Hello readers! Thanks for sticking with me. The season 3 storyline will be ending soon and I'll have to fill in the time between that but I hope you continue the journey with me. As far as this chapter goes I think it's one of my favorites but I want to say please forgive me if any of the Spanish is incorrect. Keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep posting. Make sure to check out the snippets on my tumblr as well for sneak peeks of the upcoming chapters. Enjoy!
[Rory's POV]
We pulled up to the clubhouse around noon and was quickly greeted by all those left behind. Lyla jumped in Opie's arms and greeted him as Tig kissed Gemma on the cheek. I felt the weight of my bag in my hand being lessened and looked over to see Phil taking my bag.
"Have a good trip?" He smiled.
"It was eventful to say the least but I'm glad to be home." I said with a smile. I felt a hand on my back and looked over to see Juice smiling.
"You can breathe now." He smirked before kissing my cheek.
"Any word on Tara?" Jax asked Tig.
"No nothing yet brother. I just talked to Unser, I'm sorry." Tig said patting Jax on the back. I felt Tig's eyes on me and I looked away quickly.
"What's that?" Jax asked catching my attention. I looked over and saw a playground set up in the distance.
"Thought it'd be nice to keep the kids closer to home. Had the Prospects working on it all night." Tig said making me look over at him.
"A playground for the kids was your idea?" I asked in disbelief.
"Don't sound so surprised. You used to love going to the park with me." Tig walked past me and I rolled my eyes. As I walked into the clubhouse I saw Kozik handing out the last of the cuts and welcoming the boys. His eyes fell on me and he smiled.
"Hello beautiful. It's about time, this place is depressing without you." Kozik picked me up in a bear hug before setting me back on my feet. He went in for a kiss and I put my hand on his chest stopping him.
"That's a bad idea." I said making him look at me confused.
"Why's that?" He asked cocking an eyebrow but before I could answer a familiar hand found my back.
"Because she's spoken for." Juice spoke confidently.
"Work things out in Belfast did you?" Kozik asked looking at me.
"Yeah we did so if you could keep your hands off my old lady that would be appreciated." Juice's jaw was clenched and Kozik laughed.
"Old lady? I thought you were allergic to that title. I'm happy for you both. Just try not to blow it this time." Kozik patted Juice on the shoulder before walking away and as I turned around to look at Juice he relaxed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" He was preparing to apologize and I gripped the front of his cut as it was now firmly placed on his back once more causing him to look at me.
"I never thought I'd be one of those women who not only like to see her man get possessive of her but actually get turned on by it." I said with a smirk making Juice's eyebrows go up.
"Oh really? How turned on exactly?" Juice's hands found my waist.
"I could melt icebergs right now." I smiled at him and he leaned down to capture my lips. We were interrupted by Juice getting a patted on the back.
"Table in 5." Opie said walking into church. Juice looked down at me.
"I'll get Jax. Get in there." I said making him kiss me once more before jogging into the room. I went into the apartments to find Jax and found him going through his bags.
"Don't bother unpacking. Once we get your old lady back this place won't need you." I said standing in the doorway. He smiled at me before closing the distance between us and hugging me. We stood there for a few moments just taking in all that we'd been through in the last few days.
"I told you we'd get him back. I told you." I said with a sigh into Jax's shoulder. He pulled away from me and looked into my eyes.
"Yeah you did. Thank you for everything. I wouldn't have made it through this without you." He said holding onto my hand.
"I wouldn't have gone for anyone else but thank you for helping me face some of my demons." I said before pulling him to sit down on the bed.
"Why do I feel like you have to tell me something?" Jax asked furrowing his brows. I looked at my hands now that they had left his and bit my lip.
"Rory?" Jax asked again before I looked at him.
"I know you guys are going to kill Jimmy O." I said making him shake his head.
"Yes we are. What does that have to do with-" I cut Jax off.
"I want to be there. I have to be there." I said firmly watching Jax rub his face.
"You know I would be all for that Rory, especially after what he did to you but killing Jimmy is club business." Jax explained.
"What would you have done if he killed Abel?" I asked.
"I would have cut him into pieces." Jax seethed.
"Well when Jimmy did what he did to me he took away my chances to have kids. To me, he killed every future child I could have had. I need to be there Jackson. I need to watch the light leave his eyes." I explained and Jax looked away from me for a moment.
"Okay. I'll put it out in church tomorrow but if you are serious about it then you will have to tell them why. The real reason. That's the only way they would remotely be okay with it." Jax said and I shook my head.
"You let me know and I'll be there." I said before standing up. The door to his room opened and Gemma stood there with Abel in her arms.
"Think you could take him while I talk to Jax for a minute?" Gemma asked me and I nodded before taking Abel into my arms. I walked towards the door when Jax called out to me.
"Hey Ar, don't worry. It'll happen for you. I promise." Jax narrowed his eyes at me knowing how I felt about promises as I walked out with Abel. I sat in the clubhouse for a few minutes before Jax finally came out from the back going into Church. I sat at the table with Lyla as Abel cooed in my arms. You'd think after everything he'd been through he'd be more fussy but he was perfectly content in my arms.
"You are good with him. Opie's kids too." Lyla said as she touched Abel's face.
"I like to think years of putting up with Jax and Opie acting like babies has helped." I joked.
"You'd make a good mom." Lyla smiled.
"I can't actually have kids but I appreciate you saying that." I watched a frown form on Lyla's face.
"I'm sorry. I had no idea." She apologized.
"It's okay. Just be good to Op's kids. They deserve to have a steady mom in there lives." I said encouraging Lyla and she smiled once more.
"I love Opie and his kids quite a bit." She said looking at me.
"I know." I gave her hand a squeeze as Gemma emerged from the back.
"Packing up Jax's room?" I teased her and she gave me the finger. The doors to Church opened and the boys came walking out. I watched Tig and Kozik talking as they walked out of the clubhouse.
"That's new." Bobby said to Clay.
"Good because we are gonna need Kozik here when we go inside." Clay said as Juice and Opie walked over towards us.
"We need to get you up to the cabin." Clay pointed at Gemma.
"No...I want to stay here." She said simply taking Abel from me.
"Piney's already up there waiting for you." Bobby said.
"Let em' wait. Nobody knows I'm back. I just wanna sleep in my own bed." Gemma said making Jax, Clay and Bobby look at each other.
"We can get her back to the house then lock down the garage?" I pitched and Clay sighed.
"Okay, for now." He eyeballed Gemma as Opie walked over to us with Juice.
"We're gonna drive you to the house. Get you settled." Opie said to Gemma as she rocked Abel
"Make sure they get my bird." Gemma said making Opie snort.
"Prospects are on it." Opie put his arm around Lyla as Juice touched my wrist.
"I'll drive you home so you can get changed. I know you ran out of meds so we'll get those too." Juice said making me smile.
"Already trying to take care of me?" I said making him lock his fingers into mine.
"Oh yeah know it." He said as I followed him out of the clubhouse.
"Tigger, go with them. Make sure she's safe." Clay said making me think he was sending Tig with Gemma but really he was talking about me.
"I'll be fine." I said to Clay but Tig shook his head.
"Don't fight it. I'll be sure to behave." Tig put his hands up and I rolled my eyes before leaving the clubhouse. I got into the van with Gemma, Lyla, Opie and the Prospects as the others followed on their bikes. They stopped at my house first and dropped me off. Tig sat outside on his bike while Juice helped me carry the bags in.
"Home sweet home." I said allowed as I walked in. Everything looked exactly the same as I left it. I saw the mail was on the floor and picked it up.
"I'm just going to sit your bags in the bedroom." Juice walked my bags to the back and I noticed two sitting in front of the door.
"Are these mine too?" I asked confused.
"No those are mine. I'm gonna drop them at my place on the way back to the clubhouse." He poked his head out of the back and I walked back towards the bedroom.
"What if...what if you just left them here?" I asked making him tilt his head.
"You sure about that? I mean we just got back together. I don't want my stuff on the lawn just yet." He said making me smile as I put my hands on his hips.
"Then I suggest you don't screw up in the next few days. I mean there is no point in you paying for that place while you're in Stockton. I say stay with me until it's time and then when you get out you can decide where you want to be." I offered and he laughed.
"You honestly think I'll get out of jail and want to be in anyone else's bed but yours? You are aware we've had sex right? You can't just discontinue that." He moved his hands down my sides and pulled me closer to him as I laughed.
"You never know. You might find a nice buff boyfriend in there." I teased making him pull away from kissing my neck.
"Was that supposed to be funny because now you are getting it." Juice started to tickle my sides and I attempted to fight back as he pulled me onto the bed and got on top of me. He clearly had the upper hand but suddenly he stopped what he was doing as I tried catching my breath. He stared at me and pushed some of my hair off my face.
"I love you." He whispered softly before kissing my lips. I didn't have time to say it back before his lips moved feverishly over mine. I had missed being intimate with Juice and I could tell by how quickly his hands and lips moved that I wasn't the only one. Suddenly Juice pulled away and looked down at me.
"I want to ask you something." He said and I stared up at him.
"Now?" I asked incredulously. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it and handing it to me.
"What do you think of him?" He asked as I looked at the paper. There was a cute, saggy faced Bulldog on the piece of paper.
"I think you've lost your mind." I laughed unsure of what I was looking at.
"A friend of mine had a few puppies that he wanted to give away and I was considering getting one for my new place when Jax told me that you wanted one too." He explained as he still sat on top of me. I looked at the paper again before looking up at him.
"You want to get a dog together?" I asked with a smile.
"Yeah...I mean he'll be all yours while I'm away but I want to start a legit life with you. I know the whole old lady thing is out of the question but when I get out I want to be able to come home to my woman and my dog." Juice sighed. I couldn't take my eyes off of him.
"That's very...American of you." I said with a laugh trying to lighten the mood. Juice moved from on top of me and sat on the side of the bed.
"If it's too much at once I can hold off on the dog." Juice cupped his hands together as I swung my legs off the bed to sit next to him. I kept quiet for a few moments before resting my chin on his shoulder.
"How about Brutus?" I said making him look over at me.
"Brutus?" He asked confused.
"He looks like a Brutus." I said with a smile as Juice realized I was saying yes to the dog. He clapped his hands together before tossing the picture and tackling me back to the mattress. Before we could celebrate the progress we were making his cell rang.
"Yeah? Okay where? I'm on the way." Juice sighed hanging up his phone.
"Bobby needs me. Tig will take you back to the clubhouse when you finish up here." He got up quickly and I stayed on the bed.
"I guess we'll save this for later?" I said sprawled out on the bed. He leaned down and kissed me again.
"You better believe it." He whispered against my lips. He got to the door before turning around and looking at me.
"How about Maxwell? Mull it over. Mad Max has a nice ring to it." Juice said with a smile before fleeing the room. I snorted to myself as I go off the bed. I changed my clothes before dragging his bags to the back. When I came out I saw Tig sitting on the couch looking at my mail.
"You know that's a Federal offense right?" I said making him hold up an envelope.
"You got something from Lumpy's lawyer." I walked over and took the envelope.
"Why would I-" He stopped me.
"He didn't make it Rory." Tig said sadly. I shook my head trying to process before remembering the letter in my hands. I quickly opened it up and read it.
"He gave me the gym...why would he do that?" I asked out loud.
"Because he loved you...and obviously trusts you to continue fighting the good fight." Tig said making me look up at him.
"I don't know anything about running a gym." I said squinting.
"Ah you're Rory Janowitz. You can do anything." Tig hit my arm softly and I shook my head.
"How can you stand there and say that when we haven't had a decent conversation in months?" I asked trying to figure out why he was being so nice.
"Just because you started hating me doesn't mean I stopped loving you. I'll always be in your corner Rory. No matter if you want me there or not." Tig explained. I didn't know what to say to that and he could tell.
"Let's get you back to the clubhouse. I have a feeling Clay is going to want you to keep an eye on our favorite fugitive." Tig said gesturing towards the door. I followed him out and got onto his bike trying to think what the hell I was going to do about Lumpy's gym.
[Jax's POV]
I walked into Charming P.D looking for Stahl but ran into Clay as he got finished with Unser.
"How'd that go?" I asked but before he could answer he looked behind me.
"Well look who it is. My favorite frequent flyers." She said walking past us. I looked at Clay who rolled his eyes.
"I'll meet you back at the clubhouse." I told him before following Stahl. I walked into her office and shut the door as she stood with her hands on her hips looking annoyed.
"Where's O'Phelan?" She asked me as I took a seat.
"MIA...just like Tara." I said showing her that I was not pleased she had kept the information from me.
"Alright look, Salazar is still in the area. We've got it locked down, we will find her. Now I know you are taking an emotional beating here Jax and I'm sorry about that but you and I have a lot at stake here." Stahl said looking on edge.
"The Irish gave Jimmy safe passage out of Belfast in exchange for my kid. He's up North with the Russians." I said watching her face scrunch up.
"Putlova?" She asked.
"Yeah, we're into it. We got a brother in maximum security, Lenny the Pimp?" I said watching her sit back in her chair.
"Lenny Janowitz...Rory's father?" She made a face of disgust.
"Yeah that's the guy." I confirmed.
"That scumbag killed 3 ATF agents." She knew our history all too well.
"Allegedly but Lenny's got direct ties with the Russians. He's a real source." I explained.
"Yeah so?" She said.
"He's got no visitation rights so we gotta use Otto to reach out to him." I said.
"Otto's in the hole." Stahl said shaking her head.
"He's out tomorrow. If you can arrange Lenny and Otto to get some yard time together then we might get a lead on where Putlova has Jimmy stashed." I explained. She shook her head before getting up.
"Okay I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, I'd like you to take a look at these. Former high ranking leaders of the IRA now make up the ruling council of the real IRA. Did you have any contact with any of these guys?" She asked handing me a folder with pictures of the men we had sat down with in Belfast. I skimmed over it knowing I wasn't going to give Stahl what she wanted.
"A few of them look familiar but I wont be able to focus until Tara's safe." I threw the file back on her desk as she huffed.
"We don't have time for this." She said as I stood up.
"The sooner we find Tara, the sooner I find Jimmy." I said walking towards the door.
"Jax!" She yelled stopping me. She crossed the room and pointed her finger at me.
"You better not screw me over here or else I'll not only make sure your mother gets put behind bars but I'll throw Rory in with her for aiding and abedding a fugitive. That means her entire future would be gone. Got it?" Stahl threatened and I just eyed her before opening the door and leaving Charming PD. I wasn't going to let Stahl ruin Rory's life. I was going to protect my family at any cost. I got on my bike and headed towards the clubhouse. I saw Lumpy's gym was temporarily closed and thought that was kind of strange. As I pulled onto the lot I saw Rory in the office talking to Chucky. We had just gotten back and she was already trying to sort out the shit with the garage. I walked over to her and she rubbed her head.
"That bad huh?" I asked and she cut her eyes at me.
"On top of everything else, the garage hasn't done a lick of paper work since we've been gone and I now have to figure out what I'm going to do with Lumpy's gym." She said.
"What about Lumpy's gym?" I asked confused.
"Salazar beat him to death. He left me the gym and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with it." She handed me the paperwork and I looked it over. Lenny had indeed left her the gym which was crazy considering it was signed so recently.
"That's crazy. I'm sure you'll figure it out though." I handed her the paperwork back as Alvarez and his men drove onto the lot. I walked out of the office and towards Clay as he went to greet them.
"Marcus." Clay said as he got off his bike. He looked over at me.
"You find your boy?" Alvarez asked.
"Yeah thanks." I said.
"That's good. I know why you wanna talk." He said squinting at me.
"Salazar has my old lady." I explained.
"Yeah sorry about that but I gotta look out for my family too. Salazar is a threat to me and my club. He's gotta die." Alvarez explained.
"Salazar has a much better card to play then you. He's running dirty errands for Jacob Hale. Now we bring him in alive it keeps Tara safe but it also protects the heroine trade." Clay said. Alvarez looked thoroughly confused.
"What are you talking about?" Alvarez asked.
"Jacob Hale becomes Mayor, Charming turns into suburban Disneyland. All protected by corporate fortified sheriffs department." Clay explained further. Times were only going to get even more tough once we went in.
"Salazar wants me dead. He'll give me and the heroin up just to watch us burn." Alvarez explained as Bobby pulled up in the van.
"Look I don't wanna see the doctor get hurt but her safety it aint my priority." Alvarez's words made me have to bite my lip from saying anything I'd regret but I was distracted as Bobby and Juice were struggling with a women who was ranting and raving in Spanish.
"SHUT UP!" Bobby shoved the lady towards me.
"Bobby!" Rory had walked over and put a hand on the woman's arm who looked frightened.
"Did you get anything?" Clay asked.
"No..her names Ramona, I think. I can't understand a word she says." Bobby threw his arms out.
"Nobody speaks Spanish?" Clay asked looking at Juice who didn't meet his eyes.
"Nothing?" Clay asked again.
"I'm a Porto Rican from Queens. I speak better Yiddish." Juice defended making me sigh.
"Relájese. ¿Cuál es tu nombre?" We all turned to see Rory talking to the woman.
"I didn't know you spoke Spanish. Did you know she spoke Spanish?" Bobby said hitting Juice's arm.
"Not at all but I find it incredibly sexy." Juice said staring at Rory.
"Ramona Salazar." The woman spoke.
"¿Es usted pariente de Héctor Salazar?" Rory spoke again and I was kind of blown away.
"Sí, él es mi sobrino." The woman was communicating with Rory.
"Su sobrino tiene un amigo nuestro. Tenemos que saber dónde está." Rory looked as though she was explaining something.
"No sé que ustedes son. ¿Quién quiere saber?" Ramona looked over at all of us and Rory looked back at Alvarez. He stepped forward and pulled his gun out.
"Quiero saber perra. Ahora bien, o me dicen o me vuelo los sesos a cabo." Ramona started to panic a little.
"No voy a mostrar misericordia como estas grinos." Alvarez said pushing the gun to her head harder.
"What are we doing here?" Clay asked.
"He's letting her know the situation is dire and that telling the truth would be in her best interest." Rory explained making Alvarez look at her.
"Gracias." He said.
"Bien." Rory said back.
"Well I know that much." Juice said making Rory laugh.
"Usted tiene tres perra segundos...uno...dos-" Alvarez started counting and finally Ramona started spouting off.
"Yo no sé! Yo no sé! Lo único que sé es que él podría estar en la casa de seguridad de la carretera. Carreteras rodantes!" Alvarez looked at Rory who ran towards the office.
"Será mejor que no estar mintiendo." Alvarez said as the woman continued to cry.
"Por favor no me mates! por favor! ¡Por favor!" Rory had run back out giving Alvarez a nod. He holstered his gun.
"You better keep her around. She is quite useful." Alvarez said to me as she handed Clay a piece of paper.
"It's legit. I'll make sure she finds her way home." Rory said.
"Let's go." Alvarez said as he got on his bike.
"Thank you." I put a hand on Rory's cheek and she smiled.
"I'll let you know if I hear anything on this end." She said as I ran for my bike. We peeled out of there keeping up with Alvarez and his men as we hit the highway. I had no idea where we were going but Rory had apparently given the address to Clay on a piece of paper. We rode for about 25 minutes before we pulled onto a dirt back road. We parked next to Alvarez.
"Check the house. We'll check the road." Alvarez said as him and his men started down the road. Clay pointed at a house after reading the paper and we headed towards it, guns drawn.
"Careful!" I said pulling my own gun out. We all split up into two's, Clay and I, Tig and Op, Happy and Juice, while Bobby watched the entrance. We barely made it up to the house when Alvarez called out.
"ESE' YOU BETTER COME SEE THIS." Clay took off before me but I followed him out to the road where all the others had gathered in a circle. I pushed past Opie and saw two bodies covered by a blanket. One was Alvarez's old lady. The other had brunette hair like Tara's and I felt my stomach drop.
"Move!" I yelled before getting to my knees and moving the blanket off the other body. When I pulled the blanket back and saw it wasn't Tara it was like someone had tried to restart my heart. I let out a breath before sitting back on my feet.
"We better call Unser." Bobby said as I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder.
"I'll do it." Clay walked away and started to make the call. Within minutes Unser and about a dozen police officers were on the scene. I walked away from the others trying to collect myself and watched the coroner load up the body of the woman I thought was Tara. I looked over and saw Bobby standing next to me. He heard me let out a sigh and gripped my shoulder.
"You messed up pretty bad with her didn't you?" Bobby said reminding me about how badly I was going to have to gravel once I found Tara.
"We gotta find her Bobby. Nothing works without her. I need to know her and Rory are going to take care of each other once we go in. We just...we gotta get her back." I explained.
"Yeah well we just traveled halfway around the world to get your boy. Tara should be a walk in the park." Bobby said making me feel a little better about the situation. I thanked him with a look as Clay and Unser walked over.
"Anything?" I asked.
"Well it looks like the girlfriend bleed out. Other victim was bludgeoned. Lori Allen. Never made it home from work." Unser explained.
"Salazar killed her for the ride." Clay said.
"Probably. Gray Lexus, we put out an APB." Unser said. I nodded at him before running my hands down my face.
"Come on Rory. Give me some of that luck you always have." I whispered to myself.
[Rory's POV]
I sat in the office with Gemma awaiting any word from Jax about finding Tara but as time passed Gemma became antsy. She was looking out the window when Juice pulled up on his bike.
"Juice is here." She said sounding disappointed. He walked into the office and Gemma was in his face.
"No nothing yet." He said making her throw her hands up.
"Then what are you doing here?" Gemma asked.
"There were two bodies off the highway and there are sheriffs and local PD everywhere. Clay wanted me to make sure the club was locked down." Juice said before glancing behind him.
"Are you heading back?" I asked and he nodded.
"Yeah. Just make sure you both stay inside." Juice said and Gemma huffed before walking into the bathroom. Juice walked over and gave me a kiss.
"So you still want to get that dog?" He asked me making me smiled.
"How about Rocky?" I pitched making his eyebrow arch.
"He's a bulldog, not a boxer." He said making me groan.
"See now you're getting technical. I still think Brutus sounds cute and very fitting for a bulldog." I pointed out and Juice sat on the desk.
"No! God no! I can't tell the guys we named our dog Brutus. They'd never let me live it down." Juice explained as he took my hand into his. I couldn't help but stare at him for a few moments.
"You know you are pretty cute when you are negotiating." I smiled at him.
"Yeah I know. I'm trying to be super charming so you'll agree on Maxwell." He teased leaning down and kissing my lips. The toilet flushed in the bathroom and Juice pulled away.
"I should get back over there. I'll call you if we hear anything. Just stay put." Juice insisted before walking to the door. I watched him pull off the lot and the Prospects closed the gate behind him. Gemma returned to her pacing self even after Juice left.
"Do you want to talk about whatevers got you pacing?" I asked putting the paperwork in my hands on the desk.
"I just hate sitting around here doing nothing. We just got Abel back and now this. We are in desperate need of a vacation." Gemma looked out of the blinds again and I laughed.
"You mean a vacation from our supposed vacation?" I joked and she cut her eyes towards me.
"You know this place is going to need you once we all go away. I don't want to see all of this fall apart." Gemma looked over towards the garage where the mechanics were working steadily.
"What are you talking about? There will be plenty of the boys left while the others go in to run this place smoothly." I said.
"By the time they get out I'll still be in. I need you to take care of the boys. Clay and Jax...they are going to need you-" Gemma was upsetting herself and I stood up stopping her.
"Hey! You aren't going anywhere Gem. We are going to fight this shit. I wont let them put you away for a bullshit charge. I don't care if I've got to torture the bitch myself to get the truth." I rubbed Gemma's arm and she smiled.
"You should consider getting Teller added to your name. You got the fight of one." She put her hand on my chin.
"I get that from you I guess." I smirked at her and she kissed my cheek.
"So have you decided what you're going to do when your man goes in? You two just getting back together and turning right around with him getting locked up...must be tough." She said trying to draw answers out of me.
"I'm pretty sure I'm staying. He hasn't exactly said wait for me or anything but we are working on setting up a life for him to come home to once this shit is all over. We are even getting a dog." I laughed.
"A dog? You should get a bird. A lot less shit to clean up and they don't piss on everything." Gemma said sitting in the chair.
"It's a cute dog. I actually think it will be a good idea because I hate sleeping alone in that house so a dog will keep me company." I said sitting on the desk.
"You know Opie and I talked about Lyla earlier. I think he's going to ask her to marry him." Gemma said trying to gauge my reaction.
"Good. That's good. Opie deserves to find happiness again and Lyla makes him happy. Plus she's good with the kids and they need someone stable in their lives." Honestly I thought it was a bit soon for that but Opie has never been a patient guy. Not even when we were kids. Him and Jax were pretty impulsive and still are to this day.
"Yeah I think Lyla will make a good old lady." I felt Gemma's eyes on me but I didn't speak.
"So you ever think maybe you'll reconsider being an old lady? You seem to care for Juice quite a lot to just be his girlfriend." I shook my head with a laugh.
"You know, up until a few days ago I would have told you that the idea of being an old lady was the stupidest thing since polygamy but I don't know now. It scares me how comfortable I might be with taking the title. Look at what it's brought down on you and Tara and Luann. All I keep thinking is that my mom would be so disappointed in me for letting thoughts like that even enter my head after what I watched her go through." I explained.
"You forget that your mom actually put herself through it. She loved your dad more then anything and the only reason she didn't take you and leave Charming to find better drugs is because your dad was in lock up here. Don't forget that." Gemma told me and I nodded.
"I don't know. I mean I guess I'll kind of have to take the title once Juice goes in. Just so other members know." I said and Gemma laughed.
"You mean Kozik?" Gemma corrected me.
"No." I said but she snorted.
"Honey please. That man has been on you since the moment he pulled up. You can bet he'll be trying to take full advantage of the prison clause once Juice goes in." Gemma stood up and put her hands on her hips.
"I wouldn't do that to Juice. I don't follow those stupid rules. If and this is a big if, I ever do decide to be Juice's old lady then I will make my own rules. I'm not signing my life away to some stupid MC rule book." I said.
"You'll be singing a different song after the first few months without any dick." Gemma said making me roll my eyes.
"Maybe that's why Stahl is so uptight. She creeps around Jax all the time maybe she just needs to get laid." I joked but Gemma didn't laugh. She was lost in her thoughts and I stood up.
"You okay?" I asked pulling her from her head.
"Um...yeah. I just...I need my pills. I think I left them on the bar in the clubhouse. Can you run and get them for me?" Gemma asked and I nodded.
"Of course. Hang on." I poked my head out of the door.
"MILES!" I called out and he came running.
"What's up?" He asked.
"Stay with Gemma for a minute. I need to grab her pills." I patted him on the shoulder before walking across the lot. I searched the bar looking for her pills and didn't see them anywhere. I heard the clubhouse door open and shut making me look up to see Miles.
"Gemma needs water with her pills." Miles said.
"There's water in the office." I scrunched my eyebrows together. We both heard the sound of wheels peeling out on the lot and ran to the door just in time to see Gemma take off out of the lot. I ran towards the office as Chucky stood in the doorway.
"Where the hell is she going?" I asked frantically with Miles by my side.
"To test drive the Beamer. Quality assurance." Chucky said and I shook my head.
"Are you kidding me?" I kicked the door.
"She said she was lying to me but you asked so." Chucky put his hands up and I turned around to Miles.
"Where would she go?" He asked looking afraid.
"I don't know but she's a wanted fugitive. All the places she could go would be bad news." I ran my hand through my hair before looking at the wall of keys.
"What's going on?" Phil had walked up to the office and looked at us as I snatched a pair of keys off the wall.
"Gemma got lose." Miles said.
"She's not a dog Miles." I searched the desk and saw the gun was gone and knew she was going to Charming PD to find Stahl. I grabbed my gun from my bag and put it in the back of my jeans before strapping my blade to my ankle.
"What do we do?" Phil asked seeming worried as I put myself together.
"Call Juice. Tell him Gemma split." I pointed at Miles who went for his cell.
"Where are you going?" Phil asked.
"I'm going to get her before she gets herself killed." I said getting into one of the cars on the lot and taking off. I glanced down every street as I headed toward Charming PD but there was no sign of Gemma anywhere. Something that did catch my eye was Jacob Hale walking into his office with the sign that was on the front of Lumpy's gym. I parked out front and jumped out of the car.
"HEY! Where the hell do you think you're going with that?" I asked as he turned around.
"Lumpy's place is no longer for sale." He said as he walked through the door. I followed him in.
"You're damn right it's not." I said.
"Sir?" The girl behind the desk looked at Jacob Hale as if she needed to know if she was supposed to call someone but he put his hand up.
"You don't understand Ms. Janowitz. It's not for sale because I'm buying it." He had the smuggest smile on his face as he walked into his office.
"Like hell you are." I said shoving the door open so he couldn't close it on me.
"It's too late Aurora. As soon as I find the paperwork on who Lumpy gave it to the property is mine." I shook my head.
"Well you are looking at the person who owns that property and I can tell you now that you are going to need a lot more then a hit-man to get me to give that gym to you." I said confidently and Hale looked confused.
"What would you possibly do with that old place? You are a young girl. Don't put your money and effort into something that will eventually fail." He was trying to talk me out of it and I laughed.
"It's amazing how different you are from your brother. He was a good man and you..you are just a snake in a suit. No heart." I shook my head as I looked at him in disgust. Before he could retort the woman at the front desk yelped.
"Oh God!" We both looked out of the door to see Salazar standing with a bloody Tara and a gun.
"TARA!" I ran towards them not thinking and Salazar put the gun in my face.
"Back up bitch!" He yelled and I put my hands up. He shoved Tara into me and I looked at her.
"Are you okay?" I asked quickly.
"Yeah I'm fine." She said nervously as Salazar pushed us both into Hale to go back into his office.
"Let Charming PD know they got a hostage situation." Salazar said to the girl at the desk before slamming the door. He gripped Tara by her hair and I moved towards him only to get smack across the face sending me into Hale's desk.
"Handcuff yourselves around the pole...NOW!" He yelled to Tara as she did what she was told.
"Now I know you are carrying so give it up...come on let's go!" Salazar rushed me pushing the gun in my face as I reached back and pulled out my gun.
"What the hell are you doing? Kidnapping me didn't work out for you so you try it again with the VP's old lady? Are you out of your fucking mind?" I asked before he slapped me across the face again making my lip bleed.
"Shut your fucking mouth." He started going through the desk and found duct tape.
"Wrap your feet up." He tossed me the tape and I did what he told me to do and remembering I had my knife on my ankle. He taped my wrists together and shoved me down next to Tara.
"Did you get Abel?" Tara whispered to me and I shook my head.
"Yes he's fine and waiting for his mom to come home." I smiled back and Tara fought tears.
"He's going to try and kill Jax." Tara whispered and Salazar laughed.
"That's right bitch but first I'm going to kill you both and make him watch." Salazar laughed.
"You are holding his pregnant old lady at gun point...best of luck with that." I said making him shake his head.
"Wait...does Jax know?" Tara asked and I frowned.
"Everything will be explained once we are out of here. I promise." I said and she shook her head.
"You mean if we get out of here." Tara looked away from me and I sighed.
"Come on Jax. Save the day already." I whispered to myself as Salazar prepared to get the phone call from SWAT.
[Juice's POV]
I got a call from Miles saying that Gemma had taken off so Happy and I rode back to the clubhouse to see what the deal was. As we headed in Miles and Filthy Phil came around the corner.
"She just got back." Phil said pointing towards the kitchen area. My gaze fell to Miles.
"It's my fault. Rory told me to stay with her and I let her out." Miles looked at his feet and I shook my head before patting his arm.
"Don't worry about it. You just got Gemma'd. Happens to all of us." I said before walking around him. I heard Happy drilling them and laughed to myself before leaning against the doorway to look at Gemma.
"You alright?" I asked making her turn around.
"Yeah...I'm fine. Just had to run a few errands." She said holding a pan.
"You had the Prospects shitting themselves. What's that for?" I asked as she held the pan up.
"Thinking of doing a pancake breakfast tomorrow." She said looking out of it.
"Love that. I think it will give us all some time to actually relax before we go in." I said completely forgetting that Gemma also was facing charges.
"You know Rory and I talked earlier. She's actually considering being your old lady." Gemma twisted the pan in her hands.
"Really? Did she actually tell you that?" I asked surprised at hearing that.
"Yeah. She said you haven't actually asked her to wait for you but she's considering it." Gemma eyed me and I was lost in what she just said.
"Maybe you should get on that...asking her to wait for you. Might be nice to have someone on the outside to motivate you to stay alive in there." Gemma said setting the pan down. I nodded my head at Gemma and Happy ran towards us.
"Salazar's got Tara, Hale and one unidentified hostage over at his office building." Happy said hanging up his phone. Gemma ran towards the door and I jumped in front of her.
"Gemma you can't leave!" I put my hand up and she huffed.
"Tara could be hurt!" She said angrily.
"We will take care of it. If you get picked up right now it will kill Jax. Just stay put. I will make sure to call Rory and tell her to keep you posted." I explained and someone cleared their throat.
"Yeah um...Rory actually went looking for Gemma." Miles said making me turn around.
"Did you call and tell her she came back?" I asked.
"She's not picking up her cell." Phil said. I tried to think of where she might be and I felt it hit me like a ton of bricks.
"Which way did she leave?" I asked.
"She pulled out the front and went left." Phil said and I grunted.
"What? What's wrong?" Gemma asked.
"Hale's building is that way. She might have seen Salazar with Tara. I gotta get to the building. Hap stay with Gemma." I pointed and he nodded before I took off towards my bike and booked off the lot. I pulled up and caught the attention of everyone looking up at the building. I noticed one of the cars from the lot parked down the street and knew it had to be Rory.
"What are you doing here?" Clay asked as I ran over out of breath.
"Rory's inside. She must have seen Tara and followed him in." I said and the others looked more worried then before. Jax stalked over to a girl Unser and Stahl were talking to and pulled out his phone.
"Was this the other woman with Hale?" Jax showed the girl a picture of Rory off his phone and she nodded.
"Yeah that was her." She said and Jax clenched his jaw.
"I gotta go in there." He insisted.
"It's against protocol." Stahl said.
"SCREW PROTOCOL! Tara's pregnant and Rory already has brain damage. One hit and Salazar could kill her!" Jax shouted and Clay put his hands on his chest holding him back.
"I'm not going to stand out here and watch the cops do jack shit to help our family. Either you let Jax go in or I'll storm the place myself." I said feeling a hand on my shoulder.
"Calm down Juicy boy." Chibs said as Stahl looked at the both of us.
"Fine. But you listen to me, got it?" Stahl said pointing at Jax.
"Let's go." Jax pulled off his cut and I took it from him.
"Bring my girl out of there in one piece will ya?" I asked him and he nodded. He headed into the building and I felt useless as I stood with the others watching.
"Jesus Christ, I can't take this waiting." I paced.
"She'll be alright. She always is." Opie said trying to reassure me.
"That your girl again?" Alvarez asked me.
"Yeah that's my girl." I said looking back at the building.
"You may not disgrace Latina's everywhere after all." He said making me shake my head.
"That's the least of my worries right now." I said trying to shake Alvarez but he patted my shoulder.
"She'll be fine. Jax will gut that puto." I looked over at him.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Salazar made the most fatal mistake any of us could ever make and that's hurting the family of a member. You don't walk away from that." Alvarez walked back over to his guys as I waited anxiously for Jax to come back with Rory. Clay pulled me from my thoughts.
"I need you back at the clubhouse with Gemma." He said and I shook my head.
"Not until I know Rory is okay." I said but he wasn't having it.
"We'll bring her back Juice but I need someone other then Happy with her especially with all these Feds." Clay said sternly.
"Come on Clay!" I raised my voice and Opie put his hands on my shoulders holding me back.
"She'd want you to make sure Gemma was safe. Come on man." Opie talked me down and I shrugged him off.
"I can't handle finding out something happened to her Op. Not if I could be here to stop it." I explained to him and he stared at me.
"Rory is my family too Juice. I'm not going to let that shit happen again. I got her." Opie said and If there was one person I trust with Rory it was Opie. He was like her brother and I knew he'd die before letting anything else happen to her. I backed up and started towards my bike. I was never really religious but there were a few times in my life that I called upon it to find comfort or reassurance and now was one of those moments. I prayed the whole way back to the clubhouse that I'd see her smile again. I prayed that I'd have another moment with her to remind her of how much I love her.
[Rory's POV]
There was a knock on the door that startled all of us. Salazar prepared himself as he opened it and Jax stood there with his hands up.
"Come on...COME ON!" He rushed Jax in making him shut the door.
"Get em up." He pointed the gun at Jax and he put his arms up for Salazar to frisk him. While his eyes were on Jax I pulled the knife from my ankle and hid it between my legs. Once he finished searching Jax he pulled on his hoodie.
"Sit down...I SAID SIT DOWN!" Salazar shoved Jax into the chair and Jax let out a breath. He didn't like being pushed around but tensions were high.
"Let them go." Jax said staring up at Salazar who laughed in his face before taking his gun and striking Jax across the face. Tara jumped and put her hand to her face seeing that Jax was now bleeding.
"YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Salazar yelled before yanking his knife out of the table and glancing at Tara
"Get up." He said before putting the blade to her throat.
"O-Okay okay." Tara tried to get up and Jax made a move like he might get up.
"I watched my girl bleed out and die-" Salazar started talking but I cut him off.
"So you kill a pregnant woman? You're a real coward." I said making him turn his attention on me.
"I'll show you a coward bitch." He came at me and Jax jumped up causing Salazar to turn his aim at Jax long enough for Hale to stab him in the side with a pen. Salazar let out a scream before elbowing Hale in the face. Jax tackled Salazar to the floor and the gun went flying.
"JAX!" I yelled pointing towards the gun. Salazar saw Jax going for it and tried to get up but not before I slashed the back of his leg. He yelped once more before flinging the door open and running for it. I cut the tape from my feet and hands as Jax grabbed the gun.
"I got his leg so follow the blood trail. I'll get them free." I said to Jax as I pulled the tape off. He handed Tara the gun and picked up Salazar's knife.
"Watch Rory's back and you kill anyone who's not a cop." He said to Tara before kissing her quickly and running after Salazar.
"Are you okay?" I asked Hale as he gripped his eye. He was in shock and all he could do was nod. I searched his desk for a paperclip and finally found one.
"Wh-what are you doing?" He asked me as I pulled a bobby pin from my hair and bent it like I had the paperclip.
"Getting you out of these handcuffs." I explained as I started working on them.
"You know how to do that?" He asked confused and I looked at him.
"Guess some of my criminal youth can be used for good, wouldn't you say?" I got the cuffs undone just as SWAT came in.
"Let's get you guys out of here." One of them said as they ushered the three of us out. I had Tara's hand in mine as we reached the doors and got outside where there were ambulances and police waiting. I saw the boys come running towards us and Chibs put his hands on my face.
"Yeh alright?" He asked and I shook my head before he gripped my chin looking at my busted lip.
"It's fine." I said.
"Where's Jax?" Opie asked.
"He went after Salazar but we need to find Gemma." I explained.
"She is back at the clubhouse with Juice. He wanted to be here but I told him he needed to keep her safe." Clay said and I agreed.
"Good." I ran my hand through my hair as someone cleared their throat. It was one of the EMT's.
"Ma'am we need to take you to the hospital to get you checked out." He said.
"I'm fine really." I put my hand up but Clay touched my back.
"You know Gemma will lose her mind if you come back with a swollen lip and I didn't insist you get checked out." Clay said and I finally gave in.
I got into the ambulance with Tara and headed off towards St. Thomas. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as they checked me over and gave me some ice for my bruised cheek. Jax finally showed up with a bandage on his arm and on his head.
"Hey, you alright?" He asked me before hugging me.
"I'm better then you it looks like." I gestured to his arm and he brushed it off.
"It's no big deal. Where's Tara?" He asked and I nodded towards the door.
"She wanted to wait for you before they look for the baby's heartbeat." I said watching him stare at the door.
"The best thing that ever happened to me was having you and Opie in my life. A brother is so much more then we give credit for." Jax looked over at me and smiled at my words.
"I think it'll be a boy too." He said.
"Oh I have no doubts. Just make sure you tell Abel that being a big brother is a blessing and I'll be sure to remind him every day that you're away how lucky I am to have you as one of mine." I nudged Jax's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me.
"I don't know what I'd do without you Ar. I love you." He kissed my forehead and I patted his chest.
"Get in there and start making up for being an ass." I said making Jax smiled as he walked into the room with Tara. I watched from the window in the door as they searched for a heartbeat and finally found one. I watched the smiles on both Tara and Jax's face as they looked on the screen at their first child together.
"It's funny to see how you all are growing up." I turned around and saw Unser standing behind me with his hands in his pockets.
"Some of us more then others." I joked.
"You doing okay?" He asked me.
"I'm better then I was a few days ago. How are you doing?" I asked seeing how worn out he looked.
"Looks like I'm out of a job but I guess it's time to retire anyway." He gesture to Hale who was talking to local papers and news ranting and raving about how he single-handedly saved us all.
"I'm sorry that didn't work out for you." I frowned.
"Time to move on I guess." He shrugged.
"I heard you were with Lumpy when he passed. I'm glad someone was here with him." I said swallowing the sadness.
"He talked about you the moment he knew he wasn't gonna make it. I'm the one who got him those papers for his gym. He knew you would take care of it...honor his legacy." Unser explained before rubbing his head.
"I'll do my best." I said.
"I know you will." Unser finally gave me a smile.
"Do you think you could give me a ride to the clubhouse. I need to get out of here." I asked.
"Sure. One last time in the squad car before I have to hand over the keys." Unser extended his arm and I took it following him out. The drive over to the clubhouse was silent but I could tell it was because Unser had a lot on his mind. He pulled up out front and I looked over at him.
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked genuinely concerned.
"Yeah, I'll be okay. Jax said Gemma was throwing a pancake breakfast tomorrow so I'll see you then. Keep ice on that lip." Unser insisted and I smiled before leaning over and hugging him. I could tell I caught him by surprise but he hugged me back.
"See you tomorrow." I said before exiting the car. I walked up the lot and noticed Tig was sitting alone on the swing set. I glanced at the clubhouse and saw light was coming out of the church window which meant they were having a meeting.
"Did you quit the club or something?" I asked catching his attention.
"Nah the boys are pretty pissed at me because I can't vote Kozik in." Tig explained as he kicked his feet on the ground.
"Can't or won't?" I asked moving closer watching Tig closely.
"I don't even know. I'm just struggling with it I guess." Tig said glancing at me as I sat down next to him on the swing.
"Wanna talk about it?" I asked and he took notice that I was trying to show that I cared.
"I guess you of all people would understand how I feel." Tig said brushing it off.
"How's that?" I asked.
"To have someone you've known for so long, that you trust and love like family do something so devastating that your heart finds it impossible to forgive them. No matter how sorry they truly are or how much you may forgive them in your head." Tig explained and I watched his face closely. He had my feelings for him pegged but I had to remember he was talking about Kozik.
"It's because you're heartbroken. Your head will always tell you to forgive and forget but your heart is what broke and the heart never forgets. It remembers the pain and the disappointment and the feeling of being completely lost on what to do or how to feel. It protects itself from ever letting that person have the opportunity to hurt them like that again." I said making Tig shrug.
"For me it's Kozik. For you it's me." He looked down at his feet and I thought about everything that's happened since finding out about Donna's death. The things that have happened with Tig and with Juice and everyone else. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes tightly before opening them once more.
"Something really terrible happened to me when I was living in Belfast. Something that changed my life, my future and my past. I was hurt pretty horribly and the family I grew up with had abandon me." I explained and Tig shifted.
"What happened? Are you okay now? Did something happen when you guys were there?" Tig asked and I shook my head.
"I take it day to day but what happened to me changed the way I looked at the club. The way I looked at all of you. There were a lot of reason's why I didn't come back to Charming after I got out of there but one of the main ones was because I didn't want to look at any of you and blame you for the horrible things that happened. I didn't want to spend every single day hating the people who showed me love when I needed it most." I explained feeling Tig's eyes on me as I took a deep breath.
"When I found out that McGee was killed I thought maybe I would feel some sort of satisfaction knowing that he lost his life and I lost a part of mine but it didn't. Deep down I felt remorse and sorrow because it wasn't always bad. I keep thinking that if I had just forgiven him that maybe he would have died at least knowing that I'm going to be okay." My voice cracked and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"You okay?" Tig asked putting a hand on my back. I pulled myself together and looked at him.
"I guess what I'm really trying to say in all of this is that maybe it's time we let our hearts catch up with our heads before we find ourselves regretting letting our pain weigh us down." I said making Tig furrow his brows.
"What are you saying?" He asked and I chuckled.
"God Tigger, you know I love you. You were there when I was growing up. You taught me some of the strangest things and showed me what undying loyalty truly was. But you also know why what happened to Donna hurt me so bad. Beyond Opie and beyond the club bullshit. I lost my mom. I had to finish growing up in this world without someone to hold me and tell me everything was going to be alright and the thought of those kids having to do the same thing...you broke my heart." I looked over at him and he nodded.
"And I'll live with that weight everyday until I die." Tig said sitting back on the swing.
"That's just it. I don't want something to happen to you and you leave this world thinking that I hated you because I wouldn't be who I am today without you." I explained and Tig shook his head.
"You don't have to worry about me sweetheart. I'll be fine." Tig patted my knee.
"I worry about all of you. You are my family." My words made Tig stare at me. It was the closest we had been in months and I knew it meant a lot to him.
"I'm not saying it's going to be easy or overnight but I'm going to try and let my heart catch up to my head." I put my hand on top of Tig's and he looked at it before smiling.
"You know, you are the glue that keeps us all together right? We'd be nothing without you. Thank you." Tig leaned over and kissed my forehead just as the others started to come out of the clubhouse. I saw Kozik looking around and spotted us.
"Maybe you should try and let your heart catch up with your head too. I'd feel a lot better about being left here with him if you trusted him." I got up from the swing and held onto Tig's hand.
"I'll do my best." He said as Kozik made it to us.
"Can I talk to you?" Kozik asked looking at Tig. They both looked at me and I gave Tig's hand a squeeze.
"Yeah I've got to get my guy to take me home and ice my face. I'll see you both in the morning." I dropped Tig's hand and patted Kozik on the chest as I walked towards the clubhouse just as Juice walked out. He ran over to me and wrapped his arms around me tightly.
"God I'm so glad you're okay. I wanted to be there but-" He pulled away from me and I stopped him.
"You were where you needed to be." Juice gripped my chin and ran his thumb under my busted lip before frowning at the bruise on my cheek.
"If the bastard wasn't already dead I'd kill him myself." Juice said and I sighed.
"You know what I want more then anything right now?" I said putting my arms around him.
"What? I'm at your service." Juice put his arms around me.
"I want my guy to drive me home and spend some much needed TLC time with me." I said feeling my body relax already.
"That sounds amazing. How about we go home, take a long hot shower, I'll order some pizza and we just be lazy for the rest of the night. I'll even rub your feet." Juice said making me laugh as I buried my face into his chest.
"Oh my God that sounds incredible. I might even give you a massage or two." I teased pulling Juice's lips to my own. We were interrupted when someone patted Juice on the shoulder causing us both to look over and see Tig.
"You better treat her right, got it?" Tig warned Juice who looked at him strangely.
"Y-yeah of course man." Juice said seemed a bit startled by Tig's sudden change of heart. He walked into the clubhouse and Kozik smiled at the both of us.
"You're a lucky man Juice. Don't ever forget it." Kozik said clapping a hand on his shoulder but Juice just nodded and let his eyes fall to rest on mine.
"Don't I know it and it's something I'll never forget." Juice said letting a little smile linger on his lips.
"Let's go home." I said patting his chest and he closed his eyes.
"Home...I like the sound of that." He put his arm around my shoulders leading me towards his bike. As exhausting as today was I knew that before long everything would be chaos once more. Things never stayed settled for very long.