When a mysterious woman rescues Abel from a kidnapping and wants nothing in return, it gets Jax's attention. Then he starts finding out more and more things about the woman that just don't add up. Will his curiosity get the better of him or will he...
Jax and Opie stood in front of the dilapidated house on Blackmire Road with Chibs and Bobby, shaking their heads and looking at each other before glancing back to the mess in front of them. Finally, Opie sighed and threw his cigarette to the ground.
"They can't be serious, right? I mean, nobody would want to live in this place."
Jax shrugged as he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "Well, they seem serious. I thought Ariel's place was a shit show but this place makes it look quaint."
Opie snorted as they turned at the sound of vehicles approaching from down the long driveway. "Yeah, well at least Ariel's place is safe. This place definitely isn't."
Jax, Chibs, and Bobby all nodded in agreement before Jax smirked at his best friend. "Well, you can always try to talk some sense into Minerva, but she's headstrong, man."
Opie shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest. Jax smirked because he'd know that stubborn look anywhere. He'd been seeing it since they were kids. "Well, someone sure needs to."
They turned to see Minerva park her truck beside their bikes, while another car, an old Chevy Nova, pulled up next to her. The woman that got out of the driver's side looked older than the others by a lot of years, with black hair shot through with silver that fell in wild curls down her back. She donned a pair of sunglasses as she stared up at the house in front of her, slowly shaking her head. Minerva walked over to her and said something quietly before the woman nodded and sighed before following Minerva and Ariel to where the men were standing.
Minerva smiled as Ariel went to give Jax a hug. "Hello, gentlemen! To what do we owe this visit today?" She glanced around before her gaze stopped on Opie, making her swallow hard. "Oh my! You're a big one, aren't you?"
The new woman smacked Minerva on the arm. "Jesus, Minnie! Manners!" She smiled in apology at Opie. "I'm sorry but she just usually blurts out whatever she's thinking. Believe me, it could have been much worse." She stuck out a hand. "I'm Riley Meadows." When she had shaken hands with all of them, she sighed and turned back to the house. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get this over with." She shivered as she rubbed a hand over the back of her neck. "The sun is going to be setting soon, and I really don't want to be in there when that happens."
As she took a few steps toward the house, Chibs put a hand out. "Darlin', I dinnae think it's safe to go in there jus' ye'."
She quirked her lips in a half-smile and nodded. "Oh, I know. In more ways than one, but I'm afraid that I must." She turned to look at her friends. "I'll be back out shortly. I hope."
As he sent a look to his brothers, Chibs sighed and shook his head. "If ye insist on goin' in, luv, I'll go with ye."
She smirked then and shrugged. "Whatever makes you feel better, Rob Roy."
Without glancing back in his direction, she stepped gingerly onto the sinking porch and pushed the door open slowly. She stood in the doorway for a moment, muttering to herself before nodding and stepping through into the dark house. Chibs followed behind after Bobby tossed him a flashlight. She moved farther into the old living room or parlor, stopping in the middle of the room and closing her eyes. Chibs cleared his throat as he looked around.
"Where ye from, luv?"
She opened her eyes to turn to him with a frown. "Please, don't speak. I need to concentrate." He frowned in confusion but nodded, folding his arms over his chest. He watched as the air around her seemed to start moving, although there wasn't a draft to be had in the room. He started to reach out for her when her hair started to blow into her face, from some invisible force. She held up a hand to him even as she turned to her other side. "Yes, I see you. I hear you. What do you want to tell me?" She sucked in a breath before nodding slowly. "Yes, show me."
She turned to walk out of the room, leaving Chibs to follow her as they made their way through the old kitchen to a door leading to a basement. As she started for the stairway down, he grabbed her arm and shook his head. "Nah, darlin'. That's far enough. We dinnae know wha's down there, yeah?"
She sighed as she held out a hand. "Look, I need to go down there. Give me the flashlight." When he just stared at her, she tilted her head. "I really need to go down to the basement. You need to stay up here." Finally, he handed over the torch and she nodded in thanks. "I'll be fine, I promise. This isn't my first time."
He frowned as she let the flashlight illuminate the darkness below them. "Yer firs' time for wot?"
She shook her head. "I don't have time to explain right now."
As she disappeared into the darkness, he stood at the doorway, trying to peer down to where she was, but he couldn't see anything beyond the first few steps. He stood there for several minutes, feeling like an idiot before he heard movement from below. He stepped back as she climbed out of the basement, looking like she'd seen a ghost. Without a word, she hurried past him and toward the front of the house, practically running by the time she got outside. She shook her head at Minerva and Ariel.
"First, I need your spellbook. Second... " She turned to look at everyone gathered around with a serious face. "You all have a serial killer in Charming."
