A/N: WARNING - ADULT CONTACT...DIFFICULT AND GRAPHIC SITUATION.
LEXI'S P.O.V.
I struggled against my restraints, hoping to miraculously break free as one of my assailants continued to run his hand up my thigh. I couldn't help but notice the more I struggled, cried and begged the more turned on he became. His laugh sounded eerily threatening and his dark eyes gleamed with sick excitement. His right hand made its way to my lace thong and I cringed in pain as it was ripped off me.
He grinned as he held up his souvenir, closed his eyes in pleasure as he sniffed my thong before slipping the white lace fabric into the pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a knife and laughed again as I pleaded with him to let me go. He held the knife up to my neck, its tip placed against my skin as he lightly dragged it from the base of my neck to the V of the fabric of my turquoise colored silk dress. He sliced open the front of my dress and as the fabric fell to the side one of his friends ripped it off of me, leaving me in only my white lace bra and my white stiletto sandals.
The man in charge took his knife again and ran it upwards from my naval to the valley of my cleavage. I felt something die in me at that point. There would be no escaping. This fucker would pay for what he was about to do to me. That I was sure of. The only question was who would make him pay. Would it be my Old Man or my Dad? He noticed the change in my eyes and my demeanor as he used the knife to slice open the front of my bra. He drew blood between my breasts and took his finger, tracing the dripping blood, down the same path down on my body his knife had taken moments before. He then cut the straps of the bra and tossed the shredded La Perla lace bra to his friend, who then put it in his pocket.
I glanced at the third assailant, who seemed to be invisible to the other two at that moment. I silently pleaded with him to help me when I felt the pain for the first time. The man in charge, the one with the horrible breath and the "I KILL NIGGERS" tattoo prominently displayed across his chest, after he removed his white wife-beater, had penetrated me with three of his fingers abruptly and forcefully. I cried out in pain and couldn't hold back the tears as I watched him lick the taste of me from his fingers. He closed his eyes for a moment before unzipping his pants, his jeans and boxers fall to the floor.
"Ready for your first gang-bang, Princess? We're going to show you what it's like to be fucked by real men and not biker boys." he said, elbowing his friend and laughing as I once again began struggling against the restraints.
As he moved forward, I'm sure to force himself on me, he froze as he heard the sound of a safety unlock on a gun. "What the fuck? You'll have your turn." he yelled to the third masked man. "We don't rape women. That's not what our cause is about. You've scared her, beaten her and cut her. She'll deliver our message. Get her down, knock her out and let's get the fuck out of here before anyone finds us." a familiar voice ordered. A voice I had heard before, but couldn't place.
"Fuck you. I'm getting a piece of her and then we'll leave." he replied as he proceeded to push up against me. My mind went blank and I yelled out in agony as I felt him enter me forcefully, his pants still down around his ankles. His mouth dropped to my right breast, where he bit me so hard blood was drawn. He rammed into me over and over as I screamed, begging him to stop. His number two was cheering him on the entire time, saying he was ready to tag in at any time.
That's when the gunshot rang out. Blood splattered everywhere, including on me and onto my rapist. The man with the gun shot the second assailant in the back of the head. The one raping me stopped mid-thrust and was furious as he turned around.
"Don't make me repeat myself or kill you. Get her down now." the familiar voice said again. "I'll be coming back for you." my rapist promised, menacingly, as I was uncuffed. A cloth was then stuck over my nose and mouth. That's the last thing I saw before my world went dark.
JAX'S P.O.V.
It had now been almost ten hours since Lexi had last been seen. We didn't have any leads as to her whereabouts. Tig had reached out to the Mayans, the Niners, the Calaveras and the Grim Bastards. No one, not Alvarez or Laroy or Salazar or Cross, was owning up to knowing anything. I was going out of my mind and knew Clay was not doing much better.
I was sitting up on the roof of the clubhouse, preparing to drown my sorrows and my worries in the bottle of Jack I managed to swipe from the bar, when I saw David Hale's jeep pull into the lot. My blood went cold. My heart started racing. Had someone found Lexi?
"No!" I heard Clay scream, moments later in anguish, from down below. "Jax! We need you down here now!" Chibs called up in a solemn voice. I got up and climbed down the ladder. "What is it?" I asked, bracing myself for the worst news imaginable, when I walked into the main room.
"We got a call. Police in Lodi found a woman beaten to death and left on the side of the road. She is petite and a redhead. Her description is similar to Lexi's. Where is your wife, Jax? I went by Un-Southern and your house. I can't find Lexi. Is she here, Teller?"" Hale asked me.
My legs gave out as I stumbled over to a table. It couldn't be, I thought to myself. Please God, not Lexi, I prayed as I heard Opie tell Hale that Lexi had been missing since that morning.
"Fuck. Why didn't you contact Charming PD? Lodi police are still with the body out on Route 99. I'm going to need someone to come with me to make a positive identification." Hale replied. He glared at me. If it was Lexi's body that had been found I knew he would hold me responsible for her death. For not protecting her. For all the reasons I would hold myself accountable.
SOPHIE'S P.O.V.
"I'll go with you." I heard myself say to the Deputy Chief. Gemma and I returned to the clubhouse moments before, after leaving the five kids with Neeta, Miles, Rat and Phil. "Sophie, no. You shouldn't have to see that, just in case..." Opie's voice trailed off, not being able to finish what we were all thinking. He wrapped his arms around me as the tears began to silently stream down my face.
"It's not her Opie. It can't be. I would feel it. I would know somehow if it was her. I truly believe she's alive." I said, praying I wasn't lying to him...to myself...to our family.
"No. I'm going. Sophie, I appreciate it but Opie's right. You shouldn't have to go in case it is Lexi. More than anything right now I need you to go back to my house and stay with the kids. I'm sure Neeta could use the break and I want you there in case any of them wake up." my brother told me as he got up from the table he was sitting at.
"Let's go Hale. I'll follow you." Jax said, walking out the door and onto the lot.
"I have to go with him. Soph, go to his house. I'll come by as soon as we get back from Lodi and let you know what's going on. I love you." Opie said, giving me a quick kiss and running out the door with Chibs and Tig behind him.
JAX'S P.O.V.
I could see the flashing lights from the police cars and the coroners van up ahead as I pulled to a stop behind Hale's jeep. I shut my bike off, removed my helmet and lit a cigarette. Opie, Chibs, Tig and I sat in silence as Hale spoke with the Sargent from Lodi PD.
We stood as Hale approached us. "Jax, this isn't going to be easy. From what I have been told, the body was beaten pretty badly to the point where her face is swollen and unrecognizable. Her head has also been shaved. When you're ready they'll pull back the tarp." Hale said, as we stood looking down at the blue tarp.
Hale was on my left and my brothers on my right. I nodded. I couldn't speak. My heart was pounding and I could feel sweat pouring down my forehead. I watched as the tarp was pulled back and a hairless bald head and an unrecognizable face was all we could see. "Sweet Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Who would beat a woman like that?" Chibs asked softly.
"I can't tell if it's her. I don't recognize the clothes. Roll up her right sleeve. If my crow isn't there then it's not her." I said to the coroner who was crouched down next to the body. We all held our breath as the sleeve of the black dress was rolled up.
I turned away as soon as I saw the wrist. I didn't say a word. I couldn't say anything. What I was feeling was impossible to convey to anyone at that moment. I had seen so much death over the years. It seemed to follow me and the club no matter where we went or what we did. It followed us no matter how hard Clay and I tried to keep the peace with the other MC's and the gangs. It was never-ending.
I got on my bike and sped back towards Charming. I was angry and on the verge of spiraling out of control. I was going to do something stupid. If I wasn't careful I'd end up getting locked up again. I wasn't going to let that happen, but I was going to kill whoever had taken my Old Lady from me and my kids twelve hours ago.
OPIE'S P.O.V.
"Go after him. Watch him and let me know where he goes. I'll finish up here." I told Chibs and Tig as we heard Jax's Harley roar to life. I looked over at Hale as I lit a smoke.
"The body will need to be taken back to Charming." I said quietly. "I've reached out to the Medical Examiner at St. Thomas. They're on the way now. They'll take her back to the morgue and do the autopsy. I'm going to have to bring in the San Joaquin's Sherriff on this Opie. It is obviously a message of some sort to the club and it's the dead body of someone who lives in Charming." he replied.
"Yeah, I know. I honestly don't have a clue what it means or who sent it." I told him as we looked down over a body so mangled that it could only be identified by the tattoo on the right wrist. A tattoo that was not done by Happy but was a botched version of Lexi's on the right wrist. A tattoo that did not have the Celtic Knot woven through the crow. A tattoo that I was pretty certain was on the wrist of a woman who once thought she would end up spending the rest of her life with Jax Teller.
