Rocking back and forth in the rocking chair in the living room, Thomas falls asleep quietly in my arm. The other hand holds the phone to my ear and I watch Abel play with his toys by my feet as I speak down the phone, "So how was camp?" I ask.
"It was good, I learnt a lot of new techniques as a pitcher." Mason says excitedly.
"That's awesome, I'm so happy for you. I'm glad you had such an awesome time." I smile.
"Yeah, Mum and Dad missed me a lot but they got to spend time with some of their old friends." He explains and I nod, "That's good, you guys deserved to have some fun."
"When can I come over and see you guys? It's been a long time and I miss Abel and Thomas." Mason says and I give a weak smirk, "Only Abel and Thomas huh?"
I can almost hear him roll his eyes, "Yeah, you and Jax too... So when can I come over?"
I stop rocking for a moment as I look at Abel, trying to think of the best lie to tell him, "Probably not for a little while. It's just we both have so much going on at the moment, what with David's funeral and Tara's surgeries."
"How is she doing?" He asks and I shake my head, "Not too good Mase, she's taking everything really hard."
"Who can blame her? She just lost someone she loves. That's not something you can take lightly." He says, sounding a lot older than thirteen.
"Yeah..." I trail off, I glance over at the clock and see we've been talking for about two hours.
"I better go and out these boys to bed." I say, glancing over at Abel who lets out a yawn.
"Okay." He says, sounding slightly disappointed.
"Same time next week?" I ask, hopefulness in my voice.
"Yeah... Bye Emily." He says and I give a sad smile, "Bye Mason."
I hang up the phone and place it down on the table, I get up and look down at Abel, "Bed time sweetie."
"Do I have too?" He whines and I nod my head, "Yeah, come on now."
We make our way down the hallway and I go into Thomas's room first, laying him down before going over to Abel's room. I take a seat on the bed beside him and tuck him in, "I love you my sweet boy."
"I love you too Mommy." He whispers and I lean down, placing a kiss on his head.
He closes his eyes and settles into the pillow and I look at him for a moment, running my fingers through his soft blonde hair. My head spins as I think of those week's other horrific events, Gemma being beaten and Kozik dying on a run. Things have been getting worse and worse and I can't help the sick feeling in my stomach at the thought of it all.
The front door opens up and I get to my feet, making my way out of the room. I see Jax begin to walk down the hall and he looks towards the door, "The boys asleep?"
I nod my head, "Yeah. They just got down. Neeta's coming over soon."
He nods his head as we begin to make our way back to the living room. I fold my arms over my chest and lean against the wall, "I just got off the phone with Mason, he just got back from baseball camp."
"Yeah, he have fun?" He asks and I nod my head, "Yeah... He says he wants to come see us."
His face falls slightly, "What'd you tell him?"
I shrug my shoulders, "I told him we were really busy at the moment, so much stuff going on. It's not like I could tell him were staying away to keep him from danger."
"I know you hate being away from him for so long, but it's what's best for him." He sets and I roll my eyes, "I know that Jax, I was the one who suggested it. It still hurts though."
He walks forward and pulls me against him, his arms wrapped around my middle as he looks me in the eye, "I know, and I miss him too. But we're protecting him from all this. Once it's over, he can come over all he likes. I know Abel misses him a lot."
I nod my head, looking towards the ground when he lifts my head up with his index finger, making me meet his eyes, "Hey, don't feel bad."
"I can't help it, you should've heard the disappointment in his voice Jax. He sounds heartbroken." I whisper.
"At least he's safe." He states.
I look at him for a moment and nod my head before wrapping my arms around his neck and holding onto him tightly. He pulls me against him and buries his head in my neck, the both of us just standing there for a moment. I hear keys in the front door and we both turn to see Neeta walk in, "Oh, I'm sorry!" She says, looking away embarrassed.
I shake my head as Jax and I pull away from each other, "It's fine Neeta. The boys are asleep."
She nods and goes to put her bag down on the table when Jax's phone goes off. He pulls it out and reads it for a moment before looking at it confused.
"Everything okay babe?" I ask.
"It's Ope. He wants to meet us at the crematorium." He says, reading the message.
"Why?" I ask, wondering what's going on.
"I don't know, but let's go find out."
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We pull up out front of the crematorium where the bodies are burned. Jax and I get off the bike, leaving our helmets behind as we make our way towards the door. Jax opens it up and I feel the heat coming from the furnace. I turn and see Unser and Opie standing there, Piney's bloodied jacket in Ope's hand with a broken look on his face. I glance towards the furnace and see a box burning inside, the smell of flesh reaching my nose and it all makes sense.
"Oh my god." I whisper, the both of us walking further into the room.
"What happened?" Jax asks, his mouth wide open.
"I found him up at the cabin. Shotgun to the chest." Opie states and I let out a gasp, my hands reaching to my cover my mouth as tears fall down my cheeks.
"Jesus Christ." Jax whispers.
"Ope." I sob, walking forward and throwing my arms around him.
I hold onto him tightly and he holds me back, his hands gripping at my shirt. Jax comes forward and embraces us both, "I'm so sorry."
"Yeah." Ope says after a moment we pull away, taking in his hard face.
"You think it was the Mexicans?" Jax asks and Ope just looks at him, "I'll fill you in. I just wanted to say goodbye." He says turning to the burning box.
"I know that he'd want you here." He murmurs.
I reach forward and take his hand in mine, squeezing it gently and Jax nods, "Yeah, okay."
Unser makes his way out, closing the door behind him and Opie pushes away from the table and I let go of his hand. He balls up Piney's kutte in his hand and walks over to the fire. Jax pulls me against him and I hold onto his tightly, unable to fight back the tears any longer. Opie tosses the kutte into the fire and it lights up with the rest of it, the three of us watching it burn.
Soon there is nothing left and Skeeter comes in, a night time sky silhouetting him, "I gotta clean this up."
Opie nods his head, "Yeah. Thanks."
"No problem, I'm sorry for your loss." He says politely.
Opie turns and begins to walk out and I follow after him, Jax staying behind to talk to Skeeter for a moment. I wipe at my eyes as we soon reach the bikes, seeing Unser over by his truck. Opie pulls on his helmet and faces me, "Thnak you for coming Ems, it means the world to me."
"Where else would I be?" I whisper and I hear footsteps coming from behind us.
"You wanna tell me what happened to Piney?" Jax asks.
"You should know, you're Clay's boy." Opie says, suddenly pulling out a gun and aiming it at Jax.
"Opie!" I say, stepping forward but Jax holds his arm out, urging me to stay back.
"What're you talking about?" He demands.
"Clay killed my old man!" Ope reveals and I feel like I've been punched in the gut.
"No." Jax says, shaking his head in denial, "No, Ope."
"Yes!" He hisses, "He killed my wife, now my father. Did you know? Did you know?!"
"No Ope! Of course not!" Jax cries, looking at him with painful eyes, "Bro, if Clay did this, it's a club issue. Let's take it to the table, let everyone know."
Opie's aim falter slightly, "What table?"
He aims his gun down and shoots out Jax's tire, air hissing out from the bullet wound. He quickly gets on his bike and begins to speed away back towards the clubhouse.
"Shit. Keys!" Jax demands, running over to Unser's car.
I climb around the other side and we get in, rushing towards the clubhouse. We speed through town, recklessly going through traffic to try and catch up to Opie. Traffic keeps cutting us off at points and Jax grows frustrated, "Damn it!"
We pull into the clubhouse and see Opie's bike already parked and we both quickly rush inside, adrenaline running through our veins. We get inside and I hear yelling coming from the room and Jax pulls out his gun, pushing for me to stay back. He goes forward and quickly steps in, aiming the gun at Opie, "Ope! Put it down. Please Ope, don't make me kill you."
Opie looks at him for a moment before turning and quickly firing two shots into Clay's chest. Clay begins to grunt from his place and Opie goes to shoot again when Jax goes first, shooting him in the wrist. Opie falls to the ground and Jax rushes over to him, knocking him out while I rush to Clay, "Oh god." I whisper, pulling off my jacket and pressing it against his wounds to stop the bleeding.
Soon enough I hear people run in and Ratboy's voice, "Shit, what happened?"
"Call an ambulance." Jax demands and soon I hear Unser's voice, "Christ."
"Call an ambulance now!" I yell, Clay's scared eyes looking back at mine as he bleeds out.
"Gunshots! Sheriff's gonna be all over this." Unser stares, riled up.
Clay gasps in pain, "Get me outside. It happened in the garage."
"Yeah, come on. Come on." Jax says, walking over and moving me out of the way.
He and Ratboy walk over and lift him up, carrying him out towards the garage.
"Well, what do tell Roosevelt huh? Mexicans?" Unser demands.
"No, say it was black." Clay gasps through the pain and Jax nods, "Yeah."
Jax turns and looks back at me, "Babe, do a quick patch up of Opie's wrist and get him out to the car. I'll meet you there. Unser, get rid of the guns and tidy this place up."
"Getting pretty good at that." Unser murmurs and I rush to the kitchen, grabbing a cloth to wrap up Opie's wrist.
I rush back into the room and Opie begins to wake up and I kneel down beside him, pulling him up into a sitting position by his good arm, "Easy there Ope."
He looks at me confused as I grab his wrist, beginning to wrap it up tightly, "Clay dead?"
"No. Which is good for you." I say, tying it up and he winces at the pain.
Unser leaves the room quickly and I help Opie up to his feet, "Come on, let's get you out to the truck."
We quickly make our way out of the clubhouse and put him in the passengers seat. Jax quickly comes over to me, "Ratboy is gonna drop you home. You stay there until I get you okay?"
I nod my head and glance over to Clay, who looks inches from death, "He gonna make it?"
"I hope so." He whispers looking back at him before turning to face me, "Now go."
"Be careful." I whisper, pulling his lips to mine.
The kiss is swift before I pull away and follow after Ratboy, climbing in one of the trucks and speeding away. I look down at the blood covering my clothes and begin to realise the severity of shit this club has gotten into. I run my fingers through my hair shakily and settle back in the seat with a heavy feeling in my heart.
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I pull up out front of Tara's house and get out, making my way over the front door. I walk up the front steps and ring the doorbell, pulling my sunglasses on top of my head as I wait for the door to open. Eventually she pulls it open, her arm in a sling with bolts in place to keep it all together.
"Hey." I say quietly.
"Hey." She says before stepping aside and allowing me to come in.
Walking towards her living room I see the place is a mess and I can understand why. I turn around and face her, "How're you doing?" I ask, my head tilting to the side.
"I'm fine." She says blandly, though we both know that she's lying.
"I came to tell you, Clay was shot last night." I say and her eyes widen, "What?"
"Opie killed him... Piney's dead." I whisper, my chin trembling in grief.
"Why would he do that?" She asks and I wipe at my eyes, "Clay killed him, I'm not sure why but they've had beef for awhile now. Ever since they got released from prison. I can't help but think it's about these letters that Gemma once told me about."
"What letters?" She asks, her eyes hiding something.
"I kind of forgot about them till last night. But Gemma came to me a little while ago and asked me about these letters that John sent to Maureen Ashby. She snuck them in Jax's bag when we came back from Ireland. I didn't get to read them, they went missing. I don't know, I probably threw them out accidentally. She was desperate for them. I didn't think anything of it at the time but Piney also asked me about them at some point too. I mean, why would everyone want these love letters so bad?" I say, looking at her confused.
"I don't know." She murmurs and I shake my head, folding my arms over my chest.
"Everything is just going crazy and I feel like my life is falling apart. I feel like me and the boys are in constant danger. Honestly, I'm just tempted to get out for awhile, not coming back until it's safe." I say honestly.
"Why don't you? Just pack a bag and get out of here?" She suggests seriously.
I let out a sigh and shake my head, "I can't, Jax needs me here. I can't just leave him."
"I'm sure he'll understand, he's wants you all safe." She says and I nod my head in agreement, "He does, but leaving...?"
There's a knock at the door and we both turn, a confused look coming over her face. She walks over and opens the door and Gemma walks in, her eyes taking us in, "Emily, I didn't realise you'd be here."
"I was just checking in on her. How's Clay?" I ask.
"He's critical. He had to go back into surgery, something wrong with his lung." She explains and I sigh, running my fingers through my hair.
She turns to Tara, "Mind if I speak with you alone?"
Tara stares at her for a moment and she nods her head. I turn to her and walk over, "I'll come back later okay?"
"Okay." She says and I give her a kiss on the cheek before doing the same to Gemma.
"Love you baby." She whispers and I nod, "Love you too."
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Smoke fills my lungs as I sit out on the front porch, the baby monitor on the step beside me. I blow out the puff and tap on the cigarette, letting the ash fall to the ground. The sound of a motorbike approaching reaches my ears and I look up to see Jax ride around the corner. He parks the bike and comes over, taking a seat beside me. I offer him the cigarette and he takes it, taking a puff.
Staring up into the sky, I fe l him pull something out of his kutte, handing the folder over to me. I look down at it confused, "What's this?"
"Letters Maureen Ashby wrote to my Dad." He states, "The same ones you found in my pack after Dublin."
"Jax, I don't even know what's in them. By the time I found them, Mason turned up on my doorstep and honestly I forgot they even existed." I explain and he nods his head, "I know Babe."
I look down at them, "Why is everyone so obsessed with these?"
"Because they state that Clay murdered my father." He says and I look at him with wide eyes, "What?" I gasp.
"He murdered my father to gain power over the club. Tara found the letters and read them. Then Piney read the letters and Clay killed him. He hired people to try and kill Tara, but they killed David instead. He's behind everything that's been happening to this club." He explains, anger in his voice.
A million thoughts run through my head and I look away out towards the street, throng to process what he's told me. Clay, a man I've come to respect and love is the reason I've lost so many people I care about. He's hurt the ones I love and it seems like he'll stop at nothing to protect himself.
Fear comes through my heart and I shake my head, "Jax, I can't stay here with the boys. Not while everything is so dangerous. What kind of mother would I be if I let them be caught in the cross fire?"
"You won't because he isn't in charge anymore." He says firmly.
"What do you mean?" I ask confused.
"Clay stepped down and I'm taking the gavel." He states, hue words weighing heavy.
I let out a breath and run my fingers through my hair, "What about Clay? Is he gonna-" I begin but he cuts me off, "I can't kill Clay. The CIA is behind this Irish-cartel hookup. They've been playing us. If I kill Clay, the Irish walk away, the deal falls apart and the Feds take us all down." He says, his tone serious.
"Oh my god." I whisper, my hand reaching up and covering my mouth.
"I'm not supposed to tell anyone Ems, but I can't have anymore secrets. Not from you." He whispers.
I reach forward and take his face in my hands and pull him forward, resting his head against mine, "Okay."
"Okay?" He asks, pulling back and looking at me confused.
I nod my head, "It's you, me and our boys Jax. And as long as you promise me that our boys will be safe then I am by your side. I love you more than you will ever know, I'm not going anywhere."
He looks at me for the longest of moments before pulling me against him, his lips falling to mine. He kisses me for the longest of moments before pulling back, "I love you."
"I love you too."