Jax let some smoke billow out from his nostrils, kicking his legs out in front of him. He'd been waiting at this picnic table for a few minutes now, but he expected Harrison to be right on time. He'd never been late with a call or with just about anything he'd promised so far, and Jax didn't anticipate he'd start now.
He'd started his morning just like any other: waking up in bed with his old lady wrapped around him, breakfast and coffee with their roommates - who were also engrossed in apartment hunting at the kitchen table - and then after kissing Allie goodbye, he hopped on his bike and headed to the clubhouse.
Everything was ready. All the arrangements had been made. The club had been brought up to speed on his plans and everyone was in agreement on what was about to happen, as well as any clean up that might be required after.
Now, all he needed was for that motherfucker to dare to step back onto his property.
Because as soon as that happened, nothing about Tyler Harrison's life was ever going to be the same again. Which, considering what he'd done, was only fair.
After careful consideration, and taking into account what Allie wanted and what she definitely didn't want, he felt like he'd finally settled on the right course of action. One that would inflict the most amount of pain and anguish and a lifetime of terror without actually going as far as taking the man's sorry excuse for a life.
Not that Harrison deserved mercy, but Jax also wanted to respect Allie's wishes. He loved her enough to honor that, so that's what he was going to do. And in retrospect, what he had planned was a fate worse than death.
The punishment would fit the crime, that was for damn sure.
With anticipation and pent-up adrenaline coursing through him, he took another long pull of the stupid contraption in his hand. Nicotine was nicotine, and it was enough to see him through these last few minutes of waiting.
But that was fine.
He'd learned through trial and error that good things would come to those who waited, and today, he'd reap the benefits of waiting in spades.
So when that familiar black Trans Am finally pulled into T-M's lot, Jax tucked his e-cigarette into his cut with smooth and precise movements. He pushed off the picnic table just as Harrison slid out of his car and headed straight for him, calm and cool as ever.
"Hey, bro," Jax greeted him with a grin as he held out his hand.
This little act wasn't as hard as he'd thought it was going to be - of course, he also knew exactly what was waiting for Harrison inside the clubhouse, so there was that. It was kinda fun, too, because he knew exactly what Harrison was walking into, and that just made the anticipation that much sweeter.
Harrison shook his hand with that same firm handshake and that same slimy, self-satisfied grin he remembered. "Hey, Jax. Good to see you again."
"You too," Jax flashed him a grin as they made their way to the clubhouse's double doors, and then he opened one of those doors for Harrison, waving his hand in front of the empty space with a flourish. "After you, bro."
Harrison stepped through the threshold, apparently none the wiser that he was about to be ambushed, but Jax trailed behind him anyway, just to make sure he didn't try to make a run for it once the ruse was up. It didn't take long for Harrison's steps to slow just a touch, as if he was finally starting to realize something wasn't quite right inside the clubhouse - probably right around the time he got a good look at what was waiting for him on the main floor.
The whole club flanked around one little table at the center of the room. Two empty chairs sat at that table, just waiting to be sat in.
When Harrison's movements came to a standstill, Jax was right there at his back, gently prodding him forward with the barrel of his Glock.
"Let's keep on walkin', huh?" Jax murmured in his ear. "We gotta have a little chat."
Harrison's hands shot up in the air, like that would do him any good, but at least he was smart enough to keep walking forward until he got to that table. Jax waited long enough for Juice and Happy to pat Harrison down, and then he stepped around the table so he could take his seat.
"What the fuck is this, Jax?" Harrison pushed out, his voice unsurprisingly filled with as much confusion as anger, but Jax just ignored him, dropping down into the chair at the other end of the table.
He gestured to Harrison with his hand, Glock and all, signalling to Happy that it was time to push that fucker down so he could face the music. Then, as Happy shoved him into the empty chair in front of him, Jax rested his Glock casually on top of the table with his index finger draped over the trigger. Of course, he had no intention of actually using his gun today. He just liked the idea of keeping it right where Harrison could see it.
Now, the piece of shit finally seemed to realize his time was up, but when he tried to jerk to his feet, Happy and Juice were right there behind him, holding him down by the shoulders and keeping him right where they wanted him.
"What the fuck is this?" Harrison spat.
Jax gave himself a moment to rein it in. This motherfucker really thought he could sit here, in his clubhouse, when it had to be clear the club had at least caught him in the act of ripping them off, and still had the balls to talk to him like this?
Well, once an entitled, pompous frat boy, always an entitled, pompous frat boy.
So, he tilted his head to the side, finally letting a smirk slip across this face. Yeah, this was gonna be fun.
"I don't know what you're talkin' about, bro," Jax flicked his eyebrows into his forehead as he spoke before glancing down at the Glock in his hand. "I thought we were just gonna talk some business. You got an update for us or what?"
Panic flickered across Harrison's face, but he schooled his expression just as quickly, smoothing his features out to the calm and collected expression Jax was used to seeing. Now, though, he also saw right through the act.
"Alright, fine," Harrison bit out, and then, as he reached into the front of his jacket, he glanced up at the club members huddled around him. "I'm just grabbing the intel I brought with me, alright? That's it."
Jax tipped his chin, signalling to him to just do it. Happy and Juice had already patted him down, so the sooner they could move this part along, the better. True to form, Harrison set some paperwork on the table, which, at first glance, looked just like the rest of the intel he'd been bringing to them these last few months.
"So what is all this then?"
Harrison glanced down at the intel, slicing a hand down to it as he started to explain, "I tracked your guy from two different safe houses since the last time we spoke -"
"Two safe houses, huh?" Jax cut in with a smirk, but he kept his hand on his Glock just because he could. "We talked, what? Two days ago? So he's been moved around twice since then, huh?"
Harrison blinked back at him. This was the first time anyone in the club had ever questioned his information outright, and to his face, since he'd started working for them, but he recovered after a beat.
"Right," he nodded to Jax, a tight line ticking down his jaw. "Like I said, I was tracking their movements and they've got him in another safe house in Lodi right now as we speak."
"And by them, you mean the cartel, right?"
He swallowed hard, blinking a few times before he spoke again. "I don't know that it's the cartel or if it's just people working for the cartel, but it's definitely funded by them."
"A'ight," Jax flashed him another grin. "So how do you know?"
"How do I know what?"
"That the safe house is funded by the cartel," Jax lifted his Glock off the table now, but only so he could gesture with it right toward the man sitting across from him. Watching him sweat and squirm like this was more satisfying than he'd anticipated, which only boded well for the rest of his plans.
Harrison's eyes widened just a touch, and he swallowed hard again. "There's nobody else it could be. I mean, we've been over all this already, bro - I went to fucking Mexico and saw him in a bunker owned and operated by the cartel."
"Alright, alright," Jax just shrugged with a light laugh. "If you say so. And now he's in Lodi, huh? Well, shit, that's not too far from here, so we must be really close to pinning him down once and for all."
"I'd say so, yeah."
"A'ight," Jax leaned an elbow on the table now, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly. "Say we take a drive over there right now. You think he's still in that safe house?"
For the second time since they'd sat down, Harrison's eyes widened. And that was the tell Jax was looking for.
He tilted his head to the side again, regarding the piece of shit across from him with a slow smirk. "That's what I thought. See, it's come to our attention that the information you've been feedin' us, not to mention takin' our money for, may or may not be the real, honest-to-God truth."
Now, Harrison's eyes darkened dangerously, glazing over the way a shark's eyes might right before it struck. "And what makes you say that?"
The smirk on Jax's face spread as he waited for Harrison to just keep digging his own hole. Sooner or later, he'd break and give Jax the opening he was looking for. If he waited long enough -
"Does this have anything to do with who you've recently hired as your legal representation?"
Ah. There it was. And he didn't even have to wait that long for it.
Jax wagged a ringed finger at him playfully. "Now how would you know somethin' like that? Who we've got handling our legal work is no business of yours - unless it is?"
"Look," Harrison huffed out a laugh and shook his head. "I don't know what she told you, but none of it is true, okay? She's a fucking liar - always has been, always will be. And if you want her dealin' with your legal work, that's your prerogative, but whatever Allie's told you about me and her is a fucking lie, bro. I'm tellin' ya - she pulled this same shit in college and she's fucking doing it again."
He gave himself another moment there because he felt himself sliding right up to the edge of his control. He'd had a pretty good handle on it up until now, and now wasn't the time to lose his cool. Finally, Jax cocked his head to the side, lifting both hands off the table so he could wave his Glock at the man across the table.
"You know, I was hoping you'd say somethin' like that. I really was," Jax threw out as he set his Glock in his lap to free up his hands, and then made quick work of rolling up the flannel sleeve on his left arm, his lips lifting as his brand new tattoo came into view.
The skin around it was still a little red, but the elegant, Old English letters started right at the top of his forearm and ended at the base of his wrist, spelling out the name, Alexandra.
Jax rested his left forearm on the table just to make sure Harrison had a good view of that tattoo, and then he set his Glock back on the table too, just because it was entertaining to see his reaction. He waited long enough to see recognition and a little bit of fear flicker across Harrison's stupid fucking face, and then he dove right in.
"Let's be clear about one thing here," Jax flashed him another grin just so he could bare his teeth. "You take her name out of your fucking mouth. I'm not gonna tell you again, and you're not gonna like what happens if you don't listen. So we clear, bro?"
Harrison exhaled heavily, almost angrily too, but his head dipped down in a nod.
"Now," Jax grinned. "We've squared away some club business here, so I think we should turn to another matter that's a little more personal," he paused there, waiting until he saw Harrison's eyes widen again. "How long have you been keeping tabs on my old lady?"
His mouth opened and closed. He blinked rapidly. His chest heaved. But none of that was gonna help him either.
"Don't play dumb with me," Jax pushed out through a tight grin. "You know who she is to me - sure, she wasn't my old lady when you first started workin' for us, but I got a feeling you figured out when our relationship shifted before my club did."
"I haven't -"
Jax's lips curled back into a snarl. "She saw you last week. That was no coincidence. The only way you would've known where she was, right at that exact moment, was if you at least had an idea where she was and knew what kind of car she drove. So, I'll ask you again - how long have you been keeping tabs on my old lady?"
Harrison stared at him for a moment, his chest still heaving, before he finally replied: "Since college."
"A'ight," Jax nodded with a smirk. "That's what I figured. Why you been keepin' tabs on her?"
Of course, he already knew the answer to that question. He just wanted to hear the fucker say the words out loud. And Harrison didn't disappoint.
"Why have I been keepin' tabs on her?" he bit out hotly. "Because I can. That's why."
"Ah. Makes perfect sense."
Harrison huffed out another laugh, despite the way Happy's hand pressed him deeper into the chair. "She ruined my life. I had plans, ya know? I had a life all planned out - I had a scholarship, an internship, a prime spot on a college football team, and then she had to go and blow it all up just because she didn't get her way. Just because she wanted some fucking attention. I mean, why do you think I have to take jobs like this? This is the best kinda work I can fucking get because she ruined my life."
Jax cocked his head to the side again with a smirk playing on his lips. "Aw, bro. That must've been really hard for you, huh?"
His eyes narrowed into dark slits, but that didn't deter Jax from goading him on.
"I mean," Jax smirked, lifting the Glock off the table just for good measure. "What's a guy gotta do not to get me too'd around here, huh? She was askin' for it, right? Drunk off her ass - sure as shit wasn't sayin' no, so why not shove your dick in her mouth without her permission and then hold her face down on a bed so you could rape her, and then, after she passed out, keep raping her? I don't know 'bout you, but I feel like, if she's too drunk to walk, talk, or just know what's goin' on around her in general...that's a no, bro. A really hard, obvious no. I mean, that's the kinda shit rapists pull, right? "
Harrison didn't hesitate. "Look, she's lying to you, alright? That's the same story she spun in college and I'm not surprised she spun it for you too. Of fucking course she did - but she's lying to you, Jax. It wasn't true in college, and it's not true now."
Jax's head tipped back as his shoulders shook with laughter. The rest of the club joined him in solidarity, chuckling right along with the ruse. And when the laughter faded, so did his patience.
"You think you can really come into my clubhouse and say that shit to me?" Jax snarled. "About my old lady? You got a death wish or somethin'?"
That seemed to knock some sense into him because Harrison's dark eyes flashed with terror and his head shook from side to side like a bobble-head.
"What?" Harrison practically shrieked, his voice shrill and panicked. "No, I -"
Jax's hearty chuckle cut him off, and he held his hands up in the air, Glock and all.
"Hey, I'm not gonna kill ya," he shook his head with an easy smirk. "I want to. Trust me. But she's made it very clear that that's not what she wants, and I'm not dumb enough to go against my old lady's wishes, especially when it comes to somethin' like this. So I'd say it's your lucky day, bro."
Harrison's shoulders sagged with relief, like somehow, just because Jax had said he wasn't going to kill him, he was off the hook. He wasn't.
"So, what I really wanna know is - what were you playin' at, huh?" Jax smirked at him again. "You knew exactly who we were, and you knew exactly how our VP was connected to her when my intelligence officer first contacted you, didn't you?"
He waited to see Harrison's head dip down into a nod, and then charged ahead when he got the confirmation he was looking for.
"So what were you playin' at here?"
Now, Harrison actually had the balls to shrug. "What can I say? I got the call, saw an opportunity, and I took it. Call it morbid curiosity, ya know? Besides, the pay's good, and I figured I'd be able to deliver sooner or later."
Well, someone obviously had his confidence back now that he thought he was off the hook.
Jax tipped his chin to Harrison with a grin. "Was any of that intel real, or was it all bullshit?"
"Some of it, sure," he just shrugged again. "Your guy is alive, I can tell you that. Well, last time I saw him, he was alive. I guess that doesn't mean he's still alive."
"Uh huh. And when was the last time you saw him alive?"
At least Harrison had the good sense to glance down at his hands when he answered: "About a month ago."
Huh. That was interesting. While Harrison should know at this point that lying wasn't going to score him any points here, that didn't mean he was actually telling the truth. Considering he'd already lied pretty efficiently about what he'd done to Allie, it wasn't like Jax could take much this asshole said at face value.
"What about the cartel? Was that real, or was that bullshit too?"
He hesitated, opening his mouth and then closing it just quickly. Well, that was the answer then, and it was pretty much what they'd already figured.
"Lemme guess," Jax jumped in, leaning his elbow on the table again in effort to appear casual. "Darby was never under the cartel's protection, and you never went to Mexico. You sure as hell took our money for it though, didn't you?"
Harrison pressed his lips together in a tight line, smart enough to stay silent on this one. He didn't have to admit what they already knew.
"And you've been sitting here, on our dime, bringin' us bullshit intel over and over again, lying right to our faces, gettin' us all worked up about that cartel - for what? Just to take our money? Get closer to my old lady? What was your endgame, bro?"
He just lifted a shoulder. That didn't do anything but make Jax's blood boil, and he clenched his hand around that Glock until his knuckles turned white. Right about now, it would feel really good to lift his wrist and pull the trigger.
But he'd made Allie a promise, and he planned on keeping that promise today.
"Maybe I didn't really have an endgame," Harrison allowed easily. "Like I said, I saw an opportunity, and I took it. I was curious, and I liked taking your money. You didn't ask many questions and made it pretty easy for me. What can I say?"
Yeah, he'd heard about enough of this bullshit. Jax tipped his chin to Bobby, who took his cue and stepped forward so he could toss a piece of paper onto the table in front of Harrison.
Jax gestured to the paper with his free hand, keeping a tight grip on his Glock to remind himself he couldn't use it. "That's how much we've paid you over these last few months with some interest included for our trouble. We want it back, in cash, within 72 hours."
Harrison glanced down at the number on that paper, mulling it all over as if he had some kind of say in how all this would play out for him. "That's fair. I can probably get it to you before then."
"Nah," Jax let a lazy grin slip across his face as he leaned back in his chair. "You're gonna want the full 72 hours."
Because he was going to need at least half of that to recover from what was about to happen to him. Harrison just didn't know it yet.
"And what happens if I don't get the cash to you in 72 hours?"
Wow. He really was a dumb son of a bitch. A round of chuckles made its way through the club, and even Happy grinned at the dumbassery it took to ask a question like that. But, for appearance's sake, Jax decided to throw him a bone and an answer.
"I'll give ya one guess, bro."
Harrison's eyebrows flicked into his forehead, and he leaned back in his chair now too, mimicking Jax's position, and daring to look a little bit miffed. "I thought you said you weren't gonna kill me."
"Well," Jax chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at his VP, who just shook his head. "I promised my old lady I wouldn't kill ya for what you did to her. That's personal, and that's not somethin' any of us consider club business. Now, that being said," he jerked a ringed finger at Harrison, "if you decide not to pay us in the generous time we've allowed, that is club business, and then I do have reason to kill ya. So by all means, bro, take your time in gettin' us that cash."
There was a part of him that really did hope Harrison couldn't put all the cash together in time. Because everything he'd just said was true - Allie would have to back down on this one, whether she liked it or not. But then again, for his sake, and for the sake of their relationship, he also didn't want to have to deal with her fury either.
But now that the threat was out in the open, he had a feeling Harrison would deliver.
And on that note, it was time to get to the part he was really looking forward to. He tipped his chin to Happy, who took his cue and jerked Harrison up to his feet.
"Hey, wait a minute," he bit out in a panic. "What's going on here?"
Jax sauntered around the side of the table, taking his sweet time just because he could, and then clapped a hand on Harrison's shoulder to give it a firm squeeze.
"We're gonna take a little ride."
***
As the van pulled up to the warehouse, Jax clenched his jaw to give himself this last moment of anticipation. This was the only time he could completely lose his careful hold on his composure because at this particular moment, everyone else in the van was preoccupied with moving forward with this next phase of the plan, namely, getting Harrison into the warehouse and prepped to their president's specifications.
Jax hung back as Opie and Juice dragged Harrison out of the van - the asshole had long been gagged with his hands bound behind his back, so they didn't have to worry about hearing anymore of his bullshit until Jax was ready to take that gag off. But he needed this moment, because there'd be a before, and there'd be an after, and he wanted to give himself a moment to relish the before, if only because it'd make the after all the more satisfying.
When he left the van, he could allow himself to think about what that bastard did to her, the way he hurt her, the way he terrorized and brutalized her, and he could use that as fuel for what he'd been waiting for. But he also knew that once he left the van, he had to remain in control at all times. There was too much at stake here to fly off the handle.
Jax sent Bobby a curt nod and tugged on the collar of his flannel shirt for lack of a better way to cope with this moment. His eyes flitted shut for just a second, but it was a second too long - just enough time for the image of Allie being held face down on a bed to flash across his mind. Filing that away for the time being, they waited for Happy to wave them inside, and then Jax stalked towards the warehouse's entrance with Bobby right on his heels.
Pushing through the double-doors, it was difficult not to break out into a sprint. Because there, gagged and tied to a chair on the opposite end of the warehouse, sat the man who'd raped his old lady. The anticipation of this moment was something Jax had fantasized about more times than he was willing to admit. In his mind's eye, he'd pictured it almost exactly like this, complete with the horror-stricken expression rolling right out of Harrison's eyes.
Yeah.
This was exactly what he'd wanted. Now, as his heart pounded wildly in his chest, he almost couldn't allow himself to believe this was real. Tyler Harrison was finally going to get what was coming to him.
And he was going to savor every second of it.
Nothing, save for sprinting, could get him closer to Harrison fast enough and so, as he allowed the simmering emotions whirling around him to finally boil over, he sauntered down the length of the warehouse until Harrison sat just a few feet away from him.
When the panicked look in his eyes quickly gave away to sheer terror, Jax's lips curved into a dark grin as muffled cries fell on deaf ears. And as Harrison struggled fruitlessly against the bindings holding his arms behind him, the dark grin on Jax's lips turned downright diabolical.
"Take his gag off," Jax nodded to Chibs.
Chib obliged almost immediately, slicing the gag off in one quick motion, and then silently stepped back to give Jax the space he needed. Even though he could feel his brothers' presence behind him, he was glad he couldn't see them. The only thing he wanted in his line of sight right now was sitting in front of him.
Free of his gag, Harrison sputtered frantically in his chair, still struggling against his bindings. Jax dropped to a crouch and unsheathed the Ka-bar knife from his belt, which, naturally, only set Harrison off even more.
"Oh shit!" he cried out, sweat dripping down his face. "Fuck...look, whatever you're gonna do, just do it, alright? Just do it!"
Jax leisurely drew a line on the pavement with his knife before bringing his eyes back up to their target. "There's nothing about this that's gonna be quick."
His eyes filled with fear and as his nostrils flared, he began to nod silently, seeming to accept whatever fate Jax was about to bring down on him.
"Now, I might've promised her I wasn't gonna kill you, but that doesn't mean you get to walk away from this unscathed," Jax went on, his voice taking on a more quiet, sinister edge. "See, the thing about guys like you is you think you can do whatever you want, without any repercussions, and without having to answer to anyone. If you've got enough money, the right reputation, and even better connections, you can get away with just about anything you want, can't you?"
When Harrison didn't respond, Jax jerked his knife at his face.
"Nod your head when I'm talkin' to you, motherfucker."
His dark eyes widened in a flurry of terror and panic. That felt good to see, but what was about to happen was going to feel even better.
"So like I was saying," Jax smirked, tilting his head to the side as he spoke. "I bet you thought you'd gotten past this, right? That it's behind you, and after you get through the beating you think you're about to get and get us that cash you owe us, I bet you think this is over, don't you?"
Jax paused there, giving Harrison the opportunity to do as he was told and nod.
"And that's what I've got a problem with. Because while you didn't ruin her life, you definitely changed it. She was never the same after you were done with her. Now, that's not to say she didn't rise from the ashes of the mess you made like the fucking beautiful phoenix she is, but she's felt the after-effects of what you did to her, and she's felt them for years while you just get to walk around, takin' people's money, drivin' that car, and just goin' about your life like nothing happened. I got a feeling, when all this blows over, that you're just gonna go right back to doin' what you were doin' before. And that - that I just can't have."
He glanced over his shoulder at Juice, who was all set with a camera in his hand, just like they'd planned. So, he shifted on his heel to turn his attention back to Harrison and flashed him a toothy snarl.
"Now, here's what I want you to do," he pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket, unfolded it, and held it out for Harrison to see. "I want you to read that, out loud and right into that camera over there."
Harrison skimmed through what Jax had written, and then just stared back at him in defiance. When his lips parted to respond, this just kept getting better and better. "Are you kidding me? I'm not saying anything in that camera, especially that."
His mouth quirked up at the corners, and he moved with lightning speed, slicing his elbow across the side of Harrison's face.
Damn, that felt good.
He knew he had to be careful, though, because that was a slippery slope he might not slide back from.
Jax nodded, his eyes narrowing in on his target with sharp focus, and he smirked playfully: "You still think I'm kidding?"
Harrison sputtered once, spitting out a mouthful of blood, right along with a tooth, and shook his head. "No."
"Glad to hear it. Now, like I said, I want you to read this," he gestured to the paper with his free hand. "Make sure you speak loud enough so the camera can hear you."
After squeezing his eyes shut, Harrison shot him a tight nod.
"A'ight, bro. Let's get started."
Harrison blew out a shaky breath, squeezed his eyes shut again, but he still did as he was told as his eyes dropped to the paper in Jax's hand. "I am a fucking rapist."
When he got to the next line, the coward needed a second to muster up the courage to finally say the words out loud, his voice shaking on every syllable: "I raped Allie Levy when we were in college. I convinced everyone around her that she was lying about it. I stalked her and taunted her every chance I could. I lied to the school's investigator and administrators. I lied to anyone who would listen. I didn't care what happened to her or how my actions affected her life because I'm a rapist and because I don't care about anyone but myself. I thought I got away with it."
Jax flashed him a grin, and glanced over his shoulder at Juice, who nodded.
"I am a rapist who has no respect for women," Harrison went on, his voice still tremoring. "I don't understand the meaning of the word, no. I will never learn my lesson. I am a fucking piece of shit who doesn't deserve to live."
When Juice gave him the signal, letting him know he'd gotten everything they needed recorded, Jax turned his attention back to Harrison, stepping around until he gripped the back of the chair he'd been bound to. Then he tipped that chair all the way back until it was flush with the cement at their feet.
Jax let him lay there for a few long moments, drawing his knife out again, and grinned at the panic and terror that flashed across his face. But his dark grin evaporated as his lips curled up into a snarl. It was time to put this son of a bitch in his place once and for all. Taking a menacing step forward, he hovered over Harrison with his knife pointed directly at his face.
"I wanna make something very clear right now, bro. You will never, ever escape this. It will always be right over your shoulder because I'll always be right over your shoulder. You wanna try to go straight and get a real job? I'll be there, and that video you just made will be there too. You wanna get a girlfriend someday? Try to start a nice little family? I'll be there, and so will that video. You wanna visit your parents? I'll visit them too, and I'll bring that video with me. You wanna do anything at any time, in any place, I'll be right there over your shoulder. You can run, you can hide, but you will never, ever escape me. You will never escape that video. You will never escape what you did to her - because I'm not gonna let you."
And maybe that was the most fitting punishment of all. Harrison would always spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, watching and waiting to see if this was the day Jax decided to make good on that threat. Because there would come a day when Jax would have to do just that - Juice would forever be tracking the motherfucker's movements like it was his only mission in life - and when that day came, he'd be ready with that video.
The sound of running water filled his ears, which meant it was time to move on. So, he tipped the chair upright again, moving aside so Bobby could cut Harrison's hands free, and then Chibs and Juice joined in to yank Harrison up to his feet. They dragged him over to the side of the warehouse, where Happy, Tig, Piney, and Opie were already waiting next to the industrial sink Happy had filled with ice cold water.
Harrison's steps stalled when he got a good look at what was waiting for him, but Bobby just shoved him from behind, forcing him to move ahead.
"I thought you said you weren't gonna kill me," he glanced at Jax from over his shoulder, despite the fact that Chibs shoved him forward.
Jax waited to respond until they had him right where they wanted him, standing in front of that sink full of water, and when Harrison was in position, he moved in behind him so he could murmur in Harrison's ear: "I'm not gonna kill ya. At least not today, and not if you deliver what you owe us on time. But I'm gonna take a few minutes right now to give you a little taste of what she felt the night you held her face down on that bed. I think it's only fair, and I wanna make sure I'm good and thorough about this before I'm done with you today."
Before Harrison had a chance to beg and plead, Opie and Tig took him by the shoulders, just like they'd choreographed to a T, and moved him right up to the edge of that sink. Then Jax grabbed him by the back of the head and shoved his face in the water. He held Harrison down, letting him jerk and struggle, but never budging an inch. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, his signal that he needed to pull back before he went too far, Jax yanked Harrison's head out of the water, giving him a moment to sputter and gasp for air.
"How's that feel?" Jax growled in his ear. "Pretty shitty, huh? You scared yet?"
He waited for Harrison's head to dip down into a nod, but that still wasn't good enough. He still wasn't quite finished. So, he shoved Harrison's face back down into that icy water, relishing in his futile struggle and muffled screams for help until he felt a hand on his shoulder again. On cue, Jax jerked his head up from the water, and gave him another moment to gulp for breath.
"How 'bout now?" he murmured. "Still scared?"
If anything, the steady control he felt coursing through him was a work of art. There was almost something spiritual about that control. The resolve that this way was the right way. The release and the affirmation that he'd gotten what he wanted, and he'd gotten what he wanted for her, and on her terms too.
On that note, Jax shoved Harrison's face into the water one more time, just for good measure and just because the feeling of holding his head down, of putting that pressure into the back of his head, of making him feel what she'd felt - that was a feeling he wanted to savor.
Finally, he pulled Harrison up, letting him spurt and sputter and gasp for air, and then he tipped his chin to Happy, who nodded in response. Happy and Juice flanked Harrison on both sides as they dragged his sorry ass back over to the center of the warehouse, and Juice haphazardly kicked the chair in the middle of the plastic tarp away because they didn't need it anymore. They held him there until Jax made his way to them, taking his time to saunter over there and smile slowly and darkly at the new flash of panic on Harrison's face. They weren't done yet. Not even close.
"On your knees," Jax told him a low, tight voice.
Harrison needed some prompting from Happy and Juice but eventually, he dropped to his knees. Jax flashed him a menacing smirk when he saw the way Harrison's hands trembled at his sides.
Good.
"Hands on the ground, bro."
Harrison swallowed hard, but he did as he was told.
"Lemme guess," Jax murmured to him hoarsely, gesturing toward the hands spread out in front of him. "You're right-handed, huh?"
He waited for Harrison to nod, and then he crouched down to meet the piece of shit at his level and so he could look him in the eye.
"You touched her without her permission," Jax pushed up the sleeve of his flannel, making damn sure his new tattoo was on display, and then he pointed his knife down at Harrison's hands, "and I can't let that stand."
Without hesitation, Jax shifted his weight until his foot pressed down into Harrison's right hand, gently adding to the pressure again and again until that tell-tale crunch echoed through the warehouse. Harrison's wails fell on deaf ears as Jax gritted his teeth and ground his foot into Harrison's shattered bones, waiting for another crunch and then another and then another before he felt a hand on his shoulder again.
Time to pull it back.
He pushed up to his feet just as Opie moved in, but Jax wanted to be the one to bring Harrison up to speed on what was going to happen next.
"Now," he informed Harrison curtly while Bobby and Juice yanked him back up to his knees. "You're a lucky sonuvabitch that she didn't end up callin' us like she threatened she would. 'Cuz if that happened, you can bet your sorry ass we would've killed ya, and we wouldn't have thought twice about it. And if that had happened, my boy, Ope, here," Jax gestured to his VP, who was hovering off to the side, "would've been leading that show. So, I figure, it's only fair for him to get his chance now," he flashed Harrison a grin, "seeing as how you raped his sister."
With that, he stepped aside so Opie could descend, and he didn't hesitate. He reared his fist back and slammed it into Harrison's face. As blood began to leak from Harrison's nose, Opie pulled his elbow back only to pummel it right into Harrison's face again. And as Jax hung to the side, watching this beating from the sidelines, everything else just faded away, save for the ringing in his ears, and the red behind his eyes. All he could see, all he could picture, was Allie, face down on that bed, and her beautiful body, one that he'd spent so many days and nights worshipping, stripped and debased at the hands of the broken man at his feet.
So, really, he'd made the right call in letting Ope take the reins for this part. Because if he started down the road his VP was currently on, he didn't trust himself to stop.
But Ope deserved the right to hand out some retribution of his own, and Jax gave him plenty of time, watching him pummel that son of a bitch over and over again, letting him walk right up to the line of rendering Harrison unconscious, and then he tipped his chin to the club brothers lingering off to the side. In a flash, they got to work, gripping Ope by the shoulders to pull him back, to stop him from going too far because that was what she wanted, and in the end, it took four of them to haul Opie off the battered and broken body underneath him.
Harrison's head lolled back as Happy kept him in place, not like he was going anywhere. There was still one more part of the plan left to execute, and this was the part that had Jax practically trembling with anticipation.
As he'd mulled over all his options over these last few days, and after it was clear to him that strangulation, and anything else of that nature, was officially off the table, the idea dawned on him like a lightbulb. It was simple, really. It would leave a terrible, lasting impact that Harrison also wouldn't be able to escape, just like that video. And in the end, the idea had sparked from a conversation he'd had with Allie not that long ago, when they'd been on their way to the precinct to deliver some justice of their own to Dominic King.
When Harrison's eyes squeezed shut, Jax jerked his chin forward. "Look at me, motherfucker. I'm not finished with you yet."
Even though one of Harrison's eyes was swollen shut, he managed to squint just enough so Jax knew he was indeed looking at him.
"Good," Jax allowed and dug his knife into Harrison's index finger on his left hand just for good measure. "Now that I have your attention, there's just one more thing I gotta do. Well, actually, a couple more things. See the problem with that video we just made is that I gotta show it to someone for it to actually have an impact. And when we're done here, and when you pay back what you owe us, you're gonna try to go back to your life the way it was before and try to pretend none of this ever happened, aren't you?"
This time, though, he didn't give Harrison the opportunity to respond.
"And that I just can't abide," Jax grinned darkly before moving the tip of his Ka-bar knife two inches away from Harrison's left eye. "No matter where you go, no matter what you do, you'll never be able to shake this off. I spent a lot of my time tryin' to come up with the right way to go about this - I seriously considered cuttin' your dick off and feedin' it to you, but that seemed a little messy. Too much room for error, ya know? I made my ol' lady a promise, after all, and I intend to keep that promise. So, I finally settled on somethin' you're never gonna be able to shake off, no matter what you do or how hard you try. You'll never be able to shake me, and what you did, and what I'm about to do to you."
There was no further need to explain himself, and he waited just long enough for the club to flank around him, each of them grabbing hold of some part of Harrison to press him into the ground and keep him still. And then, Jax brought his knife right up to Harrison's forehead and, through the piercing screams that filled the warehouse, carved an R.
Chibs stepped in as his assistant as he moved on to carving out an A, carefully wiping away the dark lines of blood his Ka-Bar knife left in its wake. With his forehead furrowed in concentration, Jax moved on to the next letter - he only had one shot at this, and he wasn't about to screw it up. Once the P was perfectly formed, and that new burst of blood wiped away, Jax meticulously finished the job as Harrison jerked and howled, refusing to give the man a moment's respite, until the other letters, an I, an S, and a T were carved across his bloody mess of a forehead.
Then he took a step back so he could survey his handiwork, and he nodded to himself with a self-satisfied smirk.
But he still wasn't quite done yet.
Without needing to look over his shoulder, he simply extended his free hand behind him and the large, menacing-looking tattoo gun he'd personally selected found its way to his open, gloved palm. He glanced over his shoulder and shot Happy a curt nod before turning his focus to the trembling pile of shit lying on the ground in front of him.
"Now hold still," Jax murmured to Harrison with a sly smirk. "I've never done this before."
And then, without a moment's thought for his victim, Jax shot forward, and aimed that tattoo gun right on the space Happy and Juice cleared away on Harrison's chest. With the hum of that gun buzzing in his ears, Jax got to work again, meticulously drawing out an R in permanent ink right underneath the base of Harrison's neck, and right where it would be most difficult to hide, just like the word carved into his forehead.
He paused there, cocking his head to the side as he appraised his work.
"How's that look, Hap?"
Happy leaned in then to examine the lines of that first letter, and he nodded with satisfaction. "Looks pretty good, prez. You can go even deeper if you want."
A cruel, sadistic smile crept across Jax's lips and he couldn't have cared less how these new psychopathic tendencies looked to his brothers. The feather-light grip he'd had on his control just slipped away and now, all he had left was the unadulterated rage bubbling over and spilling into every nerve ending.
"That's what I like to hear."
So he got back to work, drawing out an A right next to the R on Harrison's chest, and he pressed the needle down on the gun until Harrison wailed and hollered and until the gun stuttered in his hand.
Happy chuckled next to him, gesturing to his handiwork with a grin. "That might be a little too deep, prez. You hit bone and you fuck up the look of the tat."
"Aw, shit."
"No worries," Happy flashed him a grin, a real rarity but the circumstances certainly called for it. "Just pull it back a tiny bit, and then you're golden."
Jax took that note and ran with it, working through the rest of the letters with careful precision until all six letters were forever etched on his chest. And then Happy and Juice flipped Harrison over so he could repeat the same ministrations at the back of Harrison's neck and the top of both hands too, just to really be good and thorough about it. There were plenty of ways Harrison could cover up his handiwork, but he'd still never be able to shake it off.
That was enough.
That was all he'd needed to let himself see and as he leaned down to Harrison's battered body one more time, vindication raged through him.
"One last thing," Jax growled in his ear. "You try to get anything I just did removed, and I'll know about it. You won't be able to hide that from me either. And if you do, I'll just be right there, ready to do this all over again," then he propped an elbow on his knee and tapped two fingers to his forehead, "See ya around, bro."
As Jax stepped away from the pitiful figure cowering on the ground a few feet away from him, he knew he was finally ready for this to be over. He'd done what he'd wanted and it had felt exactly the way he thought it would. An eruption of rage, vindication, frenzied madness, and finally, thankfully, relief flooded over him as he turned calm eyes to his VP and nodded.
Moving a few paces away from the scene, Jax crouched down into a squat and tossed the bloodied knife and tattoo gun away from him. Now that the damage was done and he'd exhausted the storm, he wanted those things as far away from him as possible, at least for now.
Jax was still crouched down to the floor as he turned his focus back to the mess just feet away from him, finding his brothers already carrying out the rest of the plan. Chibs and Juice got to work in patching Harrison up just enough to make certain he'd survive his wounds, while Happy carefully deposited the knife and the tattoo gun back into his black duffel bag so they could be cleaned, and then stepped aside so Tig, Opie, Bobby, and Piney could clean up the rest of it.
By the time Jax was leaning against Samcro's van, Opie was already advancing on him with his hand outstretched. Jax barked out a laugh when he saw what his VP extended toward him and shook his head even as he slid the cigarette out of Opie's fingers.
"Thought you might need somethin' like this," Ope advised him, turning until he leaned into the van shoulder to shoulder with his prez. "You know, take the edge off."
Jax managed to huff out a laugh and placed the cigarette between his lips with shaky fingers. Opie didn't hesitate to oblige him with an open flame and before long, Jax was puffing away on probably the only thing that could take him off this ledge and place him back in control.
"Just don't tell my old lady, a'ight?" he grinned as he wrapped his lips around the cigarette again. "I got her convinced I'm workin' on quittin' this shit."
"I won't tell if you don't," Opie tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, and then tipped his chin to him. "You alright, brother?"
Jax blew out a deep exhale and took another deep pull from his cigarette, savoring that hit of nicotine just this once.
"That was some pretty heavy shit back there," Opie went on. "But I think I got what I wanted out of it. Did you?"
Allie's face flashed across his mind again, and he squeezed his eyes shut. That dark current he'd been wading in slowly ebbed away - it was still there, and it probably would be for some time, but that darkness finally started to disappear.
And now, all he could see was her beautiful dark eyes shining up at him. Her soft, chestnut hair falling in front of her eyes as she laughed. Her lips parting in that captivating smile he knew and loved. She was free, and so was he.
"Yeah, bro," Jax murmured, his head dipping down to shoot his VP a resolved nod. "I got what I wanted."
***
About three hours later, once everything had been cleaned up and Harrison had been dropped off at his apartment about an hour away from Charming, Jax finally rolled his bike in his garage and hit the button to close the door behind him.
He'd seen Dan's car parked next to Allie's BMW in the garage, so it was no surprise when, after he kicked off his white Nikes and hung up his cut for the night, he found the newlyweds huddled around the kitchen island, scouring over some paperwork with a computer in front of them. Dan's eyes lit up when he saw Jax and waved brightly at him.
"Hey, friend!"
"'Sup, bro," Jax grinned as he made his way over to the island and nodded to Adrian in greeting.
"Guess what?" Dan asked in a sing-song voice.
"What's that?"
Dan's hands shot up in the air in victory: "We found an apartment!"
Well, this day just kept getting better and better. With a wide grin, he reached over and clapped his arms around Dan in a quick bro-hug, and then slapped Adrian on the shoulder.
"That's great news, fellas. When's movin' day?"
Dan quirked a bitchy eyebrow at him. "Well, that was quick. You happy to see us leave or what, friend?"
"I'm happy that you're happy," Jax allowed good-naturedly, even as Adrian shook his head next to them.
"Uh huh, sure," Dan swiveled his shoulders at him. "Yeah, I got that. And to answer your question, our lease starts on the first of next month."
Which also happened to be about two weeks away. Perfect.
That was plenty of time for Allie to come around to the idea that her world was changing, yet again, and that the general ease and comfort she'd found with Dan as her roommate was also going to change. He imagined their friendship would shift a bit too, as it often did with these things, but they'd still see each other every day at the studio, so it wasn't like everything was changing all at once.
But that was life. Always shifting and turning and evolving. And that was a good thing too.
"I am already expecting you and your club to do all the heavy lifting, by the way. These hands just weren't made for hard labor, you know? And before you even ask," Dan went on with some familiar sass. "Yes, our live-in legal counsel has already reviewed and approved our new lease."
"Well, I think that goes without sayin', bro," he laughed. "She'd string you up by your feet if ya didn't."
"Yes, this is true."
He grinned at Dan again, tipping his chim to him. "So where's my ol' lady at, huh? Upstairs?"
"Oh yeah," Dan rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure I heard the shower running about two minutes ago, so if you hurry your cute little behind up there, you might be able to catch her."
Jax wagged a finger at him as he shifted on his heel to sidestep around the kitchen island and head right for the stairs. "I like the way you think, bro."
"Okay, bye," Dan waved to him, nudging his husband with a sly smirk. "Have fun!"
He was still shaking his head, even with a smile on his face, as he took the stairs two at a time, just eager to get inside that bathroom and inside that shower with her as soon as he could. And he didn't have to wait that long either, because as soon as the bathroom was within reach, he could hear the shower running behind the door and feel the steam drifting out from underneath it. So, he let himself inside, his fingers already making quick work of the buttons on his flannel when he kicked the door shut behind him. Once his flannel dropped to the tile floor, he grabbed the collar on his white undershirt and yanked it over his head. By the time his hands worked on his belt, he heard her sweet voice drift out through the running water.
"Jax?"
"Hey, baby," he called back to her, grinning when he saw the outline of her body move around behind the glass shower door.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he shed the rest of his clothes, leaving a trail of jeans and boxer briefs in his wake, and pulled the shower door open so he could step inside.
When the steam cleared, he found her easily. Wet hair slicked back, water dripping down her beautiful body, those runner's legs flexing as she turned to face him, and his hands closed around her cheeks before she had the chance to get another word out. His lips crashed against her mouth, desperate to taste her, desperate to have her body wrapped around him, desperate just to have her.
He'd needed this the second he left the house this morning, but had known he'd just have to wait. There'd been some business to take care of first, and now that it was over, the rest of their lives could finally start.
Allie pulled away with a smile playing on her lips and she took him by the shoulders, gently turning him around so he could dip his head back into the water. With that gentle smile still on her lips, she reached for the shampoo bottle in the built-in shelf behind her, squeezed some into her hand, sudsed it up, and started working it through his hair with a warmth that made tears sting his eyes.
This woman was everything.
Everything he needed. Everything he wanted.
He'd never take it for granted - not one second. And as he leaned into her ministrations, closing his eyes at the feeling of her fingers gently massaging and kneading his hair, he knew exactly what she was doing.
She was helping him wash it away. Helping him finish it and take him through this last, inevitable step. They didn't need to talk about where he'd been today and what he'd been doing because she already knew. She'd made it clear she didn't need the details, and he figured that was okay too. Having to look her in the eye and tell her exactly what he'd done, how it'd made him feel - that might cut into the satisfaction he'd found today and turn it into something they probably wouldn't like. And there was no need to go down that road anyway because it was over, and Allie never had to worry about Tyler Harrison - or whatever the hell his name was - ever again.
Allie gently tipped his head back into the water again so she could wash the shampoo out of his hair. When he straightened his neck again, he swallowed hard, overwhelmed with the passion he felt for her every single day, the devotion he'd continue to give her every single day, and with the need to protect her from everything every single day.
"I love you, Allie," he murmured.
Her soft lips curled at the corners as her head tilted to the side and her fingers gently traced that new tattoo on his left forearm. "I love you too, Jax."
And then he didn't waste any more time. His lips sealed over hers as his hands slipped around her waist, and he whirled them around, capturing her laugh with his mouth as he backed her up against the tile wall behind them.
A/N - I can't tell you how many times I went back and forth over what should happen to Harrison over these last few months. Sometimes, I thought Jax was going to kill him for sure, and other times I just had no idea how to let all that play out. Once it became clear to me that Allie was never going to go for Jax killing him, the rest of it kind of slid into place, and I think I settled on something that (hopefully!) satisfied everyone, Jax and Allie included.
So, the next chapter is the very last one. I thought a lot about how far Jax and Allie have come both individually and as a couple, and so I decided to make the last chapter show how everything has really come full circle for them. I think it puts a really great bow on the whole story and ends in the right place. As of right now, I don't have any immediate plans for a sequel because I'm working on two other stories right now (Lost & Found and a new one that will eventually take over Fly By Night's Wednesday update slot). That doesn't mean I'm not going to do it at some point, just not right now ;)
Anyway, this was really the chapter we've all been waiting for, and I can't wait to hear your reactions! As always, thank you so much for reading!