On the Devil's Path {a SOA sequel}

Chapter twenty-six

Six months later

McKayla

"Hey Gemma, do you have the keys to the blue Prius?" I said, poking my head into the office.

Gemma looked at me over her glasses and shuffled some papers around on the desk.

"Shit I can't find them. Go and ask Dog if he's got them." She said.

I nodded once and set off through the garage.

For the last few months, I've been working with Gemma at Teller Morrow. When I first moved into the apartment I didn't plan on staying long. Gemma wasn't having that. She understood that I needed to be on my own but she knew how hard it would be to find a decent paying job in Charming that didn't involve sucking dick. Her solution was the garage. She'd been bugging Clay for months to hire someone to help and at least they knew they could trust me. I thought Clay wouldn't go for it but surprisingly, he was feeling guilty for almost getting me killed.

Dog was leaning over a truck in the garage when I finally found him. I asked him about the keys and he went to hunt them down. As I waited, I heard a bike pulling in. It was Jax. Out of habit I watched him swing his leg off the bike and pull his gloves off. For a brief second, his eyes met mine and held them. I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away.

The first few weeks of living in the club house were definitely hard. Jax and I would completely ignore each other and it felt like my heart was being ripped out every time. He looked like pure hell. His eyes were always blood-shot and his hair looked like he hadn't properly washed it since I left. Thinking back on it, I didn't really look my best either. Leggings and big shirts that were left around the apartment became my best friends. Gemma put a stop to that after a month. She dragged my ass into a salon and got me a whole new do. It's amazing what a new hair style can do for your ego. All eyes were on me when we got back to the club house. Once I started dressing like myself again, I actually felt better.

The best part of the new arrangement was I still got to see Abel. Jax and Gemma both decided that I shouldn't be ripped completely out of his life since I was the only mother that he's ever had. At first we made it so that Jax and I never had to cross paths but eventually we pushed down the hurt and managed to be in the same room with each other; for Abel's sake.

Despite the two of us acting more like adults, every time I did have to see him the only thing I wanted to do was jump into his arms and never let go again. Every night after everyone went home and I was alone I replayed that last night over and over. The biggest question that I still had was did I do the right thing? For the first time in my life I was taking care of myself. I was on my own, so to speak. I had a job and I wasn't scared for my life. I was making progress right? The only thing missing was the man I loved.

"Here you go Dollface, the keys you wanted." Dog said.

I smiled sweetly at him and he dropped the keys into my hands. I thanked him and finally handed them over to the owner of that ugly blue car. Gemma had made her way out of the mountain of paperwork and was sitting at the picnic table. I knew before I reached her that something was wrong. I've discovered that when she's nervous she chews on her bottom lip and picks the skin around her fingernails. From the looks of things, she was at a panic level 10.

"Gem, what's going on?" I asked her as I climbed up on the table.

She exhales deeply and flicks the ashes off her cigarette.

"The boys are in some shit. Supposed to be having a meeting today to clear it up, but something just don't feel right." She said, shaking her head.