Slow Burn.

Chapter 22.

I hear a knock on the door and groan as the old man clears his throat, "Good morning." I groan, reaching for my shirt and pulling it on, as well as my jeans, buckling them up.

"What time is it?" I ask him, noticing the cup of coffee on the bed-side table. Kellan shakes his head and a small smile spreads on my face, it must be from Kacey.

"Almost noon." He tells me bluntly, and I nod, reaching for the coffee and taking a sip.

"Guess you heard." I tell him with a sigh, frustrated about yesterday's events and the fishiness behind it all.

Kellan nods, "Yes. I'm sorry about Patrick." He says with a blank expression and I shake my head, fed up with these smoky mirrors.

"Jimmy killed your brother and five members of my club. That blast was meant for Samcro." I tell him sternly, hoping

"Greed pushed him over the line. This betrayal means he's gone rogue, Jackson." He tells me, and I look up at the old man, my stare hard and cold.

"I need to know where to find Jimmy."

Kellan nods, "We'll make that happen, but first we have to prove that Jimmy blew up that truck." My eyebrows knit together, and I shake my head in confusion, not sure how this could reign priority over Jimmy. I hold onto the cup of coffee in my hand as I watch the old man continue, "Our conversation the other night. When I show the council proof that Jimmy sabotaged that shipment, knowingly murdered two of our men, then that task I put on you is no longer covert. You do it with full support of the Army."

"What about my kid? I need to know that however this may end, it ends with him being back with me, with Kacey. His family."

"With Jimmy out of the way... your son will return to his loving family." I snort, chuckling.

"Like I've got a choice."

Kellan sighs, "You'll need to find someone working with Jimmy, the closer the better."

"I got a few ideas."

The priest nods, "Once you find the right man, give Sean a ring. You'll find he's quite resourceful." And with that, he leaves me alone in the bedroom with my mind scattered and my cup of coffee.

---

I sit at the small table with my brother, father, Gemma, Clay and Maureen. I fiddle with the handle of my tea cup and stare into the brown liquid as I let out a sigh. "What's going on, Ace? You seem off." I look up to Noah and he has his eyebrow raised.

I hear footsteps coming from down the hallway and I look back to see Jax who's giving me a small grin before rubbing my shoulders as he presses a kiss to my temple. "Morning, babe."

My dad chuckles, "More like, good afternoon sleeping beauty." Jax chuckles and fills up his cup of coffee in the kitchen before coming over and taking a seat beside me.

"Whatever, old man." He teases my dad with a chuckle as he shakes his head. "What's going on?"

Noah leans back into his seat, arms crossed. "Just questioning my sister. You notice she's been off too since we've came?" He asks Jax and Jax shrugs, taking a sip of his coffee.

I sigh, looking over to Jax and our eyes quickly meet before he slightly shrugs. "I'm just stressed out, and I'm trying to find a balance between being normally stressed and too stressed, especially with this baby. I don't want anything to happen to it."

My dad sighs, reaching over and giving the back of my neck a reassuring squeeze. "I wish I could tell ya' it gets easy, but you and your mother are two of the most stressed out people I know." He chuckles and I give him a playful glare.