Without a word, I started towards the door. Clay stood up and blocked my path.

“Now hang on a minute. We’re not running into this fight half-cocked.” He said as he put his hands on my chest.

I lost it. With everything I had in me I shoved him hard by the shoulders.

“You son of a bitch! This never would’ve happened if you wouldn’t have put all that shit in my head!” I shouted as I drew back my fist.

I landed one hard blow to his face. Opie and Chibs jumped on me and pulled me off of him. Gemma came running from the apartment and went to Clay.

“What the hell is going on here?” She shouted.

Clay wiped the blood from his lip and looked at her.

“Nothing, he’s just blowing off some steam.” He told her.

That made me even angrier. I lunged for him again, but Opie held me back.

“If she dies, it’s on you.” I spat at him.

Gemma looked from me to Clay and slowly let go of him.

“Clay, what is he talking about?” She asked him.

He shrugged Gemma off and stalked towards the door.

“It doesn’t matter, what does is getting this bastard once and for all.” He called.

Gemma watched him leave and then pounced on me.

“Jackson, what the hell is going on?” She asked me.

I sighed and Opie and Chibs let go of me.

“Clay gave me a business card that he found and made me believe that McKayla was a rat. We had a fight last night and she left. The reason she was in the house was to pack her shit. She was gonna leave Charming. Leave me.”

I felt sick as soon as the words left my lips. McKayla was going to leave me. If Marcus wouldn’t have shown up she would be gone by now. Gemma’s look softened and she put her hands on my face.

“Listen to me son, you’re going to get her back and you’re going to make everything right. Okay?” She said.

I swallowed my doubts and nodded silently. She kissed me and held me for a moment.

“Now go bring her home.” She whispered.

I nodded and the guys and I slowly made our way out of the building. Clay was on the phone, leaning against a beam. When he saw us, he hung up and faced us.

“That was Unser. Apparently this guy wants attention. He shot two security guards and is holding another hostage along with McKayla.”

The guys let out a chorus of ‘shit’ and ‘Christ’.

“The Sheriffs are creating a perimeter and aren’t letting anyone near the place, but Unser says he can get us close because she’s your girl.” He continued.

I just nodded because I couldn’t find any words to say. We didn’t say anything else as we made the long walk to our bikes and followed Clay to where McKayla was.

Unser wasn’t kidding about a perimeter. They had cops directing traffic five miles back. No one was getting close. When we got stopped, Clay told the officer the situation and we were allowed to pass. Still, we had to park the bikes far enough away that we couldn’t hear the Sheriffs talking. I spotted Unser and Hale standing near the yellow caution tape that separated me from McKayla.

I didn’t wait for Clay to say anything, I marched up to Unser and Hale and they both turned to me.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

All around the building I saw cops talking to each other or on the phone. A group of them were huddled around the hood of a car looking at something and talking very hush hush. Unser rubbed the back of his neck and sighed hard. He looked older somehow.

“The good news is McKayla’s still alive. The negotiator just got off the phone with her. The bastard won’t talk, he’s making her make all the demands.” He said.

Relief washed over me. She’s alive. For now.

“What does he want?” I asked.

I was surprised how calm my voice sounded. Hale glanced at Unser as if he was waiting for him to speak. When he didn’t, Hale did.

“He wants you, Teller. You and some cash and a way out of here.” He said.

I nodded clutched at the caution tape.

“Good, what are we waiting for then?”

Unser glared at Hale and put his hands up.

“Not so fast, Jax. The sheriffs aren’t gonna let you just stroll in there. That’s not how it works.” He said.

Frustration boiled up inside of me. My grip tightened on the tape and I tore it apart.

“Unser come on. This guy doesn’t care about anyone else he just wants to hurt me. If I go in there, all this is over. He’ll let the guard go and he’ll probably let McKayla go too. It’s the safest way this goes down.” I pleaded with him.

He just shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

“My hands are tied, Jax. I’m sorry.” He said.

Something caught his attention and he walked over by a swat truck. I was seething. If only I could get inside the building. I could put a stop to all of this. Hale had walked away to see how far he could put his nose up some sheriff’s ass. Unser whistled low at me and nodded for me to come over to the truck. I glanced back at Clay, who was on the phone, and then at the other cops. No one was paying attention to me. As quietly as I could, I snuck over to Unser.

“Listen to me, I can’t let you go in there,” He began.

I was about to beg him again but he stopped me.

“I said I can’t let you go in there. But if say a S.W.A.T. guy went in…” He explained in a hushed voice.

A light bulb went off in my head. A S.W.AT. guy. Unser nodded his head towards the back of the truck where a guy in gear was climbing up into the truck. Unser took out his baton and handed it to me. I raised my eyebrow and he just looked away. I crept up behind him and whacked him hard on the back of the head. Thankfully, he went out quickly.

“Hurry up. Put his uniform on and go around back. There’s a door back there that’ll take you to the stairwell. We’re pretty sure he’s up on the top floor.” He whispered as I started pulling the guys gear off.

I shrugged out of my cut and gun hostler and tossed them on the ground. I didn’t take all of the guys stuff, just his S.W.A.T. marked vest and helmet.

“Okay now hit me.” Unser said.

“What?” I asked him.

He rolled his eyes and pulled me behind the truck.

“We have to say you took this by force so I can keep my job, okay?” He said.

I nodded and he turned his head to the left, exposing his right side. With as much care as you could punch someone, I laid one on him. He groaned and held his cheek.

“Okay now go!” He shouted.

I nodded once and took off to the back of the building. No one gave me a second glance with the gear on. When I reached the door, I took deep breath and quickly pulled it open. It creaked loudly and some rust fell onto the ground as I slipped inside. It’s a good thing it’s daylight because the place would’ve been pitch black at night. The windows around the first floor were covered in a thick coat of dust so sunlight was barely creeping through.

Unser was right. The door led right to the stairwell so I didn’t have to explore much. I tossed the helmet to the ground along with the vest and ran up the steps two at a time. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest, I was sure it would explode. My lungs felt like they were on fire, but I pushed all the thoughts out of my head and kept moving. McKayla was so close now. I was almost there.

Finally, I reached the top. I could hear the guard trying to reason with Marcus.

“Look, I know you’re angry about something a-and you think hurting this woman and this Teller will make you feel better but it won’t.” The guard said.

I shook my head and prepared myself to go in. I kicked myself for not taking my gun. As I reached for the doorknob, I noticed my hand was shaking. I took a deep breath and put my hand on the door.

“Marcus! It’s Jax Teller!” I called.

The room went quiet. Then shuffling.

“Put your hands on your head, Teller.” Marcus called back.

I obeyed and the door slowly opened. The guard, who was bleeding from his shoulder, opened the door.

He was young looking. Younger than he sounded anyway. His face looked calm, but I could see his hands shaking. From where he was standing, I couldn’t see Marcus or McKayla. I swallowed hard and kept my eyes on the guard. I heard whispering and the guard nodded.

“Are you armed?” He asked me.

I shook my head and he started to pat me down.

“Marcus, I’m who you want, not him. Let him go.” I asked.

Silence.

“Go.” I heard him say.

The guard looked shocked and then looked over his shoulder at something.

“I said GO!” Marcus shouted this time.

I grabbed the guards good arm and hauled him out of the doorway.

“Is the girl okay?” I whispered.

He nodded and I closed my eyes in relief.

“Get out of here.” I said.

He nodded and headed to the stairs.

“I’m coming in.” I said as I pushed the door the rest of the way open.

With my hands still above my head, I stepped into the room. Standing against the wall next to a window was McKayla. She wasn’t bound and the only injury I could see was some blood on the corner of her lip and a bruise on her cheek.

“McKayla.” I breathed.

“Look out!” She shouted.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw him. Marcus rushed my side and knocked me down. I landed hard on my right side and it knocked the wind out of me. He brought the handle of a gun hard across my cheek and my vision went black around the edges. McKayla was screaming and he pointed the gun at her. She shut her mouth and Marcus hulled me up by my shirt. He threw me into a chair and put the gun under my chin.

“It took you long enough. I thought I was going to have to start cutting off body parts to get you in here.” He said with a twisted smile.

My stomach turned and I looked at McKayla.

“You alright?” I asked her.

She swallowed hard and nodded. Her eyes were searching mine for something, a plan I would guess, but I just looked away. I didn’t want to give anything away to Marcus.

“You’ve got me, now let her go. She doesn’t need to be here for this.” I said.

Marcus laughed and tucked the gun into his jeans. I could still see the bruises I left on his face. They were healing, but they still made him look injured.

“Oh but she does. You see, you took everything from me. You turned me into the laughing stock of the porn industry. No one will ever work with me now. So now, I’m going to take everything from you. I’m going to tear her up just like I did that other slut, and you’re going to watch. After she’s good and dead, I’ll kill you too. But not before you watch the one thing you hold dear slip right through your fingers.”

As he was talking, I saw a strange light in his eyes. He was excited. Excited to torture McKayla. My stomach twisted and I gripped the arm rests. I saw a chance to get the gun and I lunged for it. Marcus pulled a knife from his back pocket and plunged it right under my collarbone. I groaned and saw white spots dance across my eyes. McKayla screamed and I watched her slide to the ground. Marcus was still talking, but I couldn’t hear him. I kept my eyes on McKayla. All the fear had left her eyes and what I could see now was determination and anger. Slowly she reached across the floor and picked up a broken piece of wood from a pallet. She swung as hard as she could and connected hard with Marcus’s side.

He let out a huff and fell to the ground. As he fell, the gun slid out of his jeans and I went for it. I snatched it up and fired a shot that hit him in the stomach. He let out a scream and half ran half slid out of the room and down the hall. I turned back to McKayla, and gathered her quickly in my arms. I kissed her with everything I had in me. She kissed me back and I pulled away.

“Stay here. Don’t open the door for anyone that’s not a cop!” I shouted as I ran out the door.

My shoulder was killing me and I was already feeling weak from blood loss, but that didn’t matter. I followed the blood trail to the steps and found him holding the knife by the exit door.

“It’s over.” I said in a low voice.

All of the malice that was in his eyes was gone now. I could hear the stomping of the S.W.A.T. team coming up the stairs. I had to move quickly. I held the gun level to his head and fired. Blood spattered on the wall and he fell hard. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. It was over. My legs gave out from under me and I collapsed to the ground. Everything started to slow down and my vision started fading. The last thing I remember was a cop opening the door and bending down in my face.