McKayla

10 hours. That’s how long I was going to be stuck next to this gorgeous man. I was in trouble. I forced myself to keep my eyes glued to the window. I tried hard to think about Jax and Abel, but my thoughts were quickly interrupted.

“So, where in California are you headed?” Gabriel asked me.

The plane was up in the air now and the unbuckle seat belt sign was on. I swallowed hard.

“C-charming.” I managed to spit out.

Gabriel nodded and I saw his reflection in the window.

“I’ve heard it’s a nice little town.” He said.

Oh God help me.

“What about you?” I asked.

I shifted to face him and immediately regretted it. Gabriel was honestly the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. He smiled softly and faced me as well.

“I’m headed to Lodi actually. I just got a job out there.” He said.

A shiver shot through me. Lodi? That was only a short drive from charming. This was not good.

We talked for a while after that. Gabriel was in his 30s and not married. He was an attorney and he was looking for a change of pace which is why he moved to Lodi.

“What about you McKayla? Visiting or coming home?” He asked.

I swallowed hard and Jax’s face popped into my mind.

“Coming home.” I said in a small voice.

Gabriel glanced down at my left hand briefly and then looked up at my face.

“To a boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

I barely heard myself. It was almost like I was ashamed to say it. What in the hell was wrong with me?! I love Jax. Two hours ago I couldn’t wait to get back into his arms and now what? Just because some beautiful stranger was next to me all of a sudden I’m ashamed of Jax? My head was spinning. I excused myself and squeezed passed Gabriel to get to the bathroom. Once I was inside, I gripped onto the sink.

“Hold it together McKayla. You love Jax. You’re going home to him and that beautiful baby boy. Focus.” I said to myself.

Suddenly, I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. I looked like someone who was about to do something incredibly stupid. A knock on the door broke my thoughts.

When I got back to my seat, Gabriel was doing something on his phone. I tapped his shoulder and he jumped.

“Sorry, I was checking some Email.” He said as he stood.

I chuckled and slid back in my seat.

“So tell me about yourself.” He said.

“What do you want to know?”

He gave me an effortless smile and shrugged.

“Anything. What do you do for a living?”

A blush spread across my cheeks and I looked away.

“I’m a bartender.”

And an old lady to the VP of a biker club that killed my ex boyfriend. But I left that part out of course. Gabriel didn’t say anything. I felt pretty much like dirt.

“Do you like it?” He asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He chuckled.

“Do you meet a lot of interesting people?” He continued.

Interesting doesn’t really begin to cover it.

JAX

“You with us brother?”

I blinked and shook the image of Ima’s fucked up body from my mind.

“Yeah, I’m here.” I said.

Opie, Chibs and I pulled up to the warehouse where we found the torture porn king. The boys that were out front, weren’t there.

“Something ain’t right.” Chibs said.

I took a deep breath and let it out with a ‘Shit’. I nodded and we headed to the door, guns drawn. It was cracked open. Opie slowly pushed it the rest of the way and the sun lit up the room. On the ground in front of the door were the dead bodies of the two brothers. They each had a matching set of bullet holes in their foreheads. A feeling of dread washed over me. The further we went into the building, the more the smell hit us. We all knew that smell, it was death.

“Jesus Christ.” Chibs said.

Blood was everywhere. On the filthy mattress was a dismembered body of a woman. Her head and face were smashed in and it looked and smelled like she’d been here at least a day or two.

“This has to be the porn guy.” Opie said.

I nodded and bent to look at the girl.

“Shit. It’s the girl that was here the other day.” I said.

I could tell from the bits of panties she was wearing.

“Call Unser.” I said.

I stood up and walked out of the place. I sank into the ground and leaned against the building. Opie appeared and lit a cigarette.

“This isn’t our fault man.” He said.

I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair.

“Isn’t it? If we wouldn’t have shown up here, that girl would be alive and so would Ima.” I said.

Before Opie could say anything else, Chibs came out, holding his phone.

“Unser’s on his way. We should clear out of here.” He said.

I nodded and pulled myself up. The whole ride back to the clubhouse was a blur. Clay was waiting for me in church. He closed the door behind us and sat in his seat.

“Jax, what the hell did you do?” He asked.

I gripped the back of a chair and bent my head down.

“Look, I’m taking care of it.” I said.

He pointed a finger at me.

“The murder of one of our cum sluts in Charming does NOT look good for us Jax.” He said.

I tensed jaw and looked at him.

“I’m handling it!” I shouted.

Clay stood up and got in my face.

“You better, son. “

He threw the doors open and stormed out. I slammed my fists down on the table and stalked out of the room.