Roots Run Deep

Chapter 15

Jax looked at Happy for a long moment with increasing confusion showing on his face. "Clay?"

"Yeah," Happy grunted.

"Who else?" Jax asked Kris, glaring at him full of rage.

Kris shook his head. "I don't know, guy with bad hair."

Happy and Jax looked at each other and, even though many patched members had bad hair, only one would do shady work with Clay and keep it from the rest of the club. They both knew who it was and they said his name in unison.

"Tig."

"Why?" Jax growled.

"I dunno," Kris sputtered. "I need stitches."

"Tara?" Happy asked Jax.

"No," Jax huffed. "I'm trying to put some distance there."

"What do you want me to do with him?"

"Get Chibs and a prospect up here," Jax advised. "Chibs can patch him and the prospect can clean this shit up."

The bathroom door creaked open and Kate gasped seeing Kris so battered. "Oh god," she whispered.

"He's fine," Jax said darkly. Looking at Happy Jax suddenly had a new concern. "Who knows were here with him?"

"No one, I don't think," Happy shrugged.

Unhappy with the uncertainty, Jax grabbed Katie's hand. "Come on, lemme get you outta here."

"I have my car," she said quietly.

Jax shook his head, "Nah. I'll take you back to Jake's."

"Why?" She asked, stepping back and getting more anxious about the situation.

"Why don't you tell her?" Kris asked smugly from the bed.  Jax shot him a look but he continued to prod. "Guess you don't want her to know step-daddy had her snatched up and beaten."

"Step-dad?" She asked, confused for a brief moment until she remembered. "Clay?"

"We're gonna figure it out," Jax promised her.

"He's friends with my dad," she whimpered. "I don't-"

"Kate," Jax spun her around so she was looking only at him, her back to Kris now. "You're safe. Your dad...probably got played. I don't want anyone to know you know, it's better and cleaner, so you need to calm down."

She nodded, still unsure, and squeezed his hand tighter. "Okay."

"Hap," Jax nodded at his brother. "I'll see you at the clubhouse."

--

After dropping Katie off with her brother, and giving him strict instructions to keep her safe with veiled reasons as to why she may be in danger, Jax headed right over to Gemma and Clay's. It was late but not too late, he knew they'd be awake. Gemma was sitting in the kitchen with a joint and coffee while Clay was in his office with a glass of whiskey. He didn't bother explaining, he charged into the house and immediately asked where Clay was and when he got an answer he burst in to confront him. 

"You set up the kidnapping," he accused.

Clay looked at Jax with a hateful expression the younger man knew well. "What?"

"You set it all up, you had Hank take her, you wanted to come to the goddamn rescue. Why?"

Angry but less so now that he knew it was one of his less severe secrets, Clay stood up and leaned against his desk. "Jacob Feldstein can do things not many men can," Clay hissed. "Otto needs all the help he can get in Stockton and we need goodwill with the good Warden."

"That shit with the dead kid," Jax reminded Clay. "What was that?"

"Hank's son died," Clay nodded. "But Hank's son was a rat...or that's what we led him to believe," he flashed Jax an evil smirk.

Jax rolled his jaw. "Kid was young, Clay, and he was innocent."

"He was a piece of sit," Clay said loudly. "Just like his old man."

"You threw this shit together quick," Jax said, growing suspicious.

"I had this planned since we got the damn invitation weeks ago," he was proud of himself, that much was clear. "The details, the boyfriend, that was on the fly but we knew what we were doing."

Jax was dumbfounded. "What if she got hurt? Really hurt?"

"Not on me," he shrugged. "That would have been a fuck up on Hank."

"Brains before bullets," Jax reminded Clay. "There's a way to get the Warden without almost killing both of his kids."

"One of em'," Clay laughed.

"Who knows?"

"Me, you and Tig," Clay explained.

"And Happy," Jax added. "He beat it outta the asshole boyfriend."

"Now that's a body we're going to have to deal with," Clay said offhandedly.

"Just send em' back," Jax argued. "He's not gonna say shit."

Clay scoffed. "You wanna take that chance?"

"I don't wanna kill innocent people," he said sadly. "I won't."

"You better or it's gonna be you next," Clay forced the angry words through a clenched jaw. "Survival of the fittest, VP. If it ain't them, its one of us."

Jax didn't cower or flinch. "Not cause of this prick. These aren't the Niners or the Mayans, low rent pimps and small timers."

"Send him back to D.C. then," Clay shrugged. "Hope he doesn't run back and tell Kate's old man what he knows."

"That's on you," Jax jabbed a finger in Clay's direction.

"That's on the patch," Clay corrected him. "You think Jacob is gonna believe you had nothing to do with it?" Jax was silent. "And if you fucked her, that's even more reason for you to be in on it. You get to save the day and get the girl in bed, no-brainer."

Jax knew he was right about Katie's dad, he would go after the club not Clay and they'd all suffer the consequences. "I'll make sure he doesn't talk but I'm taking this to the club. The others need to know the target you put on all our backs."

"Tomorrow," Clay shrugged, holding his arms out at his sides. "We can both tell our sides."