Chapter 63: Stolen Huffy
Jax POV
"I'm so sorry." Tara said.
"Yeah. I'm gonna need you to check in on Bella and the kids. Bobby gave her the news but the county was going to make the official call this morning." I said.
"Okay. I'll drop the boys off at daycare and push a few appointments." She said.
"Thanks. Let her know about tonight." I said.
"Mh-hmm." She said.
"She needs anything at all…" I said.
"Does Gemma know?" She asked.
"No. I'll tell her. I love you." I said.
"I love you, Jax." She said.
When I left the house, I headed to the clubhouse to meet with the rest of the guys. "I think Opie's been looking for a way out for a while. Things with him and Bells weren't right. But they were working on it and then Piney…" I trailed off. "He hasn't been right since. He went out a warrior."
"We…we wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for him." Chibs said.
"No doubt Opie made his own choice. It's Pope forcing that choice that concerns me." Clay said.
"Jax did all he could…all he could to push back the threat." Tig said.
"Agreeing to a 50 G payout?" Frankie asked.
"Short term, Frankie." I said.
"How short?" Gogo asked.
"We never rubbed up against a guy like Pope. An OG sitting at a table with judges, senators, CEOs." I said.
"He can kill us with a phone call as easily as a bullet." Bobby said. "We're just white smoke to this dude."
"I say we agree to his terms, see where it goes. Maybe we can even use this guy to our advantage." I said.
"What advantage is that?" Clay asked.
"If we're good with Pope, the rest of black gets in line." I said.
"What about the tar stains that killed Ope? They just gonna get in line too?" Hap asked.
"No retaliation. Not now. It puts us and Charming at risk." I said.
"We're already at risk. Those home invasions, that's got to be black." Clay said.
"Pope didn't put them in play. He wasn't sure about the Niners. He's looking into it." I said.
"We're throwing Pope a lot of trust." Greg said.
"It ain't about trust. It's fear! Right now, he controls it. We got to buy time to change that. Let's vote this. We pay out the 50 Gs till we figure this shit out." I said. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Everyone said.
"Okay." I said. "I'll set up a meeting with Pope, tell him we're good, push him on these home invasions. The body should be here this afternoon. Let's do this right." I said.
Tara POV
"Hey." Wendy said. "I was just on my way to your office."
"Um, I'll meet your there, okay?" I said.
"Okay." She said. I got the boys situated in daycare and then made my way over to my office. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had them in daycare here." She said.
"Don't sit down." I said. "You're not staying."
"I hope you never have to experience what I just felt in that hallway. Having you own son walk by you and have no idea who you are." Wendy said.
"That's not my fault." I said.
"No. It's mine, I know that. Look, the way I handled things yesterday - not the way I want to do this. I'm sorry." She said.
"There's nothing more for you to say. If you want to start a custody suit, have your lawyer call me. End of story." I said.
"No, that's not what I want. Look, I understand what you're doing. I would probably be reacting the same way. But there has to be a part of you that knows that what I'm asking for isn't just for me. It's about what's best for Abel." She said.
"And I'm the person making that decision." I said.
"Yeah, today. But it's easy for you to shut me out when he's three. What are you gonna do when he's a teenager and he wants to know who his real mom is?" She said. "You can stop me from getting to him, but you can't stop him from finding me. He's gonna want to know the truth. So, please, just think about that."
Gemma POV
When I got to TM, there were tons of people moving about. I had no idea what was going on. I headed into the office, surprised to see that Bella wasn't there. Instead Clay was there. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"Where you been?" He asked.
"None of your business. I need distance Clay. You need to stop checking up on me." I said.
"You want to drink yourself stupid, knock yourself out." Clay said. "You want distance. You got it. I don't even know who you are anymore."
"Why don't you bounce my face off the floor. Then maybe you'll recognize me." I said.
He stood up. "Got to get ready for Ope's thing." He said.
"What thing?" I asked.
"Jax didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?" I asked.
"Ope…got killed in county. The wake's tonight." He said.
Bella POV
The kids had taken the news about Ope really hard. They'd asked the one question that even I was wondering. What would happen now? Would the club still take care of us? Or would they push us away.
I was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee watching the kids outside when there was a knock at the front door. I walked over and opened the door. "Tara, Lyla."
"We're so sorry about Opie." Tara said.
"Thank you. Come in." I said.
The three of us made our way to the kitchen table and sat down. "Jax wanted me to tell you that there's a wake at the clubhouse tonight. Wants you and the kids to come." She said.
I nodded. "Thanks. I don't think the kids should be there. Mary's coming in this afternoon. I'll see if Neeta can watch them." I said.
"He came to see me." Lyla said.
"When?" I asked.
"Before they got locked up. Gave me an envelope, asked me to help you with the kids. I'm here. Whatever you need." Lyla said.
"Thanks guys. I appreciate it." I said.
Jax POV
I sat in the dorm and ran a hand over my face. Then there was a knock on the door. "Yeah?" I said. The door opened and Tara walked in. "Hey babe." I said.
"Hey. Did you go down?" She asked.
"A little bit. I got cut off. I'm fine." I said. "How's Bella?"
"She's…I don't know. Struggling." Tara said.
There was a knock on the door. "Jax." Bobby called.
I made my way outside. Skeeter had arrived with Opie's body. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bella arrive with Phil behind her. "He's all dressed. Looks-looks pretty good." Skeeter said.
"That's a nice - looking box, man." Juice said.
"Ope would've dug it." Bobby said.
"Let's get him inside." I said, as I saw Bella get out of her car. She looked beautiful in the black dress that she was wearing. I turned to Phil. "How's she doing?" I asked.
"Really sad." Phil said.
Everyone made their way inside. Ope's casket was placed on the reaper table in the chapel. I approached Bella. "I'm so sorry." I said.
She cried even harder than she already was. "Let's go. Let's give her a minute." Bobby said.
"Take as much time as you need." I said.
Bella POV
"What do I do, Jax?" I asked. "I can't raise those kids on my own. I can barely take care of me and Dad." I said. I was angry. Angry at Dad. Angry at Ope. Angry at the world. "How am I supposed to care for those kids and earn a living?"
"Just like every other single mother. You get help - friends, family." Jax said.
"You, Dad and Gemma are the only family I have. You have your own family. Gemma stays drunk and high all the time. And Dad…I don't know what to say about him right now." I said.
"Let me show you something." He said. He led me over to the window and opened the blinds. "That's your family. Anything you need, you just ask. Anyone says no, they answer to me." He said.
He left the room to give me a few minutes alone with Ope.
Gemma POV
"Thanks for bailing me out." I told Wendy.
"No problem. Thanks for paying me back." She said.
"You sound surprised." I said.
"Party?" She asked.
I shook my head. "Uh, no…it's a wake. Ope got killed when they were in county." I told her.
"Oh no. You think I could go say bye?" She asked.
"I don't think Jax seeing you would suit either one of you right now." I said.
"Right, right. It's all right." She said.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Tara said, storming across the lot.
"Relax."
Jax POV
"Jax?" Bobby said. "It's time, brother." I nodded.
The 6 of us that had known Opie the longest gathered around the casket and lifted him up. We carried him out to the van. Skeeter would bury him next to Piney. "I'll see you later, bro." I said.
When we came back inside the clubhouse, shots were passed all around. I stood next to Tara and Bells. "Up." Bobby said.
"Here's to Ope." Juice said.
"Rest in peace." Bella said.
Opie POV (Afterlife)
"I hate that I had to leave her." I said to Pop.
"She and the kids will be well looked after." Pop said.
"Jax has everything under control." JT said, joining us.
A/N: I hope that you guys liked this chapter. I hated that I had to kill Opie off but I have big plans for Bella. Stay tuned…