Author's Note: Here it is! The last chapter to Boots of Spanish Leather. It's sad to see it end but I have moved onto a new story; the second part to this saga. Now, in the last chapter, I hinted that it was named after an old cover which was feature in SOA. I am proud to announce that the second part of this story is titled As Tears Go By :) The first two chapters are already written and I will post soon. The more reviews I get, the faster I'll post in the new story ;)...

Thanks to all the loyal readers. You have made this so enjoyable and I can't wait to see what you guys think of the other.

XOXO

Epilogue

Monday, October 13th, 1997 10:00pm

Jax awoke with a start.

He sat up and turned on the lap on the night table. Jax was drenched in sweat.

Tara.

He got up from Tara's bed and started pulling on his clothes.

Derek hasn't been home for a couple of days, that much was obvious. Derek's mail was piling up and the house was eerily quiet. Something was going on. Something big.

Tara.

Jax opened the window and climbed out, jogging to his bike, which was, parked a couple of streets over.

Climbing on, he roared the engine to life and rode to the clubhouse.

Throughout the short ride over there, he felt dread all over his body. Like something bad had happened to Tara. He could feel it in his gut.

Arriving to the lot, he parked and practically ran to the clubhouse.

In there were a couple of croweaters, one who was riding a very intoxicated Tig, right in one of the couches, a small audience watching the show. Jax shifted his eyes and nodded at Bobby who was drinking tequila with a Black beauty. Chibs was playing pool with Kyle. Jax approached them.

"Have anyone of you seen Juice?" he asked with out preamble.

Chibs looked at Jax. "Everything ok, brutha?"

Jax shook his head. "Where is the Prospect? I need to talk to him now."

"In one of the back rooms. Took two chicks in there," answered Kyle, who was aiming his next shot.

Jax walked rapidly to the back and started opening doors, until he found Juice pounding into one of the croweaters.

"Party is over, get the fuck out."

Juice stopped and looked like a deer caught in headlights. The two croweaters stopped and looked at Juice.

"Get the fuck out," yelled Jax and the women scrambled to collect their clothes while Juice pulled his boxer briefs over his hip. Jax slammed the door shut.

"Listen, I haven't said anything about…"

"Shut the fuck up," said Jax as he started to pace. "Do you still have ties in New York?" Jax pulled a cigarette from his kutte and lit up, the feelings of dread getting worse.

"What do you mean?"

Jax stopped. "I know you aren't as dense as you pretend to be with other club members. They might find it endearing; I find it annoying."

Juice looked straight into Jax's eyes. "I have a sister and a few family members. Not really close to anyone of them."

"I need to you do your computer magic work and track down someone for me."

"Who? And what does my family have to do with it?"

"I'm going to need confirmation of something and your family might be useful. And you are going to track down Tara Knowles."

"Your ex?"

Jax glared at Juice. "Find her and if you tell anyone…"

"Yea, yea, I know the drill already." Juice started pulling on his pants and Jax walked out of the room without another word.

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Tuesday, October 14th, 1997 12:47am

"Why in the hell did you ask me to meet you here?"

Jax shut the door and motioned for Elliot to sit down.

"It's quite the establishment, isn't it?"

Oswald looked annoyed. "I don't appreciate being called in the middle of the night to come meet you in a whorehouse."

Jax shrugged his shoulders. "It's out of Charming. Plus, I arranged with the owner a special treat for your troubles."

"You think I am going to sleep with some whore? Cheat on my wife?" Oswald stood.

"If you don't want to then don't. I have never seen a man turn down good and free pussy though. And the missus does seem a little uptight. Maybe a girl from Diosa will help you relief some tension, that's all."

Oswald lunged at Jax. But Jax being younger and quicker had Oswald pinned to a wall in seconds flat.

"What the fuck do you want, Teller?" Oswald said gasping for air.

"Where the fuck is Derek Knowles?"

"How would I know? Asshole hasn't shown up to work in a couple of days."

"Why?"

Oswald remained silent and Jax knew that Oswald knew something.

Jax pulled him back and slammed his head against the wall. Oswald groaned.

"I swear if you don't tell me where he is or what happened, you won't make it out of here alive."

"Okay, Okay…Derek said he needs a couple of weeks off from work. Had to go to New York. Something had happened to his kid. Some sort of accident. That's all I know. I swear."

Jax released Oswald. "Did he leave a number or something?" Jax asked, the panic obvious in his voice.

Oswald shook his head. "No. He said he had to leave immediately that he got a call from one of her roommates. That's all I know."

Jax backed away from the scared businessman. "You know people in the government. You need to help me find her."

Oswald scoffed. "Yea, like that's easy. How in the hell am I supposed to find Tara Knowles in a city that has millions of residents?"

"She has an aunt in San Diego. Find her and you could find her daughter, Katie. Katie is the key to finding Tara. She lives in New York and probably is one of her roommates."

"Do you realize what you are asking me to do?" Oswald said. "You want me to find a woman who could be anywhere in this country. I have neither the reach nor the power to do what you are asking of me. Yes, I know people in the government but in Charming's government. Only the Feds have the database and the clearance to do cross country searches."

"The Feds?"

"Yes, ATF, FBI, DEA. Pick three letter in the fucking alphabet," Oswald sat in one of the couches in Nero's office.

"There has to be another way. When is Derek coming back?"

"I just told you he begged for a couple of weeks off. I don't know. I guess it depends on how well Tara gets or something. But it must have been bad enough to make him give a shit."

Jax winced. "Did he mention what happened?"

"No."

"I need to find her," he whispered.

"Then go," Oswald said.

"How? You said it yourself. New York is huge."

"Tara is a smart girl, right? Like school and stuff."

Jax sat across Oswald. "Smartest person I know."

"Well New York City has two amazing universities that has thousands of applicants a year. But given their prestigious nature, they only take a handful of students compared to what apply."

"Columbia and NYU."

"Exactly. If Tara is in New York and if she wants to continue with her studies, I bet you, she has applied or will apply to both of those schools."

Jax stood. "Go and enjoy as much pussy as you want. All on me. Make sure your mouth stays shut or your pretty wife will know about your visit to Diosa."

Oswald ran out of the office without a glance back.

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Tuesday, October 14th, 1997, 10:33am

"Thank you for doing this," said Jax as he sat down in front of Nero's desk.

"She must mean a lot to you," said Nero as he folded out his hands in front of him.

"She means everything," Jax answered honestly.

Nero nodded. "What are you going to do if you find her?"

Jax sighed. "I don't know, man."

Nero gave Jax a sad smile. "There is so much I wish I could do differently, mano. When I was about your age, I got involved with the wrong crowd. Started off with weed and booze; moved on to crank by the time I was twenty-five. My girl was using too when she was pregnant."

"What happened to your kid?"

"He was born all levels of fucked up and I was behind bars doing a four year stretch. His mom didn't give two shits and continued using until she choked on her own vomit. The state took him. He is now living in this facility for disabled kids. I get to visit him three times a week for about an hour each time."

"Why can't you just have custody?"

"I'm a convicted felon, Jax, with prior gang affiliations. No judge will give me custody anytime soon. That's why I built this. To one day buy a farm and move with my kid away from all this shit." Nero leaned forward on his desk. "There isn't a day that does by that I don't wish I would have stopped using before my kid was born. I wish I had not robbed a fucking grocery store with a Glock just to get money for drugs. That way, I would have been there when my kid was born and I would have taken care of him like a father should. All these what ifs, mano; my own personal demons, Jax. Demons that will never leave me because everyday I have to face the fact that I failed my own kid. Make the right choice, Jax. Make it before its too late."

"That's deep, Nero, but how can I leave everything I know behind? I love my brothers. I love my club. I love my town."

"I guess the question you have now is, who do you love more? Can you see yourself living in Charming the rest of your life without her? Or do you see living outside Charming with her?"

"Why can't I have both?"

"Cause this is life, Jackson. And sometimes, we cannot have everything we want. Now which life are you going to choose?"

Jax remained silent for a long moment. He started wearing one of his fathers' rings as soon as he patched in. Out of habit, he started turning it around and around in his finger until it eventually came off. He stared at it for a moment and placed it on top of Nero's desk.

"Pick up the phone, Nero."

Nero gave him a genuine smile and picked up his handset. "I would like to make a long distance call to New York University."

A few minutes passed before he was connected to the admissions department. "Hey, is this the admissions department?" There was a pause. "Great! My name is Derek Knowles and I am afraid my daughter forgot to send in the deposit for her to start next fall? Can you please verify if she paid it off?" Nero gave Jax a smile. "Yes, her name is Tara Knowles."