The Life of Nikki Winston

Secret Revealed

The next morning, after a long talk with all of the Teller/Morrow family, I finally convinced Clay and Jax to let me be in Chapel with them when they told the club about what happened to Gemma and I. I stood between Jax and Clay's seats while everyone gathered around the redwood table. "Guessing this has to do with hose patches being back on your kutte?" Bobby asked of Jax as he sat down.

"Yeah. I'm not going Nomad." Jax answered.

"That's good news, Jackie boy." Chibs spoke up.

"Just listen up." Jax intoned. As soon as everyone's eyes turned to Clay, I rested my hand on Jax's shoulder and bit my lip to keep myself in check.

"The night of Bobby's party...  Gemma and Nikki never had a car accident with no barricade. They were jumped... on 18. They, uh, took them to the utility house - three of Zobelle's crew - and they gave them a message to deliver - stop selling guns..... They raped Gemma and Nikki." I dug my nails into Jax's leather clad shoulder as I heard the other guys' gasps while they cried out words I didn't want to process. "One of 'em was Weston."

"What do we do?" My brother demanded - I could see from the way he and my dad were holding themselves that they couldn't take hearing it any better the second time.

"We get bloody. And we chop their goddamn heads off." Chibs crowed. Everyone seemed to agree, but Clay brought them back to the present, denying their need for a repayment of blood.

"We ain't ever seen an assault like this, and as much as I would like to cut their hearts out, a show of force just puts us back in jail. We got to do what we've been doing - you know, find a weakness, unravel 'em." Jax imparted to the guys.

"Until they, nobody reacts. You see Zobelle, you see Weston, you see any of the crew, you... you swallow the urge to kill them and then you walk on. Understood?" Clay demanded.

"We got to get our hands on some guns. Cupboard is bare." Bobby pointed out.

"Chinese gun source is laying low since the immigration snafu. It's going to be weeks before we see any of that shit." Clay replied.

"We got to tap our personal stock. Everyone bring in what you got." Jax advised.

"Can I say something to all of you before you adjourn?" I asked, staying Clay's hand just as he was about to slam it down to send everyone on their way.

"What is it, Darlin'?" Jax prodded, looking up at me over his shoulder.

"Gemma and I, we kept this from you because we didn't want you going into something with them blind. You only know now, because we couldn't keep it in any longer and the club was falling apart anyway. That's why we hid it to begin with. We knew that if we told you right after it happened, you would either die, go to jail, or both, and the club would be ruined. Please, be smart about this and for god's sake look after each other, okay?" I begged them, making eye contact with everyone at the table. "And one more thing, Gemma may not want this, but I do; I want something of Weston's. I don't care what it is. I need to be able to burn it myself to purge him completely from my mind."

"We'll take care of it, lass. And we'll be safe while we do it. Be assured of that." Chibs swore to me. I gave him a nod in thanks while Clay adjourned the meeting. As soon as Jas stood, I turned my attention to him.

"I got to go talk to Gemma. Make sure she's okay after last night. I'll be with her if you need me."

"Okay. Keep your phone on you. If something happens, you call me."

"I will. Jax, please stay safe for me."

"I will, Darlin'. Don't worry. We'll make it better." I waited until after Jax had placed a kiss on my forehead to leave the Chapel and the lot to go to Gemma.