Roots Run Deep

Chapter 26

Jax and Opie immediately went on the hunt for Darby but it was a short one. Considering his injuries, not critical but painful, they expected to find him at home and they were correct. Jax pounded his fist on the door and when Darby opened it an inch to see who was there Opie forced his way inside, Jax following after.

"What the hell is this?" Darby shouted.

Jax sauntered up to him, smug and furious, and pointed to Darby's burns. "Shit looks like it hurts."

"It does," he sneered. "Now what do you want?"

"How'd you get em'?" Jax asked.

"BBQ gone wrong," he huffed.

Opie stood behind Jax, silent but menacing, as Jax grew tired of Darby denying the obvious. "Not a porn studio arson gone wrong?"

Darby huffed again, avoiding eye contact with the Sons.

"We're not fucking stupid," Opie grumbled.

"Why?" Jax growled.

"Money," Darby scoffed.

"Money? There was no money there. So who paid you?"

"The Warden," Darby announced with little reservation. "Jacob Feldstein."

Jax turned to look at Opie, both with confused expressions before he went back to the conversation. "Someone was in there, almost got really hurt, you're lucky she didn't." As he spoke Jax grew more and more threatening.

"No one was there," Darby said earnestly. "I checked!"

"Not hard enough," Jax snapped. "His daughter was in the office and you're goddamn lucky she walked outta there."

"Wait, why are you here? Are the Sons working for him now?"

Jax chuckled. "Nah. I'm sure he'll have his own assholes out here for you soon, I'm here for Katie. She's with me, so no one fucks with her even her old man."

"I didn't know," he said quickly. "I don't need shit with you and him."

"Consider this your warning," Jax snarled. "You know what, I have a better idea," Jax suddenly laughed devilishly. "You're coming with us, Ernie, and you're gonna do me a personal favor."

--

Darby scribbled his name on the line as instructed and pushed the paper back across the desk. "And he won't know it was me?"

"Probably won't even get to charge him," Unser sighed, exhausted despite it only being 10 in the morning. "Just need probable cause in case he decides to go above board."

"He won't," Jax mumbled from the corner of the room. "Get outta here, Darby, keep your head down for a while," Jax winked.

Stomping petulantly, Darby got up from the chair and grumbled angrily under his breath on his way out of the office. Unser looked at Jax, beleaguered as always, and leaned back in his chair.

"So what now?"

"Pick him up," Jax shrugged. "Arson and attempted murder feel like charges you should probably arrest him for immediately."

Groaning, Unser stood. "I wish the goddamn cancer would take me already."

"Ah, don't be so negative," Jax said, patting him on the back on his way out the door. "Thanks, Chief."

--

"I don't know," Katie said firmly. "I just fell asleep, I didn't mean to. I usually go back to Jax's, I would have preferred to be there," she huffed. "Dad, I'm really tired and I want to go home so can you stop raising my blood pressure so they'll discharge me?"

Jacob frowned. "You shouldn't have been there."

"I. Know." She said again.

"This business was a bad idea," he chided. "And I put that on Jax."

"I'm a grown woman, Jax didn't force me to sign those papers, I wanted to."

"He wanted to control you," Jacob assumed.

"Oh my god," she laughed. "No, he didn't. The only other motive he had was finding me a job that meant he was the only man sleeping with me," she said it with a smug smile. "So yeah, be pissed that he doesn't want to share me with other men, or whatever, but he didn't make me do this. I wanted to."

"For him? Or for yourself?"

"Little bit of both," she admitted. "I like him and as much as I love the money and freedom and power that comes with sex work I love the way he makes me feel even more. When I went back to D.C. and had to go back to work it was different, it wasn't as fun, cause I missed Jax. I wanted Jax."

Jacob was angry, speechless, and growing impatient that his plans were falling apart around him. All the work that had gone into separating them and Clay getting his pound of flesh was doing nothing but digging him into a deeper hole. Jacob wondered if any of it was really worth it, it wasn't, but with Clay holding his past sins over his head Jacob had little wiggle room.

"Excuse me," Tara poked her head in. "Mr. Feldstein, Chief Unser is looking for you," she gestured to the hall.

"I'll be right back," Jacob said to Katie, kissing her on the cheek before stepping out to see Unser. "What can I do for you?"

Unser looked regretful but he didn't hesitate. Reaching for his cuffs he grabbed Katie's father's wrist and said, "Jacob Feldstein, you are under arrest for arson and attempted murder."