Chapter 9
Jess POV
Hap had been so happy when I came home. He hadn't been happy that I didn't tell him that I was coming home but he got over it quickly. Things didn't change much as far as our routine, the only thing that changed was that when I was bartending at the clubhouse, Hap wanted me to wear a shirt that showed off my crow tat. I couldn't blame him. We had quite a few hang arounds. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew that I was his.
In the few weeks after I'd returned home not much had really happened. Chibs had stopped by few times when he was up north but other than that we hadn't heard much out of SAMCRO. This particular day, I was cleaning around the clubhouse and stocking the bar for a party that night when Hap and Lee stopped me. I looked up at them. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Just got off the phone with Ope." Hap said. I nodded, hoping that everything was okay since I hadn't had much time to check in with my best friend. "The porn studio burned down. Jax is blaming Clay. Jax is going Nomad." He told me.
I gasped. "What?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Hap nodded. "Apparently, Jax and Clay have been butting heads for a while. Jax thinks this is the best way to solve that." Hap told me. I leaned against the bar and ran a hand over my face. There was no way that Gemma was going to be okay with Jax going Nomad. I was at a loss for words. "Clay needs a couple extra hands right now so Koz and I are gonna head to Charming for a bit, help them out." He told me.
"I'm sure Clay will appreciate it." I told him.
"Wanna come with? You could spend some time with Ope and the kids?" He asked me.
I nodded. "Sure. Thanks babe." I told him.
The next morning we were on the bike heading to Charming. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when we got there. I couldn't believe some of the things that Hap had told me. Luann was dead. Chibs had nearly been blown up. Shit was sideways in Charming.
When we pulled into the lot at TM, Clay and some of the others were standing in the lot yelling at each other. Tig's face was all bloody. The three of us made our way over there. "What's going on here?" I asked. Most of the guys had a look of shock on their face. Jax was the only one who looked at me. "Well?" I asked. I looked around and that's when I realized that Ope wasn't there. "Where's Ope?"
Jax ran a hand over his face. "He's not here." Jax said.
"I see that. Where is he?" I asked.
"He went after Stahl." Tig said, trying to wipe some of the blood off his face.
"Why?"
"Because of Donna." Tig said.
"What does Donna have to do with this?"
"ATF set Ope to look like a rat." Tig said.
I recalled a conversation with Ope that night that I'd returned to Charming for Donna's funeral. ATF had wired money into his account when they'd taken the whole family to the Justice center. When they were released, that night was when Donna had been murdered. "You tried to kill Ope." I said barely above a whisper. "You killed Donna instead." I said. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Hap looking at me confused.
"It was Stahl's fault." Tig said.
I wasn't stupid. I had been around the club long enough to know what Tig did. His and Hap's jobs were fairly similar. Without even realizing it I started making my way towards Tig. It wasn't until I felt arms around my waist that I realized that I was moving. "He wasn't a rat! Ope would never turn on the club!" I started yelling. Suddenly, I turned my glare to Clay who was looking at the ground. "I hate you." I said, as Hap started pulling me backwards into his arms.
I could feel the tears running down my face. "Shh…it's okay. I got you." Hap whispered in my ear.
I wanted to feel numb. I pushed Hap's arms away and made my way into the clubhouse, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and heading to Hap's dorm. I sat on the bed and opened the bottle of whiskey, taking a drink. I couldn't believe this. Clay had ordered a hit on Ope. And instead they'd killed Donna. Clay had been like a father.
Hap POV
I'd found Jess in the dorm passed out with a bottle of whiskey in her hand. I walked back to the barroom and rubbed a hand over my face. She was hurting. I knew that much, what worried me was what she was gonna be like when she woke up.
I looked up from my spot at the bar when I heard the clubhouse door shut. It was Tara with her medical bag. Apparently other things had changed since we'd left Charming. She walked over to a table where Tig was sitting. She started pulling stuff out of her medical bag to clean Tig's face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clay approach me. "I appreciate you guys coming down." Clay said.
I nodded. "You know, until Jess showed up in Tacoma this club was my whole life. I've never questioned it. I've never once asked myself if we were doing the right thing." I said and he nodded. "But then she walked into my life. You've been like a father to her. When you ordered the hit, did it cross your mind how she was gonna feel if she ever found out?" I asked him.
He sat down beside me and the Prospect handed him a beer. "You know, I still remember the first time Jax brought her around. She was this fifteen year old kid, who was the daughter of one of the toughest judges in town. Her family's always hated us. Still do. So, I was a little hesitant when she started hanging around. But she was tough and had a smart mouth on her. When she and Jax started getting serious, I found out from Gemma that things were tough for her at home. Her father had given her an ultimatum. Her family or us. She didn't hesitate. She picked the club. That's when I knew I could trust her. Over time, she and I grew closer and she considered me a father. When everything happened with Ope, I felt guilty. I knew how close they were. Donna too. I hate myself for causing her this hurt." He said, drinking his beer.
"She'll get through it, but earning her trust back isn't gonna be easy." I told him.
"I know. I just hope that one day that she'll forgive me." He said.
I knew that he was being honest. And like him, I hated that she was being hurt.