"Nate, come take a shot!" I laughed as he stumbled over, already drunk. This was just another night for us, coming home from work and drinking together with the rest of the club like a dysfunctional family of 30. I loved it. I smiled as Nate, wrapped his arm around my shoulder, holding up a shot glass. His light brown hair was messy, his hazel eyes lit up with a combination of drunkenness and happiness.
"Cheers to my sister, the best tattoo artist this club will ever see and for being accepted into the best art school in the city!" He drunk rambled on about how happy he was that I was going to college in the fall and we all laughed. He looked down at me, happiness and pride in his eyes. I smiled back at him.
"Hey, Stas is here, I'm going to go say hi." I gave him a weird look, confused by his sudden interest in my best friend who had just walked through the doors. He kissed the top of my head before going to see her. I ordered another round, pulling Val away from the girl he was attacking with his mouth.
"Scar, what the fu-" I slid a shot to him, holding mine up.
"You take care of him when I'm gone for school, understand?" A sad smile made its way on to my face as I realized just how much I would miss all my brothers, not just Nate. He held his shot up with a nod.
Before we could drink it, chaos broke out in the clubhouse. People were screaming at the sound of gunshots. I looked at Val, letting the glass drop on the floor and shatter. He rushed through people, shoving everyone out of his way. I tried to follow, but I wasn't big enough to barrel through everyone. When I finally made my way to the door, Stas was holding her hands over her mouth, tears in her eyes. She saw me standing there, a look of pure horror taking over her features. I could see her mouth moving but I couldn't hear anything. She shook her head, trying to get me to stay with her as I pushed her away and through the door, just as a body hit the floor.
Nate.
JAX POV
I rushed into the abandoned warehouse, gun in hand. Domenico fucking King didn't give me much information, just told me that Scarlett had been taken by a rival club because some idiots thought she was his old lady. He didn't go into detail about why these guys wanted him, just told me he couldn't go. He knew I was with the Sons because of my cut. He sent me and a couple of his guys to go get her from where they were keeping her. I told Val what was going on, told him I would get her out of there. I had a feeling this wasn't new. Scarlett seemed like the type of girl to get herself into trouble.
I thought back to the first time I saw her. We were at the Sons' clubhouse to talk about a patch over. My club was small, so I really didn't have much of a choice. I guess the guy sitting outside hadn't been informed that we were coming, and opened fire, thinking we were a threat.
I saw her stumbling out from the back, barely managing to stay on her feet and heading right into the middle of the crossfire. I got off my bike as quickly as I could, wincing as I heard it make contact with the pavement. Â I barely made it to her before she stumbled, tripping over her own feet. She hit my chest, losing her balance, so I grabbed her. I remember the first thing I thought was that this girl was seriously fucked up. My second thought was that she was fucking beautiful. I could tell she was struggling just to keep her eyes open, so I picked her up, her head hitting my chest. She opened her eyes a little, seeing me for the first time.
"Are you an angel?" I had to laugh. If she only knew. She smiled a little. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Finally."
Then she passed the fuck out. Like out cold. Val came storming up to me, asking what the fuck I did to her, pulling her from my arms and into his own. From the way he looked down at her, I could tell that he cared for her more than anything else, himself included. Maybe she was his old lady. He thanked me once he realized I was helping her.
She didn't even remember me the next day.
I remember seeing her at the patch over, after one of the club girls personally congratulated me on my new position as VP. She was out drinking Neo, much to everyone's surprise.
This girl was a fucking hurricane. She stumbled into me after doing a keg stand, her shirt stuck over her eyes. I took a second to admire the curves of her body, the artwork that covered her skin. I wanted to know those tattoos would feel under my fingers, how her skin would taste. Â I wanted her. Â Bad. Â This girl was every biker's wet dream. Once Val saw the appreciative look I was giving her, he narrowed his eyes at me, dragging her way. I smirked.
I went to go for a cigarette, and when I came back I saw her sitting at the bar alone, looking at the hard wooden surface like it was the most comfortable thing in the world, her eyes barely open. Â I laughed and shook my head. I got to her just as she was about to pass out. She had found herself in my arms two nights in a row now, drunk to the point of passing out, and she still had no idea who I was. I carried her into one of the bedrooms, placing her as gently as I could on the bed. I tried to pull away, but she was talking the same nonsense about how I was an angel. She fell asleep in my arms, her head fitting perfectly in the crook of my neck. Â For some reason the thought of leaving her alone made me nervous.
So I stayed.
That was my first mistake. I joked around with her about how I knew she wanted me, but the truth was I wanted her too. It was more than just a physical attraction. I was curious about her, about the ink that covered her skin, about why she drank a bottle of Jack every night. More importantly how she held such importance to the club, more than any old lady I had seen. But I knew I couldn't have her. I didn't know who she belonged to. Maybe I didn't know her, but I knew that she deserved more than I could give her.
Then I saw the picture of her and Nathaniel Rose in her booth at the tattoo shop. I put two and two together and realized that she was his sister. That's when I knew I had to stay away from her, for good, no matter how much I didn't want to.
Because it was my fault that she was like this, and she had no goddamn idea.
It was my fault for thinking that joining the club who's president I had shot and killed wouldn't backfire, but I needed to do right by my club. My brothers had no idea about that night. The night I made a deal with the devil. I didn't know who exactly I was going after that night, but I was given orders and I had to follow them for the sake of my club. As much as I regretted it, as much as it haunted me every goddamn night, I never wanted to take it back until I saw that goddamn picture.
When Valentino Rossi came to my clubhouse asking me to patch over, I thought it was the universe playing some kind of sick joke on me.
I swore to myself that I wouldn't let anyone find out about that night, especially her or Val. They could never know the truth about that night six months ago, or the part I played in it.
After that I swore that I would keep my distance from her, for both our sakes and for the club. But it was harder than I imagined, especially when I saw her at the King's clubhouse. The liquor mixed with my lack of self-control got me in trouble. She made me fucking crazy, I felt like I had to know what she was doing here. How she got in with the King's, why it felt like this was the first time I had seen her actually smile. Until she saw me at least. She told me to stay away from her, and I had no choice but to agree.
And yet here I was, breaking into another club's building to save her ass. The other guys were going in through the back door and I was sneaking into the basement, where we figured they were keeping her. I broke the window on the door so I could unlock it, feeling the glass cut through the skin on my arm. I barely felt it, the only thing on my mind was her. It was quiet, but I could hear one guy talking.
"-once we've all had our turn with you." I could hear the sickening smirk in his voice and my vision went dark.
Then all I saw was red.
I could feel myself barrelling through the basement to get to him, but it was like someone had taken over my body. The rage I felt inside me fueling me until I finally reached him. He was surprised by my sudden appearance, giving me the leverage I needed. I punched him until his face was covered with blood, his own and mine. I wanted to keep going, but I caught a glimpse of Scarlett out of the corner of my eye. I let him drop to the floor, rushing to where she was.
The sight of her had my body burning with rage all over again. I had to fight myself from going back to where that scumbag was groaning on the floor. Her arms were pinned up over her head, handcuffed to a pole. Blood ran down her arms from when she had struggled against them. One of her eyes were swollen shut, a bruise already forming. Another bruise on her jaw. Her lip was split open and swollen. Another bruise covering her neck.
I didn't even realize that I was walking back to the guy, pulling my gun out and firing two shots in both his kneecaps. His screams of pain made me feel a little bit better.
I heard more commotion upstairs and cursed under my breath, rushing back to her, hitting the chain of the handcuffs with my gun until it snapped. She hit the floor, her face scrunching up in pain even in her sleep. I picked her up as gently as I could, rushing to the door. The other guys were coming out of the house at the same time. I hopped in the back of the van, placing her on my lap as we took off. I looked down at her, the sight of her making my heart clench.
I swore to myself that after this was over with I would never speak to her again, that I would keep my promise and stay away.
But it looked like Val had other plans for me.