Chapter 13: The Pull

Tig POV

We were still short on cash for the Irish. We were trying to come up with the 200K that we needed to give McKeevy before he headed back to Ireland tomorrow night. Jax had suggested that we get a loan from LuAnn. Apparently she was bringing in a shit ton of cash. Jax was gonna talk to Gemma and see if she could get the money from LuAnn. Here's hoping. Jax was in a good mood and he had a right to be. They were taking his kid out of the "toaster" as he liked to call it. I was glad that his kid was doing better.

Since we'd gotten back from Washington, Bells had moved in with Ope, was taking care of Kenny and Ellie, helping out at TM, and checking on Jax's kid. Things were settling down and getting quiet and that made me nervous.

Jax POV

Bells was running the office at TM which meant Ma was at the hospital. I made my way over there to talk to her. When I walked into Abel's room, she was sitting in a rocking chair reading to him. "I'm sorry." I said. "I didn't mean to go off on you last night."

She nodded. "I'm sorry too. It was a crazy day. It's a strange time Jax." She said. "So much shit is changing. I just worry - About you, about him."

"About Tara." I finished. "What happened with me and Tara… is ancient history Mom."

"She hurt this family. Tried to pull you away." She said.

"I didn't leave, did I?" I said.

"But she did. Broke your heart." Ma said.

"I guess." I said, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"You guess? She crushed you Jax."

"I was 19. It was first love bullshit. I grew up. I got over it. It's time you got over it too." I said. I could see Ma was struggling with this. I needed to talk to Bells.

"Somebody hurts your baby, you never get over it." She said.

"Listen Club needs a favor." I said sighing.

Gemma POV

"Hey baby, is Abel out yet?" LuAnn asked me.

"No not yet. Appreciate you coming." I said. This wouldn't be easy.

"Oh I wouldn't miss it."

"I need to ask a favor." I said. She nodded. "Well, it's not for me. It's for the club. They need 70 grand, cash, by the end of the day." I tell her.

She starts going on about how she doesn't know if she can do it. I tell her that I know she's got the money. I tell her I know about the kind of money she's been spending. She finally agrees to 55 grand. I thank her and she leaves. I call Jax and tell him.

Jax POV

On my way home from the hospital, I see a diesel truck with a guy that was through the windshield. Me and a couple other guys get him out while we wait on the ambulance. Ope and I had gone to the hospital and talked to the guy. I'd tracked the truck down and made a deal with Unser on it, getting the rest of the money that we needed for the Irish. When I got back to TM, the idiot Prospect had stolen a fucking ambulance. I handed Clay the money before I walked into the office to talk to Bells. "Hey." I said, when I walked in and sat on the couch.

She looked over at me. "Hey. Abel out?" She asked me.

I shook my head, lighting a cigarette. "Not yet. Wanted to talk to you." I said.

She leaned back in her chair. "What's up?"

"Ma seems to think that I'm getting in deep with Tara again." I said.

"What do you think?" She said.

I shrugged. Bells and I had sat and talked one night. I'd told her all about Tara and how things had been when she'd left, leading all the way up to when Abel was born. "I don't know. I mean she helped save Abel's life." I said.

"Yeah but is that gratitude or are you still in love with her." She said.

"I don't know Bells. You know, part of me wants to believe that she's different, I'm different…things could be different." I said.

"But…"

"But Ma was right. She broke my heart when she left." I said, trying to figure out exactly what I want to say.

"Jax, Gem's just worried. You can't blame her. She doesn't want you to get wrapped up in Tara again and forget about your priorities." Bells said.

She was right. My priorities were Abel and the Club. They came first. "Same line you gave Ope." I said.

She let out a sigh. She had this goofy grin on her face. "That was different. I met Ope an hour after I'd arrived in Charming. I was sitting on a park bench drinking a milkshake. But yes, in a way it's the same speech that I gave Ope. Ope and I have come a long way. It started with me helping with his kids so that he could help the club more. And then one day… everything just clicked… I don't know." She said.

Bells might be my cousin but she made my best friend happy and I could tell that he made her happy too. "It's good to see you happy and him." I said.

"Thanks Jax."

A little while later, I was sitting in Abel's room when I got a call that someone had tried to kill Clay. Ma offered to stay will Abel for a bit. I headed out to the bar that Clay and Tig had headed to. The Irishman had been shot. I ended up getting into it with Clay and Tig. Shit had been going south for weeks. Clay had it in his head that I wasn't focused on the club. No doubt that Ma had put some shit in his head regarding Tara. Tig? Who the fuck knows. Ope had mentioned that when they went to pack up Bella's stuff that they found Emily Duncan at the house and that Bells was pissed. No doubt they'd had a fight about it. Tig was always in a bad mood when he'd gotten into a fight with Bells.

They'd put the Irishman in the back of the ambulance that Half-Sack had stolen and were taking him back to the clubhouse. Ope and I were following them back just in case someone was watching. When Ope and I got back, we walked into the garage and pulled the door down behind us. I looked at Ope, "Where's Bells?" I asked him. No doubt that if anyone found out who she was she'd have a target on her back.

"She's at the house with the kids. She's got the doors and windows locked. She's got her gun nearby." Ope said and I nodded.

"That's good." I said.

Bella POV

Ope had called and said that there had been an emergency at the clubhouse and that I needed to keep my gun nearby. He didn't go into a lot of details but he was concerned. I'd stayed up all night waiting for him and when he never came home I knew that it had been bad. Once I'd gotten the kids dressed and ready for school, I dropped them off and then headed to the clubhouse.

When I walked in, I could tell that it was bad. Gemma was the first one that I found. "Gem, what happened?" I asked.

She pulled me into a hug. "Thank god your okay." She said.

"Yeah. What's going on?" I asked.

"Somebody tried to kill Clay last night. Shot a friend of the Club. Jax and Ope have gone to get Tara but until they get here can you give Chibs a hand?" She asked me.

"Yeah of course. What do you need me to do?" I asked.

Gemma led me into the Chapel. "Hey Chibs." I said.

"Aye Lass." Chibs said.

"How can I help?" I asked.

He pointed to some gloves. "Put a pair of those on. We gotta stop this bleeding." He said.

"Sure thing." I said, reaching for the gloves and putting a pair on.

I was trying to help Chibs when I looked up and saw my Dad standing in the doorway. "What are you doing here?" He asked me.

"I was concerned so I came to help." I told him.

"You shouldn't be here." Dad said.

"Yeah, well I am. Get over it." I said.

Dad huffed and walked away. All I could do was shake my head. "Go easy on him. It's been a long night and a rough morning." Chibs said to me.

"Doesn't give him a right to treat me like crap and he's been doing it ever since we came back from Washington." I said.

"He just needs time. He and Ope both were worried about you." Chibs said. "I mean can you imagine how hard it was for him to find out that his own father was the one trying to cause you pain. Not to mention that your ma and Colleen both were involved."

Maybe Chibs had a point. Maybe I should cut Dad a little bit of a break. I mean after all I'm the one that made Jax not let them come after me…when I knew that there was a chance that I wasn't gonna make it out of there alive. Fortunately I did, thanks to Alec but now I had the worry of Jasper and Caius… not that I'd mentioned it to anyone other than Gem. Maybe I'd get lucky and Jasper and Caius would forget about me. Who knew?