"Gemma!" A tiny brunette stomped up to where Veila and Gemma were 'chatting' and glared daggers at the older woman.
Gemma rolled her eyes and smiled like this was normal, "Hey there, darlin. What brings you here? Jax just left."
The little woman crossed her arms and gave off a don't fuck with me attitude. It made Veila want fuck with her even more. She seemed like such an easy mark.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder and unclenched her teeth, "Tell me you didn't give Wendy anything."
Gemma's brows knit together, and her voice rose in pitch, "Of course, I didn't."
Veila narrowed her eyes. Gemma was lying. Her arms were crossed, and the rest of her body was defensive.
"So you have no idea how she got the crank?"
Gemma laughed and looked offended, "Isn't that what junkies do? Buy drugs?"
"Gemma, she was strapped to a hospital bed. How could she have gotten anything?"
"Well, I'm sure she has a dealer," Gemma looked to Veila like she would help her, "It isn't so farfetched to think that she'd call him to get her fix."
The small woman narrowed her eyes and cocked her hip, "I hope to God that you didn't. She almost died yesterday."
"Serves her right for almost killing my grandson. He still might not make it. All that dope when she was pregnant left him fending for his life."
The woman's eyes passed between them and landed on Veila, "Maybe you didn't give her the drugs, but I don't doubt you had a minion that would for you."
Veila felt her eye twitch, "Excuse me?"
Who the fuck did this little bitch think she was?
The woman raised a brow at her, "What? You don't like to be called out on your dirty work?"
Astounded by the audacity of the small woman carried inside her, Veila hopped down from her stool and stood before her, "Bitch. I don't know who the fuck you are, but you shouldn't be talking about someone you don't even know." Her fingers itched to pull out her knife and push it under the woman's jaw, but she resisted.
"Veila darlin," Gemma cooed, "this is Tara. Jax's ex-girlfriend."
Tara smiled, "I don't need to know who you are," her eyes traveled down Veila's body, lingering on the tattoos and exposed cleavage, "I know a lackey when I see one."
Anger pulsed in her veins, "A lackey? Really?"
Tara said nothing. She only nodded.
Veila laughed and stopped resisting her itching fingers. She pulled her knife from her waistband and pressed the tip under Tara's jaw into the soft spot where the mandible ended, "That's where you're wrong, I'm a boss bitch, and if I saw fit, you'd be six feet under by dinner."
Veila stared into Tara's eyes and let every ounce of crazy seep out until Tara stepped back and, through clenched teeth, asked, "Where is Jax?"
"Gone, and I'm sure he isn't interested in seeing you," Gemma smiled, "You see, he's found himself someone new."
Veila waved sweetly and smiled.
Tara began to sputter, but before she could utter another word, Gemma placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her toward the door. Gemma laughed as she took Tara away, their voices trailing off as they left through the door.
Veila still hadn't forgotten what Gemma had said or how she had said it. Her words rang out in her mind as her fingers clutched the knife in her fingers. Gemma was playing a game, and she wouldn't be a pawn.
Anger was still swarming her mind, and a rough, rumbling voice broke her from her train of thought. "What the hell was that about?"
She turned and looked up at Clay—the grumpy and equally untrustworthy old man standing beside Opie.
How much of Gemma's game was Clay in on?
Veila shrugged, "Tara was accusing us of giving crank to Jax's ex-wife in the hospital."
Clay's eyes narrowed, "What a bitch."
Opie shrugged, and he pulled her into his arms for a hug, "Tara's always been pushy that way."
"I see you gave her something to think about, though," Clay said, nodding to her still-drawn knife.
Veila holstered her blade and grinned, "She called me a lackey… No way I'm a lackey, maybe a second in command, but I'm still at the top."
Clay and Opie looked at her with amused smiles.
Opie wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "I'm sure you showed her, darlin."
"I doubt it; she'll be back. She was the same way when she and Jax were teens," Clays told her as he scratched his scruffy chin, "She was also sticking her nose where it didn't belong."
"Fuck her," Veila grumbled.
Clay laughed, "Yeah fuck her, she's nothing but trouble," Clay turned to Opie and clapped him on the shoulder, "I'm glad you're back. Keep your phone on from now on. I'll call you when we have something for you."
She looked up at Opie, confused, and as Clay walked away, he smiled at her, "I joined back officially as of today."
"I didn't know you weren't in…"
"I got out after I got out of Stockton. Donna didn't want me to risk goin away again."
"So you just quit?"
"More like they put me on pause. Just stopped calling me when they got jobs…"
She cringed, "... And stopped paying you."
"Yeah, that too. The debt has piled up since I got out. The Mill doesn't pay enough for someone buried balls deep in bills," He steered her over to a love seat in the corner across from the bar. He plopped down and pulled her onto her lap.
"Things will work out, Ope…"
His head nodded at her words, "They have to."
They sat without talking, holding onto each other, just watching everyone around them move. They worked around each other flawlessly. They moved quickly to do their jobs behind the bar and even quicker when the patched members pulled them into private rooms.
The longest run was Chibbs, who lasted twenty-one minutes before coming out as he pulled up his zipper and kissed a young blonde girl who looked barely legal.
"Is it always like this here?"
Opie's brows knitted together, "What do you mean?"
"The sex, the cars? All the women?"
He nodded, "Yeah, it is. I guess I haven't noticed. Maybe I've gotten used to it."
She laughed, "I guess you were pulling the girls into rooms before, and you didn't think about it."
"Yeah, before Donna, I was pretty busy," he slipped a hand down her thigh and gripped her firmly, "I can always pull you into my old room. We could have some fun…"
The thought of screaming his name and having the clubhouse hear her was a thrill she had never thought about. Now that she had…She wanted it. She wanted to fuck him in his old room and wash away all the memories he had of anyone else.
Veila turned on his lap so she faced him, her hips spread wide over his so she was straddling him, and placed her lips on his neck, "I would love that…"
"Fuck me," he groaned.
That was precisely what she wanted to do. Fuck him and come around his cock, but as her hips started to move on his lap, the garage door swung open, and Jax walked in immediately, spotting them curled together.
"Ope! Get your hands off her ass, she's mine tonight!"
Ope hid his face between her neck and shoulder before groaning, "He's got great timing, doesn't he?"
Jax pulled her up by her waist and tossed her over his shoulder, "You had your turn, brother. Let me have mine."
Giggling like a madwoman, she peered around Jax's muscled ass and grinned, "Don't worry, Opie, you can come over tonight. I'll leave the door open for you."
"The hell you will. If anyone is gonna be in your bed tonight, it's gonna be me," Jax protested, slapping her ass before turning around and carrying her out the door.
Opie laughed, "I'll be there, don't worry."
Jax grumbled and carried her to where his bike was parked, "Bastard trying to make a move."
He slid her over his shoulder and let her body slowly brush against his on the way down, "Jax, he doesn't need to make a move if he's already got me."
He kept an arm around her waist and looked into her eyes, "Same goes for Happy?"
Veila nodded.
"What about me?" he whispered as his hands trailed down her waist and under her ass.
Her heart sped up as he continued to stare into her eyes, "Yeah…"
"Yeah?" he asked, grinning, "Yeah, what? Use your words."
"Ahha…"
His hands gripped her ass and pushed her back against his bike as his lips kissed down her neck, "Say it."
She released a flustered breath, "You've got me too."
He grinned and spun her around to face his bike as he pressed his stiff cock into her ass, "Oh really? Even here, in the middle of the lot?"
She looked around and noticed they were in the dark. Men were closing up shop maybe fifty feet away, but none of them were paying them any attention. No one would see them unless she started screaming, and they ran over.
She nodded, "Yeah, even here."
"Damn, darlin. I've never been so turned on in my life, but we got places to be."
He backed off her and let her breathe for a second before scooping her up again and placing her on the back of his bike. When he settled, he tapped his chest and waited until she wrapped her arms around his middle.
"Ready to go?"
"A little wet, but yeah, I'm ready."
Laughing, he took off from the lot and blurred down the road with one hand resting on her own.
Her heart didn't seem to get the memo that they had paused their teasing because it was beating out of her chest at an alarming rate until they pulled into the hospital parking lot.
Jax helped her off the bike and then tugged her along, "Come on, I don't wanna be late."
Feeling dazed, she couldn't even fathom why they were in the hospital, jogging down the hallway until they stopped outside the NICU.
"Jax…"
"Hmmm?"
Her thoughts were zooming a million miles an hour, "Are we…"
He nodded and pulled her through the door, "We need to wash up and then put on the robe. Can't bring any germs in with us."
"Okay.." her eyes tingled, and her rapid blinking barely held her together. He was taking her to see him…
"The nurse last time yelled at me when I forgot the robe. Told me I was dirty. Can you believe that?"
She nodded, barely registering his words, as she dried her hands and slipped the robe over her clothes.
An older nurse walked in and smiled, "You kids all washed up?"
Jax grinned from ear to ear, "Yes, Ma'am."
The nurse held the door open for them. Jax took the lead, walking silently through the rows of tiny incubators. The small faces broke her heart, but the look on Jax's face lit her up inside with happiness. He was so excited to be there, and when he squeezed her hand, she was excited, too.
"He's right here," he looked into an incubator on the far side of the room and pulled her up to his side, "Veila, this is Able, my son."
Inside the little plastic box was the smallest baby boy. He was sleeping with little blue mittens on his hands and tiny socks on his feet.
Tears rimmed her eyes, and she blinked them back as she gazed down at the pretty baby, "Oh, Jax. He's beautiful."
His chest puffed up, and he gave her the most dazzling smile filled with happiness, pride, and, most of all, love, "I do make beautiful babies, don't I?"
"Yeah, you do…"
"Don't let his little smile steal you, though," Jax teased, "He gets it from me."
There was nothing to steal. Her heart wasn't going anywhere. They had all stolen it from her. Happy, Opie, Jax, and now this tiny human. Veila tapped her finger against the plastic softly, "Hi, Able. It's nice to meet you…"