Tribulation | Jax Teller

The Chain

There is a lot of shit Jax could deal with. He could deal with the warehouse getting blown up. Hell, if someone decided they wanted to blow the Compound to fucking Kingdom Come he would take that shit in stride. Hell, if a rival gang wanted a shootout, he would be pissed but that was just another Thursday. He even could tolerate having to do another stint in prison.

But this is something he does not know how to fucking deal with.

All he can hear is ringing in his ears. Maybe even the feeling of his heart trying to crawl its way out of his chest and into his fucking throat. He can feel his veins pulsing in his neck as his eye lids begin to twitch. He feels hands on him and maybe even a few brothers trying to shake him out of his shocked.

He fights the urge to stomp the damn Prospect into the cement and scatter his limbs all down Main Street. If Jax has anything to say on the matter V-Lin will not be getting his fucking patch. He knew he should've kept Phil on her. It would take a grenade to get passed him.

But outside of the ringing, he thinks his heart is going to fucking explode. He may be having a heart attack as he clutches his chest. He may also be getting dizzy. He is starting to see white spots in his vision.

And right now he doesn't feel anger; he thinks devastation is the right word. He knows his cold anger will creep on him later, but this was a whole other ballgame he couldn't wrap his head around.

Noelle is gone.

She was taken.

Jax bends down on his knees as he stands in front of the store. He's trying to hold back his tears – his fucking emotions – but he can't. His emotions are simmering to the surface as his body vibrates and becomes tightly coiled. He thinks if he was an animal right now he would be a lion. He feels like fucking roaring as someone has treaded on his home territory.

And V-Lin doesn't know shit. Apparently someone came up behind him and knocked him out. It was taking all his self-control not to beat the piss out of the prospect. After all he is an easy target. And right now he is envisioning snapping his fucking neck.

"Jax?"

Jax looks up at Opie, who at least doesn't have pity on his face, but just concern and determination.

"What?"

"Noe wasn't the only one taken."

Jax's spine stiffens and Opie turns to the side and points at a very familiar Cutlass. And Jax begins laughing as if this shit show couldn't' get any worse. He knows that someone at the hospital will report Tara missing and it will go to Charming PD. The last thing they need is Hale riding their asses especially considering the shoot out that happened barely an hour ago.

Soon his laughs turn into broken sobs. He thanks God, however, that his kids weren't here with Noelle and that thought sobers him up very quickly.

And right now he can't be having a pity party for himself. He's wife is missing. He isn't going to torture himself with what she could be subjected to. She's missing and he needs to find her. Most importantly, he needs to get ahold of Gemma since she has the kids.

The club needs to do recon and call in every charter and friends of the club and cash in any favor to get his wife home and back to their kids.

He knows in his gut that the assassination attempt and this are connected.

...

If there is one thing Gemma doesn't do is chain smoke. She enjoys her cigarettes and especially her medicated ones, but despite the shit that sometimes taint her doorsteps she never chain smokes.