9

Little Toy Bikers and a Woman on the Run

"

Chapter 355 Miss Scarlett in the Pool Room with the Gun

"

Jax and Scarlett were in the chapel. Sack was off putting the large white board used in the presentation into Scarlett's car. Clay was lighting a cigar.

"That was good," Clay said while rolling his cigar around in his mouth. "I think everyone actually understands. Never thought that would happen. Not that I would ever have a need to launder money, but you've given me a lot to think about."

"Gemma calls it washing money. I think she believes there's an actual washer involved," Jax said.

Clay laughed. "I got to agree with you there. Thanks for the presentation. That was a great idea, son."

Scarlett flinched a little when Clay called Jax son. She looked at the two men and thought she saw striking similarities. Both were tall with broad shoulders, light eyes and a strong jawline. Jax didn't look at all like the picture she'd showed him of JT. He didn't look like Gemma either.

There must be a relative somewhere in Jax's family tree that he resembled. Kids don't always look like their parents. She didn't look like Clay after all. She needed to just calm down. In another day or two—maybe Monday or Tuesday—she would find out she was just being crazy and Jax wasn't Clay's son.

Clay left, leaving them alone.

Jax was standing behind Scarlett. Very gently he got close to her. He'd learned that pulling her close to him jarred her spine and caused her pain. She'd never said a word of complaint, but he'd sensed it. He leaned down, his lips close to her ear.

"I am very proud of you. That was one hell of a presentation."

His breath was warm on her neck and it drove her crazy. The little hairs on her neck were standing on end and she felt like she was going to melt into a puddle. The things that man could do to her—just as long as he wasn't her brother.

"Couldn't have done it without your genius help on the white board writing and drawing the little people."

"You did all the hard stuff," Jax said with a smile. "We don't need to stay long. Maybe a couple of games of pool with Chibs and we'll call it a night."

"That's OK. My next date isn't until ten."

Jax shook his head.

"You are a bad girl, Scarlett."

"I'm not a bad girl," Scarlett said seriously. "Everyone just thinks that way."

"I will kick the ass of anyone who says anything bad to you."

"My protective hero," Scarlett said putting her hand over her heart.

"Damned right."

They walked out of the chapel and into the bar area. Jax walked over to a table. He didn't say a word. The two guys sitting at the table jumped to their feet and left.

Scarlett wasn't surprised. This was the Sons clubhouse. It made sense that if a member of the MC wanted a table, guests should give the table to the Son immediately without having to be asked.

Sack came up to their table and handed Scarlett the keys to her car.

"Thanks."

"Do you want me to . . . ?"

"Wait until I'm playing pool," Jax said.

Sack nodded and left them alone.

"I'm going to have him sit with you and keep you company."

"Keep the men away?"

"Just being seen with me will do that," Jax said. "No guy would dare sit with you now that you've been seen with me. I'm just having him keep you company. If there's anything you need, he'll get it for you."

Jax beckoned a short red head wearing tight jeans and a tank top with no bra that hugged the curves of her implants.

"Darla, this is my old lady Scarlett," Jax said.

Darla couldn't hide her surprise and shock at Jax's announcement.

"Nice to meet you," Scarlett said.

"I want you to get the word out to all the crow-eaters."

Darla nodded.

"Listen carefully. If any croweater disrespects Scarlett in any way, she'll be kicked out of the clubhouse. The second it time it happens, the kick out will be permanent. Is that clear?"

"Sure Jax," she said quickly. "I'll let everyone know."

"One more thing. If any crow-eater puts her hands on me, she'll get kicked out of the clubhouse. Second time it happens and the kick out is permanent. That goes whether Scarlett is with me or not."

"You can count on me to get the word out," she said.

"Good," Jax said dismissing her.

"Wow," Scarlett exclaimed. "They put their hands on you?"

"Crow-eaters are pretty aggressive. They try to get attention any way they can. Most of them want to be old ladies."

"So I'm going to be hated?"

"Yeah. I'm serious about if anyone disrespects you."

"OK."

Jax leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Rubbing it in?" Scarlett suggested.

"A little bit."

He signaled Sack to take his seat at the table. He and Chibs began playing pool.

"You want something to drink?" Sack asked.

"A Coke or Pepsi."

"I'll be right back."

Scarlett watched as Darla went around to the fifteen or so women that were in the clubhouse and spoke to them. She knew she was telling them about her because they would look over at her.

Sack opened the can of coke and put it down in front of Scarlett.

"I even rinsed the top off so all the dirt didn't get into the can when I opened it."

"Thanks, Sack."

"Would it be more respectful if I called you Miss Scarlett," he asked seriously.

"Miss Scarlett reminds me of the Clue game. It was Miss Scarlett in the pool room with the gun," she said. "If you call me Miss Scarlett even once, I'm going to tell Jax you made a pass at me."

"Why would you do that?"

"I'm just kidding. I wouldn't do that. I know if you get on the bad side of Jax, you might not get patched in," Scarlett said. "I just wanted to let you know how much I hate being called Miss Scarlett."

"Not a problem. I will never call you Miss Scarlett."

"OK. We're good," she said with a smile. "Did Jax tell you not to disrespect me?"

Sack nodded.

"Relax a little," Scarlett said. "If I have a problem with you or something you've said to me, I'll talk to you about it. I'm not going to go to Jax and rat you out."

Sack visibly relaxed.

"Thanks. Being a prospect is hard. I'm always trying so hard not to screw up."

Scarlett's chair was too low for her to see much of the pool game, but she couldn't use a bar stool. She had to sit in a chair that fully supported her feet to keep her back from getting worse.

She could watch Jax move around the table and that was more than enough entertainment for her. It suddenly occurred to her that Jax Teller was the cause of global warming. He was just too damned hot. He had this sexy grace combined with this confident hip swinging walk that made him just ooze sex appeal. If a man could walk like that, what must he capable of in bed? The thought of finding out (assuming he wasn't her brother) both intrigued Scarlett and terrified her.

Why couldn't she have just fallen in love for the first time in high school or even college? She could have gone through all the crazy phases then. She was too old to act like a love struck teenager now. It was just that Jax was just so Jax. Hot, tough, blonde, charming, sexy, blue-eyes, hot, funny, hot, smart, sexy, hot . . . She was really losing her mind tonight.

She tried to focus on something else. She noticed that everyone was watching her. Some openly, but most just kept glancing at her. Now she knew what if felt like to be a zoo animal. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but once she'd been at the clubhouse a few times, people wouldn't pay any attention to her she hoped.

Scarlett finished her Coke. Sack had been sent out to get more ice. He'd gotten the Coke from the kitchen. She walked to the kitchen and paused before she rounded the corner to enter the kitchen. She stopped when she heard her name. One of the crow-eaters was making fun of her physical condition and saying she didn't know why Jax would pick a cripple to be his old lady. Scarlett walked into the room as the woman—a black haired woman—finished speaking.

"You don't make fun of people with physical disabilities," Scarlett said, her voice icy. "It's wrong. As for Jax, by questioning his judgement in making me his old lady, you disrespected him. You've also disrespected me. I'm going to cut you a break and count this as one. You disrespect me again or Jax and you'll never set foot in this clubhouse again," Scarlett said. "Get out now."

If Chibs had been present, he would have recognized that same hard, determined look in her eyes from the night she threatened to break a bottle off and insert it in his ass.

The three women that were standing in the kitchen with the woman looked everywhere but at Scarlett and their friend. The black haired woman stared at her friends hoping that one of them would speak up to defend her. They remained silent. She left.

Scarlett didn't know if she had the authority to kick out a crow-eater, but she knew Jax would back her up. She also knew it would make her look weak if she went and got Jax to handle the situation for her.

She walked to the refrigerator, grabbed another Coke and washed the top off at the sink.

"She shouldn't have been talking like that," one of the women said.

"That's why I kicked her out," Scarlett said. "I'm glad you know what she did was wrong, so I don't have to kick you out."

Scarlett left the kitchen and returned to the table. Sack was back from his ice errand.

A tall skinny woman walked into the clubhouse wearing a skin tight white Spandex bandage of a dress. Scarlett studied the woman for a moment.

"Is that Ima?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah," Sack said. "She's a bitch."

"I heard that too."

Ima was heading for their table on her six inch plastic stripper heels. Sack got up from the table to intercept her.

"You're the bastard that tackled me the last time I was here."

"PTSD. Couldn't be helped."

"You better stay the fuck away from me."

"Wouldn't want to get too close to you. Might catch something."

"I'm not infectious anymore asshole," she snapped walking away.

Scarlett laughed. She didn't need to say anything mean to Ima. Sack had done a good job of that all on his own.

"I really enjoyed that," she said when he sat back down at the table.

"Me too," he said with a grin.

Jax returned to the table and they left. He had downed quite a few beers while he'd played pool with Chibs. Scarlett had told him earlier that she would drive them back to her condo.

She told him about the incident in the kitchen. He reacted just like she thought he would. He told her that she had handled it perfectly and he was proud of her. He made her feel so damned good. It was addicting being with him.

A late night dessert would be the perfect end to the evening especially the way Scarlett was going to serve it. She had ice cream and a jar of fudge sauce. She'd slip a sleeping pill or two in the fudge sauce and the sleeping pill/alcohol combo would knock Jax out in record time. That was how she was going to avoid making out with her potential brother tonight.

She loved Jax. For at least the hundredth time she wondered what the hell she was going to do if it turned out that he was her brother. She could leave town or go all Flowers in the Attic (by V.C. Andrews) and not let that stop her from hooking up with him.

Please God, she prayed, don't let him be my brother. She didn't think she could do the Flowers in the Attic thing.

"

Next Chapter: Jax's father is revealed. He isn't who you think he is or maybe he is depending on how you're thinking.

Author's Note: To my reader who doesn't like to sign in—How's this for more Scarlett and it's a long chapter?

When I did the paternity arc with Jax, it limited my ability to really build their romance because what kind of girl has a romance with her brother? I can't say anymore about that without tipping the results of the paternity test.

The next big plot arc is Kohn and it involves a lot of Scarlett. It's hard to know how much to tell about future plotlines, but I will say that Scarlett's father has a plan to get Clay kicked out of the club and readers have all the pieces to guess that plan. I've been moving that plotline into the story gradually.

The Tig plotline will be the next plot arc after Kohn and there will be more murders and Louise may not be able to keep dodging death.

I'm OK with readers giving me honest feedback. I write better with input and I don't think that you are rude at all. You're trying to help me and I appreciate it. Please keep telling me what I'm doing wrong and keep telling me. Even if it's the same points. Sometimes it takes awhile to fix things.

I'm not sensitive about my writing. Writers who get offended by criticism are limiting their growth as writers. It takes longer to think through a story and explain what you as a reader see as a problem than to just do a standard "nice chapter". That's why I really appreciate the time a reader takes to explain what is wrong with the story, so please keep helping me.

I would also be able to be more forthcoming about future plots if you PM me.