Chapter 14

Jess POV

I stood there in the lot at the clubhouse and watched as the men in my life drove off to go fight Weston. I didn't have to hear the words to know that Jax was hoping to beat Weston to death for what he did to Gemma. She put her arms around me and Tara. "They'll be okay girls." She said.

She led us back into the clubhouse where the three of us sat at the bar, watching the cameras. A croweater came over and poured us some coffee. I knew her. Lacey was her name. Sweet girl. Knew her place. "I can get it." Tara told Lacey.

I shook my head. "They need to do it." Gemma told Tara. "They need to show you the respect. Your with Jax. That means something. To this club. To this town. Don't just brush that off." Gemma said.

Tara finally told Lacey how she wanted her coffee. "Hey Lace?" I said getting her attention. She looked at me. "We got any muffins?" I asked.

"Yeah there's some back there. You want a chocolate chip heated up with butter?" Lacey asked me.

"You know me well." I said. She smiled at me before she made her way back to the kitchen. I looked over at Gemma and Tara. Gemma smiled while Tara had a look of shock on her face. "What?" I asked Tara.

"You're okay with her getting you stuff?" She asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's there job to not only take care of the guys' needs when needed but also ours. There's a hierarchy. Hang-arounds (both guys and girls), porn stars, sweetbutts, Croweaters, Old ladies, Patched members. When it comes to the Prospects, they do whatever their told by members and Old Ladies. It's the way it is. At SAMTAC, the croweaters hated me at first, mainly because of how the guys treated because I was so broken. They all took care of me. When I started bartending, they realized that I didn't think that I was better than them. When we and Hap got together and went public, they were actually happy. They said that they were glad that I didn't treat them like shit. Don't get me wrong, there's some that will do whatever they can to come between you and your Old Man; but most of them…they know the do's and don'ts." I told her.

Tara looked down at the bar. "How do you know so much about this?" She asked.

"Gemma and Clay practically raised me. When Jax and I got together, Gemma taught me the in's and out's of being an Old Lady from an early age." I told her, looking over at Gemma who had a proud look on her face.

A little bit later, I was still sitting at the bar when Lyla approached me. "Jess?" She said, causing me to look at her.

"Lyla, hey." I said, as she sat beside me.

"I hate to ask but can I pick your brain." She said and I nodded. "Opie says that you're his best friend. Sometimes more so than Jax. And I know that you were good friends with Donna." She said and I nodded. "I guess…I guess I just need to know how you feel about me and Opie dating?" She asked me.

I was stunned. "I'll answer but first… why do you care about my opinion?" I asked.

She looked like she was thinking for a minute. "You matter to Opie. And the kids. They talk about you all the time. When Opie and I first started hanging out and he would tell me about you, I was a little jealous. At first, I thought that he was in love with you and just never said anything. But then he told me how you were there for them when Donna died. Your opinion matters to Opie and the kids." She said, suddenly looking down. "And if you hate me, I don't stand a chance at having a future with Opie and I really like him and the kids." She told me.

At first, I was shocked. This girl had guts… I'd give her that. "Lyla, I don't know you well enough to say whether I hate you or not. We just met. Yes, Opie is my best friend and yes, Donna was my friend. I cared about her very much. In fact, I was the one that introduced her to Opie. I was her maid of honor when they got married. But, that doesn't mean that I don't want him and the kids happy. If you make them happy… then you and I don't have any problems." I said and she nodded. "But let me make this clear… if you hurt them… no one and I mean no one will be able to find your body. Got it?" I said.

"Yeah. I understand."

It was another couple of hours before the guys came back. When they walked in, Gemma, Tara and I were standing at the bar. Everyone else had gone to bed. "What happened?" I asked.

"Hale broke up the fight and arrested Weston for arson. Don't worry though. We'll be at the station in the morning to wait for the news." Clay said before he pulled Gemma into his arms and kissed her.

Jax went to greet Tara while Hap came over and pulled me into his arms, kissing my forehead. It wasn't long till the rest of us headed to bed. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

Despite how tired we were, neither Hap or I could sleep. I was curled into his side with my head on his chest and he was rubbing his hand up and down my back. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" He asked me.

"Just thinking about the different outcomes of tomorrow." I told him.

"I don't want you to worry." He said. "Everything is going to work out." He told me. I nodded. We spent the rest of the night just laying there, enjoying each other's company.

When morning came, Gemma, Tara and I joined the guys at Charming PD to wait for news about Zobelle and Weston. About a couple of hours, Chief Unser came out and told us that Stahl had been locked in her office with the FBI all morning and they were still waiting to hear from the DA about Weston. I was sitting on the brick wall with Hap standing in front of me, between my legs. "So best case scenario, they go away for a long time? Worst case scenario, they walk?" I asked, looking over at Clay.

"That's what it sounds like pumpkin." Clay told me.

I rolled my eyes. About twenty minutes later, Clay suggested that us girls head back to the clubhouse. We reluctantly agreed. Just as we were about to head to Tara's car, Unser came back out. "It's not good news. Chucky has a record making him an unreliable witness. So Weston walks." He said.

"And Zobelle?" Jax asked.

"He's an informant for the FBI." Unser said.

"He's a rat?" I asked, causing everyone to look at me, including my Old Man. Unser nodded. "This blows." I said.

I stormed off to Tara's car to wait for her and Gemma. This was stupid. Zobelle and Weston attacked Gemma and yet they were going to walk free. They might be free from the law but they were hardly free from the Reaper.

A few hours later, Tara and I were sitting on a picnic table out front with Joey nearby when I heard the bikes. Finally, they were back. But they weren't alone. ATF was right behind them. When Hap and Jax climbed off their bikes, they made their way to us pulling us into their arms. Hap leaned down and whisper in my ear, "It's done. Remember what we talked about." I felt the tears building up in my eyes.

As soon as he pulled away from me, everything happened so quickly. Stahl claimed that Jax had made a deal with her. Clay and Bobby started calling him a rat. Tig and Hap threatened to kill him. Something was wrong. Jax would never rat on his club. I marched over to Stahl, "You think your big and bad because you wear a suit and have a badge, but you're not." I said to her.

"Oh look! The princess came home." Stahl said. Don't hit her. Don't hit her. She opened the folder than was in her hand and quickly signed something, before closing it and handing it to me. She leaned close to my ear. "Be sure to tell their attorney I got them reduced time. They'll be out on parole in fourteen months, as long as they behave." She said before standing back up and walking to her car.

Wait. Hap said that if everything went according to plan, they'd be out in fourteen months. It was a club decision to make a deal, meaning that something else was going on. I looked around the lot. Opie, Koz, Chibs, and Piney were missing. What the hell was going on?