Jesse tossed and turned trying to sleep, but her nerves were going haywire. The thought of even being that close to Charming was making her sick to her stomach. But she had compromised with Happy, she agreed to stay at his mothers while they figured everything out. She technically wouldn't be in Charming, therefore the threat would be minimal, but it did nothing to calm her growing anxiety.
She sighed as she sat up and checked on Gabby who was fast asleep. Running a hand through her hair, she stood and threw on her hoodie, heading out to the kitchen to grab a drink to see if it'd help calm her nerves. She wasn't surprised when she walked into the kitchen to see Tig sitting at the table with an open bottle.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked as she made her way towards the table.
She shook her head and grabbed the bottle, taking a long pull from it. "I'm nervous to be there." she admitted. "Shit's got me all twisted."
Tig nodded, "Listen, I don't know what happened before you left, or why you left. But what I do know, is that none of us would ever let anything happen to you. We love ya, doll."
Jesse smiled sadly as she looked at her old friend. "I know. But there are some that I would argue felt differently." she said with a huff. "I can't explain it. If I do, they'll know I talked and it'll make shit even worse."
Tig was taken aback by her admission. "Was it someone from the club?" he asked, sitting forward, taking her hand in his.
Her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked away. "I can't Tiggy." she whispered. "I can't say anything."
He nodded, taking that as a huge red flag. His blood boiled as he thought of who it could have been. He thought back to around the time she left and who had been around then. "Was it Clay?" he asked. He felt her tense and he knew he was right. "Son of a bitch."
"Tiggy, don't. You can't say anything." she begged, "If Happy finds out or if they know I said anything, He'll die. Gabby and me, too."
He reluctantly agreed and pulled her in for a tight hug. He felt her shake as silent tears fell. "We'll figure it all out, sweetheart. Just take care of Gabby."
-
Juice and Sam had been talking most of the night and she had to admit that it felt good. She was enjoying the stories he had of Trevor. "He did that?" she laughed, looking at him in shock.
Juice grinned. "He did. Fucker was terrible for playing dirty tricks on the new guys."
She looked at him with a smile. "He ever fuck with you?" she asked.
Juice scoffed as he took a sip of his beer. "Hell yea he did." he admitted. "Was the first time going to Tacoma. I had to introduce myself to the other charters. At a party, he told me that this one chick was eyeing me. So I went for it." he began, he looked at her. "The girl was the president's daughter."
Her eyes popped out of her head before she busted out laughing. "Are you serious?"
He nodded. "Very." he laughed. "He said she liked it when guys get handsy with her. So when I walked up to her, I grabbed her ass and pulled her into me. She freaked. Lee almost killed me that night."
She finished off her beer and turned to him seriously. "You think he'd ever tell me he was a SON?" she asked,
He thought it over, choosing his words wisely. "I think he made the choice not to tell you because of the shit we were in at the time. That shit flowed through the whole club. Not just our charter." he explained. "He was a NOMAD when you met. Which means he went from charter to charter, helping with whatever was needed."
She sighed. "Sounds like something he would do. He never liked to be in the same place for too long." she admitted.
Juice nodded. "That's Trevor."
She smiled and got up from her chair. "Thanks for this, Juice. I needed it." she kissed his cheek before heading back inside the house to try and get some sleep. The talk with Juice had left her feeling a little lighter about everything. Before heading to bed, she stopped in the kitchen and saw Tig with Jesse in a tight hug. He made eye contact with her and shook his head. She nodded and headed towards the bedroom she was sharing with Jesse and Gabby.
She hoped that Jesse had told someone about the threat that was made on her life. She could only hope. She had a feeling that this was all going to blow up soon and Jesse was going to be in the middle of it all. She sighed, feeling the weight of Jesse's secret on her shoulders and laid on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, saying a silent prayer before the alcohol began to drag her into sleep.
-
Waking up the next morning, Happy had a bad feeling stirring in his gut. He walked out to the kitchen to see Opie and Tig with Sam and Gabby. "Where's Jesse and Juice?" he asked.
"Jesse is in the shower and Juice went to do some shit before we head out." Opie explained.
Gabby gave Opie a look, "You said a bad word, Uncle Opie."
Opie chuckled. "I did?" he asked, feigning shock.
Gabby laughed and shook her head. "Daddy, are we going to Gramma's today?"
Happy gave her the best smile he could and nodded. "We are as soon as Juice gets back." he explained, accepting the coffee that Sam had handed to him. "You got everything ready?" he asked. She jumped from the chair and scurried away, going to pack up her things.
"Gotta say, you're doing pretty good with her." Sam said as she sat next to Tig.
Happy leaned against the counter and shrugged. "I have no idea what I'm doing." he admitted. "But she's my kid. Can't deny that."
Opie chuckled. "She you're fucking clone."
Sam agreed. "The only thing she has of Jesse's is her smile."
Happy didn't know what to say to that so he changed the subject. "I'm gonna call Jax and let him know we're heading out soon. What did Juice need to do?"
"He went to secure a new ride for the girls. Rogue River set him up with an SUV and they're gonna get rid of Sam's ride." Tig explained.
Sam pouted. "I love that car." she mumbled. "How far is your mom from here?"
Happy sighed. "About eight hours. With the back roads and shit we're taking, about ten." he explained. "Juice and I will follow you there. Opie and Tig are gonna split up and get on the freeway and head to Charming. Jax needs bodies."
Opie groaned as he stood. "Shit's gonna work out Hap." he said, clapping him on the back before heading out to the backyard for a smoke.
Tig stood as well, "We'll figure all this shit out. Hopefully once it's all over, she'll stay."
Happy was hoping for the same thing. But if she chose to go back to Washington, he had no problem jumping charters again. "We'll see."
-
Jax walked into the clubhouse, a dark cloud over his head. He didn't know what to make of the call he got last night, but he had a feeling that Chibs might be able to shed some light on things. Walking over to the bar, Chucky handed him a cup of coffee and an envelope. "This came for you this morning."
Jax thanked him and moved to the chapel, "Chucky, when you see Chibs and Bobby, tell them I need them in the chapel."
With a nod from Chucky he closed the double doors and took his seat at the head of the table. He stared at the envelope that was sitting in front of him for awhile before he decided to open it. He knew nothing good was going to come of it. Taking out the paper that was inside, he scanned it over. His eyes bugging out of his head at the words he had read. "Jesus Christ." he mumbled, leaning back in his chair. The letter laying on the table in front of him. His attention was brought to the knock on the door and he called his brothers inside.
"What's going on, brother?" Chibs asked, taking a seat at the table, Bobby across from him.
Jax sighed heavily. "We got a problem." he said passing the letter to Bobby. "I got a phone call last night from an Irishman, and that was waiting for me this morning."
"What'd they want?" Chibs asked, taking the letter from Bobby once he was done with it.
Jax sat forward in his seat, "Said they knew we had found Jesse and it was time to make good on promises." he explained. "I have no idea what the hell that even means."
Bobby huffed, "Well that letter is something serious, brother." he said. "That's legal shit. We can't swipe that under the rug."
Jax agreed. "What the hell is that though?"
Bobby sighed as he explained it. "Jesse was a result of a run that your father went on before your mom had Thomas. We had no idea she was even JT's until the croweater showed up when you were little."
"Her mother wasn't exactly kind to her. She had proof of that when she showed up here. JT sent her mother to rehab and we all took care of Jesse. I had just came to Charming when she showed up and I took care of her when JT started going over to Ireland." Chibs added.
Jax cursed under his breath and hung his head. "So what does that call from the Irish mean? Promises need to be kept?"
Chibs sighed and leaned back in his seat. "When JT died, Clay needed to have some sort of leverage to keep the guns in play. You need to talk to him about it all. He kept all that shit from us. He just assured us that we were all set."
Jax's nostrils flared. The last thing he wanted was to see his stepfather. His hands balled into fists as he sat thinking over what he had to do. If they brought Jesse back to Charming, he needed to make sure she was safe. He stood from his seat at the table and stormed out of the chapel on a mission. The only one to know what the hell is going on was currently sitting in the damn office.
Gemma had just opened the garage and just sat down at her desk when a furious Jax stormed into her office, throwing a piece of paper at her. "Explain this shit. NOW."
She took the paper and read over it's contents. Suddenly her breath caught in her throat. This was never supposed to get out. Looking from the letter to her eldest son she shook her head, "You weren't ever supposed to know."
"I wasn't supposed to know that I had a sister?" he asked her incredulously. "You know we almost hooked up right?"
Gemma's eyes widened. "Please tell me you didn't." she almost whispered.
Jax scoffed. "Jesus Christ, ma. You kept this from us. From her. You watched her grow up, wishing she had a family of her own."
Gemma stood from her seat. "I did what I had to do at the time. Thomas was sick, the club was getting deep into shit." she explained. "You both were too young to understand."
"I get that, but why didn't you say anything when she was old enough to handle it?" he almost yelled.
She stood, speechless, lost in her thoughts. "I couldn't. She showed up when shit was going south. Your father going back and forth to Ireland. I couldn't handle it all." she finally choked out.
Jax shook his head, his anger still getting the best of him. He stormed out of the office, heading for his bike. He needed to clear his head. Gemma ran out behind him calling for him, but he didn't stop. Forgoing the helmot, he climbed onto his bike and started it, racing out of the lot. Gemma stood in the middle of the lot, feeling like her world had just flipped upside down. No one was supposed to find out. Especially Jackson, and definitely not Jesse.
A/N: Hopy you all enjoyed this chapter. It's been awhike since I actually updated. I've been having a bit of a hard time with things. Not sure how I feel about the chapter. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Much love to you all