“Jax, long time no see,” a familiar voice said.
“Kelsey?” Jax asked in confusion, eyeing Tobi’s ex.
“That’s right!” she said, taking the opportunity to shove past him and knock the rifle out of his hands. Kelsey grabbed it and darted through the cabin until Tobi was in her sights. She aimed the rifle and shot it at her, knocking her back onto the couch.
“What the fuck!?” Sam yelled.
“That’s what you get, you cheating whore! And look who I found – the man everyone’s been dying to see. We got them, boys!”
Suddenly, two men from Hex were pushing through the doorway, gripping Jax by the arms and pulling him outside.
“Shark Tooth is going to love this,” the first man said. He was bald and stocky like a body builder. Jax didn’t recognize either of the men, and struggled hard to release himself.
Layne tackled Kelsey, who shrieked as they tugged the gun back and forth.
“You cheated on Kelsey?” Jax exclaimed as he tried to free himself.
Tobi was clutching her arm, which was bleeding profusely.
“Well…it was Sam,” she said weakly, shrugging. Sam and Tobi exchanged a look, which made Kelsey bellow in fury.
Jax shook his head, maneuvering himself so that he tripped one of the men. The bald man fell hard, and Jax was able to squirm out of his grip. With his free hand he struck the other man, who was also burly and had a bushel of thick brown hair.
The women were still grappling for the gun and Kelsey punched Layne in the face. Layne staggered backward and Jax growled in fury, kicking the man who still gripped his arm and twisting it in one of the martial arts moves he learned at Hex. A sickening snap pierced the air and the man howled, releasing Jax, who stumbled and pulled his knife out of its sheath.
Sam was terrified, but tended swiftly and expertly to the gunshot wound on Tobi’s arm. She cried out in surprise when Tobi leapt off the couch and gripped the gun before Layne fully released her grip on it, staring Kelsey.
“Leave her alone,” she hissed.
“Shut up!” Kelsey wailed, breaking down into sobs.
Tobi groaned and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. She had the gun now and wasted no time in shooting the man on the floor, who was groggily coming back to consciousness and reaching for Jax. He fell limply to the floor and Jax jumped away from them. He crouched at Layne’s side, helping her off the floor. Tobi shot the other man for good measure and he fell to the ground. She tossed the gun back to Jax, sinking down onto the floor with Kelsey, who was inconsolable.
“I can’t believe you followed me here, Kels.”
“What else was I supposed to do?” she asked.
“Seriously? Stalking me is the answer? You know as well as I do that you didn’t love me anymore.”
“But you were still mine,” Kelsey glowered.
“That’s not how it works. And I already told you I left you. I wasn’t joking. You didn’t love me. You don’t love me. This is all spite. Just go home, Kelsey.”
“But…”
“If you really did love me, you’d let me be happy.”
Kelsey stood up, wiping her tear stained face.
“I just don’t know what to do without you.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Tobi sighed, walking Kelsey to the door.
“I just miss you,” Kelsey sighed.
“I think we should kill her,” Sam interjected. Kelsey shot her a bitter look, but said nothing.
“I think so, too,” Layne said, nursing the bruise on her face.
Jax and Tobi exchanged looks. Kelsey was a good person at heart. But she had been too full of grief to think clearly. Still, she was a liability.
“I’m not sure that’s necessary,” Tobi said, looking into Kelsey’s eyes. “Is it?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’d almost rather die than feel this way.”
“You’re going to be fine,” Jax said. “But don’t make me regret letting you go. You could just as easily end up like those two. Tell them you guys ambushed us on the road and we got the better of you. Not a word about anything else.”
“All right, Jax,” Kelsey sighed, stepping over the bloody bodies on the floor. “I’m sorry about all of this. Oh. Sorry for shooting you, Tobi.”
Tobi laughed scornfully.
“Get out of here and keep your mouth shut or I’ll return the favor,” she said. “Oh, and I think you should probably talk to Loretta…I’m pretty sure she’s had her eye on you since you arrived.”
“Really?”
Tobi nodded and Kelsey looked thoughtfully at the ground. She smiled privately to herself, and with that, Kelsey took off running through the forest, heading toward home.
***
“What the fuck was that?” Sam exclaimed when Jax and Tobi returned to the cozy living room.
“I can’t believe you two just let her go,” Layne agreed.
“She’s mostly harmless,” Tobi sighed.
“It’s true. We were all really good friends back when I was in Hex. I think it will be all right.”
“I think you guys made a huge mistake,” Sam said, shaking her head.
“You never liked her anyway,” Tobi teased, laughing before she winced in pain.
“Shut up and let me take a look at that,” Sam said, changing the subject.
As Sam dressed Tobi’s wounds, the small group sat in silence.
“What are we going to do now?” Tobi finally asked.
“Layne mentioned a place up north,” Sam said.
“There’s no way you can make it up there right now,” Jax said quietly. “Tobi is injured and the weather was unforgiving when I left. I can only imagine it would be worse now.”
They sat in silence and Layne finally spoke up.
“What if you stayed here with us?” she said, snuggling the little puppy close. “We could fix the shed up and make it a nice little house for you two.”
“Are you serious?” Tobi asked, wide-eyed. “Jax, you don’t have to agree to that. It’s a huge risk to take. We can figure something out. Seriously. We may not be welcome back at Hex, but we can find something.”
“Actually,” Jax said, “I think it would be great if we stuck together. There’s safety in numbers after all. And I missed you a lot. Besides, if we’re going to be having a baby, I’d love for it to have a big family.”
“What do you think about it, Sam?” Tobi asked.
“Anywhere is better than the bigots at Hex,” she said, looking down at the ground. The group sat in stunned silence as it became clear that a new arrangement had been made. Sam and Tobi were there to stay.