"Hey Tara?"
The last thing Tara wanted to hear was the concerned sound of Lyla's voice as she hurried to drop Abel off at the clubhouse before work. She stopped, an annoyed sigh leaving her lips, and glanced over her shoulder.
"Hey Lyla," she forced a smile. "I was just leaving."
"You see Jax?" Lyla asked
That piqued Tara's interest. "Yeah, he was in the apartment. Why?"
"Opie didn't come home last night," Lyla whinnied. "He's been weird lately and now this."
"I don't know," Tara said apologetically. "I can ask Jax for you?"
"I think he was at the cabin," Gemma said, interrupting the conversation she'd been eavesdropping on. "Nothing big, crashed after a busy night around there."
"Oh," Lyla frowned. "Okay. Th-thanks."
They chatted awkwardly for a moment before Lyla left, less concerned and angry but certainly more upset.
"Was he really at the cabin?" Tara asked Gemma with a suspicious look.
She shook her head. "He did take Macy home last night," Gemma told Tara quietly. "I'm not sure where he ended up but it wasn't club business."
"Great," Tara groaned. "This is going to end badly."
"Doesn't it always with that girl?" Gemma complained. "I should have known she'd turn to him after a while."
"I thought she'd be over him by now," Tara said with a sigh.
"Over who?" Jax asked, startling both women as he came home behind them.
"You know where Opie was last night?" Gemma asked.
Shaking his head, Jax shrugged. "No. He took Macy up and then," he stopped mid sentence. "Shit."
"Exactly," Gemma said with a click of her tongue.
"I'll talk to him," Jax said dutifully.
"Cause that worked so well last time," Tara said in a song song voice. "I'll be home late."
"Love you," he said, his lips turning into a wicked grin as he moved to kiss her.
"Yeah, love you too," she said in a playfully exasperated tone. Tara hurried away leaving Jax and his mother alone to talk candidly.
"What are you really going to do?" Gemma asked Jax.
"I was going to ask you the same shit," he laughed. "I guess I'll just tell him the truth."
Gemma looked at him with horror. "Are you serious? Jackson, no."
"Ma," he huffed. "Let me handle it."
Pursing her lips, Gemma nodded in agreement although they both knew she disapproved. "Let me know how it goes."
"Of course," he said, kissing her cheek. "I'll talk to you tonight."
Watching as Jax swaggered out of the clubhouse, Gemma felt a pit form in her stomach. Things had been going too well for too long and now she feared everything would crash down around them.
With a cigarette between his lips and a small stack of photos in his right hand, Jax waited outside the cabin. He heard footsteps from around the side of the porch so flicking his cigarette away he headed in that direction.
"Hey Frank," Jax said, extending his hand.
"Cut the shit, Teller," Shane snapped. "Where are they?"
Jax handed over the photos of Macy and the baby, watching as Shane looked at each one with unmatched intensity.
"She looks good," he said wistfully. "He's getting so big."
"He's a good kid," Jax told Shane. "Macy keeps saying he's a dream."
Shane nodded. "She's okay?"
"I'm kind of impressed," Jax admitted. "I thought she'd fucking crumble when you left but she's been keeping her head up. Irish treating you alright?"
"Not bad," he grumbled, scratching at his beard. "It's fucking cold over there, wet too. I hate Ireland."
Jax smirked. "That's why my people came over here."
"Thanks for the reminder," Shane huffed. "I wanna see em', Jax. Just once."
"That's why you left," he snapped. "To keep em' safe. You're around and the Russians are gonna be all over her."
"I didn't even fuck the Russians," Shane said forcefully. "I was no threat to them why would they?"
"Man, I told you this a year ago," Jax was growing impatient. He didn't like being questioned or having to sell the same weak lie every time they spoke. "Those assholes knew you, a fucking cop, were poking around and they knew you were tied to us. Suddenly their guys end up dead at a secret meet? That's shady shit."
"Then I'll prove it," he said confidently.
"Doesn't matter what you found or didn't or what proof you have. They were coming for you. You are an easy target."
Shane glared at Jax. "You know, last year I bought this. I fucking ran. I'm tired of running and I'm tired of staring at my family in pictures from thousands of miles away."
"You're gonna get yourself killed," Jax warned him.
"No, I'm not," Shane said ominously. "A year can change a person and this past one flipped a switch in me."
Jax watched as Shane made his way back, his hand twitching as he kept from simply shooting him in the back. There was a better way with much less guilt he just had to find it.
—
"Good morning," Macy said with a smile as Opie came down the steps.
"Uh, morning." Opie spoke and moved awkwardly, unsure of how to act around her, as he entered the kitchen that next morning.
"Coffee?"
"Sure," he sat at the table across from the baby. "He good with strangers?"
"Not bad," she shrugged. She turned to see Shane staring at Opie from his high chair. "Oh god," Macy laughed. "Sorry."
"It's good, kids don't like me," he said casually. "Never have."
"Alright, you fucking mope," she laughed.
"Mace," he sighed, "We gotta talk."
"About?" She asked, although she already knew the answer.
"Last night," he groaned. "I never stopped loving you, ever, and I want you, I didn't plan last night I wanted it though. I'm actually with someone, so I gotta know what that was."
Macy's face turned dark. "So you cheated on her?"
"Yeah," he grumbled, anxiously turning one of his rings.
"Christ, Ope," she snapped. "If you were trying to reconnect with me proving your failings when it comes to commitment haven't changed isn't the best plan."
"No, but honesty is," he said angrily. "That was why I did that shit when I got locked up, I didn't want to tell you the truth."
Macy shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I wasn't even thinking of a next step here, we had sex and that's that."
"Alright," Opie cleared his throat. "I'm gonna head back."
"Ope," she sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a bitch."
"You got a lot you're dealing with," he sighed. "We're not kids anymore, shit gets messy."
"It's not even that," Macy admitted. "Jesus Ope, I didn't invite you in thinking we'd have sex. I haven't thought about moving on from Shane."
"Not once?" He asked sadly.
Macy shook her head. "I know we've been friendly recently but I don't know. With work and single mom life I haven't thought about dating."
"Mace we don't date," he scoffed.
"You know what I mean," she grumbled.
"Jesus Christ," he laughed ruefully. "I'm turning into a fucking chick. One night and I'm trying to make you my fucking old lady."
Angry with himself, Opie stormed out tripping over a fat, unaddressed bubble mailer on the step.
"Ope," she whined.
Macy got up but didn't go after him, instead she grabbed the package and ripped it open without hesitation. Stacks of hundred dollar bills fell to the floor at her feet.
"What the fuck?" She whispered. Macy slammed the door and grabbed the closest stack to see four numbers written on the band in black ink.
"7865"
She remembered it instantly, looking up at the baby as he began to fuss. "It's Daddy's badge number, bud."