A/N: Dearest readers; I'm SO sorry for the delay! It's the first unplanned delay so far.. but as I explained in an update in the last chapter, I had a test to study for, and I was a bit panicky at the end.. anyways, I took the test yesterday. I think it went pretty well.. anyways, so, here it is, the 29th chapter of 30. Seems a bit unrealistic, really, that we're so close to the end!
Today's quote is from Mumford and Sons, of course, with the lovely song Not With Haste. Please, go and listen to it, becasue it's really a wonderful song!
I love you all!
Now,
enjoy!
By the Laws of Murphy
Chapter Twenty-Nine
"I will love with urgency but not with haste."
— Not With Haste, Mumford and Sons
From a tall building not very far from Tyler Enterprises, the fireworks were splendid as the mighty building exploded, and on the front row, was Hailey Reed. She watched, with a burning satisfaction, as her plan locked and everything went according to it. Craig Tyler had not escaped the building, and she concluded that amongst all those bits of concrete that came flying, were his remains, shattered and torn and beyond any dignity. She did it. She killed Craig Tyler. She killed the monster that had fucked up her entire life. He had—the dead man—fucked up her life so bad, she had now passed the point of no return. She would never be able to go back to what things were. She had killed two people. She had lied, she had cheated and she had triumphed. Her views of the words were vastly changed, and she blamed it—and owed it—all to Craig Tyler.
Juice had advised her not to do it. He told her it wouldn't end well. He told her she would get caught, but she told him it would be alright. She had it covered.
"What if Tyler's men rat you out?" Juice cried. "Don't do it, Hailey! You'll regret it! He's gonna get time anyway, so why bother?!"
"Because he deserves to die." That was the only thing she'd told him before exiting the car and entered the building, wearing the wig and the shades. That was her driving thought throughout the whole process; because he deserves to die. When the young door man opened, and Hailey handed him the check, explaining to him the requirements he and his fellows had to meet to get the money, the only thing she thought about was how much Craig Tyler deserved to die. The pleased smirk had been glued to her face as the men had accepted her demands and let her in to plant the suitcase on Tyler's desk. No one had questioned her. They didn't even question her honor; would she give them the money? As she left the building, she thought it was because they most probably knew who she was, despite the wig and the glasses, and if they did, they most certainly understood why she did what she did. And she had not been lying. She pushed the money through as soon as she finished her call to Tyler, and a minute later, she received the confirmation call from the door man, Marcus, who said that everything was in place. To all this, she had used Juice's phone, and destroyed it afterwards, much to his dismay. She had then promised him that she could buy him any goddamn phone he wanted.
"But I had numbers on that phone," Juice then complained, referring to the number of a very pretty brunette he'd met the other night.
Not long after the boom, Hailey could see Maretta roll into the scene with black cars and police officers after, but they were all very astonished to see the burning building. Hailey had a moment of closure, a moment at satisfaction and peace before she said to Juice that it would be best for them to leave. He did not disagree, and they were soon on their way back to Charming.
Juice talked all the way; he was nervous. But he talked without response, because Hailey sat staring out the window, still feeling the calm and the satisfaction inside of her. Tyler was dead. He didn't make it out of the building.
As if Juice had somehow read her mind, he said after a pause, "Are you sure he won't come after you?"
"He's dead," Hailey replied calmly.
"How do you know?" Juice shrugged. "I mean, you gave him a choice, right? Do you really think he'd choose the money over life?"
"Yes, I do."
"How can you be sure?"
Hailey sighed and looked at him. "He wouldn't have gotten out anyway. He wouldn't even have got down to the next floor."
Juice furrowed his brow. "How do you mean?"
"I had the doors locked," she shrugged. "That bastard would have died anyway." She turned to look back out the window, and Juice remained silent. She knew what he was thinking about her. She knew that he was thinking of her as cold, and that this would do things to her. But it was already done. She was already destroyed. And she didn't care. The Butcher was dead by her hand, as her parents and professor were dead by his. Tyler was dead by her hand as her parents and professor were dead by his. She felt no remorse. The process of killing another human being was not a pretty process, and she had lived thought the worst of it. The second time was easier. She was sure it would all come to her later; the trembling, the breaking sweat, the nightmares, the panic… but at the moment, all she felt was calm. The calm before the storm. Because no matter how she twisted and turned it all, the fact remained that she had killed two monsters. She had acted judge and sentenced the two men, the two perpetrators, to death, and she had acted executer. Was it fair? Nothing really was. But this, she would consider rather fair. An eye for an eye, and in her count, she still had only killed two when the number was three. So in all frankness, it still wasn't fair. Would she go out on a killing rampage just to fill the quota? No. But she would forever go on with her live with the conviction that she still hasn't crossed that fine line between what's fair and what's cruel. Sure enough, she knew she might have brought a big grief upon Tyler's family, but she did nothing to them that he hadn't done to her. It was unfortunate that other people had to get involved with her and Tyler's business, but done was done, and it was done for the better.
When they arrived back at the garage, people weren't ready for them. Tig saw them first, and he found it hard to actually understand that it was Hailey, that she was back and that she was okay. When Hailey smiled to him and assured him that he wasn't dreaming, he had thrown himself upon her, hugged her tightly and started sobbing against her shoulder.
Calmly, she hushed him. "It's okay, Tigger. I wouldn't leave you all!"
The man pulled away and dried his pale blue eyes. The black mustache followed the curve of his lips, and he chuckled. "I love you, kid. You know that?"
She smiled. "I love you too, old man."
Bobby then came from inside the club house, wearing just as surprised and confused an expression as Tig had, and once he realized that she was back and that she was unharmed, he cheered loudly and pulled her into an embrace.
It was nice, she thought, to come back. To come home. Because she had to look at this place like that now; home. This was her family, and it would be even though her parents were still alive. She looked at Tig. "Where's Maggie?"
"She's still at the hospital," Tig said. "Tara thought it best to keep her there, and Jax and Chibs agree."
She bit her lip. "Well… where's Chibs?"
Tig sighed. "He spent the night fixing his bike. He's out on a ride. He left a couple of hours ago. Should be back soon." As Hailey nodded and looked away, Tig sighed deeply. "Look kid, he's been real worried about you."
"Yeah," Bobby said. "It's been impossible to get one sane word out of the man. Whatever you've done to him; undo it."
Hailey raised her brows. "What I've done? Well, what a welcome."
"Don't play innocent, sweetheart," Bobby muttered, but there was still a glimmer in his eye. "Chibs and a redhead? It—"
"—can only end one way, yeah, so I've heard," Hailey chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "I'll see what I can do."
More people had noticed her arrival, and amongst them was Jax. He wore a most unreadable face. But he told her he was glad she was alright, and they hugged. It was the first time she had ever hugged Jax, and for some reason, it felt extra good. It was as if she had received the acceptance she didn't get before. As they pulled away, he clenched his jaw and looked at her.
"Can I talk to you?" He was cautious not to sound as if something was wrong, she could hear that, and she played along and shrugged.
"Sure." She followed him into the club house. Both Chuck and Gemma was inside, and they were both equally happy when they saw that she was alive and well. Gemma rushed to hug her, but Jax put his hand up.
"Not now, mom," he said. "I've gotta talk to her first. Later."
Gemma seemed confused and then alarmed. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," Jax said. "It's fine. Just give us a minute." He gently pushed Hailey ahead and into the chapel, where he closed the door. He let out a deep sigh before he sat down by the gavel and motioned her to sit.
"Is something wrong?" She was a bit worried, she couldn't deny that. It was a bit strange to come in like this, when Jax was looking so serious.
He looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Wrong?" He sighed again and rubbed his eyes. "Look, Hailey, I know I haven't been the most trusting or supporting about this whole thing… I've been going on and on about that money and about how much the club needs it, and—" Hailey rolled her eyes. "—this is just… I don't even know what to say about this." He pulled out a paper. "Hailey, this is too much."
"What did you think I was going to do then?" she asked and raised an eyebrow. "Say, 'yeah, thanks guys for saving my life, but I'm gonna take my money and leave now, okay?' No. I wouldn't do that! You've deserved that money. All of you have!"
His jaw muscles flexed as he kept his blue gaze fixed at Hailey. "But this is a hundred millions, each! We can't take this kind of money! None of us can!"
Hailey closed her eyes and sighed. "Look, that's a fifth of all the money. I'm keeping about the same amount, and the rest goes to charity. I'm not gonna keep it all. I can't. What the hell am I gonna do with five billion dollars?!" She deliberately left out the part about the extra three billion dollars, because she had special plans for them.
Jax seemed speechless and fished in the air for things to say. "Well, I—don't you have dreams? Ambitions? Don't you wanna save some for your kids?"
"I'll have plenty left to do that, don't you worry," she said and raised her brow. "I will have a billion dollars. Do you understand how much money that is?"
"Well, when you get into those kinds of circles," Jax sighed, "that won't be a lot of money."
"Don't worry, I won't get into those kinds of circles," Hailey retorted.
"So you say that you'll come back here and live with bikers when you've graduated from Harvard and are in possession of a billion dollars?" Jax asked and raised his brows. There was a smug laughter in his voice, as well, and Hailey narrowed her eyes.
"Jax, I know you've never thought that very highly of me, but please," she sighed, "just try to believe me when I say I wanna do this! I love you all! You're my family now, and we've all been through too much to say otherwise."
He sighed. "I know. I know! It's just… I feel guilty for taking this money."
"Don't be," she shrugged. "You need it, to get out of all this shit you're dealing with. You all now have the money to quit all this muling shit, you can take care of your families and just live life. It's my gift to you, and it's rude to deny a gift."
Jax looked at her, frowned with a conflicting expression as he slowly shook his head. "You're insane, you know that?"
Hailey smiled. "Oh, I know. Who wouldn't be, spending time with you guys?"
He laughed. "Yeah, maybe you're right."
"Maybe?" Hailey smirked and crossed her arms. "I've paid you, so from now on, I'm always right."
Muttering, but wearing a grin, he said, "You'll be a pain in the ass when you're an Old Lady, you know that?"
Suddenly taken aback, Hailey furrowed her brows. "When I'm what?"
"Don't play with me," Jax said. "It's not really a secret. We all know it."
She clenched her jaw. What was the point? "Well… so?"
He shrugged. "'So' nothing. We think it's great."
"Did Chibs say anything?" She couldn't help but to feel a little left out here. It wasn't as if they had agreed on not telling anyone, but she still felt a bit left out in all of this.
"He didn't have to," Jax said, and for some reason, she felt relieved. So their relationship wouldn't be such a surprise, because sooner or later, they would have to drop the bomb.
In all honesty, Hailey was a bit tired of bombs at the moment. To know this one wouldn't be, was rather nice.
They sat in the chapel for a bit longer, talking about just random things. Jax asked what Tyler had done to her, and she told him everything. She told him about the grouping, about the remarks, and about the whole plan Maretta had set up without her knowledge. Jax listened and nodded. He was surprised that she had taken it all so well, and he still couldn't really understand that she had been to Zürich and back.
"Me neither," she said with a sign, "and the jetlag is really getting to me."
Jax was just about to open his mouth to say something when the roaring of a bike was heard from outside the club house. "It's gotta be Chibs."
Hailey nodded, suddenly so very nervous. Both of them rose and headed for the door, and Hailey fixed her shirt and cleared her throat. His husky, barking tone could be heard throughout the club house.
"Where is she?"
She could see him, striding into the main room, his glasses on and a cigarette in his mouth. The cross swung over his chest as he walked around, and his hair had fallen into his face as he turned his head about to see her. She was slightly hiding behind Jax as they walked, and when he finally caught a glimpse of her, he stopped in mid motion and it took him a good two seconds before he spoke.
"So… ye came back?"
He sounded surprised, and for some reason, it made her laugh. "Well, where else would I go?"
He shrugged as Jax quickly and silently removed himself from the scene. "I dunno… Italy?"
She chuckled. "Don't be stupid." She didn't hesitate before she strode up to the man and pressed herself against his chest in a tight hug. He threw his arms around her, and she could feel his sigh of relief, and tears started to build behind her eyes.
"Don' ye dare leave me like tha' again," he muttered against her head. "I didn' know whether ye were dead or alive!"
"I know," she said against his chest, letting the first tear roll down her cheek, and was slowly joined by others. "But I'm here now."
They stood like that for a long time, just holding each other. People passed them, more than once, probably, and no once seemed to notice them. Either that, or they all simply ignored it. When they pulled away, Hailey felt dizzy. The warmth and the safety of Chibs' embrace and the sudden burst of emotion made her so sleepy, her knees were trembling.
"Are ye okay?" Chibs asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm just tired. Jetlagged, you know."
"Right, come on." He led her into his room and practically forced her down under the covers to get some sleep.
"Will you stay?" she asked and looked at him.
The scars on his cheek had never been more beautiful than in the dim light from the sun through the curtains, his brown eyes glittering with something she liked to think of as longing. "Aye." He took his brown leather jacket off as he crawled down under the covers with her and placed an arm around her waist.
The scent of him, the feel of him, the rhythm of his heart… it was all nestling in with her, connecting with her in a way it never had before. She was so sure that he was the one. She was so sure that there would never be a person like Chibs. Sure enough, she hadn't been with that many guys before him, but she'd had her fair share to choose from, and no one—absolutely no one—had even been close. She recalled her moment of doubt in Switzerland, and she knew that if she hadn't already met Chibs, Mark Pertille would have been her absolute ideal man. He was intelligent, he was deep, he was funny, he was friendly, he was handsome, he was very gentlemanlike… he was everything she had ever wished for before meeting Chibs, because frankly, Chibs was nothing she would have ever even considered before meeting him. She even remembered finding him somewhat repulsive and intimidating. Now, there was no one more wonderful than the man holding her close to him.
He didn't talk and he didn't move. He just lay there, breathing steadily and evenly, waiting for her to fall asleep. She doubted he would still be there when she woke up, but she didn't blame him for that. At least she could let his steady breaths be her lullaby once again.
¤(SoA)¤
She was breathing heavy now. Her red hair was flowing over the pillow, and he had buried his face in it, just to be drenched in the smell of it. She was there. She was real. She was alive. He really didn't expect her to come back, but she was back. She had come back to him, and she had gone to him.
The sleeping girl next to him was a treasure. She was invaluable, and he loved her.
While she was sleeping soundly, Chibs slid out of bed and went out to the main room to have a smoke by the bar. He'd had a call from his bank, telling him that an anonymous person had given him a hundred million dollars, and since he knew who it was from, it felt ominous. Was this a sign? Had she changed her mind? But she came back… she came back to him. Why would she come back unless she wanted to stay—or perhaps say goodbye. No, he couldn't think that way! It was strange, really, how he could have fallen so far and so hard for this girl when he'd promised himself never to love again. But she was the one. She was the only one who could ever compete with Fiona, and to be honest, he even started to think that Hailey was better than Fiona. Of course, Fiona was the mother of his child, and would forever hold a special place in his heart, but Hailey… she held many placed in his body. And, if he was allowed to dream, if he was allowed to look into the future with hope, Fiona might not be the only one to mother his children. He knew he was getting old. Children were a far stretch, but he imagined that Hailey might want some later on, and to be fairly honest, men could father children into their late seventies. So he still had loads of time… that was, of course, if Hailey really had decided to stay with him.
There was a deep sigh to his left, and he turned to face Tig. "She's all tucked in?"
Chibs huffed. "Yeah."
"I still can't wrap my mind around it," Tig frowned. "I mean, she did it. She actually did it! She somehow cheated that fucker and beat him to the goal! Did you get a phone call from your bank today? Yeah, I did too. One hundred million fucking dollars, Chibs… she's fuckin' insane. But I'm not complaining."
Chibs nodded. "Aye. A generous farewell-gift, I suppose."
"Farewell—what the fuck do you mean, man?" Tig asked and lowered his brows. "Are you shitting me? She ain't leaving! Why the fuck would she leave?!"
Chibs raised a brow. "Are ye really tha' stupid, Tiggy?" When the mustached man seemed very confused, Chibs rolled his eyes. "Why do ye think tha' she would stay here? She wants te finish her studies, go te Rome, study there… she wants another life than this."
"Yeah, well…" Tig seemed to try to find something to say. "She could do that, too! I mean, we all go on trips, right? I mean, this would be her home."
Chibs shook his head. "This would be her prison."
"Come on, man!" Tig groaned. "You can't mean that?! Can you honestly say that you don't want her to stay?"
"Of course I want her te stay!" Chibs spat. "But I'm doubtin' she will!"
Huffing, Tig shook his head. "Yeah, well, I'm not." He took a cigarette from his breast pocket and lighted it. "You're just being a cynical ass, because you don't think you're good enough for her. Well, get over yourself, will you?" Muttering while shaking his head, Tig left the bar, leaving Chibs to himself.
A couple of hours later, when Chibs was mending one of the newly arrived cars, a small, rather sickly looking creature joined him while squinting in the sun. He looked at her with a smile. "Had a nice sleep, love?"
She nodded. "I was completely knocked out."
He chuckled as he leaned in to give her a quick kiss. "Aye, jetlag is awful."
She nodded. "So, what's this?"
"A Chevy Impala -64," he said. "Nice car, terrible shape."
She chuckled. "It looks like a piece of garbage, if you ask me."
"I didn't," he teased and he leaned in to give her another kiss, a deeper one. He didn't give a damn about who saw it.
Suddenly, a car rolled into the compound, a black, shiny one, and for a second, Chibs thought it to be Tyler, and he braced himself for the worse. But a woman stepped out. Maretta Chalvais. She seemed upset.
"Miss Reed," she said, her voice stern.
Hailey seemed to tighten, but looked otherwise rather calm. "Yeah? Is there something wrong?"
"What the hell did you do?" The woman was striding up to the redhead, and Chibs was quick on his feet to stand between his treasure and the British woman. "Get out of the way, Pict!"
"Oh, fuck you, ye little English c—"
"Chibs!" Hailey warned and determinedly heaved him aside. "Look Maretta, I don't know what you're talking about, honestly!"
Maretta laughed painfully scornfully. "Oh, and you believe I'd buy that? Come on, Hailey, let's be serious. You wanted him dead. You set off that bomb!"
Chibs furrowed his brows. Bomb? He looked at Hailey, whose face was so utterly surprised, it was as if it was the last thing she would ever hear.
"What?" she asked doubtfully. "You think that—wait, what?!"
"Don't pretend," Maretta growled. "You ruined our whole operation! I can have you arrested, you know that, right? The court doesn't give a damn about how much money you have!"
Hailey shook her head, devastation in her face. "Maretta, I swear, I don't know what you're talking about! What bomb?!"
Chibs looked at the woman, and there was a slight change in her countenance. "You don't know what I'm talking about?"
Hailey shook her head. "No! Did someone blow him up? Wait… is Tyler… dead?"
The British woman clenched her jaw and seemed to compose herself before sighing. "We don't know. Tyler Enterprises in Sacramento exploded earlier today, just before we arrived for the arrest. According to the police, there were remains found, but only of one person. We don't know who it was yet."
Hailey crossed her arms, seemingly nervous. "But… there is a chance that it was Tyler?"
Reluctantly, Maretta Chalvais nodded. "Yes. There is a… possibility that it might have been Craig Tyler. Can you swear, by anything you hold dear, that you weren't involved?"
Frowning, Hailey dropped her shoulders. "Yes! Why would I risk something like that? My God, it was a miracle I got away in one piece!"
Seeming disappointed and relieved at the same time, Maretta nodded. "Alright. I believe you. I'm sorry for the intrusion. Miss Reed." She nodded at Hailey and turned to Chibs for a quick nod before she returned to her car and drove off.
Chibs furrowed his brows as he looked at the redhead. She was clenching her jaw. "Hailey," he started. "Is there somethin' ye need te tell me?"
She only looked at him with a worn out look, suggesting that they would talk later. But when 'later' arrived, she refused to talk about it.
They were in his apartment, enjoying a cup of tea after a delicious meal—that Chibs had actually made, just for her—when the subject was brought up.
"So," he said, "about tha' bomb?"
She sighed. "Look, Chibs, really, I don't wanna talk about it."
"So, you did it?"
She shook her head. "Please, let's not, okay?"
"Did you?"
"No."
Grabbing her arm and pulling her to his lap, he wrapped his arms around her and leaned his forehead against hers. Everything about her told him that she'd done it. But for the time being, he really couldn't care less.
¤(SoA)¤
Hailey didn't like lying, but for some reason, it didn't seem like lying to Chibs, because she knew he would understand what the truth was, anyway. Lying would be practically impossible. So, being seated in his lap, with her forehead against his, she ran her hands over his chest. "He touched me."
Chibs grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back, rather viciously, with anger and worry in his eyes. "He did wha'?!"
"He touched me," she repeated. "He touched me in a way I did not like, and I made him pay for it. He killed my parents, my professor, and he nearly killed Juice, he nearly killed you… I made him pay for all that. Isn't that fair? He can't hurt us anymore."
There was a second of confusion in the Scotsman's eyes before he clashed his lips onto hers, determinedly, forcefully, and she let herself be lost in his kiss, in the whole essence of him. There would never be anyone like him. Never.
He carried her into the bedroom, and there was this special passion felt between them, that had never quite been there before. It wasn't as if they simply loved each other more than before, no, it was more like they'd… found a much profounder understanding for one another, and a connection that slowly was building in a deeper level, like the slow, pulsating magma in an ancient volcano, and that profound feeling was so strong, so effective, she had never had such a release when being with him. It spread through her entire body, curled her toes, clawed her fingers, in a way it had never done before. It was release in its purest form, without being pushed or hasted, and afterwards, when they both lay panting next to each other, and it was in the air; that feeling of surprise yet indescribable relief. And that slow and steady magma was still pulsating deep within them, pulsating for each other.
Chibs turned to put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "I love you."
"I love you, too." She placed a hand on his, and a feeling tingled through her body, both alarming and satisfying; those hands, his hands, the hands that mended the broken, were the hands of a killer. They were the same now. They had been weathered, by wind and by water, to fit one another.
