The nerves hit Jess as she was in the middle of doing her makeup for Georgie's "party". Her plan was good, she knew. There were some variables she was depending on, but she could sort those out that night. She'd have to play the part; she'd have to make Georgie think he'd won. In the end, he would be utterly destroyed. And that was nothing to what she had in store for Daisy. Whatever people said about revenge, Jess was finding the whole idea of it cathartic.
For her makeup, she decided to go for a smoky eye with false lashes and dark red lipstick. She'd borrowed a few outfits from some of the Cara Cara girls, and had several of the girls lined up to meet her at the party that night, including Ima and Lyla. Talking them into helping hadn't been easy, and in the end it had been Nero that convinced them. Once they realized the precarious situation they were all in, and how they could all be working for Georgie when this was over, they had agreed to help.
Jess had been confident in her plan, but as she did her makeup everything she would have to do that night suddenly hit her. She would have to humiliate herself in front of Georgie and whoever his "friends" were. The degradation she would have to go through would not be easy. She had to steel herself to use the only power she had over men like Georgie – her brains and her body.
She heard the front door open and a voice call, "Jess?"
"I'll be right out, Juice!"
Jess double-checked herself one last time in the mirror – the micro skirt barely covering anything, the corset top forcing her breasts to spill over. She felt her lip twitch in a grin at her reflection. Georgie wouldn't know what hit him.
She walked down the hall to the living room expecting to see Juice waiting for her. What she saw, however, was Jax. She stopped short, surprised, and he raised his eyebrows as he took in the sight of her outfit, his eyes roaming down her barely covered body. Her eyes did the same, unable to stop herself from grazing down the white t-shirt he wore under his cut and the jeans hanging perfectly on his hips. His head tilted and he grinned.
"You didn't have to do all this for me," he said, snapping her out of the stupor the sight of him always put her in. She put a hand on her hip, trying to keep from smiling back at him. He was too damn sexy for anyone's good.
"What are you doing here, Jax?" she asked.
"Me? I'm trying to talk you outta whatever half baked scheme you got cookin' up here," he said.
"Juice told you?" Jess asked, annoyed even though she'd known he would. A part of her had been hoping he wouldn't think it was worth telling Jax.
"Yeah, see we're in this club together, of which I am the president," Jax said, pointing to the patch on his chest. "You had to know he was going to tell me."
"What exactly did he tell you?" Jess asked. Jax's lips pursed and she could tell he was trying not to get angry.
"He told me Georgie Caruso is giving you a hard time, black mailing you over some recording of you and Nero talking about Diosa, and that you asked for his help to get the recording back. Oh, and getting this," Jax said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two small vials which Jess assumed was the GHB she had asked Juice for.
"Well it's not a half-baked scheme," Jess said, reaching out for the vials, but Jax kept them out of her reach. "It's something I have to do."
"You don't have to do anything, Jess," he said. His playful attitude was gone. "You have a problem, I can take care of it for you. But you need to come to me. You can't go running to my guys."
"I wasn't 'running to your guys'," Jess said, feeling the anger rising in her. "And I don't need you solving every problem I have. I went to Juice because I needed someone good with computers."
"Alright, well this shit is ending tonight," Jax said, the command evident in his tone. "Let us handle it."
In that moment, Jess would have loved nothing more than to accept his offer. She could go back to the bathroom, wash all the makeup off, put her jeans back on, and forget all about Georgie. She had no doubt that the club was fully capable of making this problem go away. He was giving her an out, but she couldn't take it.
"Jax," she said, her anger ebbed away and replaced by a resigned determination. "Since we met, it's been one thing after another. People thinking they can use me to get to you, take advantage of me, try to control me. That will end with Georgie Caruso, but it has to be me. I have to do this."
He stepped towards her, closing the distance between them. He reached down gingerly, taking her hand in his and raising it to his lips. She closed her eyes, the feel of his lips on her skin sending sparks through her body and she felt goosebumps rise up her arms.
"I'm worried about you," he said softly. "You don't have to do this."
"You don't think I worry about you? Out there all the time doing God knows what? But I've also always trusted you to handle your shit and come home. When have I ever given you reason to doubt that I can do the same?" His mouth opened slightly but he had no response, and she jerked her hand out of his, the reminder that they were not together; She was not his anymore.
"I have to do this, Jax. Georgie got Daisy to work for him. She's the who planted the bug."
Jess had to focus on her anger to keep herself from crying. Whatever she did, she could not cry in front of Jax. Not now. She watched Jax's eyes narrow in the rage she felt, and in that moment she felt more connected to him than ever.
"That bitch is done," he said, his voice gravelly.
"So you'll help me?" Jess asked.
Jax gazed down at her for several moments; his eyes narrowed in thought before he finally gave her a slight nod, slipping the vials into her hand.
"At your service, darlin'."
SOASOASOASOASOASOA
Cars were lined up and down the street as Jess pulled Luann's Corvette up and parked. She recognized several cars from Cara Cara including Ima's Audi, recognizable by her "ImaTite" vanity plate. She took a deep breath, suddenly wishing she had the full strength of the club behind her, but she would have to do this part herself.
She stepped into the house to see several of her girls already at work, either spinning around the pole set up in the middle of the living room or giving lap dances. Georgie wanted her best, and they were certainly giving their all. Georgie was sitting on the couch watching Sasha climb the pole and spin slowly down, gyrating alongside it as she went.
Jess looked around, getting a lay of the land. Kitchen was through a door up ahead, bedrooms down the hall on the opposite side of the living room. She walked down the hall as if she were headed to the bathroom, but stuck her head in each bedroom until she found his computer.
Feeling relieved, she shut the door and walked back to the party. Looking around the room, Jess counted 12 men plus Georgie, all white and all with a certain skinhead quality to them. She saw Lyla stand from the lap she was grinding on and the man's chest was revealed, a giant swastika emblazoned across it. Nords all right, just as she had expected.
The Nords ran a prostitution ring and the meth scene from Charming, with a deal with the Sons to keep the drugs out of the small town. She knew them by reputation, since they dealt out of The Hairy Dog where Lux had taken Jess the first time she met Jax. Jess knew from conversations with her girls that meth deals were common coming from Georgie's, which sat just on the other side of the border of Charming. Jess had assumed Georgie was working with them, and now it was confirmed.
"Well if it isn't the princess herself!" Georgie howled when he spotted her, walking quickly over to her and grinning. He disgusted her, but Jess did her best to give him a pleasant smile.
"Georgie," she said in greeting.
"It's about fucking time you're here. I told the boys here you'd be my, ahem, main attraction," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively and bile rose in Jess's throat.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" she asked.
"Oh, I thought some time on the pole might do you good," he said. "Then I got a good buddy that was real interested in you so I might let him have some alone time with you, if you get my drift."
"I'm not a whore, Georgie. You can't pimp me out," Jess said.
"Au contraire, Jessica," Georgie said, pronouncing the French word with the worst Southern accent. "You are whatever I need you to be. And tonight, whore sounds real good."
Jess sneered at him, but before she could respond he'd called out to someone.
"Oy! Darby!" he hollered. A man in his late 50's looked up and calmly strolled over, beer in his hand. He wore a white wife beater that showed off his many tattoos, including a swastika proudly displayed between his collar bones and NORDS in English script down the length of one arm.
"Darby, I want you to meet Jess," Georgie said. "It's Jax Teller's girl. She's come to entertain us for the evening." Darby studied her, taking a sip of his beer.
"You know your old man blew up one of my labs," he said, "So forgive me for not being a fan of his."
"Well he's not my old man anymore," she said. "Even if he was, I wouldn't really give a shit if you liked him or not." Darby grinned, pointing a finger at her.
"Oh you'll be a fun one," he said. She tried to refrain from rolling her eyes.
"I think it might be your turn on the pole, Jess," Georgie said, leaning in so close she could smell the alcohol on his breath. She scoffed.
"Trust me, Georgie, I don't have the same skills as my girls," she said.
"Yeah, well, maybe it's more about me owning your ass than actually getting turned on by your performance. Though in that outfit, talent is one thing you don't need," he said. He slipped a finger into the band of her skirt, tugging it down slightly and Jess cringed, reminding herself of the part she needed to play: the damsel in distress that had been brought down by Georgie.
"If you say so, Georgie," she said, taking the excuse to walk away and get his grubby, pudgy hands off of her. She strode to the pole and grabbed a hold, swinging around it as the men around her cheered. She refused to look at Georgie as she hooked a knee around the pole, rolling her body to the music blaring. Eventually, she lost herself in the dance, pretending it was just her alone at Cara Cara after everyone had gone home. The catcalls and hollers faded away and she wondered how many of her girls had to do this, shut everyone and everything out, to make their living every day.
When the song finally ended, she detached herself from the pole and glanced at Georgie, who was sitting on the couch clapping enthusiastically next to Darby, who was enjoying a dance from Lyla. She forced herself to smile.
"Why don't I get some shots for the room?" she asked, her eyes flicking to Lyla. Lyla grinned and nodded, getting the hint Jess was throwing at her.
"Sounds good," Georgie said. "Take some yourself. You need to loosen the fuck up before my lap dance." He spread his legs wider on the couch, smirking at her, and Jess had to bite her lip to keep it from curling in disgust. Instead, she smiled a sugary sweet smile.
"Sure thing, Mr. Caruso," she purred. He beamed at her.
"Mr. Caruso… Yeah, I like that," he said.
She and Lyla headed to the kitchen and Jess made sure the door was shut behind her.
"Did you get the stuff?" Jess asked. Lyla nodded, grabbing a backpack sitting on the counter and pulling out a couple of bottles of tequila and some disposable shot glasses. She lined them out on the counter and poured each one to the brim while Jess dug into her purse to pull out the vials Jax had given to her.
"Here goes nothing," she said, taking the syringe Juice had also given her and placing several drops in each shot glass. Ima walked through the kitchen door, grinning at the scene in front of her.
"You bitches ready yet?" she asked. Jess nodded, placing the shots on two serving trays and each girl took one.
"Make sure everyone takes one. Don't miss anyone. In 30 minutes, I want every single man in there passed out," Jess said.
"Don't worry," Ima said waving her hand. "We can handle it." Jess nodded as they walked out to the living room with the trays, hoots and hollers echoing around as they passed out the shots.
"Jess!" she heard Georgie scream, and Jess walked out, plastering a smile on her face. "To Jess!" He held his shot glass up to her, grinning from ear to ear. "If you hadn't been such a dumb bitch, we wouldn't be having such a good time tonight."
The Nords all turned to her, raising their glasses, and Jess tried not to smile in satisfaction as they each tossed the shot back. Georgie whistled at Jess and finger waved her towards him. She gritted her teeth, attempting to turn her grimace into a smile as she sidled up to him.
"Why don't you give my man Darby a dance first," he said, jerking his head towards Darby sitting next to him. Jess almost felt relieved, hoping she could stretch it out long enough that she'd get by without having to touch Georgie. She smiled at Darby as she climbed onto him, straddling him. He smirked up at her, watching her grind herself against him.
"That's it," Georgie said, and she could practically hear him panting. "And I can get them to come to Georgie's Saturday after… you know. To celebrate." Darby grinned.
"Yeah, that sounds good," he said and Jess smiled down at him, knowing there was no way in hell she was ever doing this again. "Is everything set for the meet?"
Georgie nodded. "All good. Product in place. Everything ready."
Men were so stupid, Jess thought as she continued grinding on Darby. Put a woman in some skimpy clothes and dance on his lap, and he forgets she has a brain.
Jess watched Darby for any sign of the drugs beginning to take affect, and finally saw his eyes start to grow heavy, before his head dropped behind him completely. Jess grinned as she turned to look at Georgie, who had passed out against Darby's shoulder. Ten minutes later, every man in the room was passed out.
The girls stood around them looking confused, all except Ima and Lyla who were grinning ear to ear as if this was the most fun they'd had. Jess grabbed a handful of cash out of her purse and passed it around to the girls with a little extra for Ima and Lyla, dismissing them for the night. As the girls filed out, Jess grabbed her cell phone, dialing Jax.
"It's go time," she said, grinning.
"How long you been waiting to say that?" Jax asked, chuckling.
"Awhile," she admitted. She could hear him laugh softly into the receiver.
"Alright, we're on our way. Leaving Georgie's club now," Jax said.
"Did you find anything?" she asked hopefully, knowing if he had he would have opened with that.
"Nothing that'll help you," he said. "Juice destroyed his system though, and then Happy got a little, uh, happy with a baseball bat. He made quite a mess."
Jess was disappointed but not surprised the recording hadn't been on the computer at Georgie's club. She could only pray that Juice found it at the house.
"Alright, well that's something," she said. "What about Tig?"
"Swept for bugs at your house, Cara Cara, the clubhouse. All clear," he said. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good," she said.
"We'll see you soon, Jess." Jax said and Jess heard the rev of the motorcycles as he hung up. Ten minutes later, Juice, Jax, and Happy strode in.
"Fuckin' Nords," Jax muttered. He turned to her with worried eyes, but she was looking at Juice.
"He has a computer in a bedroom down that way," Jess said, pointing down the hall. Juice nodded and rushed off. Jax looked at Jess, cupping her face in his hand.
"You all right?" he asked. She allowed herself a moment to lean into his touch before she nodded her head, stepping away from him.
"I'm fine," she said. "Did you find the drugs at Georgie's?" Jax shook his head.
"If it was there, we didn't see it," he said. Jess frowned, but nodded.
"Okay. He told me he has another copy of the recording somewhere. I think he just has the one. Can you help me look for it?" Jax nodded before looking at Georgie's passed out figure on the couch, grimacing.
"Happy, check his pockets," Jax said. Happy's lip curled, but he did as Jax asked while Jax and Jess moved towards the bedrooms. They started in the office where Juice was huddled over the computer. Jess could hear the click of the keyboard as she began turning the rest of the office upside down looking for the spare copy of the recording, but she didn't see so much as a thumb drive in any drawer or on any shelf. Without that spare, all of this would be for nothing.
This would be her only opportunity to truly search the house, but maybe it wasn't there. Maybe he had it stashed at his club. Maybe he was smarter than she thought, and he put the copy in a safety deposit box like the one Tara used. But she just didn't think Georgie would be that careful. This plan of his hadn't seemed very thought out from the beginning.
"Any luck?" Jax asked. She shook her head.
"Bedroom?" she asked. Jax nodded, but before they walked out of the office she turned to Juice.
"You find the file?" she asked. Juice nodded.
"Found and deleted. But that's not all," he said. "Dumbass has everything on here. His entire operation."
"Ours for the taking," Jess said, satisfaction coursing through her as she grinned at Jax. "Copy it all before you delete." Juice nodded, taking the thumb drive Jess handed him and sliding it into the USB drive.
"I get the feeling there's more to this plan of yours," Jax said. Jess turned to see him leaning in the doorway of the office, his eyes narrowed.
"I told you," she said. "I'm going to destroy him." He continued watching her thoughtfully as she walked past him towards Georgie's bedroom. Before she could start tearing through his drawers, Jax grabbed her hand, forcing her to look at him.
"You know, Jess," he said, "There are lines, and if you cross them, you can't ever go back." Jess lips tightened into a thin line.
"Relax, Jax," she said. "I'm not planning on crossing any lines. I'm simply planning on leaving him wishing I had."
"Alright," he said. He paused again before continuing. "Just know, Jess, whatever you need, I've got your back. You can come to me, always. Whether we're together or not." She sucked in her breath, nodding.
"Thanks, Jax. That means a lot," she said, realizing that up until he said the words, Jess hadn't been completely sure she could depend on Jax's help. He continued to gaze down at her, his eyes searching her face as if searching for the answer to an unknown question. She didn't want to break away from him, but she finally had to.
"We need to search the room," she said, her voice coming out a hoarse whisper. He nodded and they got busy, each silently searching through a different area of the room looking for anything that looked like it could hold a recording.
While Jax cleared off a shelf with one sweep of his hand, shaking out books and packets of paper, Jess dumped one of Georgie's drawers on the floor, sifting through each item one by one. As she ran her hands through the pile of clothes, she felt her fingertips graze a small, metal object. She grabbed it, holding it up to look at it. Her subconscious seemed to recognize what she was holding a split second before it caught up to her brain and she felt all the air in her lungs empty, as if she had been punched in the stomach.
"Jax," she whispered, tears stinging her eyes, and this time she didn't have the strength to stop them. Jax walked over to her.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It's a Cara Cara charm." She stood, staring down it as she looked for its twin on her own charm bracelet. Only two existed in the world, and the other one had been ripped from Luann's charm bracelet when she was murdered.
Jax looked down, confused. "Her charm?" he asked.
"But… but why would Georgie have it? Zobelle. Zobelle burned down Cara Cara. Zobelle killed Luann," Jess said, the words flying from her lips in a panic. Otto murdered him in prison and she'd thought Luann's death had been avenged. But as the thoughts flew through her mind, Jess realized that Luann's murderer was sitting passed out in the living room.
"It was Georgie," she whispered, half frozen in shock. "I told you the charm hadn't just fallen off. I told you we should have been looking for it."
"Jess, I- " Jax said, but the shock wore off Jess and allowed a flood of emotions to envelope her all at once. Her grief for Luann, grief that had been held at bay for months and months, grief she thought she had passed, suddenly hit her again. The intensity of the anger and devastation she felt was almost too much for her to take, and before she knew what was happening, her hands became fists and she was pummeling them against Jax's chest in a rage she had never felt before.
"I TOLD YOU!" she screamed, her fists flailing against him. He let her hit him, her screams echoing around them. "I TOLD YOU!" And then her screams became sobs, and she dissolved into him sobbing into his chest, feeling like she would collapse. He held her up, his arms wrapped tight around her.
Author's Note: Thank you so much to all who have read and all who have reviewed! I said it in an update on my profile, but I'll say it here - New Start is a story that we have been working on for about 8 years. It has never left us and I have always wanted to come back to it and finish it. It's been a couple of years since our last update, but now with the quarantine I have nothing but time on my hands to give it the energy it needs. I love this story, I love writing it, I love the world we have built, and I really, really hope that you do, too! As always, reviews are our crack so if you enjoyed this chapter I would so appreciate you letting me know! (And if you didn't, we welcome constructive feedback!)