After packing a bag and changing into regular clothes, Jax and Avery rode his bike over to the club house. Since it was late, there weren't many people around. In fact, when they walked into the clubhouse there was only Juice, Tig, and Bobby sitting around the bar drinking and listening to music.
Taking Avery by the hand, Jax led her through the clubhouse, ignoring the questioning eyes of his brothers, and to his old room. Just as he was about to open the door, he saw Tig coming down the hall, concern etched on his rugged face.

"Not now, bro. I'll explain everything in the daylight." said Jax before Tig could even speak. Taking Jax on his word, he beaded back the direction he came. Leaving Jax and Avery alone.

Once inside his old room, Jax shut and locked the door and pulled Avery to him, holding her tightly against him. As soon as she was in his embrace, she fell to pieces. She let the tears she had been holding back stream down her face, making his shirt wet from where her cheek was pressed tightly against him.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Jax after Avery's years seemed to slow down and her sobs weren't as frequent.

"Someone died in our home Jax. Someone who was out to hurt me and you. So no, I'm not okay." said Avery. Needing the space, she pulled away from jax and began pacing the room. She tried sitting on the bed. She tried sitting at the desk in the corner. But nothing seemed to work. She was too anxious to stay still. If she did, she would only think about how badly things could have gone tonight.
What if Abel had been home?

"I know. And I'm sorry... for all of it. But I wont say that I'm sorry about her being dead. She came there with the intent to hurt you and me. Her being dead is the consequences of her actions." said Jax.

"Did you kill her? Like did you intentionally cause her death?" asked Avery, voicing the one question that she had been dying to ask since she found out Wendy was dead. As much as she wanted to know the truth, she was terrified that Jax would say that he did it intentionally and she didn't know just how she felt about that.

"No. I didn't do it intentionally. It's just like I told the Deputy. She and I wrestled with the gun and it went off, shooting her in the neck. Yes, I could have called the EMT's but with the way blood was spewing, I knew it was pointless." said Jax as walked over to her and placed his hands on each side of her face, tilting her head back so that she was forced to look him in the eyes. "You believe me right?"

"Yes, I do." she whispered. "And I'm not sorry that she's dead either. What if Abel had been home? Jax, I couldn't live with myself if he had been home and something had happened to him because of you and I being together. I just couldn't."

"If Abel had been home and she tried her shit, You would have done what any mom would have done. You would have protected your child with your life. And you can believe me when I say that if he had been home and she had so much as even thought about going after him, I would have shot her right between the eyes and not thought twice about it.

Tears rolled down Avery's face once more, as the fear of something happening to Abel sank in. She knew that Jax was right. Regardless of what could happen to her, she would die if she had to if it meant that she was protecting him... her son. No, he might not be blood, but she already loved him just as much as if she had been the one carrying him in her belly.

"Now, let's both get showered and try to get some sleep. We can tell the guys about everything that happened tonight in the morning." said Jax as he grabbed her by the hand and began leading her to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

**********

Jax laid in bed, holding Avery tightly against him as she slept, thinking about everything that had happened tonight. If she hadn't gotten up to use the restroom, if she hadn't gotten the feeling that she was being watched, if she didn't have good instincts, tonight could have been his last night on earth with her. It could have very well been his last day on earth with his son as well. Just thinking about all of that made him realize that life was too short to just go through the motions. Life was too short to spend it wondering about what could have been... what should have been.
Knowing what he was going to do and knowing that it was fate, he began to formulate his plan. And he knew just who he would need help from to make it happen.

Sorry about this chapter being a little shoorter than normal. Im working on something for the next chapter and it would have just been too much to add to this one.
Thank you all for the reads! I hope you all are liking how this one is playing out so far. As always, please feel free to send me any feedback that you might have.
Dont forget to Like, Share, and Comment so that I know you guys are really loving it
~J