Chapter XVI- Wave goodbye

Ella zipped her duffel bag closed, stifling a yawn. She heard the roar of motorcycles on the parking lot and walked to the window, moving the curtain aside to see what was going on. She recognized a few of the faces from Rogue River she had seen yesterday and spotted three men she hadn't seen before. She noticed that two of them had cuts that identified them as prospects. They seemed to be about her age. The first one was a tall and burly guy with a beard and long hair he hid behind a beanie while the other one had baby blue eyes, blond locks that grazed his neck and interestingly he was wearing white snickers instead of the usual biker boots. The last man was quite old and wore a denim cut. He was riding a motortrike which he didn't even bother dismounting and despite the early hour, he was already nursing a beer. She saw Tig walking to them, pushing the blond biker around and pulled the curtain back just as she heard a soft knock.

"It's open."

Kozik walked in. "Hey, you're ready to go?"

Ella's eyes traced his tall figure. He had ditched the flannel shirt for a white long sleeved tee shirt which flattered his muscular upper body and the result was very sexy. "Guessing that's my escort?"

"They're good guys, they'll take care of you."

She jerked her head to his shoulder. "How is the arm?"

"A little stiff but it'll be fine." Another moment of silence fell between them. "You got a prepay?"

She gave him a pointed look indicating it was a pretty silly question.

He told her off. "Don't look at me like that, let me have it."

She dug her phone out of her pocket and handed it to him. He keyed in his number before giving it back to her. "Now you have my number if you need it."

She felt her lips curl in a smile and gazed at him tenderly. "Thank you." She mouthed, as she closed the gap between them and placed a hand on his chest. She raised her head and pressed her lips against his in a quick kiss. "Be safe Kozik." she whispered before grabbing her bag and stepped outside.

She was blinded by the morning sun and put on her sunglasses before making her way towards the SUV. She heard him follow, closing the door behind them. She threw her bag in the trunk and leaned back on the car watching him interact with the Rogue River and Charming guys. She couldn't help but feel a pinch of guilt. She knew what was happening wasn't her fault per se, but she was also aware that the men were going to be out there risking their lives to protect her and she hated it. She hated playing the part of the fragile and defenseless woman who needed men to look after her well being.

"I never get used to it. Watching them go, not knowing if they'll come back."

Ella turned around and saw Gemma Teller studying her. Once again, Ella was stricken by the power than emanated from the woman. Ella could understand why most old ladies amongst the club were scared shitless of her. She had married not one but two club presidents, two first nine at that. She was known for being ruthless and disarmingly discerning. But despite that, as she had shown during their conversation the other night, Ella wasn't scared of Gemma Teller. She intrigued her, she sure as hell annoyed her, but she didn't scare her.

The queen bee rose an appreciate eyebrow at Ella. "You know, I didn't peg you as Kozik's type."

Ella tried to keep an impassible face. "Am I supposed to know what you're talking about?" she retorted

Gemma smiled and took a drag from the cigarette she was holding. "The way he looks at you, the way you look at him with those puppy dog eyes? It's cute. Stupid. But cute."

Ella clenched her teeth trying to decide how she should play this. In the end, she decided to take a leaf from Gemma's book and be blunt. "I didn't realise we were being watched."

"You don't want to be watched, Hon' you close the door." She put a hand on her hips and slid her sunglasses on the top of her head so she could glower at Ella. "You know I've known your father for years right? He's a great friend, great Pres but he's mean as a rabid dog."

Ella sighted loudly, showing her annoyance. "You're going somewhere with this?"

"I think you know exactly where I'm going with this. Kozik's a good man. He's not perfect, but he is a good man. I would hate to see him get hurt because some little tart is using him to work out her daddy issues. So in the future, you might want to learn to be more discreet."

She glared at Ella and walked away leaving her unsettled. She turned back to Kozik and realised he had been observing her exchange with Gemma. They locked eyes and she read worry in his eyes. She decided to reassure him, not wanting him to focus on anything else than his safety today and gave him a small wave and a smile.

Kozik turned his attention back to his brothers wondering what Gemma had said to Ella. From her body language, he had seen that the conversation was making her uncomfortable. He'd known Gemma long enough to know she would be able to rattle just about anyone.

"So that's Lethal Ray's daughter uh? She's hot."

Kozik turned to Jackson Teller with a cold look. "Keep it in your pants, Prospect. Tell me about the bike."

"Did a full check on it before we left. It's running real smooth, you just have to keep it clean in the turns though."

Tig walked to them. "You know, you could always borrow Piney's trike if a real one is to tough for ya. Now can we get the fuck out of here?"

Jax and Opie chuckled and Kozik glared at them. "What's so funny shitheads?"

"Nothing man."

He pointed a menacing finger towards Jax "Get going and keep your eyes on the road, if you don't want Lethal Ray after your collective prospects asses."

"Whatever you say, man. Come on, Ope."

Kozik looked on as the little prince of SAMCRO walked to Ella. He was going to drive the SUV back to Charming while Kozik took the bike he had come in with. Opie and Piney would open the escort and the Rogue River would follow behind. He trusted Jax. He had a good head on his shoulders and a brilliant future within the club. He was John Teller's legacy after all. He turned to Tig who was still staring at him intently. "What do you want Tiggy? A kiss? Let's go."

He glanced at Ella a last time meeting her gaze before putting on the helmet and hopping on the bike.

Ella watched the blond man march towards her, a languid smile trailing on his lips. He had the confident demeanor of a man who knew he was handsome and was used to getting what he wanted out of women.

"You know, when they told me I'd be escorting Ray Strickland's daughter, I didn't picture you like that."

She was still reeling from her conversation with Gemma. Who the hell did that woman think she was? "Yeah, how exactly did you picture me?" she nearly spat at him.

"I just figured you'd be like ten or something."

Not the answer she was expecting and she couldn't suppress a chuckle. "I assume you're the little Prince of SAMCRO."

He grinned. "Most people just call me Jax."

"Well, most people call me Ella."

"You ready?"

Ella nodded and they both climbed into the SUV. He opened the window and took out a smoke offering her one. She took it and leaned towards the lighter he was holding before Jackson turned on the ignition. Ella, watched as the other prospect and the old man opened the way, followed by Gemma's car and then the SUV. Looking in the side mirror, she saw five Rogue River guys trailing behind. They drove in silence for a moment before she turned to him and stroke a conversation. "So how come you weren't out in Tacoma with the rest of them?"

"Someone's got to stay in Charming to watch over things. Opie and I we're just prospects."

"Right. Because anyone is going to believe this is more than a mere formality."

He glanced at her, an amused look on his face. "Are you always like that?"

"Always like what?"

"On the attack?" he spelled out.

She giggled. "Occupational hazard. I am Lethal Ray's daughter after all."

This time, it was his turn to chuckle. He liked this girl. She was quick witted and smart. Not to mention she had a killer body to boot. This should be an interesting ride to say the least.

After talking with Jax a while about life as the offspring of an MC president, Ella decided she liked him. He was fun to be around, took her shit but gave back as much as he took and treated her with respect. Sur, he was slightly obnoxious and kept flirting with her but as long as she didn't engage, they were fine. The conversation was so easy she didn't even notice they'd reached California until she saw the welcome to Charming sign. They drove through the town and Ella was amazed at how small it all looked. It was one of those towns you thought only existed in TV with a high street bordered with old school shops and diners. They even had a barber! Finally, they pulled into a compound and Ella realised they had reached their destination. Teller-Morrow Auto shop.

Jax parked the SUV close to the garage and turned to her. "Welcome to Charming."

"So that's where it all started."

"That's the place, darlin'."

She rolled her eyes at the nickname he seemed to have chosen for her and opened the door, jumping off the car. Gemma came out of her car and called out to Jackson.

"Show her the apartment, will ya? Have one of the crow eaters change the sheets for her. I got shit to do in the office."

Ella hated when people talked about her as if she wasn't there but decided to ignore it. She was pretty confident Gemma was doing it on purpose anyway.

"I don't need anyone changing my sheets. I can do it myself." She told Jax.

"Trust me Darlin' , you don't want to touch those sheets."

The other prospect walked to them and held out his hand. "Hey, I'm Opie."

"Ella."

Jax jerked his head towards the building that stood behind them as he took her bag from the trunk. "I'm gonna show her inside the clubhouse."

"Alright, I'll be in the garage."

"Come on princess."

She followed him into the clubhouse and he guided her to a small apartment at the back.

"Sorry for the accommodation. It ain't exactly luxury."

She looked around and noticed some pictures pinned to the side of a mirror. A brunette girl, in Jax's arm. Cute. "I've seen worse."

He threw her bag on a chair. "Bathroom is over there, I wouldn't use the clubhouse restroom if I were you. If you need anything, ask me or one of the girls inside. I got to go help out Ope in the garage. You're going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Darlin'." she mocked

He let out a laugh and left her to it.

Ray let out a long cloud of smoke as he sat back into his chair. He enjoyed his time alone in the Chapel. He always had. It had been the one place that had never betrayed him, the one place he felt at home.

They were still waiting to hear from Marcus Alvarez and he was getting nervous. He had been pissed when Clay had reached out to the Oakland President without consulting him first but he knew Clay was only doing what he always did. Looking out for Clay. He was still trying to understand what the Charming President's angle was but he knew it wouldn't be long before that snake showed itself.

Speak of the devil and he will appear, Ray though as Clay opened the Chapel door and let himself in."My old lady just called. Ella is safe in Charming."

Ray acknowledged this with a nod. "Thanks Clay. I appreciate it."

"Alvarez's also reached out. Romero is offering a deal. They'll give us Ortega and the other man. There might have some people protecting them. They're fair game too."

"What does he want?"

"The Northern Territories."

Ray should have seen it coming. He knew Romero didn't give a shit about retaliation for his niece. He was just using this as an excuse to push his own agenda, killing two birds with one stone. He would get what he wanted all along, Ortega dead and the Northern Territories. "No."

"Oh, you might want to reconsider that answer old friend. Don't forget what started this shit, Ray." He pointed an accusing finger to him. "You shot that girl. Romero's got you by the balls and he knows it."

"They killed a prospect and a friend of the club."

"And you took it to family, Ray. It doesn't matter if you knew or not. You killed the sister of a club's VP. Our only grace right now is that Ortega acted without his club's backing when he went after Ella. So count your blessings and take the deal. Besides, I'm about to finalize a new deal with the Irish. Double the shipments coming from Belfast."

"Jesus Christ. How?"

"We have a new entry point in Port Authority. Should be live in the next few weeks. I want to include you in on this. Half the shipment comes your way, you supply Black, Chinese but not a single gun goes to the wetbacks. Let the Mayans dig their own grave and lie in it. In a few years, the Northern Territories will fall back onto your lap, I guarantee it. It's a win win, Ray."

"It'll never happen. Not with Pete at this table. He'll vote against it just to undermine me."

"I don't know what's going on with you two, but whatever it is, it gets resolved. It does not do anybody any good to see you at each other's throat. So I'm gonna ask you.. That shit between you, does it have anything to do with your old lady? " Clay chanced.

Clay saw Ray clench his fists, trying but failing not to betray any emotion. To be honest, he had been fishing. He just knew first hand that the one thing that could get between two brothers like that was usually pussy so he had decided to follow his instinct. Seeing the rage flash in Ray's eyes, he knew he was right. "Jesus Christ. Why didn't you take it to the table?"

"Would you?" Ray snarled through gritted teeth.

The man had a point. Bringing such a personal matter to the table wasn't something he would have been able to handle either. Letting everyone know that another man had bedded your wife under your nose? Ray could never live the humiliation down. But then again he had been the Pete in John and Gemma's marriage. Clay sucked on his cigar, as he thought about a resolution. He needed this new Irish deal. This would more than triple the club's revenue but he needed a charter like Tacoma on board to make it work. He suddenly had an idea that would guarantee his vote but also provide Ray with the right retribution. "Well, maybe he gets unlucky. Catches a bullet. Risk of the trade. It happens every day. Chance takes VP. And maybe Kozik seats at your right side. We both know he'd be a great choice."

Ray's eyes narrowed on Clay as he studied him with a mixture of horror and fascination. The mother charter president had just given him carte blanche to kill his vice president. A man who had been by his side for nearly thirty years, his daughter's godfather. It was a few minutes before he spoke again. "We'll call a vote on the Alvarez deal. When this is dealt with, we'll call another vote on the Irish deal."

Clay grinned viciously. "Now that's what I like to hear."

They heard a loud knock and Pete opened the door."Hey, Tig and Kozik are here." He looked from Ray to Clay. "Everything alright?"

"Alvarez's reached back. Gather everyone for a vote, we need a full table.

"No problem." He concluded before closing the door.

Clay turned to him. "We'll let you boys vote this thing. I might go get acquainted with that nice piece of tail in the reception." He said with a wink.

One by one the Tacoma club members walked in taking their seat at the table. A few minutes, later, every member was taking their seat around the table. Kozik walked in and went straight to his president who stood up to hug him.

"Heard Ella made it to Charming."

"Gemma Teller just confirmed it to Clay. Thanks Kozik."

"Anytime Pres."

"Take your seat."

Pete was the last one to enter the chapel. He closed the door and took his seat. Ray looked at his men one by one, before he spoke. "You all know what's on the table. Romero has agreed to give up Ortega and his man as well as anyone protecting them. He's working on getting us a location. In exchange, SAMTAC backs off the Northern Territories and let the Mayans take over.

Ray looked around waiting for someone to object. But when no one did, he took a deep breath and continued.

"I know some of you might feel that what happened to the prospect and to the Arsonist is going unpunished but Lenny Cox and Tina Ortega died to avenge their deaths. Now if it is this club's decision we will go to war. But we need to be very aware that it might be a war from which none of us comes back. Ortega was the one who went after Ella. He's the one who organized the ambush. He's how we get even. Now we need a unanimous vote. So all in favor?

Chance looked at his president. Not matter his personal feelings, he would always back his president. That was just who he was. "Ay." He declared.

As Ray stroke the gavel; a few moments later, a unanimous vote in favor had been cast.

After a few hours pacing in the clubhouse apartment, driving herself crazy, Ella had found her way to the roof. From there she had a view of all of Charming. Now that the auto-shop had closed for the night, turning off the lights, she had a great view of the sky too. It was appeasing. There, she felt free to give in to her thoughts. She found herself thinking about her conversation with Gemma. Was she using Kozik to get back to her father?

She was pretty sure the answer was no. She had been the first one surprised by her attraction to the man and she had denied it as long as she could even to herself. He used to represent everything she loathed. He was cocky, arrogant, thought the sun shone out of his ass. He was a player who'd bedded hundreds of girls before her and left them the next day without another thought.

But most of all, he was a Son. A criminal who didn't care who or what they hurt on their way. She knew he could and would kill anyone that stood in his way. She had seen the dark side of him, the hate in his eyes when he'd opened fire and thrown himself in front of her to shield her from the bullets. She wasn't naïve enough to ignore that.

Yet, She had seen another side of him, a softer side in the last couple of days. When he'd held her on the parking lot. When he'd kissed. When he told her about Amy. She found it really difficult to reconcile what she knew with the way she felt but she couldn't deny the connection between them.

It had become real the moment they kissed but Ella knew it had been there long before. She couldn't make sense of it but worse is she was starting to think she didn't want to try and make sense of it. When she'd kissed him, she'd been really affected by a crazy feeling, something that was hard to put into words, something she'd never thought she'd feel for anyone certainly not someone like him. When their lips had touched, it had been as if she had been asleep for years and she was suddenly waking up. She had felt…alive for the first time. God, this is fairy tales shit catching up with you, Ella!

But how else to explain that she could still feel his fingers on her face, how else to explain the way her body responded to his every time he got close. No, she decided, this was definitely real. There wasn't even a small part of her playing games here. She didn't know what was happening between them but it was definitely there. And Ella knew this wasn't something she wanted to run away from. She wanted to find out what it was, she wanted him to come back safely to her so they could find out. She heard someone coming up the ladder and saw Jax make his way up with two beers.

"Hey, I was looking for you. See you found my spot." He started handing her a beer.

"Your spot?"

He took a gulp of his beer. "I come here sometimes. You know, to think about shit."

Ella looked at her beer as she pondered a question."Can I ask you something Jackson? You ever thought about doing something else? Something other than the club?"

He didn't answer straight away. For a moment, he seemed to get lost in his own thoughts. Finally he let out a sad chuckle."Funny, you're the second person to ask me that."

"Who's the other one?"

"Someone who left."

The brunette on the picture, Ella could tell by the sad tone he had used. "What was her name?"

"Tara."

"And what did you tell Tara?"

"That I've wanted to be a part of this since I was five years old." he replied with conviction. "My father was a Son, my step father is a Son. It's all I know. It's who I am. Without it, I'm not sure who I am."

She raised her bottle to him. "Well, here's to the future of SAMCRO."

He laughed and clanged his bottle with hers. "You want to come down? Play some pool or something?"

She seemed to think about it. "Maybe later. Just want to enjoy the view some more."

"Alright, knock yourself out." He replied climbing back done to the clubhouse.

They were both unaware that for the last few minutes, Gemma had been observing them. She had been about to lock her office door when she'd spotted them getting cosy on the roof.

"Unbelievable."

She was worried about her son. He had been miserable since his childhood sweetheart, Tara Knowles had left Charming for college a few months before. He had tried to numb the pain with booze and one night stands but crow eaters could only make you feel good for so long.

Gemma knew he was still working through some shit. If Ella had been the daughter of any other charter president, Gemma would have welcomed her with opens arms. That was what her son needed, a woman who understood the life, who embraced it. A woman who could be a rock for her son when shit got crazy, but she knew Ella Strickland wasn't that girl. And she would never be.

Et voila! Please R&R!