Judas Kiss

Chapter 19.

Jax

Today was a busy day. It felt like I was getting pulled in every direction possible. Abel needed me but I also had to do business for the club. I tried my best to keep everything together, but in the end, I needed to ask for help.

Thankfully Tara was available to watch Abel. She had slept over the last two days, and even though I knew that Ari would hate it, I allowed her to watch my son.

In my defense, Tara was one of the doctors who operated on Abel, and through his extended stay in the hospital she'd grown attached to him. I never thought that I couldn't trust her with my son, and since we were getting serious, I wanted to incorporate her more into my life.

My mom was visibly against it when she dropped Abel off, but ultimately it was my decision. And besides, Tara was well aware of Abel's routine and his medical issues, so the only thing I did this morning was assigned Half-Sack to stay with her.

We've been having all sorts of issues with outsiders that lead to lockdowns, and I didn't want to be careless. Leaving her and Abel with the prospect gave me peace of mind, and I was hoping that Ari wouldn't be too upset when she realized Tara was here.

Arielle was supposed to come back home today with Clay's approval. She had been gone for about six days, tomorrow would make it seven. I hadn't completely processed how things would be when she returned, and I knew that our relationship was turning sour with the addition of Tara.

However, I did miss having her around, but I also didn't want her to come back to so much hatred. The lie still couldn't be cleared up, and it didn't seem like it would be able to anytime soon.

I thought about what my mom said about my arrangement with Arielle. But I just couldn't go through with it. I had already crossed a major line and I couldn't bring myself to cause her further pain.

"You heard from Ari yet?" I looked to my left to see Opie staring at me with anticipation. I couldn't decipher if his concern with Arielle was genuine or if he was just looking out for his own a**.

"No, Clay made her cut contact. I can only get updates on her from Happy."

Opie noticed my annoyance as I talked to him and he let out an exasperated sigh. "Jax, despite what you think, I do care about Ari. She really showed up for my family when we needed help. Donna wouldn't have made as much progress as she did if Ari wasn't constantly doing her rehab stuff with her at home."

"Then why did you ask me to do it?!" I snapped at him.

Opie studied me for a moment and his brows drew together. "Why did you agree? Because it can't just be about Donna and the kids. When we sat down with her that night, she literally begged you to stop lying to her!"

"Because I don't tell her about club stuff! I'm trying to keep her safe!"

Opie shook his head, "Nah man, that's not just club stuff. Club stuff makes ole ladies confused. Frustrated with the lack of information, Ari wasn't crying because she was frustrated and confused. She was hurt and she's used to being hurt by you."

"Did you become a therapist at Stockton?" The venom in my voice was evident. Opie had struck a nerve and I didn't hide my reaction well.

"Whatever dude, I may have no place telling you this. But Ari is good people. You don't find people like that easily, I hope you understand that before you push her too far."

Opie walked away from me and I gripped my phone in anger. The nerve of him to put me under a microscope when I was just being a good friend to him. One friendship broken was worth saving a family. His family, might I add.

I am so tired of everybody thinking that they can put their two cents in on my relationship. They don't even understand the scope of our agreement, yet they want to paint me as a villain.

Ari is thankful that I have protected her for this long. The only thing she ever wanted from me was to feel safe. Nothing else was ever included in our agreement. So, am I wrong for living my life just as it was before her?

I shook my head as I opened the phone to dial Tara. I didn't want to think about this anymore, and I was hoping that speaking with her would offer some kind of relief.

However, when she answered the phone, I heard Tara breathing shakily while there was noise in the background. My heart started to race as I called her name repeatedly with no response. And then the conversation ended.

I was in full panic mode when I told Clay that I had to leave. He sent Opie and Chibs behind me, and I took the lead in the race to my house.

I didn't know what to think because I didn't know what was going on. We'd been attacked so many times already that I assumed that someone was at my house trying to hurt Tara, or worse, Abel.

When I finally got to the house I ran inside. Opie and Chibs were close behind, and we all froze in our tracks when we saw Half-Sack's body on my kitchen floor. Chibs cursed under his breath and I ran throughout the house in search of Abel and Tara.

My eyes widened when I saw Tara tied to the rocking chair with tape over her mouth. She screamed behind the tape in a panic, and I peeled it off of her mouth.

"Oh, Baby, are you okay?" I looked her up and down for any injuries.

"He took Abel!"

"What?" I jumped up to look into Abel's crib. What she said was so shocking that I had to be sure that I heard her correctly. And to my horror, she was right as my son's crib was empty and he was nowhere in sight.

Chibs ran his hands through his hair in shock and Opie's mouth dropped. "Who took him?" I asked with panic clear in my voice.

"That Irishman I patched up." She let out a noise that was laced with pain at the memory.

"Cameron," Opie said, and immediately I remembered the man we'd helped only a few weeks prior.

I was in so much shock that I couldn't even put together a sentence. Opie jumped into action and called Clay, and informed him of the crisis at hand.

Once the call ended, we were on our bikes and on our way to the boat docks. My heart was running as fast as my bike, and I didn't know if I was going to pass out while driving on the road.

However, once I spotted Cameron running with my son in his arms, all of my energy came back. I was in the lead as I ran ahead of everyone in an attempt to catch him before he fled with my child.

Unfortunately though, I was too late and watched in horror as Cameron fled with my child on a boat. I felt my heart drop into the pit of my stomach as the reality began to settle in. Abel was gone and I didn't know what was going to happen to him.

"He took my son! HE TOOK MY SON!" I hollered before I lost all feeling in my legs and fell on the ground.