Author's Note: Sorry once again for the late update guys! I know I'm always full of excuses, and I promise I have them, but I won't bore you with them this time (and at least I'm only a day late this week!) Hope you enjoy this latest chapter :)
Jess lifted her hand to her forehead, shielding her eyes from the sun as she watched a crew demolish the wreckage of Cara Cara. It had been so thoroughly destroyed by the fire that they were going to have to start from scratch, but Jess had had a lot of fun working with an architect to design the new building and she was excited that they were finally breaking ground. There'd even been enough money to add a second story, and Jess thought that it might be a good idea to use the extra space to open a second bar upstairs.
She felt Jax walk up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and she leaned back against him, smiling.
"Shouldn't you be wearing a hard hat?" he asked, kissing the top of her head lightly and she laughed.
"I think I'm safe all the way back here," she said. She turned around to face him, "I'm glad you were able to tear yourself away from the clubhouse to come out."
"Wouldn't miss it," Jax said, looking out at the construction crew, "You ready to be a business owner?" Jess shook her head.
"Not at all," she said, "But I'll figure it out." Jax nodded.
"Are you hanging out here the rest of the day?" he asked. Jess shook her head.
"No, we're going to the park with Abel and Lux, remember?" Jess asked. Jax's face fell and Jess frowned, "You forgot." Jax nodded.
"I'm sorry Jess. Juice got some new information on Zobelle this morning. I've gotta check it out," he said. Jess sighed.
"You can't come for an hour?" she asked. Jax shook his head.
"I wish I could," he said, his voice so sincere it caused the corners of Jess's lips to tilt in a small smile, "I'll send Miles to go with you guys so you can still go to the park." Jess shook her head.
"I don't want you to come because of my safety," Jess said, "I want to spend time with you." Jax sighed, reaching out to pull her close to him.
"Tonight. We'll go do something just you and me," he promised. Jess nodded, smiling up at him.
"Okay, good," she said. He kissed her again as Lux and Abel walked up. Abel ran up to Jax and he lifted the little boy into his arms and kissed him on the cheek as Abel giggled.
"You ready?" Lux asked and Jess nodded.
"Be good for Jess and Aunt Lux," Jax told Abel.
"You're not coming?" Lux asked. Jax shook his head.
"He's very busy and important, Lux. Don't you know?" Jess asked teasingly.
"Oh right, I must have forgotten," Lux said grinning as Jax rolled his eyes. He kissed Jess once more.
"Okay, I'm gonna go tell Miles to follow you over there," Jax said, jogging off in the direction of a group of Sons that had come out to celebrate Cara Cara breaking ground. Jess saw Miles jog up to them and they all headed towards the parking lot.
"What do you want to do first when we get to the park?" Jess asked Abel as he slipped his tiny hand in hers while they walked to the car.
"Swings!" Abel shouted happily as Lux took his other hand and she and Jess swung Abel between them while he laughed. Lux tucked Abel into the car seat in the back before she and Jess hopped in the car and they headed to the park, Miles following behind them.
"After the swings what are you going to do?" Lux asked, peeking at Abel in the rearview mirror and grinning.
"Slide!" Abel yelled gleefully and Jess laughed, turning around to look at him.
"We can get ice cream there, too," she said and Abel beamed at her.
"Ice cream!" he repeated and Jess laughed, nodding. They finally pulled into the parking lot at the park - it wasn't a far drive - and Jess and Lux climbed out of the car before helping Abel out of his car seat.
"Abel, where are your shoes?" Lux asked, staring down at Abel's bare feet.
"I don't like shoes," Abel said. Jess looked amusedly at Lux.
"Are you sure he's your nephew?" she asked jokingly and Lux rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
"He must be adopted," she said.
"What's adopted?" Abel asked. Lux's eyes widened and she tried to hide a smile.
"Nothing, Abel," she said. She turned to Miles, who had parked next to them, and pulled a couple of bills out of her wallet.
"Will you go grab Abel an ice cream cone while we get his shoes on?" she asked, pointing at the ice cream stand several yards away. Miles nodded, taking the money and walking over while Lux bent into the back seat to retrieve the shoes Abel had kicked off.
As Lux bent down to slide Abel's shoes on, a windowless black van pulled up next to them, the side door sliding quickly open and everything that happened next felt as if it was happening in slow motion.
"JESS!" Jess heard Miles call and turned to see him running towards them, dropping the ice cream cone in the grass as he ran furiously, wrenching his gun out from his belt, "LUX!"
Jess turned around, her heart racing as she struggled to overcome the panic threatening to consume her as four men dressed all in black, ski masks pulled over their face, jumped out of the van. Before Miles could fire a shot at them, one of them raised a gun and shot him in the middle of the forehead. Jess screamed as Abel began sobbing and Miles' body crumpled instantly, slumping onto the ground, the arm holding his gun still outstretched as the gun fell from his hand and landed on the grass. Screams erupted from people around the park, all of them running in different directions for cover. But Jess didn't get a chance to run away. Instinctively she reached for Abel as one of the men neared her. He gripped her around the waist and she let go of Abel.
"Run!" Jess shrieked, praying the men were only here for her and Lux. Praying that they let the toddler go. Abel took off running, but his tiny legs couldn't carry him fast enough and Jess watched one of the masked men run after Abel and grab him as she and Lux were thrown into the van.
"No!" Jess shrieked, tears pouring down her face as the man carried Abel to the van, tossing him inside as the others all climbed in, slamming the door behind them and the van sped off.
Abel was sobbing and Lux was busy kicking anything and anyone she could, so Jess grabbed Abel, pulling him into her lap and he curled up, gripping her t-shirt as he sobbed into her chest. Jess wrapped her arms around him protectively, unable to erase the vision of Miles shot right in front of her out of her mind. He was dead. They had killed him. Just like that.
These guys had already proven that they were willing to kill, and Jess had never felt more scared in her life. One of the men tied Jess' ankles and wrists together, but she was still able to wrap her arms around Abel. Lux, too, had been tied up.
Jess looked around at the men who had all, by now, pulled their ski masks off and weren't paying them the slightest bit of attention. She knew the fact that they were allowing them to see their faces wasn't a good sign. Jess tried to turn her head so she could look out the front window and see where they were going, but her view was blocked. She glanced over at Lux and knew Lux could see the fear in her eyes as she gave her a comforting smile.
"It'll be okay," she mouthed silently to Jess, and Jess wanted so desperately to believe the words were true so she nodded as she repeated the words in a whisper in Abel's ear.
Jess had no idea how long they had driven for. It felt like days but was probably only a couple of hours. The panic racing through her had seemed to shut off her sense of time. Abel had stopped crying and had calmed himself down, still huddled on Jess's lap with her arms wrapped tightly around his small body. Every scenario of their escape flitted through her mind, each as unlikely as the next.
She knew her first responsibility was to make sure nothing happened to Abel. She didn't know what these guys wanted or what they hoped to accomplish, but she couldn't count on them showing mercy to the child. She and Lux would have to protect him.
Eventually, the van came to a stop and the four men jumped up, opening the van door and hopping out before turning back to look at the girls and Abel. One of them reached in and wrenched Abel from Jess's arms and she looked on, horrified, as Abel began screaming, holding his hands out for Jess. A second later, a hand wrapped around her own wrist and jerked her out of the van, Lux following behind. The ties around her ankles were cut so she could walk.
Jess stood next to the van looking up at an isolated warehouse in the middle of the woods. There probably wasn't another soul around for miles. No one to hear them scream. She felt the blood rush to her brain and she couldn't think straight.
The men shoved them forward and they walked towards the warehouse where a lone man was standing in front of the door holding a sawed off shot gun. He nodded at the men, stepping aside to allow them to enter before taking his place in front of the door again. They all filed inside and Jess looked around. It was one large room with a foreman's office on the far side of the warehouse. Several long tables were set up on Jess's right, each covered in piles and piles of bags full of a white substance.
"Heroin," Lux whispered in Jess's ear, seeing what she was seeing. Jess nodded as she turned her eyes forward and away from what must be millions of dollars' worth of drugs. The men stopped in front of a storage closet and Jess, Lux, and even Abel were all patted down before one of the men opened the door of the closet and shoved them into the room. Abel began crying again as the door closed behind the men and they were left in darkness.
It wasn't a huge closet, but it was big enough that they could all sit down. Before Lux sat, she waved her arms around, her wrists still tied together, trying to find the cord to the lone light bulb in the room. She finally felt her fingers brush past it and gripped it, pulling down and giving them light. Jess looked solemnly across at her as Lux held her wrists out and Jess reached out, struggling to untie the knot. Once Lux's wrists were free she did the same for Jess and they sat down. Abel immediately climbed into Lux's lap and she tried to comfort him.
"It's okay Abel," Lux said, "It's just a game. They're just playing a game with your daddy, that's all." Abel's cries began to recede and he looked up at Lux.
"A game?" he asked. Lux nodded.
"That's right," she said, and Jess could hear her forcing strength into her voice, "You like games, right?" Abel nodded, his face red and blotchy from crying, but he began to smile.
"Are we going to win?" he asked. Lux nodded, smiling at him.
"Definitely," she said. Abel rested his head on Lux's chest, eventually falling asleep. Lux looked down at him, at how angelic he looked, before looking back at Jess.
"What is going on?" Jess whispered. Lux shrugged, shaking her head.
"It's gotta be Zobelle," she said quietly, her eyes looking down at the crack underneath the door where she saw a shadow moving, "We've got a guard." Jess sighed, leaning back against the wall as a tear trickled down her cheek.
"It's gonna be okay, Jess," Lux whispered, "We'll get out of here." Jess shook her head, wishing she could believe it.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Jax pulled into the TM lot, frustrated that once again every lead that turned up on Zobelle had turned out to be shit. He hauled himself on top of the picnic tables, reaching into his pocket to grab his prepay and call Jess when the sound of sirens made him glance up. He sighed, watching as Roosevelt peeled into the TM lot and swung himself out of his car. Jax stood, walking towards him, shaking his head.
"Whatever it is, we didn't do it," Jax said jokingly, expecting to get at least a small smile from Roosevelt, but the Sherriff was all seriousness today.
"Aw shit, what now?" Jax asked, shaking his head.
"Jax…" Roosevelt started and at the look on his face Jax felt panic hit him like a punch in the gut. It was Jess. He knew it. And she was with Abel. And Lux.
"What?" Jax asked quickly, "What happened? What is it?" Roosevelt's siren seemed to have attracted the rest of the guys that were in the clubhouse and Jax briefly registered Opie, Juice, Chibs, Happy, and Tig walking outside.
"About an hour ago, 4 masked men pulled up to the Charming City Park in a van," he said and Jax's heart sunk as his face contorted in pain. He shook his head.
"No…" he said.
"Eric Miles was murdered," Roosevelt explained and Jax felt his heart stop as he waited for Roosevelt to continue, "Just before two young women and a toddler were reported to have been kidnapped and taken into the van."
"No!" Jax screamed, running his hands through his hair as he double over. He was supposed to have been there. He should have been there. He was too busy, off chasing Zobelle, and Zobelle snatched them, right from underneath him. His sister. His kid, kidnapped for the third fucking time in his short life. And his Old Lady.
"Any leads?" Chibs finally asked, realizing Jax needed a few minutes to get himself together before he could be of any use. Roosevelt shook his head.
"The van was unmarked," he said, "They were all wearing masks."
"It was Ethan Zobelle," Opie said. Roosevelt raised his eyebrows.
"And what gives you that idea?" he asked.
"He's back in town. We just don't know where," Opie replied, "He told us it was him that shot Jess. This is him again." Roosevelt stared at him, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully, before he nodded.
"I'll get a team over here in case he makes contact with you. The feds have been alerted and an APB put out on the van, but as there's not much of a description to go on they've already had about 200 calls come in that they're trying to track down. Not sure how much good that'll do," Roosevelt said. Jax nodded, running his hands through his hair in frustration as he tried to figure out any way to find them besides sitting around and waiting for them to make contact. But they'd been spending months tracking down leads on Zobelle and so far not a single one had turned into anything.
If any of them were hurt, if any of them were killed, it would be Jax's fault. And he couldn't bear it.
Half an hour later, their clubhouse had been transformed into a make-shift police station and though part of Jax hated their sanctuary being tainted by the same fuckers who had once destroyed it, he was grateful for their help.
His prepay rang and Jax glanced down at it, showing it to Roosevelt as the Sherriff quickly jotted down the number and nodded silently to Jax before he answered.
"Yeah?" Jax said, putting the phone on speaker.
"Jackson Teller," Zobelle's confident voice rang out.
"You fucking piece of shit!" Jax screamed into the phone, much to the dismay of all the cops sitting around the room.
"Tsk Tsk Teller," Zobelle said, "Is that anyway to talk to the man who literally has your balls in a vice grip?" Jax felt his face twisting in rage as he resisted the urge to punch whoever was nearest to him.
"What the fuck do you want from me!?" Jax yelled, "Niners have been out! What the fuck do you want!?"
"Yeah, it was never really about the blacks," Zobelle said, "No… this is about Polly." Jax froze. Polly fucking Zobelle. His crazy, manipulative daughter whom Jax's crazy mother had killed just before Abel was kidnapped by the Irish.
"This is about Polly?" Jax asked, his heart sinking. Revenge was not good. Revenge meant there was no talking him down, no negotiating until he could get them back. Revenge meant Zobelle was out for blood.
"You have one hour," Zobelle told him.
"One hour for what?" Jax asked. That sounded like a ransom demand, "You want money?"
"No," Zobelle responded simply, "I want you to think about which one I'm going to kill. Your sister, your child, or your old lady. If you don't let me know in one hour which one you want dead, I will kill them all."
The phone clicked shut and Jax stared at it before collapsing on the couch, his head in his hands, and he cried. It was an obviously impossible decision, and Jax could see no way to get them all out alive.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Jess stared open mouthed at Zobelle as he clicked the phone shut, smiling back at Jess before he closed the closet door once again and she heard his footsteps echoing further and further away. She knew there was no way Jax would ever be able to make that decision, and she had no doubt that Zobelle was serious about his threat. She looked over at Lux, the hopelessness of the situation dawning on her.
"It'll all be okay," Lux said, "He's not really going to kill one of us."
"He already killed Miles," Jess said in defeat.
"Yeah, but we've got a whole hour. They'll figure out where we are and come get us," Lux said, her tone optimistic but it was clear to both of them she didn't believe a word she was saying.
"We drove for over an hour just getting here," Jess reminded her, "Even if they knew exactly where we are right now, which I doubt, they'd never make it in the time limit." Jess leaned back against the wall, looking across at Lux and looking down at Abel. It was obvious what the right choice should be. Jax could never ask for his son or his sister to be killed. They were his family. And if he couldn't tell Zobelle it should be Jess, they would all die. Even if he could make the decision, she didn't want him to have to live with it.
Tears poured down her cheeks as she thought about Jax. She'd always thought there'd be more time. And she'd never told him she loved him. She'd known it for weeks, ever since the day she'd made the decision to stay in Charming and rebuild Cara Cara, she'd known she'd been in love with him. But she'd never told him and it was too late now. And she had promised Luann she wouldn't waste any of their time together. She had wasted it all.
"Lux," Jess said, her voice croaked. Lux was sitting huddled by the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest and her head tucked into her knees. She glanced up when Jess said her name.
"Yeah?" she asked. Jess felt the tears pour faster now, felt her chest close as she struggled to breathe.
"If you make it out of here and I don't…" Jess started.
"No Jess, shut up. We're all getting out of here," Lux said firmly. Jess shook her head.
"Okay, but if I don't… tell Jax I love him," she said.
"Tell him yourself when we get out of here!" Lux insisted, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. Jess shook her head.
"I've never told him. He doesn't know. I need to know that you'll tell him. I need to know that he'll know that I loved him. So much," Jess said, trying to stop herself from sobbing. Lux continued shaking her head, "Please! Lux! Promise me you'll tell him!" A sob escaped Lux's lips and she nodded.
"I promise," she said, "I'll tell him. I promise." Jess nodded, stroking Abel's back softly as he gazed up at her. She kissed him lightly on the forehead before setting him down beside her so she could crawl over to Lux. She wrapped her arms around her friend, holding her tightly as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"And I love you," Jess whispered, "You're my sister." Lux nodded, gripping Jess tightly.
"I love you, too," Lux said, her voice shaking, before Jess tore herself from Lux's grasp and stood up, knocking on the door.
"What are you doing?" Lux hissed. Jess shook her head, her entire body heaving in silent sobs, as the door opened and one of the men peered in at her.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"I want to talk to Zobelle," Jess said, wiping her eyes quickly. She wanted to do her best to not let Zobelle see her upset. If she was going to do this, she did not want to give him that satisfaction.
Zobelle walked up a minute later, smiling as if this were the greatest day of his life.
"You wanted to see me?" he said cheerfully and Jess nodded.
"Jax will never be able to make that decision," Jess told him. Zobelle shrugged disinterestedly.
"It makes no difference to me if I kill one of you or all three of you," he replied.
"I'm making the decision for him," Jess said, surprised at the bravado in her voice. It was all false. She had never felt more scared in her life, "It should be me. Let them go. Kill… me."
"No!" Lux shouted from behind her, jumping to her feet, but both Zobelle and Jess ignored her. Jess couldn't bear to turn around and look at her. Zobelle raised his eyebrows.
"Are you sure about that?" he asked, "Jax might not choose you. You might live." Jess shook her head, begging the tears not to fall.
"He's not going to decide anything at all. I won't let him. I've decided. It's me," Jess said firmly, trying to keep the sound of desperation out of her voice.
"Jess, no…" Lux whispered.
"My daughter is dead because of him," Zobelle said, speaking over Lux, his voice now full of malice and hate, "So I want you to be well aware of what you're getting yourself into with this noble sacrifice. Whoever it is, I want Jax to know how much they suffered before they died. I want him to spend the rest of his life suffering like I am."
Jess felt all of her resolve leave her body, leaving behind a cold chill in its wake, as she slowly nodded. She suddenly felt jealous of Miles. His death had been so quick. Probably painless. He hadn't seen it coming. Jess would see it coming. She would feel it. Zobelle smiled, nodding as he grabbed Jess and pulled her out of the closet.
"JESS!" Lux shrieked, lunging towards them as Zobelle slammed the door in her face. Jess could hear her banging her fists against the door as Abel began crying again.
"JESS! NO!" she shouted, and Jess could hear her sobbing through her words. But Jess had no words left as Zobelle lead her to the back of the warehouse and outside. He tied her up to a chair that had been placed behind the warehouse, not bothering to gag her mouth. Clearly he wanted to hear her scream. Jess braced herself, thankful that at least if she had to die, it was going to be for saving people she truly loved. Her death would mean something.
Two other men were standing around them, watching her, as Zobelle reached for his phone and dialed.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Jax paced the width of the clubhouse, wanting to punch every cop and fed in the face. They couldn't get a trace on Zobelle's phone. They had no idea where the girls and Abel were. And Jax now had 30 minutes before he was supposed to pick one of them to die. How was he supposed to make that decision? How could he possibly choose one of them and then live with the consequences? But if he didn't… Jax had no doubt that Zobelle would be a man of his word. He wouldn't think twice about killing them all. Hell, he might kill them all even if Jax did choose.
He looked around the room. Tig looked like a wreck, sitting on the bar and drinking straight out of a bottle of Jack. He had been begging Jax for the last half hour to not choose Lux. Of course Jax wouldn't choose Lux. But then if not Lux… who? But then if he didn't choose…
Gemma was sitting calmly at a table, her eyes scanning the room thoughtfully, but Jax knew that inside she was a mess. If she was home alone right now, she'd be crying and getting as high and drunk as she could. But she wasn't home alone and even in a time like this, Gemma kept up appearances. Gemma always stayed strong when there were eyes around.
The rest of the boys were either huddled around Juice, who was busy on his computer running searches on Zobelle, or on the phone with the Mayans, the Nords… anyone who might know where Zobelle might be. All leads they'd tried before of course, but desperate times…
Jax's phone rang and his grabbed it quickly, looking at the phone displayed on the front. Roosevelt was watching him and Jax looked up at him.
"It's him," Jax said, checking his watch again to make sure he had the right time. He wasn't supposed to be getting this call for another 30 minutes. Roosevelt nodded as Jax flipped the phone open and put it on speaker phone once again.
"Congratulations, Jax," Zobelle's voice rang out around the clubhouse, "You are no longer the master of their fate."
"What are you talking about?" Jax asked, attempting to keep the panic out of his voice. He saw Tig's head jerk up, watching and listening carefully.
"Your choice has been made for you. Jessica here has decided that she should be the one, and so it is," Zobelle said.
"What?" Jax whispered, trembling as Zobelle's words sunk in and hating Tig a little more for the visible relief he allowed himself to show, "No. No. You gave me an hour!"
"Yes, but that was before Jessica stepped up and decided to bite the bullet, pun intended," Zobelle said, laughing at his little joke. Jax seethed, the hairs on his body standing on end as he heard her screaming from the other end of the phone.
"What are you doing to her?!" Jax yelled, enraged at the helplessness that he felt. That Jess was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.
And then a gunshot rang out, clear as crystal, and the line went dead. Jax stared at the phone for a second before he roared in grief, clutching it in his hand. He turned to the wall closest to him, banging his fist as hard as he could against it over and over again, relishing in the pain searing his hand, until he felt Opie grab him from behind, tearing him away from the wall and to the couch. He slumped down onto it, unable to focus on anything other than the gunshot he had heard through the phone.
She was dead and there wasn't a single part of that that wasn't his fault. She had stayed in Charming for him. She had sacrificed herself for him and his family. He had loved her, and he had never told her. And now she would never know.
Author's note: Don't hate us! But even if you do, let us know what you think! :)