Charming, California 2008
A few minutes earlier....
"Give it up sweetheart," he licked his lips. "You aren't going anywhere."
Angelise tried to fight off the pain in her leg as she felt a sudden rush of determination. Her chest rose up and down while trying to catch her breath.
"No," she shook her head. "But you are."
Shooting up from the floor, she lunged for the arm holding the gun. Grabbing onto it, she used her good leg to swipe the back of his foot, knocking him on his back. Twisting his hand in the opposite direction, he lets out a pained scream, dropping the gun to the floor.
Quickly scooping up the gun, she pulled the trigger, shooting him in the abdomen. Welsby grabbed his stomach with his good hand as the blood bled profusely down his torso. Standing over him, she stared him down as he hissed in pain, the blood coating his hand.
"I want you to remember this moment," she now taunted him. "That little girl you once knew is now standing over you, teaching you MY lesson, bitch."
Lifting the gun again, she fired the shot straight to the head, grazing the side of it, knocking him unconscious. Letting out a shaky breath, she threw the gun onto the bed and crumbled to the floor, the pain in her leg becoming too much to bear.
...
The guys rushed toward the cabin after the last shot echoed through the area. They bursted through the door with their guns raised and saw the chair where Angelise was tied up along with the shattered coffee table.
Jax turned toward Angelise's friends and nudged his chin. "We'll check outside, you check the rooms."
Nodding their heads, LJ and Ted checked each room before heading toward the master bedroom and quickly dropped their guns while rushing toward an injured Angelise.
"Angel!" LJ gasped. "Shit, are you okay?"
She let out a relieved cry as she lunged forward to embrace her friends. Tears streamed down her face as they tightened their hold on her. After a few moments, they pulled away and noticed her leg.
"Jesus Angelcake," Ted sighed. "He shot you."
"I'm okay," she reassured them. "Better than he is, anyway."
Gesturing toward Welsby, they saw him lying unconscious, in a pool of his own blood. LJ looked back toward her. "Is he dead?"
She shook her head. "Not yet."
Ted was the first to stand up as he tucked his gun back into his waistband.
"Get her out of here," he told LJ. "I'll handle this."
Not arguing with the request, LJ put his gun away before wrapping her arm around his shoulders and lifting her up by her waist to place her on her feet. Slowly, they exited the room before heading outside.
In front of the cabin, Jax ran a frustrated hand through his hair when him and the others couldn't find any sign of Angelise and Welsby. Hearing the front door open, he turned around and let out a shaky sigh as his heart beat rapidly against his chest.
LJ cautiously walked down the steps as he led Angelise outside. Lifting her head, she saw those beautiful blue eyes staring at her and released her hold on LJ before slowly walking toward Jax.
Jax picked up his pace as he sped up to meet her more than halfway. As soon as she was in arms reach, he scooped her up and crushed her against his chest while burying his face in her neck. Angelise held the back of his neck tightly as she tried to bring him closer.
"Oh god, darlin'," he cried. "I thought I lost you, that I was too late."
"I'm here," the relieved tears ran down her face. "I'm okay, I promise, I'm okay."
Pulling away slightly, he brought his hands to cup her face and leaned down to give her a searing kiss. Angelise brought her hand to wrap around his wrist while responding with the same urgency.
Breaking the kiss, she brushed away a few of the fallen hairs from Jax's face before noticing the others over his shoulder. Opie was the first one to embrace her, relief going through him at her being okay. Soon, he was followed by Chibs, Juice, and Half Sack.
Noticing her limping, Jax furrowed his eyebrows. "You okay?"
"Bastard shot me," she let out an exhausted sigh. "I just need my duffle bag so I can patch myself up."
LJ moved forward and placed a hand on her shoulder while looking at Jax. "Take her back on your bike, we're gonna stay here and clean this up."
Angelise turned her head in his direction with worry. "LJ—"
"Stop," he shook his head in reassurance. "We'll handle this, you go home and get patched up, okay?"
Knowing there was no room left to argue, Angelise nodded head while Jax picked her up in his arms and carried her over to his bike. Sitting her down gently on the seat, he kicked his leg over to sit in front of her.
Revving the engine of the bike, he looked over his shoulder. "Ready?"
Wrapping her arms around his torso, she secured her grip against him and nodded her head, giving Jax the okay to pull off the walkway with the other Sons riding behind them, making their way back to Charming.
A few hours later, LJ and Ted made it back to Angelise's house after disposing any trace of Welsby at the cabin. They were let in by Gemma, who immediately drove to the house, once Jax called her and told her they'd found Angelise.
Closing the door behind them, she gestured toward the hallway with her head. "She's in the bedroom."
Acknowledging her words, the men headed toward her bedroom. Standing in the doorway, they see her wrapping the gauze around her wound before securing it. Lifting her head up, she saw them and beckoned them inside.
"Can you toss this in the trash?" she asked while holding up a few bloody napkins.
Ted grabbed the tissues before heading toward the bathroom. LJ sat next to her on the bed as Ted came back. Looking at the gauze, he shifted his eyes to look at her.
"Where's Jax?" he questioned.
"Down by TM," she answered. "He had to practically be dragged out of here, he didn't want to leave my side."
Ted snorted. "I don't blame him."
Angelise rolled her eyes before shifting herself on the bed. "Where's Welsby?"
"Back at the cabin," Ted explained. "Cleaned up the mess and stopped the bleeding but he's still unconscious from the blood loss, probably'll stay like that for a few days."
Angelise sighed in acknowledgment as she shifted herself again on the bed. LJ kept his gaze on her as he noticed her pained expression.
"You okay?" he questioned.
She nodded her head. "Yeah, I took some painkillers so the throbbing should subside in a little bit."
Ted stood with his arms crossed while keeping a steady gaze on her. "What the hell happened?"
Angelise bit her lip before telling them everything that happened. How Welsby's been working with Ace since the night they fled Detroit.
LJ shook his head in disbelief. "This is insane, what are we gonna do now that we have Welsby? If he was working with Ace this entire time, it won't be long before he notices that he's missing."
Angelise nervously ran her hand through her hair. "I don't know, but we need to prepare for when he does, Welsby might've kept it to himself but it's only a matter of time before Ace figures it out."
"And how do you suppose we do that?" Ted questioned. "It took months to plan out the first escape back in Detroit."
Before Angelise could answer, a figure came into the doorway, revealing to be Gemma, who had her hands on her hips as she looked at the trio.
"I'd like to know that as well." she said as an angry expression crossed her face.
Angelise felt her mouth go dry as a slight panic took over her. "Gem—"
"No," she shook her head. "You're gonna tell me everything, no lying, you hear me?"
The trio looked at each other with hesitant glances before Angelise breathed through her nose and spilled her secrets. Gemma stood quiet as she explained everything, her past, who she is, and what she was known for.
"So you're the hit man the club's looking for?" she asked. "The one who killed the carny guy and Brenan Hefner?"
Angelise nodded her head and Gemma let out a frustrated sigh.
"They're trying to pin this on the club," Gemma exasperated. "Someone ID'd Bobby and Clay thinks it was Opie."
"They weren't supposed to show up," Angelise stated. "And they shouldn't have been so careless about their surroundings, it was daylight, of course someone would've saw them."
"No one saw you." she pointed out.
"That's different," Angelise sighed. "It's my job to go undetected, why do you think I haven't been dragged out of here yet? Welsby followed me here because of Kohn and Stahl, he wasn't after SAMCRO, Stahl's only gunning for the club because she thinks she can make them talk into giving up the IRA."
Gemma shook her head as she paced the floor. Stopping her movements, she crossed her arms across her chest.
"What about this Ace guy?" she added. "You really think he's gonna come after you?"
Ted nodded his head. "His ego is wounded, he's like a little kid who throws a tantrum when they don't get their way, he won't stop until he gets her."
"What about Jax?" Gemma narrowed her eyes. "Does he know about this?"
Angelise shook her head. "No, he only knows about Kohn and Welsby, he doesn't know anything else."
She stood up from the bed to stand in front of her mother-in-law. "And you're not gonna say anything to anyone about this."
Gemma went to speak but she quickly cut her off.
"I have to be the one to tell him Gem," she emphasized. "He can't hear this from you, it has to come from me."
"And when do you plan on telling him?" she asked.
"Soon," Angelise promised. "And until I talk to him, you have to keep this to yourself, you can't tell Clay, or anybody, okay? I need you to trust me."
Gemma let her eyes run across her daughter-in-law's face before letting out a defeated sigh. "I trust you baby, I won't say anything, promise."
Angelise flashed her a grateful smile before wrapping her arms around Gemma and brought her into a much needed embrace. Gemma matched the hug equally before pulling away and kissing her cheek.
Looking over Angelise's shoulder, she pointed a finger toward Ted and LJ. "You take care of my girl."
Angelise playfully rolled her eyes while Ted and LJ gave Gemma their reassurance before she bid them a goodnight and left them in the house.
The next few days flew by quickly, Clay and Tig were still suspicious of Opie's involvement with the ATF and decided to stage a coup with the Niners and the Mayans to try and take him out but they were unsuccessful.
Angelise's wound was healing positively and she was back on her feet in no time. Jax barely let her out of his sight, tagging along with her for every errand and place she went. Though she appreciated his concerns, his overbearingness was starting to irritate her.
Currently, she sat in Abel's room at St. Thomas, cradling him in her arms as he reached to grab a piece of her hair.
"Ow bubba," she pouted as he pulled her hair harshly. "Why don't you do this to your daddy? He deserves it more than me."
Abel gave her a toothless smile, almost as if he understood what she said when Jax came into the room.
"That's because he likes me more." Jax smirked as he sat next to her.
"He's a little shit." she scrunched her nose. "I carried him in my belly for almost eight months and he treats you better, it's unfair."
Jax let out a hearty laugh when Dr. Namid and one of his nurses entered the room.
"Hey," he greeted them. "Just wanted to check in on my favorite patient."
Angelise stood up from her chair and passed Abel toward the nurse, who then, placed him on the bed as Dr. Namid checked his vitals. Placing the stethoscope on his small chest and flashed the married couple a bright smile.
"His heartbeat is strong," he told them. "Looks like someone's ready to go home."
Angelise's eyes widened as a smile spread across her face as she looked at Jax before turning back to Dr. Namid. "Really?"
"Yup," he placed the stethoscope around his neck. "I'd say you can take him home tonight."
Jax stood up from his seat and shook the doctor's hand with gratitude. "Thank you."
Giving them a nod of acknowledgment, Dr. Namid and the nurse left the parents to enjoy the news of finally being able to bring their son home.
Suddenly, Jax's phone rang and he pulled it out before answering. "Yeah?"
"He's awake." the other person spoke into the receiver.
"I'm on my way." he said before hanging up the phone.
Angelise furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at him. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," he lied. "Clay needs me be down by the clubhouse, wants to have church, you'll be okay?
"Yes," she rolled her eyes as she gave him a smile. "I'm gonna call Gemma, let her know Abel's coming home, knowing her, she's gonna have a party ready by tonight."
Jax laughed, knowing she was right. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he left the room and exited the hospital.
Thirty minutes later, Angelise spoke with Gemma, and sure enough, she wanted to throw a welcome home party for the newest addition of the SAMCRO family. Gemma tasked Angelise with buying a cake and sweets while she bought decorations.
Walking down Main Street, she was nearing the bakery, when she ran into good doctor, Tara.
"Angel, hi." Tara greeted her.
Angelise gave her a once over before giving her a nod. "Tara."
"I didn't mean to bother you," she tried to be polite. "I just wanted to know if you've heard from Jax, he hasn't spoken to me in a couple days."
"I hear from Jax everyday," Angelise faked a smile. "Though, I'm sure if he wanted to speak with you, he'd call you so..."
Angelise tried to walk around the doctor but Tara wasn't letting up.
"Can I ask you something?" she said while tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Are you still hung up on Jax?"
Angelise pursed her lips while crossing her arms against her chest. "And how's that be any of your business?"
"It's just," Tara let out a sigh. "I think he's afraid to move on because he might feel guilty for what happened to you and Abel, and if you still have feelings for him then he'd feel even more guilt for wanting to leave."
She scoffed. "When did you come up with this delusional diagnosis? Before or after you slept with my husband?"
Tara felt herself flinch at the word "husband" as she licked her dry lips. "Soon to be ex-husband."
Angelise flashed her a sarcastic smile. "Well, until he decides to sign the divorce papers, he's still my husband."
Stepping into Tara's personal space, her haunting green eyes, stared the good doctor down. "You should ask yourself where you fit into all this, cause whether Jax decides to divorce me or not, we have a son together, I will always have a place in his life, the real question is, will you?"
Seeing the frustration and anger grow in Tara's eyes, Angelise couldn't help the smirk that made its way toward her face. "Have a nice day, doctor."
Moving around her, she made her way into the bakery while leaving a seething Tara on the sidewalk.
Out by the outskirts of Charming, Jax pulled up to the cabin where they found Angelise. Shutting off his bike, he hopped out the seat and headed inside. Walking into the main room, he was greeted by a heavily wounded Welsby with LJ standing on the side.
"Angel's gonna kill me for bringing you here." LJ stated as he gave Jax a deadpan look.
Jax let out a small chuckle. "Let's just hope she doesn't find out."
LJ snorted. "Dude, it's Angel."
Jax gave him an annoyed look, not for his lack of reassurance, but because he was right. It was only a matter of time before Angelise found out what he was doing, he was just hoping he could get as much information out of Welsby as he could before she did.
"Then we better get to work." he told them before walking toward Welsby's tied up body.
Crouching down in front of him, his blue eyes met with Welsby's dark ones as he ripped the tape off his mouth causing Welsby to let out a hiss.
"Ha," he ran his tongue against his bottom lip. "Guess that's how Angel felt when I did it to her."
Jax felt his nostrils flare as he quickly stood up and cocked his hand back before connecting it with Welsby's jaw. He spit out the blood in his mouth as he looked up at Jax.
"Let me guess," he teased. "You're the boyfriend?"
"Husband, actually." Jax corrected him. "And this obsession that you have with her? It ends here, you're never gonna touch her again."
"You really think you can stop me?" Welsby gloated. "She's mine, from the moment I took her in all those years ago, my sweet angel, made just for me."
Jax could feel his rage climb up his body as he went to attack Welsby again when LJ stepped in front of him, pausing his movements.
"It's funny, you think you'll live that long to get that opportunity again," he told him. "I suggest you tell us what we want to know, after all, it won't be long before the devil's helper comes for you."
A small crack appeared in the facade Welsby was displaying. His true emotions began to show at LJ's subtle mention of Angelise's alter ego, he truly was afraid of the woman she'd become. He quickly tried to play it off as smirk took over his face.
"And once they do come for me, how long do you think it'll take before he finds out I'm gone?" Welsby questioned.
Jax furrowed his eyebrows at his question. He turned to look at LJ but he seemed just as confused as him, or so it seemed.
Turning his attention back toward Welsby, Jax took a step forward. "What are you talking about?"
A shocked expression graced his features before his dark eyes settled on LJ. "He doesn't know, does he?"
"Know what?" Jax asked while switching his gaze between the two men.
"I have no idea." LJ responded with a feigned expression while his eyes flashed in warning toward Welsby.
The older man couldn't help but tsk before looking at Jax. "Let me ask you something pretty boy, ever hear the name, the Executioner?"
The blonde's eyebrows furrowed deeper on his face and Welsby couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips.
"Maybe you ought a mention that name to your wife next time you see her," he continued smugly. "you'd be surpri—"
Very suddenly, the butt of the gun in LJ's hand knocked into the side of Welsby's temple harshly, knocking him unconscious. Jax jumped back slightly at the unexpected hit. Looking at LJ in disbelief, he felt his nose flare.
"What the hell was that?" Jax sneered.
LJ ignored his question as he tucked his gun into the back of his waistband before exiting the cabin, leaving a suspicious Jax behind as he pulled his pre pay from his pocket.
Dialing Ted's number, he brought the phone to his ear. The tone rang before his voice spoke through the speaker. "Hello?"
"Ted," he let out a frustrated sigh. "We got a problem."
The day progressed quickly as day soon became night. Jax was back at the hospital with Angelise and Gemma but his mind was still on what happened earlier with Welsby and LJ. There was something that he was hiding and Jax was determined to find out what it was.
A soft hand on his shoulder snapped him from his daydream as his eyes met with those familiar green ones.
"You okay?" Angelise asked. "You seemed lost there."
Jax gave her a soft smile as he lifted his hand to caress her cheek. "I'm okay darlin'."
Before she could question him further, Dr. Namid walked toward them with Abel in his arms and Tara trailing behind. Angelise perked up at the sight of her son, practically bouncing on her feet as the doctor placed him in her arms.
"Hey little man," Jax greeted him with a bright smile. "You're coming home."
Grabbing his things, the couple thanked Dr. Namid for his help and the small family left the hospital, with Gemma following behind them a few minutes later.
Soon, they arrived at the house, and were greeted with cheers by the members of the Redwood Original, as well as a few of Luanne's girls, and LJ and Ted tucked in the corner.
Making their rounds, Angelise walked up to her companions with a big smile as she carried her son in her arms.
"Abel," she spoke softly to the baby. "This is your uncle Leo and grandpa Ted."
Ted felt tears welling up in his eyes at her reference. He always looked at her as the daughter he never had and to know she viewed him the same, warmed his heart.
LJ couldn't stop the smile that spread across his lips as he ran his hand gently to caress Abel's head as the boy stared up at him curiously.
"Shit Angel," he laughed. "He has your eyes."
"That seems to be the only thing he got from me," she playfully scoffed. "Everything else is straight Jax."
Upon hearing his name, LJ's face turned sour as he glanced at Ted before looking back at her. Letting out a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair.
"Angel, there's something I gotta tell you." he expressed.
Furrowing her eyebrows, she gave him her full attention as he took in a deep breath before going into detail about what happened earlier at the cabin.
"You brought him to the cabin?!" she seethed through clenched teeth. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
"He wanted to confront Welsby," he defended himself. "I didn't think the bastard was gonna start name dropping people."
Angelise shut her eyes tightly as she tried to level her breathing, that familiar itch began to grow along with her frustration . Exhaling deeply out of her noise, she looked at the two men who stared at her with worried glances.
"I'll take care of it later," she told them. "Let's just get through the rest of this party."
The party progressed as the hours went by, Abel was passed from person to person before ending back up in his mother's arms. Jax sat across from them with a beer in his hand as he watched them with a content smile.
A light touch on his arm broke his stare as he turned to see Tara sitting next to him. Gemma had been the one to invite her, for reasons only she knew, and Tara was quick to accept the invitation.
He gave her a quick smile in greeting. "Hey."
Switching her gaze to look over in Angelise's direction, she could see the raven haired girl turning her head and quickly lunged forward to press a forceful kiss on Jax.
He practically ripped her off of him and glanced at Angelise, who wore an amused expression, before getting up from the couch and practically dragging Tara into the next room.
A few minutes went by before Tara stormed past everyone and slammed the front door shut. Not long after, Jax rejoined the group with red handprint gracing his cheek.
Everyone looked at each other before getting back into the party. Angelise noticed Gemma smirking in the corner and stood up from the couch to make her way over.
"So that's why you invited her?" she raised an eyebrow at her mother-in-law as she passed her, her grandson.
Gemma shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know what you mean."
Angelise pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing as Opie and Donna came up behind her.
"Hey," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "We're gonna head home, it's past the kids bedtimes."
"Okay," she turned around to give them each a hug. "Thank you for coming, get home safe, okay?"
Saying goodnight, the Winston family stopped to say goodbye to Jax before leaving the house. Soon, the party began to dwindle down as the others started to leave. Ted and LJ had offered to help Gemma clean up when Clay's phone rang.
"Hello?" he answered and his eyes widened before looking at the other patch members and hanging up the phone.
"We gotta go." he told them and the others quickly followed him in confusion.
Jax walked up to Angelise and ran a quick hand down her hair. "I'll be back."
Nodding her head, she watched the back of his kutte shut the door behind him and let out a sigh before turning toward Gemma, Ted, and LJ.
"I'm gonna put him to bed." she said before grabbing Abel and headed down the hallway toward the nursery.
It took her about twenty minutes before she could get him down and once she knew he was out, she grabbed the baby monitor before making her way back toward the living room.
Stopping in the archway, she saw the glum faces on Ted and LJ's faces as Gemma turned to her with tears running down her face.
Angelise's heart began to race with worry as she approached them. "What's wrong?"
"It's bad baby," she sniffled while wiping her tears. "Someone killed Donna."
...
That's a wrap on Chapter 11!
-ANGEL IS OKAY!!! and of course she is, we can't have this story without the main character.
-Welsby is still alive but for how long? eh, not long. I originally was gonna kill him off at the beginning of the chapter but then I decided to keep him around to cause some more havoc, which he did!
-That ass told on Angel without telling! and now Jax's suspicious. (of LJ more than anyone, if only he knew)
-GEMMA KNOWS THE TRUTH!!!! I mean, are we surprised though? that lady is the first to know EVERYTHING!
-And then we have Tara *cue eye roll* this girl is clear delusional but Angel is happy to remind her of where she's placed on the totem pole.
-Donna's dead *cry face* she honestly didn't deserve that.
I'm not too happy with this chapter, I feel like I may have rushed it especially toward the end but I hope you guys like it.
See you soon!
*Please comment and vote! :)*