Let It Be Me

"Hey, Jax," Opie called from the next garage stall over. "You've got company, I think. And she don't look too happy either."

Jax looked up to see Nikki, the redhead, stomping across the lot in his direction. He shook his head and cursed under his breath before wiping his hands off with a nearby rag and walking out to meet her.

"What the hell, Jax?" Nikki demanded. "That little bitch threw me out three days ago and I haven't heard from you since."

"Your point?"

"So what, you're fucking her now? Is that what's going on? I tried going to Gemma but seems she doesn't want to have anything to do with this one."

Jax rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's because Gemma doesn't deal with crow eaters."

Nikki's eyes grew wide with anger. "Crow eater? You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Not in the least. If I wanted to talk to you Nikki, I would have gotten a hold of you. You've been around long enough to know how this works. Now, how about you decide to act like a lady and get the hell out of here with what dignity you have left."

She stomped her foot, but turned to go just the same. 'Crow eater' was something even Nikki knew meant the end of the line. And, after her little display, it was unlikely that any Son would ever go near her again. Best to do as Jax said and leave with the little dignity she still possessed.

Jax shook his head again and turned around, immediately catching eye contact with Austin. She was standing just outside of the garage, seemingly keeping tabs on the situation. She turned her gaze to the ground and casually turned back to her work. Jax thought for a moment he saw a look of remorse on her face.

.:.

After the workday was through, Austin headed for the TM office. She didn't even feel like taking a drive at the moment, but she wasn't ready to go to the clubhouse until Jax was out for a while. She'd let her anger get the best of her when she threw that bimbo out of the clubhouse, and now that the girl had come back demanding answers from Jax, Austin was sure she was in for it.

As far as she knew, Jax hadn't mentioned the incident to anyone. She was grateful for that; no doubt Kip would have her ass for causing a scene, even if really no one was there to witness it. Although she supposed she had a hand in the scene on the lot earlier that day.

Telling Kip what had happened in Carolina had taken the edge off, but all of her anger was going to come to a head soon, she could tell. Maybe it was better to find an outlet soon to get it out of her system so she wouldn't be so irritable. Granted, she'd always had some anger issues, but nothing that had felt to unmanageable.

"What are you doing in here?" Gemma asked, walking into the office.

Austin stood up from the chair next to the desk and apologized. "Just needed some quiet and wasn't sure the clubhouse could provide that. Didn't feel like driving. I'll get out of your way."

Gemma put a hand on Austin's shoulder before she could get out the door. "Have a seat."

Sighing and figuring she was really in for it, Austin did as she was told. Gemma took a seat in her usual chair and eyed Austin briefly before speaking.

"Jax's little crow eater friend, Nikki, came to me the other day, pretty upset about some brunette who threw her naked out of the clubhouse. I'm assuming that wasn't another girl in his harem."

Austin cleared her throat and shook her in the negative. "No, it wasn't."

The hint of a smile appeared across Gemma's lips. "Good for you."

"Excuse me?" Austin asked, not sure she had heard correctly. She hadn't had much dealing with Gemma thus far, but assumed the Queen didn't really want anything to do with her. Austin had assumed Gemma was indifferent towards her because she was only connected to the MC through blood and a technicality.

"I know you're in a weird in-between around here," Gemma told her. "You're connected to the club through Half-Sack, you work here, but you're not really part of it. Still, you have to put up with a lot of shit because of this club. From what I hear, you do a good job keeping your mouth shut, you don't ask questions, and generally stay out of the way. Chances are Jax was going to have a harder time getting rid of that bitch if you hadn't done what you did, and I see that as looking out for my guys. I have a lot of respect, Austin, for people who figure out their place in the scheme of things fast and don't try to go out of that position."

"Thanks," Austin answered hesitantly.

Gemma gave a single nod. "I need to lock up here. Go get yourself cleaned up and come join me and Clay for supper, all right?"

Austin nodded and thanked her without much of a show of emotion. As she walked to the clubhouse, however, she couldn't help but let a smile stretch across her face. For right now, anyway, she had the Queen of the Sons on her side.

She was shoving her driver's license and a small bit of cash in her pockets when the same smell of men's soap that had hung in the air while she showered wafted to her nose from the doorframe.

"Need something?" Austin asked Jax.

He shook his head. "Gemma called. Said she invited you for dinner and forgot to give you an address or directions. I'm headed that way, figured I'd offer you a ride."

She raised her brow at him. "I can just follow you in the Charger."

"We're leaving from the same place, going to the same place," he answered. "Unless you're afraid to be on the back of the bike."

She groaned internally. Could he ever hold a conversation without sarcasm? "Fear is not the problem."

"Sure about that?"

"Maybe I just don't want the entire town of Charming to think that I'm yet another crow eater, kneeling down and the …" She let her eyes wonder from his just south of his waist and back again, "… feet of Jax Teller."

He rolled his eyes. "You're the last girl I'd be interested in, Austin. Besides, Sack would personally kill me if anything happened to you regardless of rank. You're connected to the MC and things are a little shaky right now."

Don't ask questions, Austin reminded herself. She took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll ride with you, but only because you put it that way."

Jax walked out in front of her, handing her an extra helmet. Austin buckled it under her chin and threw one leg over the bike, taking a seat behind Jax.

"You ever been on one of these?" Jax called over the roar of the motorcyle's engine.

Austin shook her head. "Nope."

"All right. Hold on, and try not to wiggle too much."

Austin simply nodded and placed her hands at his sides as he walked the bike in reverse and then took off out of the lot. She had seen him leave plenty of times before and figured that his relatively slow start was for her sake. Once they were into traffic, he sped up; instinctively, she leaned a little closer to him and moved her hands forward.

"Too fast?"

"No."

He maintained that speed for the rest of the ride. Austin had to admit she actually enjoyed it – she hadn't experienced that combination of wind and speed before, with cars rushing right past them. It was a small adrenaline rush, and that was something she really loved.

Jax coasted them into Gemma and Clay's driveway, next to Clay's bike. He turned off the ignition and helped her off the backseat. She fiddled with the buckle under her chin, but had some trouble undoing the strap.

"Here, let me," Jax offered. He hung his own helmet on the handlebars, then reached under her chin with gentle hands to undo the buckle. He had to lean in to see what was catching between the strap and the buckle, and it made Austin all too aware of that soapy smell that seemed to still be accompanying him. It was intoxicating, quite frankly. She tried to keep her eyes anywhere but on his face, although even that seemed suddenly difficult.

The pressure under her chin let up and Jax lifted the helmet from her head, setting it on the seat she had just occupied.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"Yep," he replied, leading her into the house. "Mom, we're here."

Clay appeared first, slightly shocked to see Austin and Jax arriving together. "Look who's here together and not at each other's throats."

"Very funny," Jax replied, hugging his stepfather. "Is Mom around?"

"Of course. She's in the kitchen, finishing up with the food."

"I'll see if she needs help," Jax said, excusing himself from the room.

Clay looked to Austin. "I'm glad you came by, Aus. Both Jax and Gemma have regaled me with tales of you playing bouncer at the clubhouse the other night."

He motioned for her to take a seat on the couch, and she grimaced as she sat. "Yeah, I'm not sure I'll ever live that one down."

"I guess if any of us need to get rid of a girl, Gemma's not the only one who can handle it now," Clay teased. "Everything else is going all right? My stepson hasn't run you off just yet?"

"Not yet," Austin shook her head. "We're learning to tolerate each other."

"Good. You're an asset to the garage, and I think Half-Sack likes having his sister around. You need anything, you just let us know, all right?"

Austin nodded. "Thanks, I will. I know you did a lot already, giving me the job and place to land."

"You're family, and SAMCRO takes care of family. You've only been here for a few weeks, but you'll get to see that the longer you're around."

Gemma called them to the table then, and they didn't wait to oblige her. Austin took a seat next to Gemma, and looked at everything spread out.

"Sure it's just the four of us?" Austin joked.

"We eat a lot of leftovers," Gemma answered. "And I'll send some with you to the clubhouse, too. I can't imagine you get much home cooking over there."

Austin shook her head. "That's true, I don't."

"You think about looking for a more permanent place yet?" Jax asked.

Austin looked at him but didn't sense a trace of malice, so she just shrugged. "I entertained the idea. I'd like to get my feet on the ground a little firmer before I leave the clubhouse though."

"No worries, baby," Gemma told her. "You stick around there as long as you need to."

"And if you need help finding a decent neighborhood, let us know. We'll get you covered," Clay added.

The conversation from there was scarce. The time was mostly filled with the clanging of silverware against plates and mouths chewing. Austin ate more than any of them would have thought her petite frame could handle, but told Gemma she was more than likely going to have to wait a couple of days before digging into those leftovers. She helped Gemma clean up the table and was gathering the few containers Gemma was sending back with her when Clay walked into the kitchen, Jax on his heels.

"I'm sorry, babe, we've got to run out real quick. Apparently there was a scuffle down at the pub involving a couple of our guys and some Mayans," Clay told Gemma, putting an arm around her waist and kissing her quickly.

"All right, be careful. Jax, you going with him?"

"Yeah," Jax said, kissing her on the cheek then looking at Austin. "I'll be back to get you."

"I can take her back to the clubhouse," Gemma offered.

"Stay here, both of you." Clay ordered. "Sounds like a small thing, but I'd rather be on the safe side until we know for sure."

They were out the door and on their way before Gemma or Austin could get another word in. Austin looked at Gemma who just shrugged.

"That's how it goes. Coffee?"

"Sure," Austin agreed. "I better not ask, right?"

Gemma looked at her for a moment before shrugging. "What do you want to know?"

"Nothing too detailed. I hear stuff about the Mayans a lot, but I don't really know who they are or what they're about. Or why the MC doesn't like them."

"Fair enough. Let me get this coffee going and we'll sit down and talk. I'll tell you what you need to know – enough so you can look out for yourself, but not enough to get you in trouble."

Austin wasn't aware she had fallen asleep until she heard Gemma calling her name from the front door. She startled awake and shrugged off the throw that covered her arms.

"They're back," Gemma informed her. "Jax is waiting out front for you."

"All right," she said with a yawn. "Thanks again for supper."

"You're welcome. Don't worry about the leftovers tonight, I'll bring them tomorrow."

Austin nodded as she hugged the older woman. She met Clay at the porch, thanking him, too. He told her it wasn't a problem and walked with her halfway down the sidewalk.

"We didn't want to upset Gemma because it isn't a huge deal," Clay told her. "It wasn't just a little scuffle. It was a big brawl. Jax got in the middle of it and he's got a cut on chest."

Austin frowned. "Is he all right to ride back to the clubhouse?"

"Yeah, yeah. It isn't too serious, but if you'll just take a look at it when you get back."

"I don't know any medical stuff, Clay."

"There's a first aid kit under the counter. Just patch him up, make sure it doesn't get infected."

"All right, I can do that."

She walked out to where Jax was waiting, taking the helmet from him and securing it once again under her chin. He back slowly out of the drive and coasted to the end of the street, not saying a single word the whole ride.