Chapter 16

Mother Saved, Mother Lost

I had fed the boys, and was just dressing them into their pajamas when I heard the front door open. Happy walked into the lounge, followed by Tig.

"Hey Tiggy," I said, smiling. "Wasn't expecting you here tonight."

He shrugged. "Thought you might be able to use an extra set of hands with the boys..."

"Well, I had promised Abel a movie before bed," I explained. "But if you want to put Thomas down for me, that would be great."

He nodded, picking up Thomas. "I can do that."

"Come on, I'll give you a hand to get his bottle," I said, following him to the kitchen while Happy went to find the movie for Abel.

I grabbed a bottle from the fridge, and placed it in the warmer. I watched Tig as I waited for it to heat. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "You ok, Tiggy?"

He looked up as I pulled him from his daze. "Yeah," he said, casually, but there was an undertone whe he spoke. "Just a big day"

The warmer beeped behind me, and I grabbed the bottle, giving it a shake as I handed it to Tig. He stood as I kissed Thomas. "Good night, gorgeous."

I looked up at Tig. "Are you sure everything is ok?" I asked. "I can put Thomas down if you'd like."

He smiled and kissed my head. "You go and spend some time with Abel and Hap, darling. I've got the baby."

He headed down to the nursery with Thomas, and I went back to the lounge. Happy had grabbed a blanket and was just getting comfy on the sofa. I squeezed next to him, and he wrapped his arm around me as Abel lay with his head across my lap. I stroked Abel's hair as we watched the movie, and he soon drifted off to sleep. It wasn't long before I fell asleep too.

I woke up the next morning on Jax's lounge, a blanket tucked over me. I opened my eyes to find Abel's face right in front of me, smiling.

"Happy, Gee Gee's up!" he called happily.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Happy said, walking into the room with two coffees, and handed me one. I took it from him, wrapping my hands around the cup as I glanced at the clock on the wall. 9:30am.

"Have you been awake along?" I asked, sipping my coffee while I bent down to tickle Thomas who was playing in his bouncy chair.

"Couple of hours," he said. "Kids are fed and dressed. Jax left about an hour ago, and Gemma will be over soon. Hungry?"

I shrugged. "I guess I could eat. But I'll get dressed first."

"I'll make you breakfast," he said, holding his hand out for my cup. "You go and get ready."

I downed the last of the coffee, and handed him my cup before going for a shower to wake myself up.

I returned to the lounge, and found Abel sitting one the floor with Happy, reading a book, while Thomas played happily next to them. I sat down next to them, and Happy handed me a plate of toast. It was still warm, and I took a bite.

"Jax just called," Happy said, looking up from the book he just finished reading to Abel. "He's on his way home with Tara. She got bail."

"That's great. Did you hear that, Abel?" I asked, smiling. "Your Mummy's coming home!"

"Can I draw her a picture?"

"I think she would love that, buddy," I said, ruffling his hair.

The four of us sat on the floor, drawing pictures until we heard a bike pull up outside, and the front door opened.

"Mommy!" Abel called, running to the door as Tara and Jax walked in.

"Oh, my God. I missed you so much," Tara said, scooping up Abel and hugging him tighly. "Hi. How are you? It's so good to see you."

She put him back down on the floor. "Mommy needs to say hi to Thomas, okay?" She reached for Thomas, and I handed him over and smiled as she held him, kissing his cheeks. "Come here, you. I've missed you guys so much."

Happy's phone rang, and he excused himself to answer it. He spoke for a minute, then signaled Jax and I into the kitchen. Tara had already sat on the floor with the boys, looking at Abel's drawings.

"Whats going on?" Jax asked, once we were away from Tara.

"That was Gemma," Happy explained. "She and Nero need to speak to you. They're coming over."

Jax sighed. "Now?"

"What happened?" I asked.

"Something went down with Nero's crew," Happy said. "It's about that school shooting yesterday."

Jax's face fell, and I felt mine do the same. Whatever they needed to talk about, I had a feeling it wasn't good.

We returned to the lounge, and Jax knelt down next to Abel.

"Daddy needs to talk to Mommy for a minute."

Tara nodded."Okay. I'll be right back," she said to Abel, kissing Thomas' head as she handed him to me. I bounced him on my hip while Abel went and pulled out some blocks and started building a tower with Happy.

I watched Happy playing with Abel, and my heart swelled. The last week had been hard, stepping in to help Jax while Tara was gone. But I was going to miss these quiet moments, the simple everyday things.

Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't hear the car pull up outside, and jumped as the front door opened. Nero walked in, followed by Gemma, who was holding a giant giraffe.

Abel ran over and hugged them both, and grabbed the giraffe off Gemma.

"Where's Jax?" Gemma asked.

"Bedroom with Tara," I said. "He knows you're on your way."

She nodded, and turned to Abel. "Should we give Mommy her present?"

"Yeah!" he cheered, grabbing Gemma's hand and pulling her down the hallway.

"Why don't you guys wait for Jax in the kitchen?" I suggested to Happy and Nero. "The kids can play in here."

Tara and Jax returned a few minutes later with Gemma and Abel. I handed Thomas back to Tara, and she and Gemma waited with the boys while we joined the others in the kitchen.

"Sorry to barge in on your, uh, homecoming here," Nero apologized when Jax entered.

Jax's voice was serious. "What happened?"

"That boy that killed those kids in the school yesterday... he belonged to my cousin's old lady." He paused. "He used a KG-9."

"Ours."

Nero nodded. "Yeah."

I sat down on a chair, my head spinning a little. Jax turned around, pacing the kitchen.

"What did she tell the cops?" Happy asked, breaking the silence that fell across the room.

"She didn't give it up. Not yet. But she ain't all there to begin with, man." Nero tapped on his arm, and I knew what he meant. Drugs. "We got to get her lost. Gemma said you might be able to help with that. Maybe you can get her to one of your other charters?"

"Where is she now?" Jax asked.

"At her place. Arcadio's there with her," he explained. "But Stockton PD... they're staying close, though."

Jax thought for a moment. "All right, we got a cabin out by Pine Grove. Let's figure out how to get her there, and then I'll make some calls."

"I appreciate that, man," Nero said. "I'll let 'em know."

"Hey, don't call her house," Jax warned. "They probably got it tapped. And we got to stay off the cells. The Feds... they could be on us already."

"Yeah." Nero groaned. "Uh, I know this is bad timing, man."

Gemma walked into the kitchen, holding her phone. She handed it to Jax. "Hey, it's for you. You got to take this."

"Who is it?" Jax asked.

"County jail," she explained. "They want to set visitation. Clay... requesting to visit both of us."

Jax looked at Happy and I, before taking the call. Happy walked over, and bent down in front of me. He said nothing, just took my hands in his and kissed them.

Jax was back in a few minutes. "Alright, let's get this shit sorted. Mom, can you stay here with Tara? Help her get settled back in. Happy, you're with me. Chibs and Juice are meeting us there with the van. Georgia -"

"I can help," I told him. "Please, Jax. She's just lost her son. It'll be pretty intimidating having a bunch of guys walk in -"

Jax held his hand up. "I was going to ask if you would come. Help us get Darvany settled at the cabin until we can work out what we're going to do with her."

We pulled up a street away from Arcadio's house, Happy and Jax pulling their bikes in behind Nero's truck. The black van was already parked there. We snuck down the back alley, and found Chibs and Juice waiting for us.

"Whoa, what happened there?" Nero asked as he caught sight of Juice's face.

"Brotherly love," I heard Jax reply, as Juice jumped the back fence into Arcadio's yard. A few seconds later, he unlocked the back gate and we all snuck quietly through the back door. Once inside, we found some of Nero's crew in the kitchen.

"Where are they?" Nero asked the two guys.

"Kid's room," Fiasco replied. "What's going on, homes?"

"The cops see you come in?" Jax asked.

"Yeah. Darvany let us in," Gomes explained. "They didn't ask any questions."

"We got to get her out of here," Nero said, looking around. He whistled to Gomes. "Crank up the music. Keep an eye on the back."

"Watch the cops," Jax warned Happy, who nodded. Jax took me by the hand and we followed Nero down to the bedroom.

"Darvany?" Nero said, kneeling next to the bed. "Hey, wake up. Come on, sweetheart, wake up." He reached out and touched her arm. "Come on, sweetheart. Hey, hey, let's go."

Darvany sat up quickly and looked around, panicked. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Let's keep it down, okay?" Nero warned. "We got to get you out of here right now, okay? We got to go. Come on."

"No," she yelled, pulling away from Nero and making a run for the door. "Arcadio!"

Chibs and Juice grabbed her and pushed her back down on bed. I ran over to help them, holding my hand over her mouth to muffle her screams. "Shh," I whispered, trying to calm her down.

Arcadio ran into the room, his gun drawn. "Hey!" he yelled, and Jax and Nero pushed him back into the wall. "Baby!"

Happy rounded the corner, checking if everyone was ok. "Cops, cops," Jax whispered in a hushed voice. Happy nodded, and returned to the front to check the police hadn't heard anything.

"Hey, stop!" Nero told Arcadio, who was still struggling. "Stop. They're not gonna hurt her. Hear me? They're not gonna hurt her."

Darvany pushed me off her and broke free, pushing past the others. She ran down the hall to the bathroom and slammed the door closed.

Nero looked at Juice. "Make sure she's okay." He got up and followed her down the hallway. I looked around and went with Juice. Maybe I could get through to her.

"Cops didn't hear shit," Happy told Jax as I walked out of the room.

I came up behind Juice where he stood in the doorway to the bathroom. I glanced around him, and saw Darvany kneeling over the basin, just pulling the needle from her arm.

"Not good," I said to myself, ducking under Juice's arm. I brushed my hand across her hair, but she was already high. I turned back to Juice. "You'd better get Jax."

"That's a problem," Jax said to Nero, as he stood in the doorway, looking in on the bathroom. Arcadio pushed past them both and knelt down next to Darvany.

I stood up, stepping back with the others. Happy came back around the corner, and I went and stood next to him. He put his hand around my waist.

Nero shook his head. "She was clean for nine months. Sorry."

"Only one thing more dangerous than a rat," Jax said. "That's a junkie rat"

"I hear that," Nero agreed. I'll have my guys head out front, keep the PD distracted, and we'll move her out back."

"You're gonna be the first stop when they realize she's gone," Jax warned him

"Yeah," Nero agreed. "I know that."

"All right. You stay with them," he told Happy. "We'll meet you at the cabin after the Irish."

Happy nodded. "You got it." Jax left out the back door with Tig and Chibs. I bent down next to Arcadio.

"Hey, baby. You're okay," he was whispering to Darvany, stroking her hair. Nero sent Fiasco and Gomes outside to distract the police, and I bent down next to Arcadio.

"Arcadio?" I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Please, we need to get her out of here, now. Before we lose our window. She's already lost her baby boy - don't make her lose you too. You'll both end up in jail if she talks."

He sighed, and nodded his head.

"We're clear," Happy said. "Let's go."

I nodded. Arcadio picked up Darvany in his arms, and carried her out the back door. I held it open as he carried her through, and nodded to Happy as he passed.

Darvany was pretty out of it for most of the drive to the cabin. Arcadio walked her into the bedroom, and I left them alone to have some space for a while. Arcadio came out and spoke to his guys, and they headed off on a run, while he disappeared back into the bedroom.

"We should go and check on them," I said, looking at the clock.

Nero nodded, and followed me.

"Hey, how long we gonna be here, man?" Arcadio asked Nero as we walked in.

"I don't know," he said. "We're gonna try to get her up north until this all dies down -"

"No. I don't want to go up north," Darvany argued. "That's bullshit. I got to bury my baby."

"Look, Darvany, I know how hard this must be for you" I tried to comfort her. "But we're doing this for your own good.

"Hey, we're doing this to protect you," Nero told her.

I heard motorcycles approaching, and I looked at Nero. He sighed, and turned to walk out of the room. Darvany started sobbing quietly. I was torn, not knowing whether to stay or leave.

"I'm sorry about all of this," I said, and turned and followed Nero.

Jax, Chibs and Tig were just walking through the door when I reached the main room of the cabin.

"How she doing?" Jax asked.

"Even for now," Nero told him. "Got to try to keep her that way."

Arcadio walked into the room behind me. "I got my guys making a run."

The sound of a car pulling up outside distracted us. I walked to the window and saw a familiar black SUV pulling up.

"It's Gemma," I said, peering through the curtains.

Jax shook his head and took off out the front to meet her "Jesus Christ."

I watched the pair out the front window as the spoke, Jax's face grew worried.

"Darvany, what -"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang of a gun being fired. Darvany had a shotgun in her hand, having shot it to the roof as a warning.

"Put 'em down!" she yelled, pointing the gun around the room, trying to locate the biggest threat.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Nero said, his hands up.

"Put 'em down now!" She yelled again, and everyone except Arcadio slowly put their guns on the table.

"Baby, don't do this," her pleaded, torn about who to follow.

"Back up!" she said, her gun pointed as she backed out the door. "We got to get out of here."

"Put the gun down. Darvy, put the gun down. Please, baby..."

Darvany panted as they walked out the door "Arcadio, please, you have to-"

"No! Drop it, Jax!" Arcadio yelled, seeing Jax step out from behind the car, his gun drawn. The guys grabbed their guns off the table, making their way out the front door.

"Drop it!" Darvany screamed.

Jax held his hands up, slowly sliding the gun across the ground. Darvany spun between Jax and where we were standing at the cabin, unsure of the bigger threat. Happy pulled me behind him, surveying the situation. Gemma stepped out from behind her SUV, gun in hand. Arcadio shot at her, hitting the car next to her head.

"Gemma!" Nero yelled.

"Drop it now!" Darvany demanded. Gemma threw her gun to the ground, and Jax pulled his mother behind him. "Move! Keys!"

Gemma pointed to the car. "Ignition!"

"Baby, don't do this!" Arcadio begged again.

"They're gonna kill us!" she said desperately, climbing into the car. "Please! Come with me!"

"Arcadio!" Nero warned, his gun raised.

"Shit," Arcadio made his decision as he climbed in the car. "Slide over."

A gun fired, hitting Arcadio in the head. Nero slowly lowered the smoking rifle as Darvany screamed. She ran from the car, shotgun still in her hand. Jax ran after her, tackling her as we reached them. He stood up, shotgun pointed at Darvany, who lay on the ground, sobbing as she tried to inch away from him.

"Jax!" Nero yelled. "Jax! No, no, mano! No, no! We can't do that."

Jax looked torn, but slowly straightened up, lowering the shotgun. He ran his hand through his hair, stepping back.

"Take her inside," I said, stepping forward and slowly grabbed the shotgun from Jax. He relaxed his grip, as Chibs, Juice and Tig carried Darvany back inside to the bedroom.

"Make sure she doesn't escape again," I told Happy. "There's rope in the kitchen you can use. We don't need anyone else killed today."

He nodded, and followed the others inside. As I watched him walk to the cabin, my eyes saw Nero, staring at Gemma's SUV, blood covering the windscreen. His cousin's blood.

I turned to Gemma. "Look after Nero. He doesn't need to be here now. I've got Jax."

She took Nero by the arm, leading him back into the cabin. I signalled to Fiasco and Gomes, and they came over.

"Grab a blanket. Take Arcadio inside."

Nero's guys went as instructed and I looked for Jax. He had walked away, and was leaning against a tree. I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Take a minute," I told him. "We'll be inside when your ready."

He shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's get this sorted."

He walked back to the cabin, and I followed, trying not to look at the blood-covered SUV as I walked past.

The boys were tying Darvany to the bed when I went to check. They had already taped her mouth. I sat on the bed next to her, and brushed the hair from her face.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, as tears fell from her eyes. Chibs put a hand on my shoulder, and we left the room closing the door behind us. Nero's guys walked past, carrying Arcadio's body wrapped in a blanket into the other bedroom, where Nero sat on the bed with Gemma.

I shook my head, and patted Jax on the arm as I walked back to the kitchen. Tig, Juice and Happy were sitting at the table, and I went and sat with them.

Jax joined us a few minutes later. "She locked down tight?"

Tig nodded. "Yeah, she's not going anywhere."

"She's starting to bend pretty bad," I warned him.

"You got it?" Jax asked Gomes. He pulled a small bag from his pocket.

Chibs stood to grab the bag off Gomes, but Jax stopped him. "Chibs... I got this. You guys start cleaning Gemma's car. Break down that rifle."

"Okay," he nodded, and Happy and Tig followed him outside.

"Juice, get the kit," Jax said, and Juice grabbed a small white bag and followed Jax down the hall.

I sighed and followed the guys outside. Happy sat on the porch, dismantling the rifle, while Tig and Chibs had disappeared to the shed out back.

"You don't need to be out here," Happy said, looking up from the gun when he heard the door open.

I sat down on the step next to him. "Beats being inside at the moment."

We sat in silence for a while. Chibs and Tig had returned and were stripping out Gemma's car, making sure all traces of blood were removed.

"You were amazing today," Happy said suddenly.

"I didn't do anything."

"Of course you did. You started this morning looking after those boys, then convinced Arcadio to get Darvany out of town, then you just took charge after all this, knowing exactly what needed to be done," he said, shaking his head. "Anything this club throws at you, you just roll with it."

"I just did what needed to be done," I replied. "Nothing special in that."

"There's something very special in that, even if you don't see it." He paused. "You're a great old lady."

"Just what the club needs," I said playfully, giving him a little nudge.

"Just remember I need you more than the club does."

I smiled, and put my hand on his cheek. I was reminded of my conversation with Chibs, when he told me Happy cared more for me than the club...

We sat on the porch for a while, watching the sun sinking lower over the trees. Chibs and Tig had finished cleaning Gemma's car, and had gone inside to check in with Jax.

There was yelling inside, and I looked at Happy. He shrugged, and we stood up, opening the door. Everyone was sitting in the kitchen, and by the look of things, it was Nero who was yelling.

"I don't know, man," Juice said as we walked in. "Gave her half the ten-pack. Look at the balloon. There's still dope in it."

"Where'd you get it?" Nero asked, turning to Fiasco, who was standing against the wall.

I looked around the room, trying to work out what they were arguing about. Then I figured it out. I spun around, heading down the hallway. I pulled the door open, and found a blanket over the bed, covering a body underneath.

I dropped to my knees next to the bed, pulling the blanket back slowly. Darvany lay lifeless, her eyes closed. She could have been sleeping, if not for the stillness of her chest. I put my hand on her chest, and closed my eyes as I said a silent prayer.

I felt someone kneel next to me, and without opening my eyes, I knew exactly who it would be.

"I'm sorry, Georgia."

I opened my eyes, turning to look at Happy. "How did we fail them so badly?" I asked. "We were supposed to help her, and now they're both dead."

I turned back to look at Darvany. "Be at peace, with your family."

Happy reached past me, pulling the blanket back over her face. I sat there for a long time, with Happy by my side. The sun had well and truly set when Tig and Chibs came into the room.

Happy stood up, and met them at the door. I heard them speaking in hushed voices, before Happy sat back next to me.

"Everyone's gone home, G. Chibs and Tig will take care of the bodies. We can go now."

"What are they going to do with her body?" I asked, my eyes staying on the blanket.

"They'll take care of it," he assured me.

"What are they going to do, Happy?" I repeated.

He sighed. "There's a piece of land. They'll bury her there."

"I'm going with them."

"Georgie, we've got this," Chibs said from the doorway.

"I'm going."

Happy stepped back, and I heard them talking again.

I felt Happy's hand on my arm, and I looked up, taking every strength I had to tear my eyes from the bed in front of me.

"We'll wait for them outside, and we'll follow them there."

I nodded, and let Happy pull me up, and walk me outside.

I sat with Happy on his bike, watching as Chibs and Tig carried two blankets to the van.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home?" Happy said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "No-one expects you to be here."

"I except myself to be there," I said, and that was the last he spoke of it.

Without a word, he started his bike, following the van to the road. We eventually pulled off down a quiet dirt road, and 5 minutes later the van pulled over on the side. It was pitch black, not a light to be seen except what the moon gave. I followed silently as the boys carried one of the bodies to a clearing through the trees, and sat against a tree as Happy started digging. Chibs and Tig disappeared, and returned a few minutes later with the other blanket-wrapped body.

Once the hole was deep enough, the boys carefully lifted the two bodies into the grave. I walked over to the edge, looking down on the two bodies, still wrapped in the blankets. They lay next to each other, and a small part of me felt better, seeing that they would be together. I reached into my pocket, pulling out a folded photo. I smoothed it out, staring at the smiling blonde boy. I had grabbed the photo for Darvany before we left her house, and it seemed fitting that she should keep it now. I bent down next to the grave, gentle dropping the photo in.

Happy came and stood next to me, holding my hand as he looked down into the grave. "You've done everything you can, G. It's time to go home."

I nodded, and allowed him to lead me away, the sound of shovelling dirt fading as we left.