6

Chapter 559 The Problem with Mickey Smith

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Scarlett was working in her décor store with her father. She'd sent Sack out to pick up more inventory for the store. They were having a soft opening on Monday with an official "Grand Opening" next Saturday.

"The place looks great," Decker said. "You've got a good mix of furniture, pictures and accessories."

"I have a lot of inventory in storage. I added some motorcycle stuff. I think the MC guys will come show their support for Jax by buying a few small things."

"Those silk-screened vintage Harley pictures on those pillows should sell well," her father said.

"Yeah, I'll probably use a few at Jax's since they can do the pillows in any color. I have hired two part time employees and Sack will help fill in and make inventory runs for me."

"I'll pitch in for a few days too."

"I don't think I'm going to have customers beating down my door, but that isn't really the point." Scarlett's business was going to be very profitable whether they sold much inventory or not because the purpose of the business was to launder the money she and her father stole from her psycho ex.

"You never know. This store could fill a need the town didn't know it had."

Scarlett straightened a grouping of mugs also printed with various pictures of Harley bikes on a shelf.

"What are we going to do about Mickey Smith or Buck Jeffers as he is really known?" Scarlett asked as she sat down on the sofa next to her father.

"You are going to have to tell Jax."

Scarlett frowned. She was afraid that was going to be his answer.

"Yeah, I'm not really thrilled about that. How am I going to explain that I know who he really is?"

"Tell him the truth. Jax will protect you. He can say that he was suspicious of Smith/Jeffers and discovered the truth on his own."

"That's the easy part," Scarlett said biting her lip. "If Jax exposes Jeffers then it's going to have ramifications for Clay. Clay is parading him around as Mickey Smith and said he met him under that name. If Clay lied and Jeffers is exposed, what is that going to do to Clay?"

"If Jax plays it right, it could get Clay kicked out of the MC. That's a pretty big betrayal."

"Yeah, I don't see how he could come back from that. The problem is if Clay gets kicked out, that may make him more of a danger to Jax. He will hate Jax for exposing him and he could even try to kill him."

"Do you think Gemma could prevent that?"

"I don't know, dad. I think cornering Clay could be fatal for Jax."

"Clay isn't the type to do Jeffers a favor out of the goodness of his heart."

"Especially such a risky favor," Scarlett added.

"That means Jeffers must be blackmailing Clay and it has to be over your mother. It's the only thing that makes sense. If we can either get that blackmail material from Jeffers or get Jeffers to take it to the cops, Clay would get arrested, kicked out of the MC and sent to prison unprotected."

"And I could keep my identity secret. I can't testify against Clay. Someone in another charter could decide to kill me based on that old contract out on me or just as a message to others that you don't testify against anyone in the MC even an ex member."

"You're right. You can't take that risk, but Jax will keep your identity secret as long as you don't testify."

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about what Clay will do. If Jax confronts Clay alone, he could kill him."

"You could give the information to the local newspaper anonymously. It would make a great story. Here's Jeffers renaming himself Mickey Smith to avoid his past as a member of the Laredo sex trafficking MC. The problem is that will make the MC look bad."

Scarlett nodded her head.

"True, but Jax would be safe. The MC could hang the whole Jeffers thing on Clay and kicking him out would send a message to the public. I just need to be smart about it and keep Jax safe."

"How likely is it that Jax might decide to protect Clay and not reveal to the club that Clay has lied about Jeffers identity?"

Scarlett thought that over for several moments. She hadn't really considered the idea that Jax might give Clay a pass on lying about Jeffers identity.

"I didn't think of that," Scarlett confessed. "I know that in the MC, they are all about protecting each other and the brotherhood. I don't really understand all that, but I get the concept. I don't know if Jax would feel a need to protect Clay if he betrayed the MC by lying about Jeffers identity. It's possible. I can't get a good read on Jax's relationship with Clay. Sometimes it seems fine and other times, there's conflict."

"How bad do you think Jax wants to be president?"

"It's his destiny, but I don't think he has a need to be president right now. He wouldn't fight Clay for the gavel without a good reason and this Jeffers lie gives him a good reason. I can't believe he would be OK with letting Jeffers hang out around the club. The Laredo chapter diminished all the charters with the scandal."

Decker walked back to the small refrigerator at the back of the store and brought Cokes for them. He handed one to Scarlett, keeping one for himself.

"Jax, could use the information to force Clay to step down and then kick Jeffers out of the clubhouse," Decker said thoughtfully.

All this plotting was giving Scarlett a headache. She opened her Coke and took several gulps hoping the combined sugar and the caffeine would help her headache. If it didn't go away soon, she was going to take some Advil for it.

"If Jeffers blackmailed Clay into letting him into the clubhouse, he isn't going to be happy if he gets kicked out. Even if the only thing that happens is Jeffers gets kicked out, that could make him angry enough to use whatever blackmail material he has on Clay," Scarlett said.

"And that blackmail material could result in Clay getting locked up for your mother's murder. I think the club would cut ties with Clay before he went to prison."

Scarlett shut her eyes. The light was beginning to hurt them. Maybe she was experiencing allergies. She got up and got her purse from a locker in the back and brought it back to the sofa. She shook out five Advil from a bottle and an allergy pill from another before swallowing them all down with some Coke.

"Too much to think about. I know I need to tell Jax, but I have some time. I can say he looked familiar and it took me awhile to remember where I knew him from. It was a long time ago and I was just a kid."

"That's reasonable. I don't think Jax will be angry at the delay."

"I don't feel the time is right just yet, but soon. It will be the right time soon."

"OK," Decker said. "I trust your judgment. How is Jax doing with his father's treasure chest."

"He spends some time every evening with his father's writings. He just hit the Vietnam years. It's mostly just things that happened when he was a kid, stuff like that."

"You take a peek at it?"

"No. I've resisted. He tells me about it and I respect his privacy."

"Good girl. I'm sure Gemma never did that. How are things going with her?"

"She thought that Jax and I broke up because I changed my hair color. You should have seen the heartbreak and anger on her face when she saw me. So much fun."

Decker laughed.

Sack arrived and he and Decker brought in the final inventory completing the preparation for the store's opening on Monday.

Scarlett wasn't nervous about the store opening. She was worried about Jax. Things were going great between them and since he'd moved in while his house was being renovated they had only grown even closer. She didn't want to do anything to rock the boat.

Her fear was different this time. She wasn't afraid of a psycho ex coming for her or her father. She was afraid for Jax and that was the worst kind of fear. She wasn't afraid of what Clay would do to her; she was afraid of what he might do to Jax.