Judas Kiss

Chapter 17.

Arielle

Last night was the first time I'd openly asked for death. Jax and Opie revealed to me that my worst fears had been true. Galindo had been the one to send someone after me. And if that wasn't terrifying enough, the club has still not identified the person who pulled the trigger.

I tried to think of all the men who worked for Galindo but my mind was blank. All I could think about was Donna, and how she will never speak to me again. Opie didn't have to tell me how she felt because I already knew. I knew her like the back of my hand; we'd gotten close throughout the years. And like so many others, she was easy to anger and slow to forgive.

The pain of losing my best friend in the middle of all this chaos somehow hurt worse than being hunted.

It was clear that I'd become a target and that I wasn't safe to be around. Jax tried to reason with me and assure me that I'd be safe in his care, but I just couldn't listen to him.

I wept all night while I packed Abel a bag, and I called Gemma against Jax's wishes. I just couldn't risk the baby being hurt in my care. I was technically his mother and I had to protect him like any mother would.

Jax wouldn't listen to me, but I asked Gemma if she could convince Clay to take me somewhere secluded. Just for a while until we're sure that I'm no longer a threat.

"Are you sure about this Ari? Y'know you don't have to do this," Jax tried to reach for me but I backed away.

"I need to protect Abel," I said firmly for the hundredth time. I handed Abel to Gemma who gladly took him from me. She was surprisingly quiet through this whole thing, and a part of me wondered why.

Gemma was loud and obnoxious, and she never kept her thoughts to herself. She was hardly empathetic towards me, so I questioned her change of heart.

When Abel began to cry, I felt like my whole body was being crushed by sadness. I looked down to keep from looking at him, but that only caused my tears to fall directly on the pavement.

I felt Gemma's hand come on my shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze. " You're doing the right thing for him. This will only be for a couple of days. Happy will take good care of you."

I nodded my head softly and went back into the house to retrieve my bag. There was no way I was letting Jax's home become a target for something awful. So, I took it upon myself to make sure that it wouldn't.

"Ari c'mon, this is ridiculous!" Jax tried to plead with me, but my mind was made up. Happy pulled into the driveway and I began to make my way towards him.

Jax caught me by my hand and pulled me in front of him. "Ari just give me a chance to find this scumbag. You don't have to leave like this."

He looked so sincere and even a bit sad. But I just couldn't give in to him, I had to do what was right for my family even if he wouldn't.

"I'll be staying at the warehouse, just until you guys are sure that it's safe. Clay told me that it wouldn't be more than a week."

"Ari," Jax protested.

"Just please promise me that you'll take care of Abel."

"I will," Jax said begrudgingly.

I put my hand on Jax's chest and repeated myself. "A boy needs his father, I'll be back before you know it."

The purpose of my repetition was to subliminally tell Jax not to replace me while I was gone. Maybe I was being dramatic or territorial, but I had already suffered a great loss, I didn't want Able to be added to that list.

He was quite literally all that I had left.

"Just come back home Ari, we'll be waiting here for you."

I nodded my head and then went towards Happy. Happy used to be a nomad but then he chose Charming as his home. I liked Happy, so going with him was a no-brainer.

I didn't have fear for my safety, more so fear for the safety of others. I didn't want to leave, but I knew it was best for everyone if I did. At least now I could help the club bait whoever was responsible for shooting Donna.

I just hoped that my life wouldn't change too much during my absence. I'd been through too much in my life to have it upended yet again.

Even if Jax and I never got back together, this was my family. I had no one else beyond this.

I'd left my family back in Mexico and hadn't contacted them since I left. I left my home, my family, and all of my friends for the unknown and I don't want to go through that again.

I know that my life in Charming left little to be desired, but what else was there for me? I was still filing my legal documentation through my marriage with Jax. I couldn't go back to Mexico because I was quite literally being hunted. And I hadn't accumulated enough money to start a new life elsewhere.

I've been trying to save what little I could from work, but it wasn't a whole lot. Jax was no stranger to the inside of a jail cell and neither were any of the other club members.

Everyone operated on a helping hand mentality. Everyone here was family and we had to look out for each other. If someone was struggling you needed to help them out if you could. This method of doing things didn't have a high return rate, so it wasn't like the money that was lost was being replenished.

I wonder if Jax's new girlfriend had gotten a taste of that yet. I bet she never intended on becoming a surgeon just to pay bail for a bunch of bikers.

Nevertheless, there was something about her that I just couldn't understand. Why in the hell did she want my life?

She had options and money, and the ability to practice anywhere she pleased. But she wanted my small-town life, my biker husband, and my newborn stepson. Or more so my actual child since the likelihood of Wendy coming back for him was low.

(Wendy had lost her parental rights during delivery because she was proven to be a danger to Abel. As Jax's legal wife, I was Abel's mother.)

This was my family and I had already lost so much, I am not willing to give up the life that I've built.