Paroled

Chapter 24

Opie left Saint Thomas and took Eva's SUV to Donna's. It was still early but he knew she'd be up and the kids would be too busy getting ready for school to care about their conversation. As he expected she was shocked to see him on the front steps.

"Hey," she drew her head back. "You look awful." Her eyes looked him up and down and she gasped. "Christ, Ope, is that blood?"

"Tomorrow I need you to go see Jax, he's gonna have some cash for you, for the kids, I think I'm gonna be under the radar for a while."

"What happened?" She asked, her face changing from horror and confusion to fear and a hint of sorrow. "Ope, what's going on?"

"Jax'll fill you in," he told her. "Make sure the kids know how much I love them."

"You're scaring me," Donna said, grabbing his hand. "I have some of your old stuff, you'll need clean clothes, Ope."

Looking down at himself he nodded and stepped into the house. "I appreciate it."

Donna disappeared and Opie was left alone for a few minutes but even that short amount of time was too much to handle. He was instantly flooded with fear and life altering questions. Where was Harry? Would Eva pull through? Would he really be accused of hurting her so terribly?

"Hey," Donna came out from the basement. "It's old but it's clean...clean-ish."

"Thanks," he took the clothing from her.

"You can clean up in the laundry room, if you want," she offered.

He shook his head. "If this goes where we think it will I don't wanna pull you in, I appreciate it though." Opie kissed her cheek and left quickly, not wanting the kids to see him in such a horrific state, and after texting Jax, made a few stops before heading for the reservation.

Sitting comfortably under a tree, cigarette dangling from his lips and tears slowly running down his cheeks, he waited for Jax to arrive. Opie was given enough warning by the rumble on his engine to wipe his tears before Jax actually pulled up.

"Hey," Jax said, greeting Opie with a hug. "How you doing?"

"I don't know," he huffed. "Any news on Eva or the baby?"

Jax shook his head. "Nah. Tara said she's the same and PD's coming up empty. They're waiting on prints to come back."

"Do I really have to be up here?" Opie asked. "Maybe Tara overreacted?"

"Hale's been asking about you guys, if you were fighting or something," Jax explained. "He's got his suspect already."

Opie shook his head and turned away, filling with rage. "This is bullshit. I should be there and he should be looking for my kid!"

"We're gonna find Harry," Jax assured Opie. "Hale is good for nothing, we'll take care of it."

"If Johnny wasn't dead," Opie grubmled.

"I thought the same thing," Jax admitted.

"Here," Opie motioned for Jax to follow him to the car. "This is for Donna and the kids," he handed Jax a large wad of cash. "If she needs anything please help her out."

"Got it," Jax promised. "Stay here for a few days, lay low, if Hale gets rabid I"ll let you know and we'll figure out where to go."

Opie already had a plan for that but he nodded and kept that to himself. "Yeah, if they get another lead though, I'm coming out."

"We'll let you know if anything changes," Jax told him. "You good?"

"No," he said sadly.

Jax nodded, knowing that would be the answer, and hugged his best friend. "We'll clean it up, we'll bring your family home."