Chapter Thirty-Two

Jax kissed Allie goodbye on her way out the door for work after they'd finished their breakfast - and after that wildly entertaining family meeting with Dan, and then he settled into the couch with the remote in his hand. He really didn't have anywhere to be for a few hours anyway. No one was expecting him back at the clubhouse at any specific time, and as far as he knew, there wasn't really any club business on the docket today. As long as he made an appearance at some point - so he was going to take Allie up on her offer to get more comfortable, to feel more at home, inside their home.

Because at the end of the day, it didn't matter if he had one drawer in a dresser or every single possession he owned in this house. If this was Allie's home, then this was his home too.

Not to mention the fact that he basically already lived here, and her suggestion of clearing out a dresser or two was really just skirting around the issue. But he wasn't about to push. Wasn't about to overstep, not when she'd already let him in this far.

Besides, her roommate had pretty much taken care of the rest for him. Jax really couldn't have planned this out better if he'd tried.

As if on cue, Dan sauntered down the stairs, high on life and on cloud nine, with his phone in his hand.

"Hey, friend?"

Jax grinned at him from his spot on the couch. "What's that, bro?"

Dan wagged a finger at him as he rounded the corner on the staircase. "Before I completely get swept away in all my big gay wedding planning and forget all about it, I did the thing you asked me to do, and I have produced some fool-proof options for you."

Jax's smile only widened, and he leaned forward on the couch with his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Nice, bro. What ya got for me?"

"Well," Dan grinned at him slyly, his eyebrows lifted high in his forehead. "First things first, after some preliminary research, I decided that your initial budget was insufficient, given the task you'd assigned me."

Now, it was Jax's turn to lift his eyebrows, but he narrowed his eyes at Dan just as quickly. "What do you mean insufficient?"

Dan tilted his head in exasperation with a hand perched bitchily on his hips. "Have you met our girl? Have you seen the clothes she wears? The shoes? The makeup? Come on, friend. It's designer or bust with our girl, and that means you gotta shell out some cash, bro."

He blew out a deep breath. And here he'd thought $300 was more than enough for what he was asking for. He'd done his due diligence, as Allie would say, and had done a little bit of poking around online on his own, just to get a feel for how much something like this actually cost in real life, and not just what he thought it should cost. It wasn't about really the cost anyway - in his mind, getting something Allie liked would cost what it cost. He just had a pretty good feeling Dan was spending his money just to spend it. But then again, by roping her roommate and best friend into the mix, he'd done this to himself.

"Alright," Jax sighed warily. "Whatever you think, bro."

There was no point in arguing. Besides, Dan was his ace in the hole anyway. And Dan, for his part, giddily held his phone in front of Jax's face to show him a picture of one of his options.

"Yeah," Jax nodded with a small smile, feeling his heart clench just a little bit at the thought of seeing it on her. Something like that was pretty damn perfect. And just what he'd had in mind.

"You like this one?" Dan grinned excitedly, and then he pulled his phone away before Jax had a chance to answer, swiping through a few screens before holding his phone up to Jax to show him yet another option. "How about this one?"

Jax scrutinized it carefully and then just shrugged. "I don't know. They both kinda look the same to me."

He huffed in exasperation, his lips pulling apart in an irritated line. "Of course you'd say that. You know what? Let's not mess around here. Just go with the first one. She'll love it. I promise. I'll send you the link, but just to be clear, you're buying the gold version, not the silver one."

"Okay."

After a moment's hesitation, Dan eyed him carefully with his eyes narrowed and then he blew out another huff of frustration, slicing his free hand down just to reiterate his point. "Alright, whatever. We'll do it from my phone because I am not about to let you mess this up after I did all the legwork for you," then he reached out impatiently, "Hand over your credit card."

"Shit," Jax muttered under his breath. "Alright. Thanks, I guess? I gotta run upstairs to get my wallet."

"Hurry it up. I have very important wedding planning to attend to."

Jax was already halfway up the stairs when he yelled back, "On it, bro!"

"You know," Dan called back by the time Jax was digging around in the jeans he'd left in the bathroom the night before. "We need to talk about how you're going to repay me for this very nice, very big favor I did for you. And I have it all worked out."

At that point, Jax was already jogging back down the stairs with his card in hand. "Alright. Whatever you want - you got it."

Dan's face spread apart in a slightly evil, a little depraved smile and he rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I was hoping you'd say that. So, as you know, I'm getting married in a week."

Jax eyed him carefully as he passed Dan his card. "I do know that."

"And as I'm sure you're already aware," Dan lifted his eyebrows expectantly. "I am in want of a bachelor party, and I would like to have said bachelor party in your clubhouse. It is my greatest and most fervent wish."

And, Jax grinned, said bachelor party would inevitably bring Allie to the clubhouse for a party. There was no way she was getting out of that one - come hell or high water, Dan would never allow her to make excuses not to be there for this particular occasion. Even if Jax couldn't convince Allie to spend the night, at least he would get her there for a party. This week. He really couldn't have planned this any better himself.

This one was a no-brainer.

"Hey, just work out the details with Gemma and we'll make it happen. It's our turn to host all you guys from the studio anyway."

Dan's face spread apart in a shit-eating, victorious grin. "I figured you'd say yes. You know, considering who you're sleeping with."

"This is true," Jax laughed, shaking his head a little as Dan punched in numbers from his card to pay. "But it's not every day my old lady's best friend gets married, so there's that. And, hey, you know what? As my wedding gift to you, I'll get Allie outta the house for a few days after the wedding so you and Adrian can have the whole place to yourselves for a little bit."

It was the least he could do, seeing as how in a very short amount of time, he and Allie were about to have the whole place to themselves. Nobody had said it out loud yet, but that was because it was obvious and inevitable - there was no way Dan and his new husband would continue to live under Allie's roof for very long after their wedding. Sure, maybe it would take them a little time to find a place of their own, but that was fine. Jax could wait.

Dan wagged a finger at him. "I knew I liked you. I don't know how you're gonna do it, and I really don't care right now. So does this mean I should put a rush on the delivery?"

"Rush the delivery, bro. I don't care what it costs. Just get it to me before next weekend."

With a few more punches into his phone, Dan nodded to himself before glancing back up at Jax with a knowing grin. "Just for future reference, when it's time to buy the big one, you'll get her the silver version, not gold, because gold would be incorrect for that particular purchase. Although, I cannot imagine a situation where I wouldn't be brought along for that shopping trip - and if you're smart, you'll take whatever number you have in your head of what you want to spend, and you'll double it."

Jax's eyebrows lifted into his forehead. "You really think that'll matter? I mean, if you think it will then -"

"Oh no, friend," Dan grinned evilly. "I have a feeling our sweet little Alexandra would be perfectly happy with whatever you present to her, when she's ready to be presented to. I'm the one who wants to spend your money, and I'm gonna enjoy every second of it."


Jax pulled into the gas station a few blocks away from the house on his way to the clubhouse, in need of some gas and a nicotine fix. He was almost out of cigarettes, having nearly smoked a whole pack in one sitting before he went home the night before, and he'd had a few more out on the patio before leaving just now.

Now that he was away from the house, and away from Allie, that dark current he'd been wading in before he went home last night - that dark current slipped right back over his head again. The darkness enveloped him and squeezed him tight, sucking him in even deeper and deeper like a deadly undertow. He'd been able to keep it all at bay as long as he was at home, wrapped around her, focused on her, giving her what she needed from him.

The physical distance from her now wasn't doing him any favors. It had been right on the tip of his tongue to ask Dan what he knew, and how much he knew, but he also didn't want to burst Dan's happy wedding planning bubble either. He figured Dan had to know something - he just didn't know how much Allie had been willing to tell him. Not that it mattered. Not that it did anything for his mood either.

And it was that dark mood that trailed along after him as he made his way inside the gas station after filling up his tank. He nodded to the clerk behind the counter, his eyes lifting up to the rows and rows of cigarette packs on the back wall. Something made him hesitate, and then, looking to stall, his gaze dropped down to the newspaper rack to his left.

One headline, in particular, stood out above the rest, and for a second, that dark mood lifted as he read and then re-read the headline: Local Strip Club Owner Dominic King Arrested For Secret Prostitution Ring. His lips quirked up in a smile, and he snatched the newspaper out of the rack and tossed it onto the counter.

Shit like that needed to be in a frame.

"Anything else, Mr. Teller?" the clerk behind the counter looked at him now, and Jax had to grin at the respect.

Wearing this president patch would never get old. But as his eyes drifted back up to the rows of cigarettes behind the clerk, hesitation momentarily paralyzed him right where he stood. He narrowed his eyes at another row right underneath all the cigarette packs, and tipped his chin toward it.

"Those things actually work?" Jax asked the clerk.

He whipped his head around, quickly finding the row of e-cigarettes Jax was looking at, and he just shrugged. "Sure. Not the same as a real smoke, but it's not supposed to be. Which one you want?"

Jax felt himself hesitate again, briefly chewing on his bottom lip in thought. Then, before he could stop himself, he tipped his chin to that row again. "Whichever one most people get."

The clerk shrugged again, tossing that package and a set of some weird-looking pods on top of it, and rang it up along with the newspaper and his gas. But when he stepped outside the gas station, this time he didn't hesitate, ripping through the package, not bothering with the instructions, and jammed one of the pods inside the contraption that looked more like a dog whistle than an e-cigarette. He took a long pull from it once it was all activated, inhaling deeply, the taste of mint filling his mouth, and then he pushed out a stream of smoke through his nostrils.

Huh.

That wasn't terrible.

Definitely not the same as an actual cigarette, but not the worst thing ever either. He could probably get used to it, since it was technically healthier for him than an actual cigarette, once he got used to the shit he'd get for it at the clubhouse.

His prepay buzzed inside his cut, and he took one more long pull from that e-cigarette as he dug in his pocket, frowning when he saw the number on the caller ID. He flipped it open almost immediately to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Jax?"

He just about fell over when he realized he recognized the voice on the other end of the line and gripped his prepay until his knuckles turned white.


Allie glanced up from her coffee cup at some movement in her doorway, and felt her heart twist violently in her chest at the sight of her dad hovering, shifting anxiously from side to side like he just didn't know what to do with himself. That was fair, given the circumstances. She glanced at Piper, who was frowning at Jimmy from her spot at Allie's desk.

Piper still hadn't given her much intel on what was going on with her, although Allie had a pretty good feeling things with Dylan weren't going well. And if Piper just didn't want to talk about it, then no one understood that better than Allie. Still, she'd been hoping for a little bit of a distraction from everything that had gone down yesterday at the clubhouse, and she'd yet to find it.

And now, her dad was watching her with careful, agonized dark eyes. His head tilted to the side as he took in the sight of his daughter sitting at her desk in his studio, trying to go about her day just like it was any other day - just like she did just about every day anyway. It was almost as if he was seeing her with new eyes, thinking about some of the things she'd said and some of the things she'd done differently because now all that had a darker, albeit clearer, context.

"Hey, Pipes?" Allie murmured to her with a soft smile. "You think you could give me and my dad a minute?"

Piper just shrugged, swiping her phone and some of the paperwork they'd been working through up in both arms, and left the room with a wave goodbye. Even then, Jimmy still lingered in the doorway, shoving one hand in his front pocket and yanking the other through his greying hair. He shifted his weight from side to side again, and then Allie just couldn't take this anymore. She rose from her chair, moved around the side of her desk, and then he sprang into action, meeting her in the middle and sweeping her into his arms.

"I'm so sorry, honey," Jimmy murmured in her ear. "I'm so, so sorry. I wish I'd been there for you, Allie, but I understand why you didn't tell me."

There really wasn't much she could say to that. She had purposefully kept it from him. Had purposefully kept her distance from home the following summer, and once she'd moved to LA, she'd made as many excuses as she could to avoid coming home until she had her game face perfected.

So, all she could really do was give her dad the comfort he needed right now. He thought he was comforting her, and it was fine to let him think that - right now, this was really just about easing the grief of a man who'd just learned his daughter had been assaulted years ago, and that he'd never known, and that she'd kept it from him all these years. Allie knew she could've told him. She knew that. It was never about worrying if he would believe her because she'd known he would.

She just hadn't been able to say the words until yesterday, until necessity had dictated that she sit on that bed in Jax's dorm, with his hand pressed soothingly into her back, and with her brother sitting across from her. Maybe she'd needed to tell Opie too - not quite as much as she'd needed to tell Jax, but seeing him listen, seeing him finally understand, even in spite of the inevitable guilt etched across his face - that had felt good too. It had felt right.

It hadn't, unfortunately, ever felt right to tell her dad. How was she ever supposed to look him in the eye and say all that to him anyway?

"You know," Jimmy was saying now, as he loosened his grip on her and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Our business partner is the best partner for you that I ever could've asked for. I can't imagine it was easy for him to sit across from me in his mother's kitchen yesterday and have to say all that to me. But he did it. We all got through it, and we're still gonna get through it."

Allie hadn't forgotten Jax had told their parents yesterday. She'd just wanted to forget.

"I know, Dad," she smiled back at him. "I know."

"He told me he's gonna make this right for you," Jimmy went on. "And I believe him. I really do."

Allie bit down on her bottom lip to hide her frown and the sinking pit forming in her stomach. He didn't say that to her yesterday, or this morning, and she knew there was only one reason why. It was very possible that he just didn't want to have to answer the question she didn't want to have to ask.

"I'm sure he will, Dad," Allie smiled back weakly. She swallowed hard as the words left her lips because she just didn't know what else to do.

"Hey, you know what? We should go out to lunch together today. When was the last time we did that, huh?"

"Yeah," she smiled again. "I think that would be nice."

Jimmy opened his mouth to say something else but got cut off by her phone ringing on her desk. He just gestured with his head to her desk, signalling that she should answer it. With a light laugh, she speed-walked back to her desk, smiling at the caller ID and sweeping it up to answer.

"Hey, Jax."

"Hey, baby," his voice came in through the other end. Even though he'd only said two words to her, the agitation in his voice had her frowning.

"What's wrong?"

He huffed out a laugh, and she could practically see him shaking his head, wherever he was. "Nothing's wrong...at least not really. Shit, maybe I shouldn't - fuck, I shouldn't have called you. Look, Allie, we still have Rosen on our payroll as a back-up. I'll just give him a call and see if he can handle this."

"Jax," she told him firmly. "You can't drop something like that on me and not tell me what's really going on."

He pushed out a long, frustrated sigh, and then after a pause, just jumped into it. "Wendy's in lock-up. She wouldn't tell me the details, just that she made a mistake and asked me to bail her out. I don't know...Allie, lemme just give Rosen a call and let him deal -"

"Jax," she sighed. "She's at Charming PD, right?"

"Allie," he huffed out. "I shouldn't have called you. I don't want you dealin' with this shit on top of everything else. I'm gonna call Rosen -"

"Who's gonna charge you an arm and a leg just for showing up and signing some paperwork," Allie cut in, almost unable to believe the words that were about to come out of her mouth. "I'll go bail her out, sign whatever needs to be signed, and then I can at least find out what's going on before you bring Rosen into the mix."

"I don't care about Rosen charging us for that, Allie. That doesn't matter to me right now."

"Yeah?" Allie shot back a little too quickly. "Well, it matters to me, Jax. I'm the club's attorney, aren't I? I know how important the club's cash flow is right now. How's it going to look to everyone else when they find out I just passed this off and cost the club more money? I don't want to do that. Just let me take care of this, okay?"

There was a pause on the other end, like he was weighing his options, sifting through the pros and cons on this, and maybe, by the end of it all, he realized what they both already knew: he just wasn't going to win this argument.

"Alright, I'll meet you there -"

"No, Jax," she told him quietly. "I think it would be better for everyone if you weren't there. You know what I mean?"

There was another pause, and she could hear him inhaling sharply on the other end. What she was about to do wasn't going to be pleasant for anyone involved, but if Jax was there too, that would just make this whole situation that much worse, not to mention more awkward.

She had no idea if Wendy was aware they were together, but that didn't matter. She knew. And they both knew that Wendy was technically still Jax's wife.

"Allie," Jax started softly. "You don't have to do this. I really don't want you to anyway. I'm sorry I called - it was just a knee-jerk reaction and I didn't think about it before I did it."

She sighed heavily, already reaching for her purse. "Jax, just let me take care of this for you, okay?"

"Allie -"

"Jax, I'm not gonna tell you again. And if you show up at the precinct, you're sleeping at the clubhouse tonight."

He must've heard the lightness in her voice, for what it was worth, and he huffed out a laugh a moment later. "A'ight. Read you loud and clear, darlin'. Just swing by the clubhouse when you're done, okay?"

"Got it."

"I love you," he told her.

"Love you too," she smiled into the phone. "I promise I'll come to the clubhouse as soon as I'm done."

"Okay, baby. See you later."

When she hung up, she blew out a deep breath, glancing up to find her dad still watching her carefully, like he was a little worried she could just break down at any second. Like that was going to happen.

"Don't ask," she told her dad as she side-stepped around him to head to the hallway. "Maybe we should make dinner plans instead, Dad."

He just lifted a shoulder, calling out behind her, "On it, honey. I'll make reservations somewhere."

Allie waved at him over her shoulder, continuing her long trek down the hallway. It was funny - she walked down this hallway many times a day, but today, right now, this hallway seemed to stretch on for miles and miles with no end in sight. That feeling didn't dissipate as she got in her car and drove to the police station. It certainly didn't get any better when she got out of her car and stared at the front doors. Especially considering the last time she'd been here had been in wildly different circumstances.

She took a deep breath for strength, and then charged ahead.

You're a professional, she told herself as she pulled open one of the front doors. You're capable and smart. You can handle anything. And you don't take shit from anyone.

Everything was going to be fine. She'd get in and get out, and then she could swing by the clubhouse when she was done and tell Jax everything had gone just fine. No one had had anything to worry about. That was what was going to happen.

"Hi," Allie smiled at the police officer sitting at the front desk. "My name is Attorney Allie Levy. I'm here for Wendy Case - I'm her representation."

The police officer nodded to her with a friendly smile, flipping through a stack of paperwork before setting it on a clipboard and passing it to her. "Her bail forms are here. Why don't you have a seat over there," he gestured to a row of chairs pushed up against the far wall, "and we'll call you over to take you back."

Allie pressed a smile on her face, hoping it didn't look as grim as she felt, and took the clipboard. At least this was something she could do. Something she could focus on. And that feeling lasted right up until she sat down on the chair and took a good look at the forms in her hands.

They were standard processing forms, and her eyes immediately dropped to the box that listed her charges - possession of an illegal substance with intent to sell. It's not like that was a huge surprise. That certainly wasn't the worst thing Wendy could've been brought in for, but it definitely wasn't great either. And then her eyes dropped to the box that listed Wendy's legal name, and she stilled in her seat.

Wendy Case Teller.

Allie blew out a slow breath, desperate to calm her thundering heart. This was fine. Everything was going to be fine. Still, she gripped the pen in her hand a little bit tighter, her movements a little bit shakier as she filled out the bond paperwork and signed everything that needed to be signed. She must have sat there, once everything was all finished, with the paperwork in her lap and staring at that name in that box, for at least an hour, just waiting until Chief Unser poked his head out of his office and waved her over.

"Attorney Levy," the chief smiled grimly. "Good to see you again. It would be nice if it were in better circumstances, but what can you do?"

"Right," Allie laughed, wincing a little at the way it sounded and the way it felt. Definitely didn't feel right to laugh at this particular moment. "Any ideas on when I could go back and see her? I know processing is going to take a little more time, but I'd like to talk to my client as soon as possible."

Chief Unser grinned back at her, some lines crinkling around his eyes as he nodded. "Sure thing. You know, it's kinda quiet around here right now. Why don't we head on back?"

Allie just nodded, pressing another firm smile on her face. She took another deep breath as she handed the paperwork and the clipboard back to the chief, trying not to react when he gestured with his head toward a hallway in the station, which surely led to the holding center, which most definitely held Jax's wife.

"Anything you can tell me about the charges?" Allie asked him as they made their way down the long hallway.

Chief Unser glanced at her from over his shoulder before cocking a wary eyebrow at her. "I take it the Sons know you're here?"

"They're the ones who sent me," Allie allowed tightly.

The chief blew out a deep breath, and cast another look over his shoulder, this time, looking beyond her and further along to make sure no one else was within earshot. "The guy she was brought in with last night...we think he's really the mastermind behind their little operation. It obviously wasn't a great one because they got caught, but I suspect the intent to sell charges will be dropped against her. The possession charges will probably stick though - no getting 'round that."

"Right," Allie nodded slowly, letting all that simmer for a moment.

"Well, all I gotta say is that Jax did the right thing, sendin' you over here. She needs herself a good lawyer."

Allie really only had it in her to press another tight smile on her face. That was about the best she could do, given the circumstances. Chief Unser seemed to sense he'd said more than enough at this point, and he flashed a security keycard in front of the door at the end of the hallway until it clicked, opening it and holding it open for her to pass through.

They ambled past a few holding cells, and Allie glanced anxiously in them, looking for any sign of Wendy, and then her steps froze right in her path. She stopped in front of one of the holding cells, her eyes fixed on the familiar figure hunched over on the tiny steel bed inside it. The figure lifted her head when she sensed some movement around her, and Allie felt her heart twist violently in her chest.

"Allie?" her mom called out weakly from inside the cell. "What are you...are you here to come get me?"

Allie's lips parted to speak but the words didn't come. She sucked in a harsh breath, tears pricking the back of her eyes as she swallowed tightly.

"No, Mom," Allie whispered. "I'm not here to get you."

By now, she was acutely aware that Chief Unser had stopped in his tracks, his eyebrows lifting high into his forehead at the word mom. Then Allie shifted her attention to him.

"Chief Unser, what is she in here for?"

Her eyes flicked back to Anna, who'd slid off the bed and was walking toward her.

"Allie," Anna pleaded. "Please, there has to be something you can do. Right? That's what you do. That's what you're here for, isn't it? Can't you just...can't you just help me?"

"Chief Unser," Allie murmured again, this time, her eyes stayed locked on her mother. "What is she in here for?"

The chief blew out a deep breath and ran a hand over his thinning grey hair. "Soliciting."

Allie nodded tightly, her eyes dropping to the floor before letting them rest on her mom again. She stared at her mother for one more moment, taking in the dirty clothes, stringy hair, sunken-in eyes, and sallow skin. A few months ago, she would've been trying to break through the iron bars to get her mom out of here. She would've pulled every string, jumped through every hoop, paid any bail amount just to get her out of here.

But now, she knew she just couldn't do that anymore. Couldn't save someone who didn't really want to be saved.

And so, Allie took one last look at the woman who'd given birth to her, and then turned back to the chief, who was watching this whole scene with a grim expression. She nodded to him, signalling that they could keep walking, and so they did, moving down through the line of holding cells, even as her mom started to yell and holler from behind them.

"You can't do this to me!" Anna screamed. "I'm your mother, goddammit! You can't just leave me here, Alexandra! You can't do this!"

By now, another police officer moved toward Anna's cell, telling her to calm down and moving to restrain her, but she just kept yelling and kept screaming at the top of her lungs. The cacophony of screams split through the air, bouncing off the walls, and slicing down to the floor. Finally, the chief stopped in front of one of the other cells, and yet another familiar woman rose up from the tiny bed against the wall.

Wendy moved closer to the bars, wincing at the screams coming from the opposite end of the room. She certainly looked worse for the wear - dark circles, puffiness, and mascara smudged around both eyes, thick tangles in her curly hair, and a gash on her bottom lip. Even her clothes seemed to be hanging off her, like she hadn't seen a good, filling meal in weeks.

And for a moment, Allie almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

"Alright, Wendy," the chief told her. "You've got some time here with your lawyer. We're still processing your bail, but it shouldn't be too much longer now."

The problem with all that was, with all the screaming and hollering happening on the other side of the room, it was hard for any of them to actually hear what Unser was saying. With a heavy sigh, Unser just opened the cell, gesturing for Wendy to come out of it, and then he silently led them both down another hallway, before opening the door to what looked like an interrogation room and gestured with his head for them to go inside.

"You two can talk in here while we deal with that out there," Unser told them through a grimace, and then he shut the door behind him.

They both just stood there inside this cold, blank room with its white, stark walls until Wendy just pushed some hair off her face and plopped down on one of the chairs at the table.

Then she gestured toward the door with her head, where they could still hear some faint hollering in the background. "That your mom?"

Allie hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip absentmindedly as she sank down into the chair across from Wendy. "Yeah, that's my mom."

Wendy tipped her chin to her. "You bailin' her out today too?"

"Nope."

Wendy's eyebrows lifted into her forehead. "Wow. That's cold."

"Yeah, well," Allie smiled tightly. "That's not really any of your business. I'm here for you, not her, so why don't we just focus on that?"

She didn't miss the way Wendy's dark eyes narrowed ever so slightly, as if she had some kind of leg to stand on here, as if she had any kind of negotiation leverage now anyway. Allie wasn't completely sure what she'd been expecting when she came here today, but it had been a little something like this.

"Do you know where Phil is? Is he okay? Is he gettin' out today too or are they gonna keep him here longer?"

Allie sucked in a quick breath. "Is that the guy you were brought in with?"

"Yes," Wendy shot back tersely, and Allie found herself taking another slow breath in, and pushing it slowly back out again before she could let herself respond.

"I don't know, but I'll find out."

Wendy nodded tightly, her mascara-smudged eyes dropping down to the table before jerking them back up to Allie again.

"I figured he'd send you," Wendy told her quietly. "I was hoping he wouldn't, but I guess beggars can't be choosers, right?"

"I guess that's right."

"I heard some things, you know," Wendy went on, her voice taking on a tighter, slightly more aggressive tone. "It's a small town and people talk. Anyway, I wasn't surprised. Classy lawyer in her classy clothes with her classy car - of course he wanted you and not me. The second you came into the picture, bam...he's tellin' me he wants a divorce, tellin' me he never loved me. But I saw the way he was lookin' at you in the parking lot that day. I saw the way he wanted you. And of course he wanted you - you're probably the only woman who's ever been out of his league."

Allie pushed out a deep breath, feeling her patience wearing thin. "Wendy, why don't we focus on what happened so I can help -"

"You don't get to just come in here and act all high and mighty," Wendy pushed out a little shakily, a little too roughly. "Just because you're sleeping with my husband now - that doesn't make you better than me, you know."

Allie gave herself a moment, and then steeled her expression at Jax's wife. "You know, Wendy, I'm here to help you. I understand you had a rough night last night and probably a rough morning too. I understand you're scared. I would be, too, if I were you. But it's also important for you to understand that I didn't have to come, and Jax really didn't have to send me, and neither of us had to post your bail. I'm willing to help you, Wendy, but my patience with you is running out. If you continue to speak to me that way, I'm going to get up from this chair, rip up all the processing paperwork I just signed for you, and leave you here."

Wendy's dark eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. She reared her head back a little like she wasn't quite sure what had just happened, and then, turning everything on a dime, Wendy squeezed her eyes shut, her shoulders shaking as her head dropped into her hands.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do. I mean, I'm going to prison, right? That's what's gonna happen? It doesn't matter what anyone says or does, right?"

Allie pushed out a heavy sigh and folded her hands tightly on top of the table. "I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't get my hopes up that you're getting out of any time if I were you."

Wendy nodded tightly, even as more tears flowed down her face, and then she covered her face with her hands, giving into the sobs as her shoulder shook violently in her chair. "What am I gonna do? I can't go to prison...I can't have my fucking baby in prison. Oh God, what am I gonna do? What the fuck am I gonna do?"

It was that moment, as Wendy's words really sank in, that the walls started to close in on Allie. She blew out a shaky breath, even as she felt the hands she'd folded on the table start to tremble. Her throat burned and she had to swallow back a quick burst of vomit that snaked up her throat.

And then Wendy's eyes widened, and she huffed out a laugh, rubbing the tears from her eyes as she spoke, "It's Phil's. We're...I don't know what we are. I'm about six weeks and…" her face twisted with devastation again as more tears flowed down her cheeks, "and I'm gonna have my baby in prison, aren't I? My baby's gonna be born in prison."

Allie felt like the wind just got completely knocked out of her. She pressed her palms into the edge of the table and pushed out a deep breath. "Alright. Alright. I think...I think we just need to take a minute here, and just talk through what happened -"

"I don't wanna talk about what happened with you," Wendy shot back. "I bet you're really enjoying this, aren't you? How long did it take for you to hop in bed with my husband, huh? A week? A fucking day? And let me tell you something, Allie, if you think he's in love with you, you're wrong. That man doesn't love anybody but himself. He's a great actor, sure, and he'll tell you whatever he thinks you need to hear so you tow the party line and do what he wants, but at the end of the day, all he cares about is himself and his club. That's it. And trust me, he'll drop you as soon as something better comes along. He did it with me, and he'll do it with you."

Allie sucked in a harsh breath, her eyes narrowed and focused nimbly on their target, and when she blew out that breath she'd been holding in, she unleashed, tilting her head to the side a little as she spoke, "That's a little hypocritical, don't you think, Wendy? Considering you're sitting here, pregnant with a baby whose father isn't your husband. But those are just details," she held up her hands to prove her point, "My mistake. I'm not going to sit here and let you talk to me like this, and let you talk about him like this. My experience with him has obviously been different than yours. I won't apologize to you for that. I'm also not going to sit here and argue with you. I know that's what you want right now, and I'm sure it would make you feel better, but I'm not interested in playing this game with you."

With that, she pushed up from her chair and headed for the door. When her hand hit the knob, she turned on her heel to face Wendy, who was gaping back at her in shock.

"I'm not going to leave you hanging, Wendy. I'll bail you out. I'll be waiting in my car outside the station to drive you home. I'll go through a drive through on our way and get you some food because you look like you need it. But as soon as you get out of my car, that's it. Don't ever ask him for anything again because you won't get it."

And with that, Allie turned the knob and got herself out of that room.


Jax tore his hands through his hair again as he shifted on his heel, pacing around T-M's office like a caged animal. He hadn't heard from Allie in well over three hours, and he was about this close to just hopping on his bike and speeding over to the police station. If he had to sleep in the clubhouse tonight, then he had to sleep in the clubhouse tonight.

"Jax," his mother's voice cut through the void. "I think you should just have a seat."

"I don't wanna sit, Ma," he shot back, tearing a hand through his hair again. He brought that stupid fucking e-cigarette up to his lips again, inhaling sharply and making the edge of it glow, and glared at his mother when he caught her smirk. "What?"

"Nothin'," Gemma smirked at him again. Then she swept her reading glasses off her face and pointed them at him. "This is new - that thing in your mouth. What the hell is that, anyway?"

He glanced at the e-cigarette in his hand exasperatedly. "Fuck if I know."

Gemma laughed, lifting her eyebrows at him. "So, lemme guess, your old lady has been on your case about the three packs of cigarettes you go through on a daily basis, and now this…" she gestured to the thing in his hand, "this is what you're doin' from now on?"

Jax glanced at the e-cigarette in his hand again and just shrugged. "To be clear, she never said I had to quit. It's just somethin' I'm tryin' out. I gotta say, it's a little weird, but it's not terrible. I don't mind that I can sit here and use it in the office though, and not just in the clubhouse. I got a feeling Allie will let me use it in the house too, so there's that."

"Ah," Gemma grinned knowingly. "I see."

He shot his mother another exasperated glance, just about done with her needling and her poking today. After pacing around the office for the last hour, and checking his phone every single minute, he just didn't know what else to do. All he knew was that he never should've called her - or, he should've called her after Rosen was already at the station, dealing with whatever shit Wendy had gotten mixed up in.

"Jax," Gemma tried again. This time, her voice was softer, gentler. "I'm sure everything is fine."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is too. Except for the fact that I sent Allie to the police station today to deal with my ex-wife. So, there's that, Ma. There's fuckin' that."

"Well," Gemma shrugged nonchalantly. "She's still your wife, isn't she?"

That brought his pacing to an abrupt halt, and he whirled on his heel to glare at his mother. "Don't ever say that shit again."

"I'm just sayin," Gemma shrugged again. "You still technically have a legal obligation to her until that final court date in a few months. Yes, she got herself into this trouble, and no, it isn't a surprise, but you're still her husband. If anyone has to bail her out, it's probably gotta be you."

"Yeah, well," he still hadn't shifted his glare away from her, now feeling his blood boil in his veins at the turn this conversation had taken. "It's in name only. Besides, the whole point of cutting the cord was so I don't have to do this kinda shit anymore."

This wasn't the first time Wendy had needed to get busted out from jail. So it really wasn't a surprise that the first person she thought of to call and bail her out had been him. She knew he had the money, knew he had the resources to get her out quickly, and knew he probably wouldn't be able to tell her no, just like he always fucking did.

Here he was, falling into the same old goddamn habits when it came to her. Just when he thought he was out…

"Well," Gemma told him gently. "That's all true. But until that final court date, you're still kinda on the hook."

"No shit."

"Jax, I'm sure everything is fine. I can't imagine Wendy would be stupid enough to be anything but grateful. You could've hung up on her and left her in lock-up. I'm sure she's scared, and I'm sure she's upset, but I think she's pragmatic enough to know that she's being given a gift right now."

He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Yeah, I'm not so sure about that, Ma. I never should've sent her over there. What the fuck was I thinkin', calling her like that? After everything that's been goin' on, this is the last thing she needs right now."

"Your job is to delegate, baby," Gemma shrugged. "That's what you did - you delegated a job that needed legal attention to your lawyer. You didn't do anything wrong."

Jax just sliced his hands through his hair again. "It was a knee-jerk reaction. She's my fixer, you know? I have a problem, and she fixes it."

Gemma smiled gently as she rose from her desk and made her way over to him until she rested both hands supportively on his shoulders. "I know she is. And you wanna know what else she is? She's a professional lawyer. She's damn good at her job - and God knows she's got a better poker face than you. I know you wanted to try to shield her from this, Jax, but at the end of the day, she's still the club's lawyer and this is somethin' you send the club's lawyer to take care of. You can't protect her from everything, and definitely not when it comes to doing her job. I know you want to, especially right now, and I know this is really shitty timing, but when it rains it pours, right?"

He blew out a deep breath, nodding more to himself than anything, and then his head whipped around to face the parking lot when a familiar silver BMW pulled in. So she hadn't called or texted before coming over - right about now, he wasn't so sure if that was good or bad. And then, when she slid out of the driver's side, and he got a good look at the tight expression on her face, he winced.

"Shit," Gemma exhaled next to him. "Looks like things didn't go well at the police station."

He shot his mother one more exasperated glare from over his shoulder as he pushed through the office's door to meet Allie out in the parking lot, shaking his head when he realized Gemma was right on his heels. Gemma wasn't wrong - Allie looked pissed, and while seeing her all fired up like that would normally make him want to throw her over his shoulder and sprint into his dorm, the cause of her current mood was no laughing - or screwing - matter.

Now, he just picked up his pace to get to her sooner, not caring anymore that his mother was hot on his heels for the intel.

Allie pressed a tight smile on her face as he approached, and he was reaching for her before he was even close enough to touch her. His arm slid around her shoulders to pull her against his chest and then his lips found her hair, pressing a gentle kiss there. He didn't like the way she gave herself a moment to ease against his chest and then pull out of his arms. He really didn't like the way she couldn't seem to bring herself to look him in the eye either.

Shit. He really fucked up today.

"Allie," he prompted her, dipping down a little to try to catch her eyes.

She blew out a deep breath before finally slicing her dark eyes up to him. "Your wife is a peach."

He barely had time to react to that, feeling his entire body still in front of her, before she was already shaking her head and running a hand over her face.

"I'm sorry, Jax," she sighed. "I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't fair."

"Nah," he tried to smile, but it wouldn't stick. "I'm pretty sure you're entitled to feel however you feel right now, darlin'," then he pressed a hand into the small of her back to lead her back to the office.

No way he was bringing her into the clubhouse right now. Not like this, when she was all keyed up. Nobody said anything as they made their way back inside T-M's office, even though Gemma did catch his gaze once with her eyebrows hitched worriedly into her forehead as she walked along the other side of Allie.

When they got inside the office, both Jax and Gemma gave Allie a little bit of space, instinctively knowing that close proximity wasn't exactly what she needed or wanted right now. She pushed out a deep breath, and he could see her going into work mode right in front of them.

"She was brought in last night on drug charges - possession with the intent to sell," Allie told them evenly, hitching a hand on her hip as she spoke.

Jax could only shake his head, and Gemma didn't look any more surprised than he was. Especially since this wasn't exactly a surprise. Maybe the intent to sell part was new - and stupid as shit - but she'd gotten herself into that mess, and if she was going to put herself in that position, then it was only a matter of time before it caught up with her.

"Chief Unser told me he thought the intent to sell charges will probably be dropped, but there's really nothing anyone can do to make the other one go away. I mean...Jax, she needs a criminal attorney who handles this kind of thing. It was one thing for me to bail her out, but this is beyond me and what I'm trained to do. Even if I wanted to help her, I couldn't."

He nodded tightly, his eyes narrowing a little at her words. "Allie, I think you should tell me what happened between you and Wendy today."

Allie swallowed hard, her eyes drifting down to the floor for a moment, and when she spoke again, she was still having trouble meeting him in the eye. "Well, I only had to threaten to leave her there once, so I guess it could've been worse."

His eyebrows shot into his forehead, and he ran his tongue over his bottom lip in a futile attempt at keeping his emotions in check. "Allie -"

"She was scared, Jax," Allie just sighed, finally looking at him with a little bit of sympathy in her eyes. Of course she'd find the good or, at least, the tolerable in this shit situation. "She's looking at some real, hard time with this, especially if those intent to sell charges actually stick."

"None of that matters right now," he told her tightly. "What did she say to you?"

"She probably hadn't slept or even eaten much before I got there, and I don't think she really knew what she was saying to me anyway. If I were her, I'd be a mess too. I can't really blame her, even if it was hard to hear. I mean, she's pregnant now too and she's definitely going to be having that baby in prison and -"

All he could hear, above the ringing in his ears, were the words pregnant and baby. Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell was happening to his life right now? For the second time in two days, he felt like he'd just gotten waterboarded, not to mention kicked in the stomach over and over again until he vomited all over the floor.

Just as his hands hit his knees so he could start hyperventilating, he felt Allie's soft touch around his shoulders to pull him back up. His tortured eyes scanned her face, and he frowned when she just shook her head at him.

"Jax, it's okay," Allie told him softly. "The guy she was brought in with last night...that's the father. She told me she's about six weeks along."

He sucked in a harsh breath, glancing at his mother only once and finding her sinking into the chair behind her desk with a hand over her mouth. "You think she was tellin' you the truth?"

"Well," Allie just lifted a shoulder. "If someone else was the father, I'd think she'd be further along - probably about as far along as Lyla, right? She wasn't showing or anything like that, Jax. I certainly wouldn't have known she was pregnant if she hadn't told me."

His hands hit his knees again as his head dipped in between his legs for a moment. Jesus, he still felt like throwing up. Could feel it burning his throat, and if he wasn't careful, he was gonna lose his breakfast all over Allie's designer heels. And that definitely wouldn't do him any favors with her right now.

Then he nodded tightly, some of the numbness in his hands ebbing away, some of that burning in his throat easing and cooling. He didn't even know what to say. Was there even a right thing he could say? He was the one who'd put them both in this position right now, and he could apologize until he lost his voice, but that still wouldn't change what he'd put them through - what he'd put her through today. And now, he just wanted to punch himself in the face.

"If Allie believes her, Jax," Gemma called out softly from her spot behind the desk. "Then we should too."

He nodded again, finding Allie through the red blurring his vision right now, and he nodded to her again, reaching for her hand to brush his lips against her knuckles.

"Alright," he murmured against her knuckles before brushing his lips against them again. Then he dragged his eyes back up to her, needing her to give him all the information. "Allie, you really need to tell me what happened between you two. And don't leave anything out."

Allie glanced nervously at Gemma, who just lifted her eyebrows at her expectantly, and then with another sigh, she chewed on her bottom lip, as if she was sorting through how much she really wanted to tell him. He tilted his head to the side in anticipation, feeling that dark current slip back over his head again. And then, as she sifted through the day's events again, he could see the annoyance and the agitation cross her face again until her lips were drawn into a tight line.

"Which part do you want to hear about, Jax?" she told him tightly. "The part where she asked me how long I waited before jumping into bed with her husband? The part where she said I had no right to act all high and mighty with her just because I'm sleeping with you now? Or how about when she said that I shouldn't believe anything you tell me and that you're just gonna drop me like you did to her as soon as something better comes along? Or when she said I'm wrong if I actually think you're in love with me? Or when she said all you love is yourself and the club? Which part would you like me to start with, Jax?"

Something dark and dangerous coiled through him, and he felt his eyes narrow as he turned all that over in his mind, imagining his soon-to-be ex-wife spewing that bullshit at Allie just because she still, legally, had his last name.

"She said all that shit to you?" Jax asked darkly.

Allie just huffed out a laugh and shook her head. "What do you think, Jax?"

He inhaled sharply, tipping his head back a little from the impact of all that, and he glanced at Gemma again from the corner of his eye, only to find her watching this exchange with a grim expression on her face.

"Look," Allie sighed again. "None of that matters anyway. I don't…I don't really care."

Yeah, bullshit she didn't care.

"What really matters here is that she's gonna do some time," Allie pushed on. "She needs an experienced attorney who's used to handling these kinds of things, and that's not me. And, the other thing we have to consider is how this is going to impact the divorce and your final court date. She might not be able to appear, and that's okay, but you have to think about the agreement you made with her about the house."

"Allie, I don't give a shit about that house right now."

"Yeah, well, I do," she shot back hotly, and he couldn't stop the way his lips quirked at the sight. "You agreed to sign it over to her, and she agreed to maintain the mortgage payments. If she's in prison, how is she gonna do that? She'll end up losing the house to the bank, and then no one gets anything out of it. I don't want you to lose your investment in that house, Jax, because it's just not fair, especially not now. I think you should sell it, like you should've done in the first place, and then you'll just have to split the sale with her, like you would've had to do in the first place. I know that's not what you wanted, but at least this way, you both get something out of it and you won't lose everything you put into it just because she got herself in trouble."

He blew out a deep breath, finally letting a small smile creep across his face as he drew her into his chest. Always looking out for him. Always having his back.

"That sounds like a pretty good idea," Gemma called out hoarsely from where she was standing now. "Listen to your lawyer and do the right thing with that house for chrissakes."

Jax shot his mom an exasperated glance from over his shoulder, and she just threw her hands up in the air.

"Well," Allie allowed a little too easily. "I also told her not to ask you for anything again because she wouldn't get it. Maybe I shouldn't have -"

"No," he shook his head tightly. "That was the right call."

He could see Gemma nodding in agreement from the corner of his eye. And when he shifted his gaze back to his old lady, something in her eyes still wasn't quite right. Something she still hadn't told him. Maybe later, when they were at home, and away from Gemma's prying eyes and ears, he'd get her to spill the rest of it.

"It's not too late," Allie told him quietly, but firmly. "There's still time to get her signature on everything, if she's willing to do it."

Oh, he didn't give a shit if she was willing to do it. He had something else in mind right now too, but he wasn't about to give Allie the opportunity to talk him out of what he knew, in his gut, was the right thing to do. In light of what had happened today, and the way Wendy had treated his old lady, the way forward was clear.

"Alright," he nodded, choosing instead to keep her calm rather than the alternative. "I think you're right. I'll take care of it and let you know when to draw up the new paperwork."

"Okay," she smiled softly and he lifted a hand to her face so he could run a thumb under her cheek.

"You're way smarter than me anyway," Jax allowed with a small smile, tilting his head a little as he spoke. "And, baby, I'll never be able to apologize to you enough for this shit today. I never should've let you go over there."

She just lifted her eyes to the ceiling. "You didn't let medo anything, Jax. I wanted to help, and so I did."

"Yeah, and it sounds like you got verbally bitch-slapped for all your effort too."

Allie pushed out a heavy sigh, leaning into his touch before bringing a hand up to cover the one he'd rested on her cheek so she could twist their fingers together.

"It's really not that big of a deal, Jax. Was it unpleasant? Sure. But it wasn't anything I couldn't handle, and it's not like I believed the things she said, okay? I know she was just lashing out because she's scared and because she's still hurt and probably not as over you as she thought she was until I showed up at the precinct today. She probably thought you were trying to shove me in her face."

Jax just huffed out a laugh. "I don't give a shit what she thought," then he closed both hands around her face, no longer caring that his mother was also in the room with them, "And you wanna know what else? There's a part of me that is glad you were the one who bailed her outta there today. If she was gonna pull that shit with you, if she was gonna say that shit to you, I'm glad it was you that showed up and put her back in her place where she belongs."

"Jax, I -"

He tipped his chin to her with a smirk. "You said you threatened to leave her there, right? You stood your ground, just like you always do, and you didn't take any shit, just like you always do."

Allie just shrugged. "I might've threatened to rip up all the paperwork I'd just signed for her and leave her there if she kept talking to me the way she was."

"And that is one of the many reasons why I love you, baby," he grinned down at her, leaning in to brush his mouth against her lips. "Is that it, though? Anything else she said? Anything else she did that I need to know about, Allie?"

"That was pretty much the gist of it."

"Alright," he nodded to her, knowing they could come back to this conversation later tonight when they didn't have an audience. "I appreciate you taking care of this for me and bringing me up to speed. Why don't you head back to the office? I'm sure you're just twitching right now at the thought of all the work you had to miss for this."

Allie huffed out a laugh and shook her head, letting herself lean into him one more time so he could wrap his arms around her shoulders. Then she tilted her head up to him, "Okay. I'll probably be home later tonight though - I'd promised my dad we could go out to lunch today, but now that's turned into dinner."

"Sounds good, baby. You should do that. Go spend some time with your dad. I'll be home when you get there, probably getting roped into wedding planning with Dan and Adrian and then trying to figure out how to sneak out of the house without either of them knowing I left."

"Well, hey, if Dan is making dinner, just nod your head and agree with whatever he's saying and then he'll feed you."

"Not a bad plan, darlin'," he grinned at her, and then gestured with his head toward the door. "Come on, let's get you back to your car so you can make up for some of that lost time at the office."

He waited long enough for Gemma to give Allie a hug goodbye, and then he led her back outside, with his hand on the small of her back - needing that physical connection to her right now more than anything. He opened the driver's side door for her, ducked down to kiss her goodbye, and then shut the door, dipping down to shoot her a smile through the window.

And he waited long enough for Gemma to sidle up next to him in the parking lot with her lips wrapped around a cigarette. Jax didn't even bother to turn his head when they were shoulder to shoulder.

"How long you gonna wait before you head over there?" Gemma asked him, her voice filled with the kind of venom and bite he hadn't heard from her in a while.

"Just about to head for my bike, Ma."

"Good. You gotta put her in her place, Jax. You can't let this stand."

"Oh, don't worry," Jax replied darkly. "I feel pretty confident she'll regret using her one phone call on me when I'm done with her."


Jax sauntered up the walkway to the front door, confident in his decision, and even more confident in what he was about to do. Maybe this had been a long time coming. Maybe he'd always been too easy on her anyway, too understanding, too soft - and now, Allie had suffered because of it. And he just couldn't have that.

And because he no longer had any real ties to this house, and had never really thought of it as his house, he opted to knock on the door.

He waited, his patience quickly growing thin, not like he'd really had that much leading up to this moment anyway. Then he knocked again. And again. And again, until Wendy threw open the door. Her dark eyes widened when she realized who was at her door, and he took a moment to really assess her appearance. Dark makeup stained her eyes, so she'd obviously been crying. That looked familiar. Her normally curly hair was matted and twisted into a messy knot at the top of her head. That also looked familiar. Her clothes hung off her body a little looser than he remembered, which probably indicated that she also hadn't been eating well or taking care of herself lately too. Not exactly a surprise.

Best to just get this over with so he could go home. All he really wanted to do was pass out in his bed, but he had to take care of this first.

So, he pressed a tight smile to his face, eyeing her carefully. "Hey, Wendy."

She sucked in a harsh breath as her hand tightened around the edge of the front door. "Jax, look, I know why you're here. I know what I did, and I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry."

Jax inhaled slowly, rolling his bottom lip underneath his front teeth as he regarded his soon-to-be ex-wife, standing in the doorway of their soon-to-be former house.

"You bother saying any of that to her?" he threw out darkly. He waited long enough to see her lips part and then clamp shut again to know he already had his answer. Then he gestured with a hand to the doorway. "You wanna let me in? This is still my house and I am still your husband, right?"

Wendy's makeup-smudged eyes widened, but she was smart enough to step aside to let him into the house. His eyes scanned the living room, and then glanced in what he could see from the kitchen, nodding with some satisfaction that the place wasn't completely trashed. It certainly wasn't clean, or all that organized, but it definitely could be worse.

"Jax, I'll apologize to her if that's what you want. I'll tell her that I -"

"Nah, Wendy," he shook his head tersely. "You're not going anywhere near her."

He dropped that in the thick air between them, giving her a moment to really let that simmer. For her to really understand what was about to happen here and why.

"I'm gonna keep this brief," Jax pushed on, his eyes narrowing on Wendy when her face twisted in desperation. "Because I don't wanna be in this house, and I don't wanna be around you, any longer than I have to be. What I really wanna talk to you about right now is gratitude and respect, Wendy. Now, given your current circumstances, I might've been willing to give you a little more help. Might've had a little more compassion. Might've cared a little more about the fact that you're gonna have to have a baby on the inside. Regardless of all that shit, you gettin' yourself arrested last night forfeited your right to keep this house all to yourself. You can't keep it because you won't be able to make the payments to keep it. Now, I might've been more willing to split that sale with you, and I might've been more willing to help you, had you shown a little bit of fuckin' gratitiude," he wagged a finger at her just because he could, "but you forfeited your right to any of that the second you disrespected my old lady."

Jax paused there, taking in the way her bottom lip quivered and the way her dark eyes misted with tears, and appreciating that for once, he didn't even feel bad about it. Because every word he'd said was true - he might've been able to muster up some compassion, but that opportunity was long gone now.

"So, here's what's gonna happen, Wendy," he went on with a dark smile. "I'm gonna give you a week. And in that week, you're gonna sign this house back over to me, so I can sell it and pocket the cash, and you're gonna get your fucking ass out of this house. After your week is up, I'm gonna send over the prospects to start cleaning this place up so I can put it on the market, and I don't give a shit if you're still here or not. If you're still here, I'll have them throw your ass out on the street. I don't care where you go, but you can't stay here."

Wendy sucked in a haggard breath, tearing a hand over her face before blowing out a shaky breath. "Jax, I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked to her the way I did. Don't...don't kick me out, okay? I don't have anywhere to go - nowhere to stay. Phil didn't get out today and I wasn't gonna ask her to bail him out too when she didn't even bail out her mom. I understand what you're saying and I get that going to prison is gonna make me lose my house. I get that, but can I have a little more than a week to figure out somewhere to go?"

"Wendy, I'm not giving you shit. A week is a gift. You should be getting on your hands and knees with gratitude that I'm not kickin' you out on your ass right now after the shit you said to her, and the way you treated her when she showed up there today to help you. She didn't have to do that, and I didn't have to pay your bail. Where's the fuckin' gratitude, huh?"

She swallowed hard, her eyes drifting down to the floor between them. And it was in this quiet moment, that his brain caught up to everything that had been said. Wendy had said when she didn't even bail out her mom...so that was it then. That was the thing Allie had left out.

Jax pushed out a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his face. On top of everything else, she also had to deal with that today too. Jesus fucking Christ. He really was an asshole for putting her in this position today.

"Jax, I'm sorry."

"I don't give a shit if you're sorry, Wendy. I can't tell you how many times I've wished I'd never met you over these last few months - fuck, even these last few years. I don't care about your feelings. I don't care if you're hurt. I don't care if you feel pushed aside. My relationship with her is none of your fucking business. But just to make sure things are clear between us, Wendy, the difference between you and her is pretty goddamn simple. I didn't love you. And I love her. That's the difference, and that's what really matters anyway, right? I let you guilt me into staying with you because I didn't wanna see you overdose, I didn't wanna see you hurt yourself, and because I didn't wanna be the reason you did either of those things. That's all there was between us. And because I felt guilty, I was gonna let you keep the house, and now I see what a fuckin' stupid mistake that was because you don't deserve shit from me, and you especially don't deserve it now."

Wendy sucked in a harsh breath, taking a small step back to put some more space in between them.

"But you know what?" he offered lightly, shoving his hands in his front pockets so he wasn't tempted to put his fist through the wall behind her head. "You did one right thing today, and for that, I am grateful. You could've let her believe someone else was the father of that baby, but you didn't. I'm grateful you didn't put her through that. If you had, you and I both know I would've had no mercy for you, Wendy, but since you did the right thing, I'm willin' to cut you a little bit of slack. I realize you need a good lawyer to help you right now - and my old lady isn't gonna touch this one. Even if she wanted to, I wouldn't let her. I'm gonna have Allie set you up with someone who can help you, and I'm gonna pay for it because I know you don't have the cash to pay for it yourself. But that's it, Wendy. Don't ever come to me for anything again because I'll throw you out on your ass so fast it'll make your head spin."

Wendy opened her mouth to respond, but he was done with this. There was nothing more to say anyway, and anything she wanted to say wasn't anything he was interested in hearing. So, he turned on his heel and headed for the door. If he never stepped foot in this house again, it would be too fucking soon.

"You've got one week, Wendy," he called out from over his shoulder. "I'll have my lawyer send you the paperwork."

And with that, he slammed the front door behind him, just because he could, and just because it felt good to literally slam the door on her once and for all. Then, he hopped back on his bike, strapped his helmet on, and blew out of that driveway, never wanting to even drive down this street again if he could help it.

He shoved all of that out of his mind as he drove home, grateful this was over, grateful that he could just call it a day because these last few days had been more emotionally and physically draining on him than he was really willing to admit. When he pulled in the driveway, he jumped off his bike long enough to hit the code on the garage door, and then wheeled his bike inside after it opened. He trudged through the garage, noting that Dan's car wasn't here, and then pushed through the door, hitting the button to shut it behind him. He kicked off his white Nikes, and then shuffled down the hallway, and more than a little grateful that he was the only one in the house right now.

When he moved into the kitchen, he thought about grabbing a beer but decided against it, choosing instead to shrug out of his cut. He threw his cut on top of the island, and then tossed his keys on top of it. Now, the only thing he wanted was his bed. Exhaustion was finally catching up with him, and he was ready to give in. So he made his way up the stairs, headed for his bedroom, and then sighed heavily when his bed was finally in sight.

He unbuttoned his flannel and then tossed it in the hamper next to the dresser, and then pulled his T-shirt over his head, throwing that in the hamper too. Once his jeans were off - he just left those on the floor - he fell into bed, punching his pillow a little, and then, mercifully, seeing as how his body and his mind had had about enough, he just passed out completely.


Allie tip-toed up the stairs, fully anticipating to find Jax passed out in bed. After a long, slightly uncomfortable dinner with her dad, she was glad to be home, and glad to see he was already here. It was pretty early to call it a night, but Jax had obviously had the same idea that she did - these last two days had just been one kick in the teeth after another, and she was just about over it. Now, all she wanted to do was wash this day off, and pass out in bed next to Jax, letting him wrap her up in his warmth, his strength, and his protection.

That sounded pretty good right about now.

She gently pushed open their bedroom door, careful not to disturb him since she was pretty sure he was already sleeping. When her eyes landed on him, flipped over on his stomach with his face buried in his pillow and sleeping soundly, she smiled softly, tilting her head to the side a little as she took that sight in. That was something that would never get old.

And then, because she just couldn't help herself, and because he just looked too gorgeous and too sweet at the same time, she crawled into bed with him and pressed her lips into his cheek. He stirred in his sleep, his lips curling up into a smile at the contact, and then he slung an arm around her waist to tuck her in closer to him.

"Hey, baby," he murmured sleepily. "You have a good dinner with your dad?"

"It was okay."

He squeezed an eye open at that, suddenly awake and alert, and she had to smile at his reaction. Always so attuned to her. Always so aware of what she needed, even if she didn't know it herself. And she also knew he wouldn't let it go until he got an explanation from her.

"It was harder than I thought it was going to be," she admitted quietly. Jax shifted in the bed, propping his head up on an elbow so he could get a better look at her. "He just kept looking at me like he was either gonna cry or jump up from the table so he could hug me. I'm not sure which one would've been worse. He was like that all day, too - before I left the office and when I got back. He was just sort of...hovering, you know?"

He nodded with a soft smile, reaching out to tuck some stray hair behind her ear, and let his fingertips linger on her cheek so he could maintain that physical contact between them.

"Did you talk to Wendy today?"

Jax pushed out a heavy sigh, lifting his hand away from her face so he could scrub that same hand over his eyes. "Allie -"

"I told you what happened with her today. I think it's only fair you do the same."

He pushed out another rough sigh, rolling onto his back and taking her with him, tucking her underneath his arm and bringing her against his chest as tightly as he could get her. "We had a conversation about the way she talked to you. We also came to an agreement about the house."

Allie cocked a wary eyebrow at him. Sure, they came to an agreement - it was probably more like Jax told Wendy what was going to happen with the house, and that was that.

He smiled at her, almost as if he could read her thoughts. "I made the executive decision, seeing as how it's my house and everything, that she doesn't get shit anymore. I'm gonna need you to draw up some new paperwork saying she's signing it all back over to me, and then I'm gonna sell it, just like you said I should."

All she could really do was push out a heavy breath, and let him run his fingertips up the side of her arm. He was right - it was his house, and he was entitled to do whatever he wanted with it.

"So that's it?" he chuckled against her forehead. "You're not gonna fight me on this?"

"Well, for starters," she sighed again. "I'm too tired to fight. And if that's really what you want to do, and you can get her to sign the agreement, then what difference does it make? I don't know...it's hard for me to feel sorry for someone who snapped at me for sleeping with her husband when she's pregnant with some other guy's baby. Do what you think is best, Jax. You know I'm with you."

His lips curled up into a sexy smirk. "Yeah, baby, I know," and then his hand was in her hair again, soothing her, comforting her, giving her everything she needed. "Allie, if anything else happened at the station today, you can tell me. You know that, right?"

She lifted her head to look him in the eye. "You already know, don't you? Did Wendy tell you?"

"She might've mentioned something."

Allie sighed again, tucking her cheek into his chest, and letting him wrap his arms around her even tighter. "She was in for solicitation, Jax."

"Shit," he exhaled under his breath.

"I know…and I just left her there," Allie shook her head, burying her face in his chest to keep herself from shaking. "Even when she started yelling at me and made a scene, I just left her there."

He pulled her in even closer and pressed his lips into the side of her head. "Allie, you didn't do anything wrong. You did your mom a favor - she's safer in lock-up anyway. At least you know where she is. Know she's gettin' fed. Know someone's keepin' an eye on her. Just think about it that way, baby. You did the right thing."

"I know," Allie sighed. "Doesn't make it any easier though."

"I know, baby," Jax murmured into her hair. "I know."

"You know what the worst part is?"

His lips pressed against her temples, letting his lips linger on her skin. "What's that?"

"I don't even feel bad," she admitted with a heavy sigh, curling into him as he tucked her in underneath his chin. "I mean, after what she did, after the break-in...any feelings I had for her, any sympathy, any understanding, that's just all gone now. I guess it was the same thing with Wendy today - I was willing to try to help up to a certain point, and now, maybe they both reaped what they've sowed, right?"

Jax nodded silently, pressing his lips to her hair again.

"Hey, you know what I was thinking?" Jax murmured, not giving her an opportunity to respond. "I was thinkin' you and me should get away for a couple days and just take a breather from all this shit. The club has a cabin a couple hours away - I'd really like to take you there, Allie. We could go right after Dan's wedding, let him have the house to himself for a few days...you could take a day or two off from work and just relax with me...how's that sound?"

"God, that sounds amazing right now."

He chuckled against her forehead before pressing his lips there. "Alright. It's a date."

She shifted in his arms, just needing to shake this day off her, and really just needing him. It was right on the tip of her tongue to tell him the full extent of how her encounter with his wife today had affected her. The physical, almost violent reaction she'd had to seeing Jax's last name attached to another woman that way...to know that legally, technically, she really was sleeping with another woman's husband, even if it was in name only. But telling him that right now wasn't going to make any of this better, and it definitely wasn't going to make any of it easier.

She had a feeling, given everything that happened in the last two days, telling him that would only make him feel worse. In any other circumstance, he'd probably be jumping for joy, but not today. And the last thing she wanted to do was make this worse. He'd apologize until he went blue in the face if she let him, and that wasn't going to make anything better either.

But she had an idea of what might.

"Hey, Jax?"

His lips pressed against her hair, and then he murmured, "Yeah, baby?"

"I think I'm gonna hop in the shower - wash this day off, you know?"

"Okay."

Allie laughed a little, shifting in his arms so she could prop herself up on her elbow. Obviously, he was still too stuck in a sleep-haze to catch where she was going with this.

"You think you might wanna join me?"

His eyes flashed and then he leapt out of bed, scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder so he could jog into the bathroom, her laugh echoing all the way down the hall.


A/N - So this chapter tied up some loose ends as we end toward the end (only 4 chapters left!). Both Jax and Allie needed to put those toxic people behind them once and for all, and we won't be seeing Wendy or Allie's mom again. And, because I've been getting some panicked messages and reviews since the very beginning of this story from readers worrying if Wendy was going to pop back up pregnant with Jax's baby, I just couldn't help myself ;)

The next few chapters are going to help bring this story to its end - we'll see Dan's bachelor party in the next chapter, and his wedding in the one after that, and then we'll finally get to what everyone is waiting for - how Jax is going to handle Harrison.

It's hard to believe we're almost at the end, but I'm so proud of this story and so grateful you've stuck with me and these characters all these months!