Chapter 66: Toad's Wild Ride
Jax POV
"You're a hard man to find." I said.
"Can we talk?" Bobby asked him.
"Trouble?" Unser asked.
"Not sure. What happened to your land?" I asked.
"Sold it to the county. Cancer ain't cheap. Providing overnight security to my former business establishment… exchange for their, uh… lovely setting." Unser said.
"They give you a badge?" I asked and Bobby laughed.
"What's on your mind, son?" Unser asked.
"I just talked to Eli. I need to know everything you got on these home invasions." I said.
"It ain't much. Just a few leftover bruises and a feeling." He said.
"That feeling got a name?" Bobby asked.
"Come on." Unser said, leading us into his trailer.
"You've been busy." I said when I saw the board that he had set up.
"It's good to have a hobby." Unser said.
"How it is us?" I asked.
"We ain't been trying to jam you up." Bobby said.
"If it is SAMCRO, it wasn't a club call. We just want to know who your looking at." I said.
"I've been digging into the three hits on the club, including mine." Unser said. "They hardly took anything. Just trashed the place, threw a beat down and split. That ain't robbery. That's a message."
"What about Roosevelt?" I asked.
"That one was a mistake. They underestimated the wife of a cop." Unser said.
"Pope would be the obvious fall guy for all of this." I said.
"It wasn't black that jumped me. Who has something to gain by making the club look weak? Turning the town and sheriffs against them. Suddenly, the pretty guy they gave the gavel to, he ain't looking all that smart." Unser said.
"Who does it for him?" I asked.
"Who's new?" Unser asked.
"Nomads." I said.
"Look, man, we better have some proof before we start throwing brothers in the mix." Bobby said.
"Rita got a good scratch into one of 'em. DNA comes back conclusive, we don't need a mix." Unser said.
"The nomads are staying at Lowell's old place on Bethel. Why don't you stop by, tell 'em you're a friend of the club, just giving an introduction. Feel those guys out a little bit." I said.
"What about Clay?" Unser asked.
"Clay's my problem. Clay takes back the gavel. He keeps the drugs, the guns, and the cash flowing. Cleans up before stepping down. It's always been his retirement plan. It still is." I said.
When I got back to the garage, Bells was working in the office. I poked my head in to check on her. She gave me a wave and a small smile. I headed over to the clubhouse. I spotted Frankie working on his bike. "Where you taking it?" I asked him.
"Hey. We're going up north to the Easy Rider bike shows. Do 'em every year." Frankie said.
"Right on. How long you gone?" I asked.
"Couple of weeks. I gave Juice my proxy info. All my dues are square." He said.
"It's probably a good time to split, all this heat…home invasions, dead wives. Charming's become a very messy place since you guys showed up." I said.
"Yeah." Frankie agreed.
"Where are Greg and Gogo?" I asked.
"Not sure."
"Hey…you should stay in touch. See, I'm real close to figuring out who's behind these attacks. When I know, I need everyone's input, how we hurt the guys responsible." I said.
"Whatever you need, brother, I'm there." Frankie said.
"Absolutely." I said.
Unser POV
I drove out to the address that Jax had given me on the Nomads. "Morning." I said approaching one of the guys out front.
"Hey." He said.
"Wayne Unser. I don't think we've formally met." I said.
"It's Greg. What are you doing here, man?" He asked.
"Friend of the club, just wanted to stop by and make an introduction." I said.
"Well, I gotta get this done, so…" Greg said.
"Don't let me stop you? The other fellas around?" I asked.
"Dude, it's not a good time, all right? We got shit to do." Greg said.
Just then another one of the guys came out. "Oh, hey, morning. Wayne Unser." I said.
"What's going on?" The guy asked.
"I was just telling Greg I just wanted to come by and say hello." I said.
"Yeah, well, we're in the middle of something." He said.
"Oh. Hey, you get into it with one of them Crow-eaters?" I asked.
"What?"
"Scratches on your chest there." I said.
"Yeah, my girl likes it a little rough." He said.
"Oh, I guess so. Where you fellas headed?" I asked.
"You know, you ask a lot of questions for a guy who's just here to say hello." He said.
"Oh, that in my nature. Sometimes I forget that I'm retired." I said.
"Yeah, well, maybe you should remember that." He said. "Greg, let's go."
"Hey, nice meeting you. Have a good run." I said.
Jax POV
"Hey darlin." I said when I saw Lyla.
"Hey." She said.
"I was just showing the boys around." I said.
Chibs walked over to Lyla and gave her a quick kiss. I'd have to ask him later how things were going. "Jackie boy, this place is fantastic!" Chibs said.
"I'm so excited." Tig said.
Tara POV
"Sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here." Clay said. He sighed. "Otto, huh?" When I didn't say anything he continued. "We're gonna have to say something to each other sooner or later."
"No, we won't." I said.
"Jax should've killed me. You and I both know I'm living on borrowed time." He said.
"What? Now I'm supposed to feel sorry for you?" I asked.
"No, you're supposed to hate me. Like you do." He said.
"You're not on borrowed time. To me, you're already dead. Stay away." I said and I walked away.
A little while later I saw Bobby. Thought it would be a good time to ask about Otto. "I just want to have something when I see him. Some kind of, you know, peace offering or personal thing. Something that reminds him of what he used to love." I said.
"Well, Otto ain't gonna want to look at pictures of us. Bring him shit that reminds him of Luann. That'll get you closer." Bobby said.
"Where can I get more on her?" I asked.
"Gemma. They were best friends." He said.
"Hmm." I said. I left Bobby and went in search of Gemma. "Hey." I said when I saw her.
"You talk to Jax?" She asked me.
"About what?" I asked.
"Um…my SUV got stolen." She said.
"Oh, my god. I'm sorry." I said.
"Yeah." She said.
"Can I ask you about Luann Delaney?" I asked.
"What about her?" She said.
"Jax is putting together a care package for Otto, and I was thinking it might be nice to include something that reminded him of Luann." I said.
"Oh, that's sweet." She said. "Well, he- he liked to watch her movies. But I'm guessing they're not gonna let you bring a stack of old videotapes in there."
"Probably not." I said.
"Perfume. He loved that goddamn perfume. Smelled like cum and patchouli. It was godawful. But he wouldn't let her wear anything else. It came in a blue bottle. It's like Blue Roses, Blue Violet, something like that." She said.
Jax POV
"What's going on with you mom?" I asked Gemma.
"After my Thomas died, I did the worst thing a mother could do. I…I made you make up for the love that he couldn't give me anymore. I'm sorry Jackson. I'm sorry that I've always been too much." Gemma said.
"You know when he died, I felt so bad." I said.
"I know baby." She said.
"It wasn't because he was dead. It's because I would have you all to myself. And I knew how wrong that was. I love you, Mom. And we're getting through all this. I promise." I said.
Tara POV
"Hey." Jax said when he approached me.
"Hey. Elyda bailed on us again. Something about her mom. I have to call a pediatrics nurse that I trust." I said. "I'm sorry baby."
"Why don't we let Gemma stay with them? Come on babe. We got to cut her some slack." He said.
"Okay." I said.
Bella POV
I was locking up the garage when I saw everyone across the parking lot. I walked over to Hap. "Hey." I said.
"Hey. You okay?" He asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. Just about to head home. I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come over for dinner. Mary's got the kids this weekend." I said.
"Sure. You know that I love your cooking." He said.
"See you in about an hour?" I asked.
"Yeah." He said.
Jax POV
"I got some shit to handle here. It's gonna be a while before we can leave." I said.
"Let me head up. Gemma can pick the boys up here." Tara said. "I'll make some dinner, air the place out."
"That'd be great. I want Tig to ride up with you." I said.
"Yeah." Tig said, joining the conversation.
"Really?" She asked.
"Oh, come on. I mean, what if there's snakes in the cabinets, grizzlies under the bed?" Tig joked.
"Right." She snorted.
"Tiggy eyes open." I said.
"Nothing touches her, boss." He said.
I watched Tara and Jax walk away. I turned to Chibs and Bobby. "Why don't you give me tonight with Tara. I'll tell her what's going on. You guys can come up tomorrow." I said.
"Cool." Chibs said.
"Gemma will be by later, pick up the boys." I said. "Need you with me."
"Where are we going?" Chibs asked.
"Check on a sick friend." I said.
Gemma pOV
"Everything okay?" I said when I answered my phone.
"Yeah. I was wondering if you could watch the boys while Jax and I are at the cabin." Tara said. "Elyda's mom is sick again."
"Well, yeah. Where are they?" I asked.
"The clubhouse. You can pick them up there. There's plenty of milk pumped in the fridge." She said.
"Yeah okay." I said.
"I'm trusting that you'll be safe with them, Gemma." She said.
"Always."
"Okay, we'll check in tomorrow."
Jax POV
"I need a minute." I said.
"Let's go Juicy." Chibs said. They walked out leaving me and Clay alone.
"No O2? You must be breathing easier." I said.
"Yeah. That coffee's almost ready." He said.
"It's not gonna take that long. You're using the Nomads to undermine my leadership. You're the one behind these home invasions. Now that's backfired." I said.
"I know you think I'm the devil, son…and you got every right to assume that I'd be the one setting fire to your table. But… I would be willing to bet whatever life I got left that guy doing this is setting fire to everybody you and me love." He said. "This is Pope."
"Then let's find Frankie, get the truth, take it to the table." I said. "Let SAMCRO decide who lives and dies."
"Fair enough."
Bella POV
I had just put the finishing touches on dinner when I heard a knock at the front door. I headed to open it. There Hap stood. "Hey." I said.
"Hey. It smells good in here." He said.
"Thanks. I made chicken parmesan." I said.
"How'd you know that was my favorite?" He asked me.
"I have my sources. C'mon."