Charming, California 2008
Angelise pulled into the quiet neighborhood before stopping in front of a beige one floor house. Parked in front of her was the TM truck Jax drove over to pick up a playpen Opie had offered to them for the baby.
Angelise remembers when she first met Harry "Opie" Winston. Six months into their marriage, Jax had wanted to introduce his best friend to the girl who secretly stole his heart and brought her to Stockton Prison to meet him since Opie was locked up at the time.
Instantly the two hit it off and quickly developed a friendship with one another causing a weight to lift off Jax's shoulders, seeing his two favorite people bond like they've known each other forever.
Getting out of the impala, she headed toward the house.
Suddenly, she heard grunting noises coming from the backyard. Furrowing her eyebrows, she followed the sound and an amused expression graced her face as she watched a shirtless Jax and Opie struggle with the playpen.
"Well if I would've known this was the view I'd be getting, I would've gotten here sooner." she joked causing the boys to turn their attention toward her.
Opie playfully scoffed. "Shut up Angel."
Her jaw widened slightly before turning toward Donna, Opie's wife, and pointed in his direction.
"Did you hear how he spoke to me?" she asked. "D, you better get him."
Donna couldn't keep the smile off her face before she looked to her husband. "Hey, don't speak to Angel that way." she reprimanded.
Jax let out a hearty laugh as Angelise childishly stuck her tongue out toward Opie. The boys pulled out the playpen while knocking down several things.
"How did you get this thing in here?" Opie asked while trying to pull the end of the playpen.
Donna gave him a smirk. "By myself."
Angelise let out a snort making Opie throw an irritated look over his shoulder. Jax slightly tripped over his feet while trying to keep a hold of the pen before placing it on the ground.
"Looks great," he exclaimed. "How much?"
Opie bent down to grab it before walking toward the truck. "Forget it, it's a gift."
Jax and Angelise shared a look with each other as they noticed Donna's deflated expression. Digging into the back of his pocket, Jax pulled out a wad of cash and grabbed three $100 bills before handing it over to Donna.
She immediately shook her head. "No Jax, I don't want it."
"Hey," he gestured his chin toward Angelise. "We're the ones getting the deal."
Donna went to refuse the money again when Angelise narrowed her eyes toward her.
"D, either take the damn cash or I'll shove it in your mouth," she threatened. "Whichever you prefer."
Donna gave her an exasperated look as Jax tried to hold in his laugh before Donna grabbed the money and thanked him.
Angelise walked over to her and gave her a tight hug before following Jax out. Passing Opie, Jax clasped his hand on his shoulder.
"Alright," Jax told him. "See you at the fundraiser."
Donna, overhearing Jax's word, spoke up. "That Taste of Charming thing?"
Angelise bit her lip as Jax and Opie looked at each other before Opie turned toward his wife. "Yeah, I'm doing the fireworks."
Donna wasted no time giving him a look of disbelief and Opie let out a sigh.
"It's not a club thing Donna." he reassured her.
"Yeah," Jax interjected. "My mom started it years ago, it raises money for the school district."
"And Gemma has me helping run the booth," Angelise added. "Like I really had a choice."
Opie shook his head toward Angelise before looking at Jax. "We'll be there."
Jax gave a nod in acknowledgment and headed out with Angelise right behind him.
"Don't forget to bring my favorite kids!" she shouted over her shoulder while Jax threw on his shirt.
He flashed her a smirk as she stopped in front of him.
"What?" she asked while crossing her arms over her chest.
"I thought Abel was your favorite." he teased.
She playfully rolled her eyes. "He's my son, of course he's my favorite, Ellie and Kenny just also happen to be my favorites."
He let out a soft laugh. "What about me?"
She scoffed. "You're a pain in my ass, not that you didn't already know that."
He flashed her a bright smile before leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm your favorite pain in the ass," he stated making her roll her eyes. "You headed to the hospital?"
"Yeah," she ran her fingers through her hair. "I gotta stop by the house first and then I'll head over."
Jax nodded his head. "Okay, I'm gonna be at the fundraiser once I get back from talking to Otto, I'll see you over there."
Saying their goodbyes, they climbed into their individual cars and went their separate ways.
A little while later, Angelise sat in the chair near the incubator as she read Abel a book.
Noticing a silhouette appear from the corner of her eye, she turned her head toward the window and saw a random man staring into the room.
Closing the book, she placed it on the chair as she got up and exited the room. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she tilted her head slightly.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
The stranger let his gaze linger on her figure as he analyzed her. "That's a— that's a beautiful boy."
"Thank you." she bit out and kept a steady look on her face as the stranger nodded his head before walking away.
Staring at the place where he once stood, Angelise felt an uneasy feeling when she realized that was the man who was staked outside the garage last week.
She was quickly pulled out of her thoughts when her pre pay rang and she saw LJ's number appear.
"Hey," she answered. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he responded. "I was able to do some digging and I found something, I'm on my way to you now, should be there in a few hours."
"Okay, I'll see you soon." she hung up the phone and let out a sigh before heading back in the room.
Down at the fundraiser, a few of the Sons showed up just as Opie pulled into the lot with Donna and the kids.
The small family climbed out of the car when they noticed a familiar face unpacking the back of his pickup truck, Kyle Hobart. He was an ex member of SAMCRO, who lost his patch six years ago after he abandoned Opie on a job which resulted in him serving five years in prison.
The club had put it into a vote earlier if he should be allowed back into town after what he did since his son was performing at the fundraiser and Opie had given the okay, thinking Kyle's life had been in shambles from being kicked out the club but seeing him wrapped around a young, attractive woman, he couldn't have been more wrong and that left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Donna looked over at Opie when she noticed Kyle. "Isn't that guy SAMCRO?"
"Not anymore." he answered as he kept his gaze on Kyle.
"He got out?" Donna asked with a hopeful tone in her voice and Opie felt a slight pinch of guilt for keeping her in the dark about what really happened.
"Sort of," he deflected as he saw Jax walking up to them. "Why don't you take the kids? I'll catch up."
Jax gave Donna kiss on the cheek in greeting and high fives the kids before stopping in front of Opie.
Jax slightly gestured his head over his shoulder. "Does she know about Kyle?"
"No." Opie shook his head before turning his attention back toward Kyle. "He looks like he's doing alright."
Jax placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Go hang with your family."
Opie paused for a few seconds before walking away to join Donna and the kids. Jax followed behind them before stopping to give Kyle the chance to catch up.
Entering the fundraiser, Kyle noticed Jax waiting for him and told his girlfriend to go ahead of him before walking up to Jax.
"No need to say anything Jax," he raised his hands up in defense. "I know my boundaries."
"Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway," he shrugged his shoulders. "You stay away from everyone, kids's done playing, you and your teenager climb in your pretty little cage and drive away."
Making the finality in his tone known, Jax walked away and noticed his mother watching him from a distance with a slight scowl on her face.
About an hour later, Angelise pulled in close to the entrance of the school yard in the parking lot, next to a waiting LJ.
"Took you long enough." he teased while they got out of their respective cars.
She rolled her eyes behind her shades before heading to the trunk of the Impala to grab a few of the things Gemma asked for. "Shut up Jansen."
LJ noticed many eyes were staring in their direction, particularly toward Angelise, not that he blamed them, she truly was the most beautiful thing.
Dressed in a coral fitted cropped cami tank top, with cut off jean shorts that hugged her fuller hips and legs, paired with a pair of black boots and her hair picked up in a clip leaving it in a sexy half up half down do.
Angelise bent down to drag a few of the boxes toward her before looking over at LJ. "What do you got?"
Pulling out a folder, he handed it over to her before grabbing the boxes to help her bring them to the booth. Closing the trunk, she leaned against it before opening the folder.
Looking at the papers printed in front of her, she saw the rap sheets of every member of SAMCRO and Gemma, along with a small report of her life in Charming with her picture stamped on the corner.
She furrowed her eyebrows before looking toward LJ. "What is this?"
"Apparently, an ATF agent over in Chicago is looking into your husband's club," he explained. "His name is Joshua Kohn and supposedly he's already here in Charming."
"Chicago?" she questioned. "SAMCRO has no affiliations in Chicago and how does that have anything to do with Ace?"
"I thought the same thing," he expressed. "So I reached out to Millie, who's still in Detroit."
"Millie?" she interjected before letting out a laugh. "Isn't she that redhead who bit you while she was giving—"
"That's not important," he gave her an irritated look. "Anyway, I reached out to her and she still gets word around the neighborhood and from what she knows, Ace expanded the empire through the Mid West and has access to every known agency in the area."
Angelise had started to piece together the words coming out of LJ's mouth. "So Ace found me because the ATF agent was looking into Jax and the club," she paused. "But that doesn't explain why this guy was even looking into them in the first place."
Flipping through the folder, Angelise's eyes fell on two pieces of paper, which she realized were restraining orders, one listed with the respondent's name, 'Joshua Kohn.' with the stamp 'classified' on top and one without it.
She read through both documents before standing up straight, feeling a sudden rush of anger pass as she read the name of the petitioner listed on both papers, 'Tara Grace Knowles.'
"That fucking bitch." she sneered causing LJ to give her a confused look while looking at the name.
"You know her?" he asked.
"She's Jax's ex," she told him. "She came back a few months ago out of the blue after disappearing for ten years and now I know why."
"Shit," LJ cursed. "Does Jax know?"
She shook her head. "I doubt it, he would've told me."
Angelise felt that familiar itch creep up her neck as she tried to level her breathing. LJ immediately put down the boxes and gently placed his hands on her cheeks.
"Hey," he soothed. "Look at me, don't go there okay? Just breathe Angel, you're more than the phantom he made you into alright?"
Over by Gemma's booth, the guys were heading out to meet up with Clay after agreeing with Otto to take in a prison mate who could get them the money they needed for their gun supplies.
Gemma had an irritated look on her face as she scolded them. "You tell Clay I'm pissed off, bad enough his sorry ass isn't here and now he's taking all my man power, and where the hell is Angel? She was supposed to be here an hour ago."
Jax went to open his mouth when he spotted Angelise by the entrance of the school yard in the parking lot and was cozied up to a guy he'd never seen before.
Noticing Jax's rigid behavior, the small group followed his gaze and let out soft curse words as they watched the scene unfold.
Jax clenched his jaw in anger while keeping his gaze on them. "Who is that guy?"
"I'm sure it's nothing," Gemma tried to deflect. "Angel's probably just being nice."
Jax felt his nostrils flare as he watched LJ bring Angelise into his arms and kiss the top of her head while she clung to him.
Unconsciously, he took a step toward their direction when Bobby placed a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon VP, we gotta go."
Not moving his eyes away from them, he nodded his head before addressing his mother. "You keep your eyes on them, if they leave at any point, you give me a call."
Gemma let out a sigh. "Pre pay?"
Jax nodded his head before finally turning away from Angelise and LJ and following Bobby and Tig toward their bikes.
Gemma kept her eyes on her daughter-in-law as they made their way over to her booth once LJ was able to bring Angelise back to her feet.
"Hey Gem," she greeted with fake enthusiasm. "I brought the stuff."
"I was expecting you an hour ago," Gemma emphasized. "What took you so damn long?"
Angelise gave LJ an unserious look as he tried to fight back a smile before looking back at Gemma. "I got held up at the hospital, I'm sorry."
Gemma eyed her suspiciously before turning her attention toward LJ. "I'm Gemma, Angel's mother-in-law and you are?"
"I'm Leo," he introduced himself. "But everyone calls me LJ."
"Well Leo," she flashed him a fake smile. "I'm short on manpower so if you could be a sweetheart and help out, I would deeply appreciate it."
LJ and Angelise gave each other knowing looks when they heard the tone in Gemma's voice and LJ quickly started to help around the booth to avoid bringing attention to them.
Angelise lifted the shades off her face as she turned to Gemma. "Is something wrong?"
Gemma wasted no time questioning her. "Is that why you're divorcing Jax? 'Cause you got another man waiting on the sidelines?"
Angelise felt a sudden rush of anger fill her body as she heard the clipped accusation in her mother-in-law's voice.
"Gemma," Angelise said in a warning tone. "I love you but you're way outta line. You know why I'm divorcing your son so don't go around accusing me of something I'm not doing. LJ's a really good friend of mine and I'd appreciate it if you didn't disrespect him, if not for anyone, then for me."
Gemma looked at her daughter-in-law and saw the fire in her eyes. She let out a sigh as she started to feel a little guilty.
"I'm sorry baby," she apologized. "I just want you guys to work through your shit, you know."
"Well Gemma," Angelise sighed. "Whatever needs to be worked out is between me and Jax, so please don't get involved."
Nodding her head, the duo let the slight tension melt away and got to work on the booth. A few hours later, the sky turned dark as the fundraiser started to die down while everyone got ready for the performances.
Angelise was stacking a few of the boxes with LJ and looked over at a few of the booths when she saw the stranger from the hospital standing by the sheriff's booth.
"Hey Gem," she called out. "Who's that guy with the cops?"
Gemma looked over to where she was staring while placing her hand on her hips. "That's the ATF guy."
LJ became alert as Angelise whipped her head toward Gemma. "What?"
"Yeah," she nodded her head. "Got here a few days ago."
Angelise looked over at LJ before turning back toward Gemma. "He was at the hospital earlier watching me with Abel."
"Shit," Gemma let out. "Does Jax know?"
"I haven't spoken to him yet," Angelise stated. "I was gonna tell him when I saw him."
The trio turned their heads back over toward the ATF and that familiar itch came back in ten fold. LJ stepped in front of Angelise and gave her a serious look.
"We should probably head out," he said. "And you should call your husband and let him know what happened."
Knowing his intentions, Angelise nodded her head and looked at Gemma. "Do you need me to stay?"
"No baby," she shook her head. "We're pretty much packed up, go home and call Jax."
Giving her a soft smile, LJ said his goodbyes to Gemma and the duo walked away. On the other side of the yard, Kohn let his gaze settle on Angelise while taking out his phone and dialing a number.
"Hello?" a voice spoke out through the phone.
"She's here," Kohn told them.
"Good," the voice responded. "Keep your eyes on her, I'll be there soon."
Kohn ended the call and continued to watch as Angelise pull out of the lot and felt his obsession switching from a doctor to an angel.
About thirty minutes later, Angelise and LJ stopped in front of her house. Turning off the car, she got out and headed toward LJ's car.
Leaning into his window, she gave him a tired look. "You headed back to Oakland?"
He nodded his head. "Yeah, but I'll be back. Just gotta settle a few things before I move out here."
She gave him a confused look. "Move out here?"
"C'mon Angel," he sighed. "With everything going on, you can't be here by yourself, not anymore, no more running and hiding, we're gonna handle this together."
Angelise felt herself get emotional as she stared at her friend's face. He's always had her back since the beginning and she's grateful that he's still here with her.
Leaning down, she placed a kiss on his cheek. Looking at him, she gave him an appreciative nod. Stepping away from the car, LJ drove off and she entered the house.
Down by the garage, Jax was sitting on the roof of the clubhouse, his go to spot for when he needs to clear his head and be away from everyone.
He watched as the guys dragged an unconscious Kyle from the garage after making him meet Mr. Mayhem when the boys found out he still wore his SOA tattoo after being kicked out the club.
Lighting up a cigarette, he took a pull before exhaling the smoke as he felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders while his mind replayed his day.
From finding out Chucky, the prison mate Otto vouched for, had lied about the money from the Chinese, to the ATF agent still snooping around, not to mention he was still bitter from seeing Angelise with LJ at the fundraiser.
Speaking of her, her named popped up on his pre pay and he let out a sigh before answering. "Hello?"
"Hey," she greeted him. "You okay? I didn't see you at the fundraiser."
"Yeah," he sighed. "We had some club shit to handle so we left a little early."
"Everything go okay?" she asked.
"It was a shit show," he admitted. "Turned out Otto's guy was just looking for protection."
He heard her shuffling around and felt a shot of anger pass through him at the thought of her not being alone at the house.
"Hey, I wanted to tell you some—"
"Who was that guy you were with?" he brought up. "At the fundraiser."
Angelise let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes at Jax's tone. "Jax, don't start."
"What?" he tried to sound innocent. "I'm just asking you a question, shouldn't be difficult for you to answer."
She quickly became frustrated. "Why? Did Gemma tell you that?"
"I saw you with him," he bit. "Who is he?"
"If you must know, he's an old friend of mine, came down to visit." she snapped at him.
"Really?" he questioned. "Seemed like you guys were really cozy for being just friends."
She let out a scoff. "That's rich coming from you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he furrowed his eyebrows as he readied himself for a fight he started.
"It means," she condescended him. "That you can go around sleeping with every girl that shakes her tits in your face but you get angry when I'm seen with another guy, seems a little hypocritical of you don't you think Jax? And let's not forget your egotistical girlfriend who thinks she's better than everyone cause she's a doctor."
"This isn't about other girls," he tried to redirect the conversation. "This is about my wife going around with other guys like she's not married!"
Angelise felt her anger rise as she listened to his bullshit excuse. From finding out about Ace, the attack, the ATF agent, Abel in the hospital, and now Jax trying to stake his claim on her, had pushed her over the edge.
"Fuck you Jackson!" she sneered. "Maybe if you'd stopped being a stubborn ass and signed the papers, you wouldn't have to worry about your "wife" being with other men, not that that's stopped you, you selfish prick! I'm so sick of your shit, I could kill you right now!"
Jax's eyes widened in shock as he heard the aggression in her voice. It's not the first time they've argued with each other but the emotion she's expressing had him questioning if he might've crossed the line.
"Darlin'—" he started to say.
"No," she interrupted through gritted teeth. "I don't want to hear some half ass apology or explanation you're about to give me so unless it's in regards to our son, I don't want to hear from you, go fuck yourself!"
Without giving him the chance to respond, the line went dead. Jax sat in silence as he tried to process what just happened. He buried his hands in his face while leaning his elbows on his knees to hold him up.
He was an idiot, that much he knew. Deep down, he knew Angelise deserved better than what he's given her and he realized that he hasn't done much to care for her since her attack.
While handling club business, he's had Juice try to find the source for the attack as well as the person who killed the carny clown but they haven't found any answers and with Clay breathing down his neck, Jax felt himself drowning in his role as VP but despite everything, Angelise has been by his side unconditionally and all he's done is show her that she most likely made the right decision in filing for divorce.
Wiping his hands down his face, he got up from his spot and headed down toward the clubhouse, aware that he most likely would have a sleepless night.
...
That's a wrap on Chapter 5!
I won't lie, I'm not really happy with this chapter but I hope you guys will tell me what you think.
Agent Kohn is officially in the picture, yikes, and he's setting his sights on Angel, who knows how his obsession is gonna play out!
I originally was gonna have Jax and Angel's argument be in person and have them find relief in each other but it's too soon for that, there's still a lot of secrets to uncover and I want them to have that build up.
LJ has my heart! He's down for his Angel and will do what it takes to keep her alive as well as keep her from turning into her past self. Jax better watch out!
There's so much to unpack with our MC and I can't wait for everything to come together.
I also just want to point out that little hints of things are being dropped in the chapters so there's no confusion if certain things are not answered right away, they're all gonna come together I promise.
See you next chapter!
*Please comment and vote! :)*