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Jax Is Really Alive

Chapter 33 RecapJax is stuffed into the SUV by two members of the team. The SUV speeds away, but Jax insists they go after the guys that took Nero.

Ryland overrules Jax and tells him that Nero isn't the mission's objective. Jax is angry and tries to climb into the front seat. One of the members of the team puts Jax in a choke hold and Jax loses consciousness.

Chapter 34 Fire and Fury

Jax woke up angry that he'd been choked out and now finding Nero wasn't possible. That fucker Ryland. If he were here, he'd beat the shit out of him.

"Thanks a lot, you son of a bitch," Jax said to the team member who had choked him to unconsciousness.

"Hey, man, it wasn't personal. I was following orders."

If there had been room enough to take a swing, Jax would have swung on him. Orders or not, Nero was now in a speeding van and facing God only knows what kind of fate. One thing he knew, it wasn't going to be a happy one.

Poor Nero. His life had really taken a bad turn. If Nero had never crossed paths with Gemma and him, his life would have been a lot better. His dream of owning a farm probably would have stayed that way. Now he had to face the fact that his dream had turned into a nightmare and his son preferred living in a state facility with his friends to living with him.

He didn't know why Nero had been grabbed, but he felt he was somehow responsible. That was why he felt so committed to rescuing him from his kidnappers.

They arrived at the hotel. Ryland had instructions. Jax was to go into the hotel. A few minutes later the guys from the team would enter in the hotel in staggered times. The original plan had been for them to fly back to Charming once the objective was achieved. The revised plan was the guys were to stay put at least until the morning.

Jax was glad to see that Tara looked like she had fully recovered.

"You heard what happened with Nero?" Jax demanded.

"I heard," Tara said.

"So did I," Kozik said.

Something was wrong. It didn't sound like they shared his anger that Ryland and his team had stopped him from going after Nero.

"Can you believe that bastard Ryland kept me from helping Nero?"

"I think you've got this one," Kozik said to Tara. "I'm going to my room and grab some sleep. See you in the morning."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jax demanded looking at Kozik.

"Sorry, I'm on Ryland's side on this."

Jax shook his head as Kozik left him. He couldn't believe that a brother would betray him like that. So much for having an ally in Kozik.

Kozik was just looking out for himself so he could get Ryland's permission to marry his nurse. Good to know that he couldn't trust Kozik to have his back.

"I'm going to call it a night. I've got some more urgent things to do," Ryland said over the speaker in the note pad that was still propped up on the nightstand.

Jax turned his earphone off and removed it. He didn't care that Ryland heard his outburst. He wasn't happy that Ryland had just shutdown communication, but all he was doing was delaying the confrontation.

"I'm going to take a shower," Tara said. "I need to wash the filth off."

"Mind if I join you?" Jax asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I do. I just need some space," Tara said.

She went to her suitcase and the knee length T-shirt she slept in and underwear and brought it into the bathroom with her. She not only closed the door, she locked it.

Jax didn't hide his disappointment. He was hoping for a lot more meaningless sex with Tara while her hormones were driving her crazy. That bastard Ryland had probably had Tara's hormone levels corrected, so she was no longer sex crazy.

Jax thought that saving Tara from being gang raped and killed might have bought him some good will from her at least for a few minutes. He had no idea what was going through her mind, but she was mad at him.

This day had been as fucked up as any day he'd had towards the last of his time as president of SAMCRO. He had emotional whiplash from all the bad shit that had happened today. The only bright spot, finding Kozik returned from dead had also been a source of contention. Kozik wasn't his brother anymore. He was on Ryland's side.

Tara emerged from the bathroom and sat on the bed with pillows behind her and her back against the wall. Jax walked into the bathroom, stripped off his clothes and took a shower.

He didn't bother with closing the door. He was not modest and Tara liked seeing him naked. Maybe the sight of his fine sculpted body would remind her that she needed his body on and in hers.

He wondered who could have taken Nero and why. The grab had been too well executed with the flash grenades to be from a street gang. It felt paramilitary to him.

What paramilitary crew could want to take Nero? It just didn't make any sense. Could it be a case of mistaken identity?

Jax finished shower, left the bathroom with a towel around his waist, he grabbed out a pair of boxers to sleep in from his suitcase and pulled them on.

Tara was looking at him with daggers in her eyes. What the hell could he have done that had pissed her off so much? He had saved her life.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jax demanded.

"You are the problem," Tara said jumping up from the bed. Her face was flushed with anger.

"What exactly did I do wrong?"

"What is our mission objective?" she demanded.

"What's your point?"

"That we are here for one reason and one reason only. We are here, in case you forgot, to find our boys and get them back. How the hell does saving Nero from being kidnapped accomplish that?"

Well, that was it. The fight was on.