Holly sighed in frustration as her car broke down, putting her head on the steering wheel. She was on her way home from work when she noticed that her car was going slowly. She'd hoped that she could make it to the garage, but she wasn't that lucky. It didn't help that her phone had died because she forgot to charge it the night before. She took a deep breath before grabbing her stuff, putting as much in her purse as she could, grabbing her keys and getting out of the car, locking it. She looked at the building she'd broke down in front of. Diosa International. She walked inside and went up to the desk, looking at the older woman behind the desk.
"Can I help you, ma'am?"
"I was hoping to use your phone. My car broke down outside and my phone's dead. My fiance runs a garage and I need to call him."
"Go ahead."
"Thank you."
She moved over to the side, pulling the phone over with her a bit, dialing Jax's number, waiting for him to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Jax, it's me."
"Holly? Why aren't you using your phone?"
"The car broke down and my phone died a few hours ago. Can you come get me?"
"Yeah. where are you?"
"Some place called Diosa International."
She gave him the address from a business card she picked up from a container on the desk.
"Alright, babe. I'll come get you. Stay there, ok?"
"I will. Will you get someone to relieve Jessica? I was supposed to go home to relieve her and she has an appointment."
"I'll send mom over."
She looked in surprise when she saw Gemma come out of some guy's room with him.
"Um….How about Mallory? I don't think she's doing anything today."
"Are you and mom fighting again?"
"We're always fighting, but that's not why I'm asking for Mallory."
"Alright. We'll talk when I get there."
"Love you, baby."
"Love you too, darlin'."
She hung up and looked over at Gemma, whistling to get her attention.
"Holly? What the hell are you doing here?"
"My car broke down and my phone's dead. What are you doing here?"
"None of your damn business."
"It is my damn business when I had to call Jax to get him to get someone over to the house to watch the kids cause Jessica has somewhere she needs to be and he wants to call you."
"Shit. I'll go now."
"No you won't. I'm having him call Mallory. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume you don't want him to know that you're sleeping with some Mexican guy in an escort service."
"Actually, I run this place."
She looked at the guy and nodded.
"Sorry. I meant no offense. It's been a bad day from start to finish and now seeing my old man's mother in an escort service is a little shocking. I'm Holly Pavlov."
"Naive bitch, is more like it."
"Bite me, bitch. You're already on thin ice. You really wanna antagonize me? Knowing what's at stake?"
She watched Gemma back off, listening to her grumble as she walked away. She looked back at the guy.
"Holly Pavlov."
"Nero Padilla. It's nice to meet you, chiquita."
"You too. So you run this place? Gotta be nice surrounding yourself with cute girls. Although, some of them look pretty young."
"Everyone here's over age and I don't sleep with the employees. I prefer relationships over one night stands."
"Word of advice? Don't get attached to Gemma Teller. She has a habit of hurting the people she claims to love and care about and manipulate them."
"Sounds like there's a bit of bad blood between you two."
"That's being incredibly kind. She might be my fiance's mother, but there's a lot of love lost between the two of us."
"Do you want some coffee while you wait, chiquita? Or some water? It's a pretty hot day."
"Water would be perfect, thank you."
"Ok. Come on."
She followed Nero to the kitchen, ignoring Gemma completely until Gemma pushed her.
"I'm talking to you, Holly! You're so wrapped up in your hatred for me that you…."
Gemma didn't get the chance to finish her sentence due to Holly smacking her in the face.
"You know why I hate you! Why I keep you at arms length, Gemma! You were like a mother to me, shit you were my godmother, and you fucking stabbed me in the back in the worst way possible! You took the worst moment in my life, in our lives, and used it to manipulate your son and husband, ignoring how much it was affecting me. And you can say until you can't breathe how sorry you are, but it's not enough. It will never be enough. Even Jax cheating on me didn't hurt as much as what you did. He was trying to push me away to keep me safe. He had me in mind. You had yourself in mind and were so worried about how your son and husband would look at you that you tortured me and let me try to fucking off myself! You saw, firsthand, how much my suicide attempts hurt Jax and you still didn't care! As long as you had Jax and Clay you were happy. Meanwhile, I was in absolute hell. But, for the kids' sakes, I gave you one more chance and you seem to be determined to ruin that chance too. You and Jax and the guys are so busy with your own things, and I get you all are sorting through some absolute shit, but none of you are standing back to realize that I don't have many more chances to give out anymore. People can only handle so much before they break and I'm very close to my breaking point. And I'm not kidding. You're working on my last nerve, Gemma Teller. You push me one more time, literally or figuratively, and I will take away the one thing you love most in this world. I will keep you away from MY family. I will kill you to do it if I have to. Am I clear?"
She glared at Gemma until Gemma nodded, picking up her purse before looking at Nero.
"Is there somewhere I can be alone until my fiance gets here?"
"Yeah. I'll put you in one of the aromatherapy rooms. Maybe you should take a session? Calm down a bit."
"How about some tequila instead?"
"I don't have any."
"Then just the water and the room."
She followed him to the room in silence, walking inside and sitting down in the armchair in the middle of the room. She grabbed some cash out of her purse, handing Nero some.
"For the room."
"Keep it, chiquita."
"Please let me pay? I'd feel bad taking up one of your rooms and affecting your business. So please?"
She hadn't realized that she'd been tearing up until Nero wiped her eye gently, cupping face lightly. She tried to hold back more tears, looking away from him.
"It sounds like you need someone to talk to that doesn't involve your family, Holly."
"I can't. My fiance's club does things that if I told, not only would I be a rat, they'd get in trouble."
"Not with me. I used to be part of that life. And I was damn good at it."
She looked up at him in surprise.
"You? You don't strike me as the type."
"Nunca juzgues un libro por su portada, niña."
"Sorry. You're just so sweet."
"You look so sad, chiquita. I'm gonna go get Gemma to go home and then I'm gonna come back and you're gonna talk. Let out as much pain as you can before your old man gets here."
I don't wanna take up your time, Nero. I know you have to be busy."
"Shush. Pick some oils to put in the incense burner, sit, relax and I'll be back."
Holly took a deep breath after she'd finished washing her face in the bathroom of the aromatherapy room, looking into the mirror as she heard Jax come in, looking at him through the mirror.
"When does this shit end, Jax?"
"What shit?"
"Me being broken over and over and over again. I'm losing myself and I can't deal with it anymore."
"Bad day?"
"It's more than just a bad day, Jackson. I'm at the point where I'm starting to get used to being hurt and I'm starting to not care. I can't deal with much more, Jax, before I really leave. It would hurt to leave you, but I would."
He sighed softly, letting her come over to him, pulling her in and holding her close.
"Is there anything I can do? I hate seeing you like this."
"Stop hurting me. Stop letting your mother hurt me. I can understand if something happens because of the club. As long as the kids don't get hurt, I'll deal with whatever comes and I'll still be by your side. But when the pain comes from people I'm supposed to love, that's when I can't deal with it."
"I know. I'm so sorry, babe."
"Don't be sorry, Jax. Just fix things. But just know that I'm at the end of my rope with this shit."
He nodded, kissing Holly softly as he held her close. He looked at her when she pulled away. He could finally see just how broken she really was and it made him sick. When something happened, he would watch her struggle to smile again but she always managed to be happy again. It was never long before he saw the smile that he fell hard for. But the look that was on her face was different. It was the physical manifestation of how he felt when Abel had been kidnapped. His beautiful, supportive, amazing, wonderful, loving girl was broken. And all he could do was blame himself.
"Chibs has your car hooked up to the truck. Let's go home, babe."
Jax sat at the table at the clubhouse, taking a hit from his joint as he thought about Holly. How the fuck was he gonna fix her broken heart and soul? He found himself missing Holly's parents. Especially her dad. Holly and Daniil had always had a special bond. Holly loved her mother, Viola, with everything she had. But since Holly was born, she'd always been the biggest daddy's girl. Daniil could always get her to calm down when no one else could. If he were around, Jax would send Daniil to talk to her. But in thinking about Daniil, he got an idea. He put out the joint before grabbing his phone. He didn't know if this would work, but he hoped it would. Because he needed to see a smile on Holly's face again.
Holly bolted up in bed when she heard the door downstairs getting kicked in. she cursed under her breath before grabbing her gun, putting it in the hem of her sweats, tiptoeing over to Valentina's nursery, putting her in Abel's room before getting Tommy and putting him in Abel's room as well, going to grab her cell before locking herself and the kids in Abel's room, trying to keep them quiet and asleep as she called Jax, only to be sent to voicemail. He was probably asleep. She cursed softly before calling Tig.
"Holly? It's 3 in the morning."
"I can't talk too loud. Someone broke into the house. Get here now."
"Shit. Where's Jax?"
"He crashed at the clubhouse. Just fucking get here."
"I'm on my way. Keep the kids with you, escape if you can. I'm leaving now."
She had to hang up, hearing someone coming up the stairs. She pulled her gun out and stared at the door, trying to keep quiet. She bit her lip gently as the footsteps got closer to the door, looking around for a way to get the kids out, but there wasn't. And then the doorknob started jiggling, her heart pounding in her chest. She raised her gun and pointed it at the door.
"Get the fuck out of here! I called the cops and they're on their way."
"No you didn't, Holly. You probably called Jax. Maybe Tig or Chibs if he didn't answer."
"Clay? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Come out here, Holly."
"No, Clay. You're in a shit ton of trouble. Get out of here. Now!"
She let out a scream when she saw the door get kicked down, her eyes going wide as the kids all woke up, the babies starting to cry. Clay wasn't alone. Frankie was there along with a couple guys she'd never seen before. She panted in fear as she pointed her gun between the three of them. But she knew, as Abel cowered behind her, that she wouldn't make it out of this alive. She teared up as she lowered the gun, letting it fall to the floor, looking at Clay.
"Do what you want with me, but promise me the kids will be fine?"
"You know I wouldn't hurt them, Holly."
"Let me say goodbye?"
"Come downstairs when you're done."
She nodded, watching as the guys went downstairs with Clay. She let out a silent breath of relief. She had a chance. Clay was an idiot at the best of times, and she thanked God for that. She bent down to look at Abel kissing his head gently.
"I need you to be mommy's big brave boy. Can you do something for me, buddy?"
"Yeah….."
"I'm gonna put you in mommy and daddy's bedroom with brother and sister and lock you in. Do you remember daddy's and all of your uncle's phone numbers?"
"Yes, mommy."
"Good boy. If you forget at all, you'll have mommy's phone. I need you to call daddy. And if he doesn't answer, call uncle Chibs or uncle Bobby or uncle Juice or grandma. If anyone answers, tell them mommy needs help because she's hurt. I'm not actually hurt, but it'll get someone here quickly. If nobody answers, you call 911 and tell them that someone's trying to hurt you. You understand me?"
"Yes, mommy."
"That's mommy's boy. Unless you hear my voice at the door, you do not unlock that door. Am I clear?"
She kissed his cheek before picking up the babies, bringing the three of them into her room, putting the babies into the bassinets in the room, putting her cell on the bed before putting Abel on the bed next to it. She kissed the babies heads gently before looking at the three of them for a minute, hearing Clay call for her from downstairs. She rushed out, looking at Abel.
"I love you, buddy. Don't ever forget that."
She locked the door behind her, grabbing the gun from Abel's bedroom floor, checking to see how many bullets there were in the magazine. Thankfully, there were enough for the plan she'd come up with on the fly. All she could do now was hope that Tig would get there soon and that Jax would pick up for Abel. She held onto the gun as she made her way to the stairs, watching from the top as the guys started towards the stairs. She aimed the gun, pulling the trigger as soon as Clay's head came into view. The three guys behind him pulled him out of the way, but she hit Frankie in the shoulder. She jumped out of the way as Clay pulled his gun out and shot at her, just narrowly avoiding a bullet to the gut. She hid behind the wall out of sight.
"You're not gonna get another warning, Clay! Leave now and you'll make it out alive!"
"You're outnumbered, Holly. Give it up and accept your fate."
"I'm not giving up anything. You're already dead, Clay."
"Right. Which means I have nothing to lose."
She poked her head out and fired another shot, hitting one of the guys in the stomach, hearing him fall to the floor. She ducked back behind the wall as more shots rang out. She waited until they stopped before firing a few more shots. It took a few minutes before it was just her and Clay. And now she was out of bullets. She ran to the bedroom, knocking on the door.
"Abel, it's mommy. Let me in now, please!"
She kept glancing over her shoulder towards the stairs. She sent another silent thank you to God, glad that the fact that he'd been shot in the lung meant that he was slow. When Abel opened the door, she picked him up and put him back onto the bed, running into the closet to grab more bullets, quickly putting in a new clip in the magazine before running out of the room, locking it behind her as Clay ran up behind her, grabbing hold of her. She screamed and struggled against him. It took a good shot to the chest to get him to let her go. As soon as he did, she ran downstairs, hearing a bike turn down the street. She heard Clay chase after her, running to the front door. She didn't make it outside, hearing Clay right behind her. She didn't want to do this, but the only way to end this was a shot to the head. She had just turned around as Clay came up to her, not hesitating to pull the trigger, the shot echoing throughout the house. She looked over at the bodies one the floor in different places, feeling as if she lost her hearing, not knowing Tig had come in until she felt his hand on her shoulder, turning and pointing her gun at him. It took a minute before Tig's face clicked in her head, handing him the gun before running up to the bedroom, knocking on the door.
"Abel, it's mommy."
She picked him up and held him close, falling to her knees as she started crying, holding him close to her, feeling him cry into her shoulder. She'd come so close to losing her life. To being taken from her family. To say she was shaken up was an understatement. She put Abel on his face, cupping his face gently.
"Are you ok, buddy?"
"Yeah. I heard the shots and thought you'd been shot."
"I'm fine, buddy. I promise."
"I called daddy."
She nodded, kissing his head gently, looking over when she heard Jax calling for her, letting Abel run to Jax when he came up the stairs. She buried her face in her hands as she backed herself to the door, breaking down, her whole body shaking. She could hear the guys downstairs, not paying attention to anything else as Jax put Abel down and held Holly close, rubbing her back as she cried. She felt him rock her gently, as he told Abel to go to grandma, who was coming up the stairs. She held onto Jax when he picked her up, holding onto his cut tightly with both hands.