All I Know So Far

Chapter 23. Piney

Gemma

I walked into Piney's cabin to find the door unlocked. That was strange considering that the old man always remembered to lock the door. This was his sanctuary, and introducers would have endured serious consequences for disturbing his peace.

When I poked my head through the door I could smell something downright foul. The smell was close considering that I could hear the sound of flies. Looking behind the door I saw Piney's body on the ground with a hole through his chest and blood in his nose. He must have been dead for hours considering how pale he looked.

"Oh Jesus," I said clutching my heart, "I told you, damn it, I told you!" I yelled at his corpse. Flashbacks of me warning Piney about his vendetta against Clay played in my mind. Had he just listened to me, he wouldn't be laying on the wood floors of a dinghy cabin. "You stupid old man!" my voice broke as tears welled up in my eyes. I knew Clay was unhinged, but killing a Son, especially one of the first nine, was a lot even for me. I sat on one of the wooden chairs at the breakfast table and phoned Unser to come to the cabin immediately.

He wasted no time in getting to me to see the body of Piney Winston on the floor. "How did this happen, Wayne?" I already knew the answer to my own question. Clay was the one who killed Piney, I could feel it in my bones. "This had to be Clay, he lied to me last night. He told me he was at the clubhouse. We burned those letters, there was no proof! Why did he have to do this?"

"Clay read the letters. The ones you saw burning were copies. He thinks Tara and Piney have the originals," Unser looked remorseful as he told me the truth. I cursed under my breath. I had entrusted Unser to find the letters and burn them before things got out of hand.

"I thought I could prevent this, I thought if I could get the letters from Tara's office myself and destroy them, then something like this wouldn't have happened. But Clay is like a wounded animal, Gemma. He's going to rip apart anything that comes too close. Including Tara. I can't protect your old man anymore, I'm calling this into the sheriffs', have em' pick up Clay."

My heart jumped when I saw Unser reach for his cellphone, "no."

Unser looked at me like I was crazy, "the next corpse you're going to be standing over is the mother of your grandchild. Are you prepared for that? Clay cannot be saved."

"You're right, he's a wounded animal, and he needs us, Wayne. More than ever. What kind of wife would I'd be if I turned on him now?"

"One that wanted to survive."

"I love him, and we are all responsible for this. Our hands are just as bloody as Clay's."

"Did you lie to me too? Did you know the real reason why Clay wanted JT dead? Him ending guns?"

I was quiet for a minute as I contemplated what to say next. The question caught me off guard. "I supported Clay's decision. I knew it was the best thing for the town, and the club, and my family. I never knew the details."

I couldn't bear to tell Wayne how much I really knew about JT's murder. I couldn't tell him that I not only knew about John's murder but that I permitted it. That was my cross to bear, a secret I couldn't let even my closest allies know.

"Just let me bring him in close again, on my own. Just find me those letters so I can destroy this once and for all," I rubbed Wayne's chest and he eventually gave in to my command. I was about to phone Clay when I saw Noella's name pop up on my caller ID. I was surprised to see that she even knew my number considering our relationship.

"Hello?"

"Gemma, it's Noella," she sighed for a moment, "I was wondering if you could come watch Ava tonight. My babysitter canceled on me last minute...it's okay if you can't."

"No, no I would love to spend time with my ONLY granddaughter. Gotta make up for the lost time."

"Right," Noella dragged out the word and I could almost imagine her rolling her eyes. "Well, I guess I'll see you later then. Lyla's shop's opening is tonight, so I'll see you at seven?"

"Yeah, seven is good," I agreed.

"Okay...bye." And with that, she hung up the phone. I didn't know what to make out of Noella's reappearance yet, but I did want to spend some time with Ava. I said goodbye to Unser and made my way back to the clubhouse. The scent of Piney's decaying body was still fresh in my nose, and it made me a bit car sick. I was ready to put the incident behind me if it hadn't been for Tara sitting in my office waiting to confront me.

"Did you take those letters out of my office?" she charged.

"I had Unser take them. He burned them before I could read anything. Also told me they were copies, so you still have the originals. You have no idea what you just stirred up."

"I haven't done anything with them," she confessed.

"You let Piney read them!"

"Piney never read them, yes I gave him a copy. But Noella showed up at the hospital and I assumed he gave them to her."

My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. The realization that Piney died for letters he never read sank in. Noella had the letters, Tara had the letters. These letters have touched more hands than a hooker on the street.

"You want out of here?" I questioned her.

"Don't you? Why would you want your grandchildren to grow up around this madness?"

"Then why didn't you let Jax read those letters?"

Her face paled and she broke away from my gaze. She exhaled, "you were right, the contents of those letters would be very painful for Jax to read. The truth about Clay. His guilt for hating his father would just push him further into the club and I'd lose him."

"How would my son feel about me?" A part of me wanted to know just an inkling of what those letters contained.

"He'd learn some painful truths. How you were with Clay before John died."

I sat in the closest chair near me, "I made some mistakes in my life."

"Did you know that Clay tried to kill JT?" I hesitated to answer her at first and found myself fidgeting. "I know what everyone else knows. John died the way they all should. On two wheels going high speed. I don't know if Clay killed JT, but what I know is that he brought me back to life. He helped me live again, while my husband was out trying to live through someone else."

Tara stared at me for a moment, not saying anything. "What are you going to do?" I questioned her. She grabbed her bag off my office chair, "I'm going to drive up to Oregon tomorrow. Give myself some time to think."

Without another word, she left my office and left me to myself. My mind raced trying to figure out how I would get the letters from Noella too. Her allowing me to babysit Ava was her extending an olive branch. And if I knew anything about my former daughter-in-law, those olive branches were always ready to break. What could she possibly want from those letters? How on earth would knowing any of that information benefit her. She hardly seemed to like Jax, and one bad move and she was ready to abandon the club. Why would she care about anything pertaining to me?