12 Rounds

Chapter Two

"Ho-ly shit," Juice exhaled as they stepped inside their accommodations for the weekend. Jax was right behind him and just about stopped in his tracks when he got a good look around.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered under his breath.

He tossed his bag onto the full-length table off to the side, and hitched his hands on his hips as he surveyed the suite they'd been set up in. At first, they hadn't quite believed the lady at the front desk when they checked in - the penthouse suite? Was she fucking serious?

Putlova was really pulling out the big guns for this deal. The whole thing was like something out of The Hangover - except this was goddamn Reno, not Vegas. Between the wall of windows, wrap-around bar, leather sofas, connecting bedrooms, and a pretty impressive view of the city and the mountains stretching just beyond it, this was... more than he'd anticipated.

Happy and Bobby filed in right behind him, and while Bobby seemed appropriately awed by their current situation, Hap looked more annoyed by all this than anything.

It was a pretty sick display of wealth and stature. And it wasn't like they didn't know exactly what Putlova was playing at with this batshit crazy penthouse.

And just because he couldn't help himself, Jax took a quick turn to the left, found the bathroom, and peeked inside.

"What're you doin', Jax?" Bobby called out behind him.

He chuckled to himself and shut the door. "Just makin' sure there's no tiger in there."

While they all had a good laugh over that, it just didn't feel right to let himself enjoy any of this. If Putlova did give them two spots in that league, they would definitely not be set up like this every weekend. Best not to get too comfortable. Best not to let himself feel too much of anything when he wasn't in the ring too.

After all, he wasn't here to let himself get wined and dined and spoiled by some Russian mob boss. He was here in Reno so he didn't have to be in Charming. That was it.

That and so he could add to the pile of cash he planned to give Ope's family on a regular basis.

That too.

But still, this wasn't the kind of treatment they were used to, and given the deal they were here to smooth over, all signs pointed to this turning out to be a pretty damn good weekend.

After they dropped off their bags, and Juice and Bobby helped themselves to the fully-stocked bar in their suite, they headed back to the elevator so they could take care of their first order of business for the weekend. Some strange jitters washed over him as he stepped inside the elevator and watched Happy hit the button to take them back to the first floor.

It wasn't exactly nerves.

It was more like... anticipation.

Like something was coming. Something was about to change.

Jax had never really taken much stock in things like fate or destiny, and he still wasn't sure if there was some higher power up there, pulling all the strings, but this felt different. Like turning the corner onto the main floor of the Wild Rose casino was like literally and figuratively turning the corner on something else too.

Maybe that was just a sign that these weekends in Reno, if he could swing it, were exactly what he needed.

This was the right call, at least for now. And if anything, it would buy him some time and some space until he could figure out what the hell he was going to do about the way he felt about his stepfather and his club president, not to mention the way he felt about his club too.