Chapter 23

Axel

Jax answered the phone on the second ring. His voice was thick, and I knew I had woken him from a deep sleep.

“Hey. Get your lazy ass out of bed. Meet me at the old shop.”

“What the fuck? Dude, how early is it?”

“It’s past nine.”

“Nine?” Jax exclaimed. I had to hold the phone away from my ear, he was so loud. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing calling me so early? You know I need my beauty sleep.”

“You’re already pretty enough, you fuck. Now get up. I need you.”

“All right,” Jax groaned, and I heard him getting out of bed. Then I heard the mutterings of a female companion who I imagined was lying naked beside him in bed. “I’ll be right there, Axel. Don’t get your fucking panties in a bunch. I just have to eat something.” I heard him mutter something to the girl he was with. She giggled, and I shook my head.

“If that something is pussy, it can wait. Seriously.”

There was a short silence on the other end. “Fine. I’ll see you in ten.”

Jax hung up the phone, and I put my car in drive and headed toward the old shop.

The property was barren save for a pile of charred lumber set to the northeast corner. I stood there to wait for Jax.

He arrived exactly ten minutes after hanging up the phone. He parked his truck in front of the lumber and hopped out after turning off the engine. He fixed me with a dark glare as he walked around the hood of the car.

“This had better be important. You have no idea how good the tits were on the babe I was with. Hollywood kind of tits, you know? So perky and—”

“I just found out I have a daughter, man.” The words spilled out of me and hung in the air between us like a heavy fog.

Jax’s eyebrows crept upward. “What?”

“Yeah. I have a daughter.”

“Fuck.” The word was quiet, and it summed up everything I was feeling at that moment.

“Yeah.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Jax scratched the back of his neck as he sorted through this new piece of information. Finally, the questions came to the surface. “Who’s the mother?”

“Evelyn. She was the one—”

“With the Camaro. Yeah. I remember. What the fuck happened? Did you meet up with her recently to fuck?”

I shook my head. I suppose his questions made sense. “No. She died, man. Car accident. Her daughter—my daughter—is three already. I never knew about her until the cops showed up at my place and told me she was mine.”

“Shit.”

I nodded.

“She’s three? And Evelyn … poor Evelyn. She was a good girl, that one. Way too good for you or the likes of us.”

“I know.”

Jax sighed. “What are you gonna do?”

“Well, she’s mine, and I’m going to raise her. Ellie has stepped in and is really helping out. I don’t know what I’d do without her. But this changes everything.”

“Well, no shit, it does,” Jax scoffed. “All of a sudden, you have a toddler. From motors and pistons to diapers and soothers. Cool man, real cool.”

“She doesn’t wear diapers anymore.” I scowled.

Jax chuckled. “Well, there’s one win for you.”

It didn’t feel like a win. None of this felt like a win. It felt like I needed to prepare for the worst, and it was because of how terrible the timing was of Hanna’s arrival. Evelyn would be furious with me. She never would have wanted her little girl to end up with me. I knew that for certain, and she certainly wouldn’t have wanted her coming into my life when someone like Watson was back in town.

I didn’t want that, either.

I had been pushing away an ominous feeling that things were about to change for days now. Ever since the shop had burned down, I knew the lives we were living were going to shift. They had to. After Johnny and I went after the Black Hearts with our bats, that much was solidified.

Then, Jax had told me Watson had taken over the Black Hearts. Had I known that beforehand, I probably never would have bothered talking Johnny into making a move. I would have listened to his advice and stayed low, keeping my opinions to myself so I could handle Watson on my own.

I still had to handle him on my own. It was my responsibility. Only I knew how ruthless he was, and I refused to let the others get tangled up in his web of cruelty. I had to put a stop to this before everything got out of hand, and having Hanna in my life made that even clearer to me.

“Well,” Jax said, pulling my thoughts from the darkest corners of my mind. “If you need any help, you know I’ve got your back, right? I may not know shit about kids, but I can try. And the other boys will be there for you too. Have you talked to Ryder?”

“Not yet.”

“You should. He should know. Hanna will have a place with all of us.”

“I don’t know if I want that.”

“The only way to get her out of it is if you leave, man. And we both know that option isn’t on the table anymore. Besides, the MC isn’t that bad. We can help give her a good life. Keep her safe. Scare off future boyfriends.” Jax winked.

“Not with Watson around,” I blurted out.

Jax arched an eyebrow and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he rocked back on his heels. “Oh?”

I shook my head and blew out an exasperated breath. “That’s the main reason I wanted you to meet me here. I had to tell someone about Hanna because I’m going to make a move soon. I’m going to have to. Otherwise, people are going to start getting hurt, and I don’t want that on my conscience. I have enough shit to deal with right now.”

“What do you mean by make a move? What are you planning, Axel?”

Jax didn’t need to know all the details. I wanted to keep him as far away from all this as possible because I had another, more important job for him. One with even higher stakes than handling Watson and his goons.

“I need you to promise me something.” I held Jax’s gaze.

“Anything.” Jax’s hands came out of his pockets, and he crossed his arms.

“If something happens to me—”

“Come on, man, don’t fuck with me like this. I don’t want to have one of these heart-to-hearts where you think something bad is going to happen.”

“I don’t care what you want,” I growled. “You need to promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll watch out for Ellie and Hanna. I trust you. I’ve always trusted you. And so does Ellie.”

Jax’s forehead was creased as his eyebrows drew so close together, they were almost touching. “I don’t like this.”

“You don’t have to like it. You just have to promise.”

“Why don’t I come with you for whatever this thing is you’re planning? You’re gonna need another guy to make sure it all goes down the way you want. Fuck, man, you can’t seriously be considering taking on Watson by yourself. You must be mental.”

“I have to do this one alone. I can’t afford to make any mistakes. More people means more collateral where Watson is concerned. I know what I’m doing, Jax. If anyone has a chance of knocking him off his seat, it’s me.”

Jax rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “All right, fine. I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“You’d better not make me fucking regret this, man. I don’t want to be the one to have to explain this shit to Ryder if things go sideways. You hear me?”

I nodded. “I hear you. Loud and clear.”

“He’d knock my fucking teeth out and wear them as a necklace.”

I nodded. I could picture the image quite easily. “It won’t come to that. Everything will be fine.” It has to be.

“I sure as hell hope so because if Ryder doesn’t kill me, Ellie sure as hell will. And to be honest, I think I’m more afraid of her than I am of the President. You know? I’ve seen that spark of crazy in her eye before. She’d beat my skull in with a tire iron.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me, Jax. But you know how it is. In the MC, you always have to prepare for the worst. You never know what tomorrow might bring. And I can’t leave people behind without knowing there’s someone there looking out for them. You’ve always been a good friend to me, man. I’m grateful for it.”

Jax scrunched up his nose like he had just caught a whiff of a horrendous smell. He waved me away and took a step back. “Keep your feelings to yourself, you pussy. I don’t need to hear them. I don’t want this to turn into a moment.”

I laughed and so did Jax, and the reprieve from the serious conversation was welcomed. I had said everything I needed to, and Jax, in typical Jax fashion, had received it well. He was making jokes, but I knew he understood how serious this all was and how much it meant to me. Ellie was the most important thing in my life now, and so was Hanna. I would do whatever it took to ensure their safety, and I trusted Jax would do the same.

He had just promised me he would, and a promise in the MC was never broken.

I extended my hand, and Jax took it. We shook on it firmly, holding each other’s gaze for a brief moment.

“Thanks.” I nodded.

Jax let go of my hand and turned back to his truck. As he opened the door, he paused and twisted back around to me. “Don’t do anything stupid, all right?”

“When have I ever done anything stupid?”

Jax threw his head back and laughed at the sky before sliding into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. He pulled away, leaving me alone with the charred rubble before me.

It was a reminder of the damage that had already been done.

A call to the fight.

And my answer was at the tip of my tongue.

“I’m coming for you,” I muttered, before looking up at the clouds that were heavy with rain, ready to let loose and let the water fall down on us.