Memory Lane

Chapter 35.

Sheriff Roosevelt

We stood outside of the building where Tara was being held hostage. Everything was exactly where it was said to be, and I was surprised that neither Jax nor Desiree came. However, given the crime that Tara had committed against Jax, she was as good as dead. Tara didn't know it yet, but her rescue mission was going to turn into an arrest. Wayne Unser had gone down to the police station to accuse Tara of murdering Gemma Teller. When I got the message on the radio, I thought it was some twisted joke, but after piecing everything together, it was unfortunately true.

It was a sad sight to see how Tara Knowles had gone down. She was a smart woman and a great surgeon, but now all of that was going to be wasted. I felt terrible for her children, the scar this will leave on them is unimaginable. Their family would most likely end up being a documentary because of how awful this situation was.

"Put your hands out where we can see them!" Patterson yelled into the megaphone. I could hear young men scrambling inside of the house as officers moved in. I could tell that these men weren't going down without a fight, but they were surrounded, it was a suicide mission at best. "You are surrounded! There is nowhere to go, please surrender the hostage!" Patterson made one last attempt at bargaining. But as expected, no one was rushing to our feet with white flags raised.

"Let's move in," Patterson instructed. Men and women in uniform moved closer to the building and began breaking in wherever they could. The people inside didn't stand a chance, they were too outnumbered. As soon as the first shot was fired, I knew that we would be taking in fewer people. With snipers on the roof and guns circling the scene, the standoff didn't last any more than a few seconds.

"Find Tara, we can take it from here," Patterson ordered me as I started to scope around the house. I busted down every door in an attempt to find her and when I did, she was tied to a bed post with duct tape on her mouth. She started to move frantically when she saw me and I could see tears formulating in her eyes.

When I removed the duct tape she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," was all she could muster to say as the adrenaline wore off her body. It was so sad seeing her this way, she always seemed so strong to me, but now she looked so lost and weak. "Tara let's get you to the ambulance to get you checked out," I suggested to her.

"No, I'm fine, where's Thomas? Where's my son?"

"Shh," I tried to calm her, "Thomas is fine, he's with his father. What we needed to focus on right now is getting you looked at."

"Roosevelt, I said I'm fine, I don't need to get checked out. I just want my son," she protested. I let out a heavy sigh and tried to gather what little patience I had left.

"Tara, we're not going back for Thomas," my voice was calm and low. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion, "what are you talking about? You rescued me, I'm fine, bring me back home!" I could tell that she was getting impatient and angry with me because she still didn't quite understand the situation. But then I heard the sound of someone coming up from behind me.

"Tara, you have the right to an attorney. Anything you say or do-"

Tara's face turned a ghost pale, "why are you reading me my Miranda Rights? I have done nothing wrong!" I could tell from her face that she didn't believe that and Patterson knew it too. Tara started to pace in the room and looked like she was two seconds away from ripping out her hair from her head.

"Tara," I tried again, "you are under arrest for the murder of Gemma Teller, anything you say will be used against you-"

"No!" Tara interrupted me again with tears in her eyes, "I didn't do anything wrong! Roosevelt, you know me, I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Tara, you have to come with us, there is no negotiation here," Patterson's voice was stern as she spoke to Tara like a petulant child.

"No," Tara shook her head in disbelief. Her face was drenched with tears and the sweat she accumulated in this hot room. She began to back away from me as I tried to arrest her. With every step forward I took, she took two steps back. It eventually became like a game as I tried to grab a hold of her. When I finally did get my hands on her, she landed a smack on my cheek that could probably be heard back in Charming.

I tried to calm myself as I was left with the reminder of who she was. I'd never seen Tara this way and no one could have foreseen her going down this route. But unfortunately, things did turn out this way and she had become a criminal like everyone else.

I lunged at her with every intention of restraining her, but while we fought, she had managed to get her hands on my gun. She held it up in front of me and Patterson immediately drew hers.

"Tara, you don't want to do this," I said trying to bargain with her.

"You don't understand, I have nothing left," she held firm and wouldn't drop the weapon.

"Think about your boys Tara, do you really think that doing this will help them in any kind of way?" Patterson chimed in.

"Being behind bars won't help them either!" she snapped.

"What do you think is going to happen here Tara, you shoot, you die!" I yelled at her. "You don't understand, I'm already dead," was all she said before she fired a shot that hit the wall, but that didn't matter, she got the result she wanted when Patterson fired at her. Her body shook with the impact and I watched in pure horror as she was struck down.

The image of her lifeless body would burn a hole in my memory whether I liked it or not. I couldn't think straight after that and I found myself disengaging with the whole scene. It didn't make my life any better when I knew that I had to be the one to inform the family.

Walking up to that door, I couldn't feel anything. I was so full of grief that it made me sick. I never wanted it to end up this way, Tara was supposed to surrender alive, but the thought of going away sent her over the edge.

When I knocked on Jax's door, I rehearsed what I was going to say over and over in my mind. When Jax finally came to the door I could tell by his face that he immediately knew. It was as if everyone could feel her soul leave this Earth as even her son Thomas began to wail. I didn't know if Jax would be emotional about her passing but judging from the tears that had formulated in his eyes, he did feel remorse. No matter how strong his oath as a biker was, he still loved her in some way. She was his first love, the mother of his children, there was no level of hate that could erase that.

"I'm sorry about your loss Jax," was all I could muster to say. He was quiet for a minute and his silence built a thick wall between us. I had no idea of what was going on in his head. Was he happy? Was he sad? Was he relieved that he wouldn't have to do it himself? Jax Teller would probably go down in history as the most complex man I've ever met. "Which one?" was all he mustered to say before he went back inside and disappeared into his home.