Blue Angel

Taking a Lead

The loud crack of the gavel hammering down on the sound block indicated church had once again come to a close. The heavy haze of lingering smoke clouded the air that would slowly dissipate as the leather clad men filed out of the room that held the important votes concerning the club's business. Things had been unusually quiet and that, in Jax's experience, that was never a good thing. The boys had more than enough free time on their hands where the club was concerned. But he was sure that would surely change soon enough.

The cherry at the end of his cigarette began to extinguish as Jax stubbed out the end in the overflowing ashtray. He stayed leaning forward against the reaper table, hands folded in front of him. He really had no reason to sit there alone; things had been going well in his life for a change. The relationships with the Mayans and Chinese were mended, muling for Pope was going as planned. Even his mother had stopped giving him shit about Scarlet once she realized he wasn't budging where she was concerned. There was only one issue Jax had; there had been no leads on Otto's murder. And that was now very personal on two levels.

"Jax, you ok man?" Tig's hand tightened on the president's shoulder, causing him to look up at the man that once held the Sgt flash. Sucking his bottom lip in against his teeth, he nodded in an answer.

"Yeah, man, I'm good." With one of his reassuring smiles, Jax raised from his seat at the head of the table and exited the room with his brother, his gaze instantly scanning the main room of the clubhouse.

His feet moved him forward in a confident stride, headed right for the bar where the Prospect already had their cold beers waiting. Jax reached out and grasped the brown bottle, the same action followed by Tig as he stepped in behind the President. Leaning against the bar with his side, elbow propped, Jax caught a sudden glimpse of her as she swayed her own confident self into the room where they all waited.

"Hey beautiful." His lips curled up with a smile as Scarlet made her way to the bar where he waited, Jax raising his hand to signal the Prospect to get her a drink. Placing his own bottle on the marble surface, his arm extended and grasped her hip, giving her a subtle tug forward until his lips brushed over her warm cheek.

It had been a few weeks since Jax and Scarlet had been caught by his very own mother fucking on the reaper table like a pair of teenagers. The boys had been still giving him shit about it; the comments had yet to cease. But he shrugged them off, he knew each one of his brothers liked Scarlet, even besides the fact of who her father was. She somehow matched his rough exterior with her own and the part of his heart that was pure matched hers, the one craving to be loved. Granted in this life there was no fairytale endings but for now he'd take what he had with his sassy spitfire.

At the same moment Scarlet grabbed for her beer that the Prospect had slid across the bar, Jax's burner vibrated in the inner pocket of his kutte. Laying the beer down, he retrieved the flip phone quickly and answered it.

"Yeah?" His brows furrowed as the voice on the other end surprised him. He stepped away from the bar where he stood, his brothers curiously glancing in his direction as he took the call. Jax found himself pacing as the informant spoke on the other end.

"How'd you get this info on Otto?" His voice erupted louder than he had intended. He turned his head back to Scarlet, catching the moment her expression shifted with the mention of her late father. Fuck, just what he needed. She'd start pressing him for even more info, more so than she did every night already.

"Yeah, alright. Meet us in a hour. Stockton port." Without another word Jax slammed the phone shut and returned it where it had previously rested in his leather. His blue gaze went from Tig to Chibs before coming to rest on Hap.

"I need you three with me. Quinn, you and Rat stay here until I let you know otherwise. Baby.." He lowered his eyes from his brothers and trailed them over to Scarlet where they rested. The look on her face was one of question that he needed to extinguish and fast. "...I'll call you later okay. I'll meet you at the house when I get back. You'll check in on Abel for me, right?"

Not waiting for an answer, he brushed one more kiss to her soft cheek, making a motion with his hand for the others to follow him as he struts out of the clubhouse to the line of Harleys in the lot.

Scarlet

That night, a few weeks ago when Jax showed up as promised, something between them just clicked. Jax had walked into the door, Scarlet seen the almost panicked look on his face as his eyes scanned the room for her. "Listen, My mom is nuts.." Was all he had to say, Scarlet didn't even respond. She had walked up to him caressing his cheek her eyes searching his for any hint that he was misleading her. From that night on she was his, He was hers. Maybe in the eyes of the club or his crazy ass mother they were not together, but to them they had a silent understanding.

Jax had called Scarlet earlier in the day telling her to meet him at T.M. There was no reason she needed to be there because there had not been any news on her father. Scarlet had wondered if it was more for show. The more Jax kept Scar around him and in the view of the club the more they would get the dicks out of their asses. She knew it was nothing personal towards her, but more of the morals the club lived by.

She didn't care as long as he didn't care, she gave in to the fight of trying to keep him away only because the harder she pushed him away, Jax shoved back. If she wasn't sure of anything, she was sure of him.

Before She reached the doors to the club house, Scarlet's smirk slowly pulled back. She loved the way all the croeaters watched her with daggers in their eyes. The SAMCRO men respected her old man at that had spilled over to her. She could feel the power seep into her vein as she made her way to the President. She knew being with Jax put a lot on her as his Ol' lady but it was all something she wore proudly. Besides, none of the 'eaters dared to look at her sideways after what she did to the cherry that now wears a scar on her left cheek.

"Hey beautiful." His attention turned fully on Scarlet the moment she was in his line of sight. Jax hands slipped around her hips pulling her to him, Jax never seemed to have her close enough, even with her on top of him. "Hey babe" Scarlet chimed leaning in against him letting their lips lock in a heated moment of passion.

Scarlet had turned her head for only a moment to pick up her bottle, when the warmth of Jax callus hands quickly dropped from around her. Jax had walked away from Scarlet which always pissed her off, she never questioned it but her eyes always gave away that it annoyed her.

"How'd you get this info on Otto?" Scarlet's heart dropped at the mention of Otto, everything dimmed to a dual ring in her ear as her eyes stayed steady on Jax. When he snapped his phone shut and walked over to her. She didn't hear a word he said all she gathered was he was leaving her behind and that didn't sit well with her. Jax had assured her to take her along with anything that had to do with Otto, this was the first promise Jax Teller had broke to her.

Watching the men in kuttes leave the bar the shock had wore off in time enough for her to grab her keys and hustle out the door. She knew what she was doing was going to get her in some deep shit but when it came to Otto, Scarlet had no off button. She hopped in her car and followed at distance right to Stockton. She parked her car across the street and watched others pull up meeting with Jax. Gripping her steering wheel she watched shaking her head cursing Jax under her breath.