knew he had only been telling me the blunt truth.

"I can keep your secrets, Jax." I said just under my breath. "Lets go talk to your friends. Introduce me to the rest of your club." I suggested. He was more than happy to comply.

"I thought you'd never ask." He said as we headed back to the party.

Jax looked around the room and sauntered over to a man in a kutte like his and slapped him on the back. I watched them as they walked back toward me.

"Autumn, this is my best friend, Opie." Jax said. The large hairy man extended an equally large and hairy hand to me.

"Pleasure to meet you, Opie," I said, taking his hand to envelop mine. He gave me a warm smile.

"The pleasure is mine." He replied, slowly easing my hand to his lips for a curt kiss. His facial hair tickled as he placed warm lips to my skin.

"This big guy's been my best friend since grade school." Jax began, "We used to raise ten kinds of hell together."

"What are you talking about brother, we still do." Opie responded, slapping hands with Jax. Another man approached, and hung his weight on the shoulders of Jax and Opie. He had white decorative stitches on his kutte and salt & pepper hair that hung to his shoulders in natural curls.

"Bobby!" Opie shouted, slapping the man's gut. Jax shook his head and sipped the beer in his hand.

"Hey there, darlin. The name's Bobby." He said presumably sounding like Elvis. I chuckled at his antics.

"Hiya Bobby. I'm Autumn." I introduced, shaking his hand with a firm grip.

"Yeah I saw you in here that first night, at Jax's party; and any friend of my brother is a friend of mine. Happy Birthday, darlin." He said before walking to the bar for another drink.

Suddenly the atmosphere in the room tensed as the security screen showed an unfamiliar car pull into the gate of TM and 4 men stepped out. Every member stopped mid-action and went outside.

"Stay here." Jax told me. I nodded and watched him walk outside with the rest of the guys. On the screen, the club approached the men. A man in a grey suit stepped forward with boxes of some sort and placed them at Clay's feet. Soon the altercation was over and the boys were heading back inside with puzzled looks on their face. Clay plopped the boxes on the bar. Cigars.

"Got new business in town." Jax said, assuring me everything was fine. I got the feeling that there was more than he was letting on, but I remembered what he said about questions moments before.

"Wanna go rain some lead?" he asked, lifting my chin so he could kiss me.

"You know I do." I said, enthusiastically. I couldn't wait to fire some bad ass weapons.

"Let me grab a bag." He said, as I followed him back to his room. He opened the closet and pulled a backpack from the top shelf. Then he loaded some ammo and another gun into the bag.

"Carry this, babe. You're gonna need to put it on your back." I nodded and pulled the straps over my shoulders and followed him out.

The whole experience was surreal, as we traveled down the road a few miles out of town to a warehouse down a long dirt road.

I wasn't sure why he chose this location and I decided not to ask. I watched him as we walked down a trail to a set of targets. He moved with a swift confidence as if he knew there was no threat here. I followed, clutching the straps with both hands. When we were in range, he turned to me and must have sensed my apprehension.

"What's on your mind?" he asked compellingly. I shook my head.

"Are you sure it's safe to shoot back here?" he shrugged. I stared at him incredulously.

"I mean, it's not legal or anything, but don't worry with that." He told me, slipping the straps of the backpack from my shoulders.

"First things first, you should put these on." Jax said, handing me a small pair of leather gloves. I wriggled them down my hands until they fit snugly. Then he placed the gun he had given to me in my palm.

"This is yours. You need to get really comfortable with it." He said as he positioned himself behind me and handed me the clip. I shoved it in the butt of the gun and cocked the weapon.

"Okay," he breathed into my ear as he stood behind me and placed me in a steady stance, "First things first, always stand your ground. No mother fucker is going to take you down if you learn to protect yourself. Someone attacking you can tell if you're scared or incompetent with a gun." I nodded and stood, feet planted securely on the grassy ground beneath me.

"Next, you need to hold this as steady as you can. Don't even touch the trigger. Grip it tight." He coached as he placed my hands around the grip.

"Now try to aim down the sights up here at the target, and when you get it locked in, tell me." I nodded and tried to line up the sights with the target in front of me. It was harder than I thought, but eventually, I zeroed in on it and said, "I'm ready."

He placed his arms and his hand around mine and guided my finger to the trigger.

"Don't move. Feel how I squeeze the trigger. You can't jerk it, any movement of your hand will affect the shot." He said softly against my cheek.

He did exactly as he said and squeezed the trigger gently, releasing a powerful blow from the barrel. Then before I was ready, he squeezed again, and again, and again until the clip was empty. Then he pressed a button on the side with his thumb and the empty magazine fell out. Then he slammed another clip and told me to chamber the first bulet. I tried to mimic his form and patience as I held the heavy piece of metal in my hands.

The recoil was not as harsh as I expected. I was able to keep it held steady and made 6 of the 13 shots hit the target.

"Not bad," Jax said, taking the pistol from my hands, "You're not a bad shot. A little practice and I'd trust you covering my ass in the field."

I shook my head. Then he passed me a larger gun. It was heavier than mine.

"This is a .45. Shoots a big fat bullet. Little more recoil than the nine, but I like it." He told me, I immediately took my stance and readied myself.

Then I slowly pulled the trigger and continued firing until my clip was empty. This one was beefier, and I didn't shoot so well with it, landing only 4 shots on the target.

Jax watched me as he leaned against a nearby tree. I shrugged, dropped the clip and replaced it with a full one and took on the target again. This time I missed it all but once.

"You lost your form." He said, lighting a cigarette. I shook my head and dropped the empty clip and picked them both up from the ground.

"Can I practice with mine again?" I asked. He smiled and nodded.

"Of course, darlin." He loaded another clip and handed it to me. I could tell he had something to say, so I gave him a nudge.

"Spit it out, Teller." I said, slapping the clip in to my gun before shucking it to load a bullet.

"You look damn sexy firing off that handgun, if I do say so myself." I couldn't do anything but grin as I checked my form and steadied my body. I breathed in deeply. Jax's eyes wearing holes in my clothing as he slouched against that tree, giving appreciation to all of my body. The denim skin I managed to stuff myself in had proven worth the trouble.

The pistol fired, I felt almost disconnected as I shot thirteen rounds. My hands, gripped tightly did not move except for the slight upward motion caused by the recoil. I slowed my breathing and lowered the weapon, for the first time glancing at the damage I had done to the target.

"Now that's how you shoot." He said, giving my backside a more than friendly slap. The target was wracked with bullet holes, mostly from that last round.

I was definitely proud of myself, I had scored major points with Jax, and who knew I wasn't a terrible shot.

"Like that, huh?" I playfully remarked. His expression said it all. He was impressed. My blush was evident on my pale face.

"I can't wait to tell the guys my ol lady is one hell of a marksman." He teased. I punched his arm in good fun and shook my head.

"Hey don't go writing checks my ass can't cash." He simply bit his lip. "Don't worry about that babe," he whispered as his hands traveled up and down my backside. His desire for me was something I would never grow tired of as I relished our sexual tension.

Jax:

I managed to keep my hands off her for the rest of the night, being as she had to go home to her father, however I couldn't help myself after she shot better than me my first time.

This girl was something else. She had managed to keep my full attention for the last few months. I haven't even cheated on her. I thought, something I couldn't say about any other woman I'd been with. From the very beginning I had always had a way with the ladies, and even now suffered no shortage of them to service my needs, but there was only one girl on my mind all the time.

I tried not to give it too much credit as we hadn't been seeing each other very long, and I hadn't yet uttered the words that were lodged in my subliminal vocabulary every time I stared into those huge green portals to her innocent soul.

I had to admit, it had been a very long time since I had dinner with a woman's family and, I was a little out of my comfort zone at the table with her father.

"Darling," he said to Autumn as he reached and gently handled the pearls around her neck, "those are beautiful. Birthday present?" he asked, turning to me.

"Aren't they? I love them, thank you, Jax." Her father nodded and stroked his hairless clef chin.

"Did you both enjoy the party?" he questioned, before taking a bite off his plate. I watched calmly from across the table.

"Ooh, party?" her sister said, now interested in the conversation. Autumn played everything off nonchalantly, as she told her father that she had a great time hanging out with my family.

I had been so nervous about that moment that I had barely eaten. The pork chop was perfectly cooked to safe medium-well and was seasoned with fresh herbs. I chewed the delicious meat and before I could swallow I had already cut another bite and stuffed it into my mouth.

Mr. Rogan had been discussing school with his youngest daughter when he turned to me to ask my level of education. I was surprised and happened to be chewing at the moment.

"I graduated high school and completed a couple certificate programs for automotive diagnostics and repair." I said after swallowing. Autumn beamed at me from across the table.

"Autumn, have you sent in your college applications yet?" he asked her without responding to my answer. She nodded and proceeded to list all the colleges she had applied to. If she got accepted somewhere far away, she would be leaving Charming. I was not prepared for this epiphany by any means. Somehow I had completely overlooked this blatant fact.

As dinner came to an end and the night fell upon us, Autumn and her sister cleared the table and I smoked a cigarette with her father on the porch.

"Thanks for letting me take your daughter out today." I said, more out of formality than honesty as I stared into the night sky.

"She's quite taken with you." I heard upon his exhale. I glanced over to see him also gazing at the stars.

"I'm quite taken with her," I admitted, "to be honest with you, sir, I didn't even feel this way toward my wife. Your daughter is something special."

To that he had to agree. "You listen to me," he began, "Autumn is a good girl. She's not one of your biker pass arounds and I better not find out you are sleeping around on her. Since I know you deflowered her." He finished with a stiff jaw.

"I have every intention of remaining faithful, Mr. Rogan." I replied, in hope the conversation would end. However, that would be too easy. He came back with anger.

"So you mean to tell me you have nothing to say about corrupting my daughter? I told you to keep your greasy hands off her." he seethed.

I tried to stifle my laugh, but I let out a chuckle, and had to respond, "Well greasy wasn't in your choice of words before, but I didn't hear your daughter complaining." His reaction was to clench his fists. His face in a twist of fury, he swung at me. I swiftly dodged his obvious attempt.

"You know how this ends, man. It's best not to even start. I'm not lookin' for another assault charge." I told him.

"I can't believe you! Marking my daughter like your whore! Did you really think no one would see that huge hickey on her neck? Did you really think I wouldn't notice!?" he lunged at me again, this time pinning me against the house. I shoved him away.

"Don't put your hands on me." I warned, but he couldn't heed, he continued to lunge at me, and I continued to avoid him.

"Get out of my sight." He breathed after another attempt to charge at me. I nodded and excused myself. I kicked myself for not saying goodbye to Autumn, but I wasn't leaving just yet. I had to stick around and see how he reacted. I cranked my bike but I only rode down the block before creeping back into the yard to make sure she was okay.

"Get in here!" he hollered at her from the den. She slunk in, head down, eyes to the ground.

"Look at me!" he commanded. She raised her head but did not make eye contact with him. She knew exactly what was coming as he strode across the floor to her and grabbed a fistful of her hair.

"I said look at me, you little whore!" my heart sank as the pain of those words rolled off her face in tears.

"I told you he was nothing but trouble. I told you save yourself, but you couldn't. Could you?" he shook his fist of her hair and threw her away from him. She fell to the ground. I stood, ready to make my move when I heard his voice again, but he was calmer now.

"I need a drink." He said gruffly, as I watched him make way to the bar.

"Daddy," she said softly, "Please don't." But he didn't hear anything. He tore the wax from the top of the bottle and proceeded to pour two fingers of whiskey into the glass in his hand. Immediately, he shot the liquid and poured another.

"I can't believe you, Autumn." He said, his back to her. She stood up and walked away, and I was shocked. I stayed put for a moment outside the window. He continued talking as if she were still there.

"He doesn't love you. How stupid could you be?" he asked. He still didn't turn to face her. From my angle I could see his face twist into rage as he downed his second drink and poured another. Then he turned around to find an empty room. I couldn't help but dwell on the fact that, once again, everything was my fault