"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penatrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope."
~Maya Angelou
A loud knock was made on the back door to Gemma's home, breaking Wayne out of his sleep.
He quickly pulled the tan fleece blanket off and away from his body as he sat up on the couch.
Once his feet hit the thick carpet, he picked up his gun off of the coffee table.
With the gun in his tight grip, he made his way to the back door, peaking through the thin curtain to take a look at the early morning visitor.
More like visitors.
Wayne lowered his weapon and unlocked the door.
He let out a sigh of utter relief and opened the door, coming face to face with the club.
"Hey guys, what brings you here at this hour?"
"Sorry to wake you Wayne, but we got a call from St. Thomas less than fifteen minutes ago. Clay was ran off the road last night. Whoever did it didn't stop there either. They beat the living shit out of him, causing him to end up in the ICU," Tig stated with guilt building within his blue eyes.
"Jesus Christ," Wayne replied, with a forced shake of his head.
"We weren't sure if Gemma knew about what went down. That's why we're here," Happy chimed in.
"No, she doesn't know yet. She's asleep. If she recieved a call, and I bet she did, she didn't hear it. Clay wasn't the only one who had one hell of a night last night."
"What do you mean?," Chibs asked.
"Wayne, who's at the door," Gemma asked, coming up behind him dressed in a long sleeved shirt with black stretchies.
Each members' eyes widened, taken back by Gemma's unrecognizable appearance.
Wayne looked away from the men, turning his head to look at the woman he has been in love with for over thirty years now.
"They came here to tell us about Clay, sweetheart. He was run off the road last night. They're working on him as we speak at St. Thomas."
She nodded in response to Wayne's sudden revelation.
"I'm gonna go get changed and head over there now. I know for a fact that they won't release any more information about how he's doing unless I'm there."
"Okay Gem. We'll send the prospects to follow you and Wayne up there. The rest of us are headin' over to Evie's place to get Jax. He hasn't answered his phone either. It goes straight to voicemail. Clay being run down could just be the beginning of a long and bloody war," Tig replied, with the club nodding in agreement.
Once Evie was able to build up enough tolerance to ignore that violent constricting pain that was currently living underneath her skin, she got herself out of bed without disturbing her sleeping boys.
On her way out of her bedroom, she grabbed her favorite white silk robe that was hanging on the bench's armrest at the end of her king sized bed.
As she made her way down the hall, she slipped her robe on, tying the sash around her trim waist.
Evie reached the end of the hall that brought her to the main part of her home.
She peaked her head around the corner, watching Jax as he stood by the stove, preparing a large breakfast for his family.
Evie stood upright, allowing her eager mile long legs to bring her into the kitchen to greet her perfect man.
"Mmmm, it smells absolutely amazing in here," Evie stated as she stood next to Jax, wrapping both of her arms around his waist.
He smiled, looking away from the crowded stovetop to give Evie his undivided attention.
"I figured I'd make a little bit of everything in a way to celebrate you finally being back home with the three of us. There's pancakes, waffles, eggs, scrambled or over easy, bacon, toast, french toast, the list goes on really."
"I was actually talking about the guy making the breakfast, but the food does come in a very close second."
His stunning smile grew as he leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips.
"How are you feelin', darlin?", he asked, his blue eyes never leaving her brown ones.
"A little sore, but I'm okay."
"Remember the doc prescribed you some pain meds. They're on the kitchen table if you need them."
"Thanks handsome."
"You're welcome. I also put on a pot of coffee to wash 'em down."
Evie nodded, dropping her arms away from his waist.
She walked over to the cabinet that contained her mugs, pulling open the door.
"Would you like some too?"
"Sure. Black with.."
"Lots of sugar. I know, baby."
Jax looked over at Evie as she poured two cups of coffee for the both of them.
"Eve.."
She put the pot of java back into its holder and looked at him.
"Yeah?"
"Since the boys are still asleep, I wanted to talk to you about what's happened over the past two weeks."
"Okay. I'm ready when you are."
"First, I want to start with Clay."
Evie swallowed the large lump that formed in her throat due to hearing his name.
"Is he.."
"No. He's not dead. I want to kill him. Believe me, I do after what he did to you and our boys. But, in order to maintain the relationship with the Irish and keep the cartel happy, Clay has to live to do so. The only American Galen trusts is Clay."
The idea Clay was still alive terrified Evie.
It terrifed her to the point where it brought tears to her eyes.
"If Clay is going to be walking around, what about me and the kids? What if.."
Jax turned the dials on the stovetop to lower the heat under the cooking food.
He walked over to Evie, taking her face in his large hands.
"Babe, I can promise you, he's going to steer clear from our family. He's never gonna hurt you or the boys ever again. You hear me?"
The tears that built up in her eyes fell down her cheeks.
Jax's calloused thumbs wiped them away and he pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head.
In that moment, his hate for Clay grew, if that was remotely possible.
He instilled fear inside of his old lady that would only disappear if he was dead.
The moment the Irish and the cartel were out of the picture for good, Clay will in fact be six feet under.
"Is there anything else you need to tell me?", she asked, looking up at him.
Jax nodded.
"Clay is no longer going to be president. I am."
"You're going to stay?"
"It's one thing to walk away from the club, Evie. But, to let it fall apart without trying to do something about it.. I can't do that."
Her hand reached up and touched the side of his face, causing him to close his eyes due to her always gentle touch.
He moved his face inward, kissing the palm of her hand.
He opened his eyes, eager as to what she was going to say in response.
"If this is what you want, then you have my support."
"You really mean that?"
"I do."
"Having your support in this means everything to me, did you know that?"
"No, I didn't know that."
"There's uh.. there's one more thing I think we should talk about."
"Okay, what is it?"
"We have two houses between the two of us, and we only really use the one. "
"Are you asking what I think you're asking?"
"I am. Abel and I could move in here and I'll put the rest of my shit in storage. Or you and Andre can live with me. There's two extra bedrooms when the time comes that Andre and Abel want their own space."
The moment Evie opened her mouth to answer, there was a knock at the front door.
"Stay here," Jax instructed, releasing his hold on Evie.
She nodded, going over to the stove to make sure no part of this feast was actually burning.
He looked through the peephole of the door before he opened it.
"Hey Jackie, sorry to bother you and Evie, but some shit went down last night," Chibs stated.
"Shit, what happened?"
" Clay was ran off the road last night. Shortly after, the asshole beat the shit out of him. Cracked a couple of his ribs that punctured one of his lungs and broke his jaw in two places," Opie added.
"Jesus Christ."
"We tried calling you, but your phone went straight to voicemail."
"My phone's probably dead. I haven't charged it since I brought Evie home from the hospital."
"We'll take your family to the compound while we look for answers," Bobby insisted.
"No, I can take them. After I drop them off, we'll meet up. Is Clay at St. Thomas?"
"Yeah."
"Alright. I'll meet you all there."
"Okay, Hap and Op are going to stay here to keep an eye on everything from the outside," Bobby informed.
Jax nodded, closing the door to Evie's home.
He turned around with Evie's eyes on him.
"What?"
"When are you going to tell them that you are the one that put Clay in the hospital?"
"When the time is right. Just not right now," he replied, giving her a reassuring kiss on the lips.
"I just don't want to see this backfire on you is all."
Evie was outside with the boys at Teller-Morrow, pushing the both of them as they swung on the swing set.
Each member, excluding Clay of course, pulled into the automotive's parking lot at a screeching hault.
Jax and Tig quickly dismounted their bikes, making their way over to Tig.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? You're gonna start a god damn war, man," Jax yelled loud enough for Evie and the boys to hear.
"We don't even know if it was the niners," Chibs yelled at an equal octave.
"Before Clay went into surgery, he mumbled to me and the two nurses about a black Escalade and the driver was black. Come on man, think about it, Leroy is pissed that we backed up the cartel instead of him. The shoe fuckin' fits."
The club headed into the clubhouse.
Jax looked over at the swing set, locking eyes with Evie.
"I'll be right back, okay?", she said as she turned around to look at the boys.
"Okay," the replied in unison.
Evie and Jax met each other right in front of the entrance of the clubhouse.
She gave him a kiss on the lips right before she pulled him into a hug.
They pulled away from each other at the same time.
"Did you hear any of that?"
"Some of it. What happened?"
"Tig assumed it was the niners that put Clay in the hospital. In attempt to run down Leroy, their leader, he ran down his girl instead."
"Oh my god."
"Looks like the result of my anger backfired on me after all, Eve."
Evie took Jax's hand, pulling him away from the clubhouses' front door.
"Jax, you have to tell them about Clay. Not just what you did. All of it. They need to know. They will see your actions are justified."
"If I do that, Clay is out of the club. And the deal with the Irish and the cartel fall apart. I can't. "
She let out a heavy sigh, resting her head on his strong chest.
His ringed left hand played with the tight ringlets in her hair.
"Regardless of what I choose to do, we'll go head to head with someone."
7:45 pm
Andre and Abel were at one of the clubhouses' tables, coloring on the blank pieces of paper Evie supplied them with earlier.
"Hey, where's your mom?", Jax asked Andre.
"Mommy is in your old room, " Abel answered, going back to coloring.
Jax looked at Abel with widened eyes.
"What did you say Abel?"
"I said mommy is in your old room."
"You mean Evie?"
"Who else would I call mommy?"
Jax smiled, giving Abel a kiss on the top of his head.
Jax headed back to the apartment he used to call his home.
He knocked on the door before entering.
"Come in."
Jax opened the door, quickly closing it behind him.
Evie was sitting on the made up bed with her bag full of clothes open, staring at it in deep thought.
"Abel called you his mom."
She looked up from the bag and smiled, remembering that special part of her night last night.
"Yeah, last night he asked me if it was okay if he could call me his mommy, and I said yes. I hope that's okay. I should've asked you first. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize and you didn't have to ask me. I'm more than okay with it, darlin'," he replied, coming over to the bed, giving her a kiss.
"It goes to show my son is as in love with you as I am," he stated, taking a seat next to her.
"What?"
"I love you, Evie. I'm in love with you. I didn't think I'd ever feel that way again after my ex left Charming in her rearview mirror over ten years ago. But then, you and Andre moved in next door. From the moment I saw you, I knew, Jesus I knew , I was in trouble and couldn't and wouldn't turn back. I vowed I would do everything in my power to make you my old lady and to keep you as my old lady."
Evie shifted herself closer to him, holding his face in both of his hands.
"Jax, I don't even know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. I just figured it was time you knew how I really felt about you."
" Though, I don't even know what I want to say, I do want to say something."
"I'm all ears, darlin."
She took a deep breath before beginning her own speech.
"Before you came in here, I was just staring at what I have started to call my "getaway" bag. I kept asking myself if I can see myself do this again a year from now, probably sooner. I thought my answer would automatically be no. But, oddly enough, it wasn't. I'm willing to go through these endless ups and downs with you because I'm in love with you too. You're an amazing loyal man Jackson Teller, who's good to me, who's good to my son, and the sex.. It's out of this world. I want nothing more than to be your side through all of it, living in your house, that will hopefully become our house."
"You want to move in with me?"
"I do. The more room, the better."