Strays

Trust

Chapter Eighteen

Jaycee

He shakes his head, shoulders slumping like the weight's finally broken him. "Either way, I'm facing a death sentence by the club or five to twenty years in prison. What kind of father can I be, dead or locked away the kid's entire childhood?"

My chest aches hearing him say it out loud, like he's already resigned himself to disappearing from this baby's life before it's even begun. I can't blame him for thinking the worst — SAMCRO leaves ghosts everywhere it touches — but all I want right now is to believe there's still a best-case scenario hiding somewhere in all this wreckage.

Ronald leans forward, forearms heavy on the table, voice smooth but grounded. "They'll be taken care of," he says, low and steady, like he's promising it into existence. "But if I have my way, you're gonna be just fine."

Juan doesn't buy it. I can see it all over his face, in the twitch of his jaw and the restless shift of his shoulders. "And how do you plan on doing that?" he fires back.

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I don't know how to answer him — not in a way that makes sense. The weight of his stare is too much, the same sharp edge in his eyes I saw when he found out about Chibs.

Ronald picks up where I stumble, smooth as ever. "With the predicament we're in... you being shunned and marked as a dead man. Jaycee stuck in the middle of a war that isn't hers to fight. And me, done being dicked around by the Sons..." His gaze drags across both of us, calm but unyielding. "I'm offering you the same thing I offered her: a safe haven. A family unit of sorts."

Juan blinks, confusion snapping into frustration. "I don't understand. I thought you were his old lady."

My throat tightens. I swallow hard and meet his stare, forcing my voice to stay even. "In a lot of ways, I am. But I'm leaving the MC, Juan. Not my family. The organization. That decision was made before I even knew I was pregnant." I glance down, pressing a palm against my flat stomach before meeting his eyes again. "Jax is convinced I've been brainwashed, but he's wrong. I'm ready for change. Ronald's offering it. To both of us."

Juice

I just stare at the two of them like they've grown extra heads. A family unit? Plans behind my back? This doesn't make sense. I never thought I'd see the day Jaycee would turn her back on SAMCRO.

"So you're good with the possibility of retaliation?" My voice spikes sharper than I mean it to. "Jax isn't going to allow this."

"Jax doesn't have a choice," she shoots back, quick, confident, like she's already lived out the fight in her head and won.

Something in me snaps. My vision tunnels, and heat crawls up the back of my neck. "Jesus Christ, JJ. Tell me you're not staying at the clubhouse while actively plotting to leave."

She cuts her eyes toward Ronald. "You haven't told him?"

Ronald shrugs like it's nothing. "It hasn't come up."

Her attention swings back to me, sharp. "I don't live in Charming anymore, Juan. Ronald had me relocated to his place after Bobby... I haven't been anywhere without bodyguards since."

I glance between them, heart pounding like a drumbeat in my ears. "Bodyguards," I spit out, like the word tastes wrong.

Ronald sighs, tilting his head toward me. "It's for her protection."

"Yes," she mutters under her breath, rolling her eyes, "for my protection."

My patience burns out. My palms slam against the table hard enough to rattle the cheap plastic cups stacked on the corner. "Protection?! Look at where I am, JJ. I betrayed SAMCRO. I'm marked for death. How the hell do you think this ends for you when they find out you're the reason I'm still alive?"