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Chapter 127 Watchful Waiting

"

Jax knew what Gemma was going to tell him because it suddenly hit him that when Zobelle was referring to his old lady, he was talking about Gemma and not Ava. He never used the term old lady when he talked about Gemma, so it never occurred to him that she was the one he meant.

"Yeah," he said answering his phone. He didn't want to hear Gemma's voice. He knew it was going to break his heart.

"Jax," she whispered brokenly, "I was attacked. Zobelle's guys."

"Where are you?"

"The deserted house on the corner of Sanderson and Woodlawn."

"Are you alone?"

"They left a few minutes ago. I heard the van."

"I'm on my way," Jax said ending the call.

"Gemma," Jax said turning to Opie. "They got Gemma."

Despite Jax exiling Gemma, Opie still remembered how Gemma had stepped in and been a mother to him when he hadn't had one which was most of his life. It hurt when he learned the truth about her and her role in JT's death, but still deep down he had remnants of love left for her. Now, it hurt him that she'd been attacked.

"Let me put my shoes on and I'll meet you back here."

Jax decided not to wake Ava. Instead, he put on his motorcycle boots, grabbed his gun from the nightstand, tucked it in the waistband of his jeans so it nestled in the small of his back, pulled on his cut, his hoodie and the black leather gloves he kept tucked in his cut before leaving Ava sleeping quietly on her side.

"Let's get someone up here to take your place at the stairs," Jax suggested.

"Already on it. Tig should be here in a minute or two."

Tig walked up to them and took his position at the top of the stairs.

"No one gets down this hall," Jax said.

"You got it boss," Tig said.

Opie drove the security SUV taking care to take back streets so the vehicle wouldn't be picked up on any of the traffic cams on the four main streets that had signals and cameras.

"How did she sound?" Opie asked finally breaking the silence.

"Her voice was really hoarse," Jax said.

He was trying to keep his emotions in check. He couldn't help remembering how devastated he'd been at the thought of those animals with Ava and now it had happened to Gemma.

"I think it's better if I go in alone," Jax said.

"Good idea. I'll keep guard out here."

Jax felt the floor boards bend under his weight as he crossed the wide old-fashioned porch and opened the door. The house was old and in need of tearing down. The city had been fighting with the homeowner to make that happen for the last three years. The choking stench of rotting food, human waste from squatters and dust filled Jax's nostrils. The walls were sprayed with graffiti and obscenities.

Jax followed the light from Gemma's cell phone's flashlight into what was once the living room. There was a filthy sofa with sagging cushions against a wall, a couple of plastic chairs, trash, rat feces and Gemma sitting on the floor in a corner naked her skin bruised and scraped.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice gentle.

"A young woman tapped my bumper. I got out of the car to check the damage and some guys grabbed me, put me in a van and brought me here," Gemma's voice was still hoarse. "The things they did to me. Wanted me to scream as they hurt me because they enjoyed it and no one would hear out here."

"Where are your clothes?"

"They took them. Trophies."

"Jesus Christ."

Gemma managed a small smile at the anger in his voice.

"It's nice to have my son back."

It tore at Jax's heart that his mother had been so brutally assaulted. He saw the shocking violence her body had been subjected to on the outside before he averted his eyes to focus on her face. Her face escaped the violence that was done to her body. Jax knew immediately why they had left her face untouched; they expected that she would keep the gang rape quiet. Outlaws didn't go to the cops. Zobelle would expect SAMCRO to avenge this.

Jax knew that Gemma was a strong woman. She would heal both physically and emotionally, but he also knew that she would try to use this assault to get back with him. He needed to resist that. Nothing had changed. She was still the woman who had helped kill his father.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," he said slowly, "but nothing's changed between us. The MC won't avenge this."

Gemma blinked at Jax startled by his words. She expected that after Jax saw her in this fragile pitiful state he would realize how much he loved her and he would put the past behind him.

"Those bastards raped me over and over again and you mean that you aren't going to do anything about it?" her voice was stronger now with indignation.

"You aren't a friend of the club. You are TB's wife and for that reason, I'll bring you to the house or the hospital and then you are on your own."

Gemma couldn't believe that her son could treat her so coldly after all that she'd endured. What got her through it all was the belief that she would get her son back as a result of this attack. Now, he wasn't going to do a damned thing about what happened to her. He was going to bring her back to the house or the hospital and that was all the he was going to do.

That attack had been sheer hell and her body was ripped and torn from what they had done to her. Jax and reconciling with him was the only thing that got her through it and now he was just going to leave her like she was some stranger. She was more angry with him at that moment than she had been with the animals that raped her.

"How can you be so cold? How can you let them get away with it? Don't you have the balls to do anything about this? Did I raise a little pussy?"

Jax felt a coldness settle over him as his brain detached from his emotions. Time slowed even as his thinking felt like it was occurring at lightning speed. Gemma would never change. She would use this assault to try to get back into his life. And she would fail. What would she do when she realized that he really was through with her?

She would try to destroy everything that he cared about to hurt him for rejecting her. She could get Nero to help her kill Ava thinking that might drive him back to her. She helped kill his father so murder was in her wheelhouse.

Gemma had no love for the MC. It was only ever about the money and power for her. She loved being married to the president of SAMCRO because it made her someone in this town. Marrying TB had given her money and social position. Now that she was mayor, she would have even more power. She didn't need the MC anymore.

She knew how much he loved the club and she would try to take it from him to crush him. As mayor, she had power and, with Unser gone, SAMCRO didn't have law enforcement in their corner anymore. He didn't know how much Clay told her about the MC's activities, but she could be a serious threat to the club if she chose to betray it. She could also try to leverage what she knew to get back in his life.

The phrase "watchful waiting" echoed in his head over and over again. The fucking idiot doctors had watched and waited for Unser's cancer to kill him. And he was doing the equivalent of that allowing Gemma to stay alive. Sooner or later, she would come for him and the MC.

"How many men attacked you?" Jax asked his voice calm.

"Four. Now give me your hoodie," Gemma said.

"I'll drive Zobelle out of Charming."

"Finally. You are seeing reason. Now give me your hoodie."

"I was going to let you live after you helped kill my father. All you had to do was leave me the fuck alone," Jax said reaching into his cut and pulling out Zobelle's gun.

"Jackson, what are you doing?" Gemma asked alarmed.

"Exactly what you taught me. I'm a criminal and a killer. I'm doing what's best for the MC, me and the town. Your death will give me the means to push Zobelle out of Charming and I promise you that the men who attacked you will pay for it."

Gemma stared at him unable to believe that her son was pointing a gun at her head. He squeezed off a shot hitting her in the middle of the forehead. Her head snapped back with the force of the bullet before her body slumped over, blood pooling around her.

Jax bent and slide the gun across the floor just as Opie burst into the house, gun drawn.

"What gun did you use?" Opie asked immediately sizing up the situation. He was going to make sure that Jax didn't leave a gun that could be traced to him at the scene.

"Zobelle's. The one Sack took."

"Good. Let's go." Opie said pushing Jax to the door. He had snapped into SA mode. It was his job to get Jax clear of the house and to safety. Everything else could wait until later.

By the time they got to the truck and were speeding away, Jax's eyes were filling with tears.

"

Author's Note: How many of you thought Gemma's attack would lead to a reconciliation between mother and son? Now what kind of twist would that be?

Will Jax get away with killing Gemma or will Ava be back to visiting him in prison and the story comes full circle?