“What’re you thinkin’ man?” Tig turned to Clay, breaking him out of his thoughts.
“How do we know we can trust her? That this isn’t some set up with Heaton?” Piney asked from across the table.
“I think we should trust her.” Juice pitched in, causing Jax to turn his head and glare at him. As grateful as he was to have someone other than himself back her up, Juice seemed to have a liking towards her that Jax wasn’t quite happy with.
“I agree.” Opie spoke up. “Look what Heaton did to her, and she did have Jax released which wouldn’t have been easy considering he assaulted Heaton.”
“Look, Clay. Leila’s my old lady, I trust her – if we have Heaton on our payroll, it would save us a lot of time and money.” Jax offered. His eyes pleading with his stepfather.
“Kid’s got a point.” Bobby agreed. “We could get a lot more done with her on our side.”
“We’ll take a vote.” He finally spoke up. “Yay.”
“Yay”
“Yay”
“Yay”
“Nay”
“Yay”
“Yay”
“Nay”
“Majority vote – we meet with Heaton. Go bring your old lady in.”
Jax stood up, giving an appreciating nod to his brothers before walking out the door where Gemma was cleaning some of the cuts on Leila’s face by the bar. Seeing as his mother usually hated outsiders, it was refreshing to see them getting along. They both looked over as he approached, Leila jumping off the stool to walk closer towards him.
“Vote went through babe.”
She smiled brightly through the pain, causing him to smile. They were all wrong about her. She was one tough woman. Thinking of this all on her own. Finally standing up to her father – not for herself but for him. He was stupid for believing Stahl. Stupid for thinking she was using him. She loved him just like he loved her. When he was President, she’d be the old lady by his side. A smart, strong, powerful woman, just like his mother has been.
“Come on, they want to talk to you.”
With a nod, he placed his hand on her lower back as she walked back into the room. Looking back at his mother, he could see a proud approving smirk from her. They took their places at the table again. Jax in his seat with Leila on his lap. Again, no nerves coming from her, just a straight face.
“Okay.” Clay spoke up, looking at the battered young woman on his stepson’s lap. “Vote went through. We’ll agree to meet with your father, with you present, and come to an agreement of sorts.” She nodded in understanding but Clay’s face turned to stone, sending shivers right through her. “But if we find out that this is any sort of set up, or he backs out on his end. You’ll be the one we come after.”
Jax felt her stiffen under his arm and tightened his hold on her for comfort. As much as he hated that Clay was threatening her, he knew it had to be done. Leila had earned most of their trust, but club business was club business, she needed to know the consequences. With a nod, Leila smiled softly looking around the table.
“That won’t be an issue. I’ll let my father know and set up a meeting time.”
“As for now, we’ll have the prospect follow you around.” Jax said, “I’m not taking the risk that he won’t come after you again.”
“Jax, that’s not necessary.”
“It’s also not up for discussion, babe.”
She couldn’t say she liked his tone but for the sake of not arguing in front of the club she nodded. “Who’s the prospect?”
“Half Sack.”
“Right here!” Kip mentioned from a corner seat in the back of the room.
“Kip?”
“You know him?” Jax raised his eyebrow, shooting the young kid a look causing him to lower his eyes.
“Yeah, he took care of my car when I came in for maintenance.”
“Yeah, well he’ll be your personal detail.”
“Fuuun.”
Clay banged the gavel once more, signalling that the meeting was over. As the members poured out, Jax took her hand walking out of the room, with their fingers laced together, he smiled down at her. His smile beaming with pride at how impressive she was. Gently placing a hand on her cheek, she smiled, leaning into it.
“I love you” He whispered before his lips met hers.
Her hands made their way to his cheek, kissing him a little deeper before whispering back against his lips. “I love you babe.”
“Now once you’re all healed up, how ‘bout we get you a crow huh?”
“What’s a crow?”
“You’re my old lady babe, gotta have my crow tatted on you.”
She cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrow. “A tattoo?”
“Yup, all old ladies have their old man’s crow on them.”
“Well Jesus, way to claim property huh?”
He laughed, leaning back against the bar, pressing her up against him. “Awh, come on – don’t think of it that way.” His hand lifted her shirt slightly, grazing his fingertips against the skin of her hip. “I’ll have your name on me anywhere you like too.”
Biting her lower lip, she smiled, looking down at his hand as it caressed her skin. “Well that’s pretty romantic then.”
“Come on, Let’s get you home safe.”
With Jax by her side, Leila felt invincible. It didn’t matter that at this very moment she was entering a room in a creepy restaurant with the president and vice president of a deadly MC to blackmail her father. She should have doubts about this. Not many people would do this, but it was time to end this. End the terror and abuse that Jeffrey Heaton had brought into her and her mother’s life.
Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she was beginning to feel the stock to get stomach. What kind of deal was she about to make. She didn’t know anyone in the club but Jax and a few of the younger men. Sure, they seemed innocent and all but these men were in fact criminals. They did break the law quite often, but upon catching the angry snarl on her father’s face, she knew she’d rather back up criminals in leather vests than a criminal in a nice suit.
Clay and Heaton took a seat across from each other leaving Leila to sit next to her father and Jax to sit next to his. Neither had missed hostility radiating from the two older men, but none the less they were here to see this out. The restaurant they’d chosen was about a mile out of Charming quiet with fun lights. It was empty other than the four of them. The rest of the staff was escorted out for privacy throughout this meeting. Last thing Heaton’s career needed was him being seen with these low lifes.
“So we heard you have some kind of business arrangement you needed to discuss with us. A change of heart for our club.” Clay began and Jeffrey narrowed his eyes in anger and disgust. “Awh, cheer up partner. We’ll be working pretty closely, can’t start off on a bad note.”
Leila could see the veins protruding from his forehead and his nostrils flaring but all he did was crack a smirk and lean forward with his hands cupped on the table in front of himself. He didn’t have much to say since Leila had already laid it all out there for him the previous night but he didn’t know how to take it. The man had been in power for so long that he didn’t know what being powerless actually felt like. But Leila knew. She had been powerless for so long. Now their roles were reversed and she felt no mercy.
“What do you want?”
“Your word on what your daughter promised us.”
Heaton lowered his head before his eyes peaked over at Leila. She could feel the bitter wrath of his hate towards her but she kept her face stone cold. He looked back at Clay and took a deep breath. “Lay it all out, I’ll see what I can do.”
“What you’re going to do is keep your word on all of it.”
Jax jumped in and Leila watched carefully. His mannerisms, his tone, his whole being was different while on the job. It was scary really – this hardened exterior he put on. It was a side of him she hadn’t seen before. The focus in his eyes. The drive behind his demeanor. It may have been for his hate of Heaton or it may just be the way he was when he was on club business. The only thing bringing her peace was that he would never hurt her which was more than she could say for her father.
“You turn and your lap dogs at the sheriff’s department back off of my club. You turn your head when you hear or see anything and if one of our guys happens to get thrown in Jail – he’s to be released as soon as possible. No charges pressed. No more feds.”
You could hear Heaton’s heavy, heated breathing as he listened to Clay. “And in return?”
“In return, we’ll keep all club business outside of county lines. Leila here gets you re-elected, you look like a hero for ending the crime going on in this county.”
“And if I don’t follow through.”
With a sly smirk, Clay’s eyes flashed dark. The wrinkles on his aged face moving with his evil laugh sending shivers down Leila’s spine. “Well first, we all have some fun with your beautiful daughter.” Her eyes widened and shot to Jax who had tensed up but kept a straight face. “Then we come after you. Leila’s pictures of her looking like this are thrown into the public, your career is ruined, you get locked up and beaten to death in your cell. Trust me Heaton, we go way back – this is not a deal you’d want to back out of.”
Heaton looked at Leila once more before hanging his head and nodding. She the threat of her being raped by the club wasn’t ideal by any means but her threat against her father to prevent that was much greater and he knew that. “Alright.” Was all he managed to say and with that, both parties stood. Clay and Jeffrey shook hands. One more pleased than the other.
Before making their way outside, Heaton grabbed his daughter’s hand and yanked her back as the two leather clad men walked out. “You happy now? This is what you wanted right?”
Leila looked at her father, pulling her hand away from him. “I won’t be happy until you’re miserable and lying on your deathbed with nobody around you. Keep your word and I’ll keep mine.”
The hot water hitting her skin burned slightly as it washed the day away. As stressful as it had been, she couldn’t say she regretted doing it. It would make everyone’s life easier if her father just stayed far away from everyone, especially her. As strange as it seemed, she felt 1000% safer with the club than her father, even though they did threaten to rape and kill her if her dad backed out. All it all she finally felt free. Free from the chains that her father held her in for so long. She was able to be her own person with her own confidence. She did owe all of this to Jax.
Wiping the fog off of the mirror, Leila examined her body once more, wincing at all the black and blue marks left all over. With coming back from church soon, the last thing she needed was for him to see this. Her face was bad enough as it was but he hadn’t seen her unclothed yet. After carefully towel drying her hair, she walked out into her closet to pull on her panties and shorts along with a loose cotton tank top and her fluffy cotton robe before walking downstairs to the kitchen to make tea.
Her doorbell rang and she froze for a moment thinking it was Jeff but he never rang the doorbell. Cautiously making her way to her front entrance, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest before she approached the door to see that it was Gemma Teller. Biting her lip, she opened it slowly, leaning against the doorframe.
“Gemma?”
“Jesus christ, you look worse than you did yesterday.”
“Makeup plays a factor in all of this.”
“Has Jax seen this?”
Leila nodded softly, not proud of it. Moving out of the way, she let Gemma enter and watched as the older woman looked around for a moment before she turned her attention back to her. “Nice place you got here.”
“Thank you. Gemma – was there a reason you stopped by?”
“Yeah, I guess I should start with that huh?” She looked down at Leila and her usually intimidating glare eased into a smile. “I heard what you did for the club. It took a lot of weight off on what their going through right now and well – I just wanted to say thank you.”
“It’s not a problem,” Leila’s lips lifted into a small smile. “I couldn’t let him put all of this on Jax.”
“Well I’m glad. And I also want to welcome you into the family. You’re the VP’s old lady, honey – that’s a big deal on its own.” Gemma opened her arms to bring the younger woman in for a warm hug which Leila gratefully accepted. Gemma Teller was the ultimate mama bear. Fierce when she needed to be and warm and kind hearted at the same time. She was definitely the person Leila needed by her side.
“You let me know if you ever need anything, okay baby?”
“Thank you Gemma, it means a lot.” Leila nodded following the older woman to her door. “Hey Gemma? Clay had said something about all the guys… having their way with me if my dad doesn’t follow through..”
The queen’s face turned serious and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Listen baby, you stay loyal to the club and the club is loyal to you. If you rat then you’re dealt with. That goes for everyone inside and outside of the club.”
With another grateful nod, Leila let Gemma go about her way. She was in this now. An insider into the world of the MC. If her loyalty to Jax meant she was loyal to the club then so be it. She got a greater sense of family from them than anyone else in her life. This wasn’t going to be so bad after all.