Chapter 4 - THE RANSOM NOTE
By nightfall, the clubhouse had been transformed into a war room. Maps of the state line were pinned to the heavy oak table, and the sound of weapons being cleaned filled the air. Leo had been tucked away in the back office under the watchful eye of Gemma, Jax’s fierce, protective mother, who had arrived the moment she heard she had a grandson.
Jax was staring at a map when a sharp, rhythmic knocking rattled the heavy steel front door. The brothers instantly drew their weapons, forming a defensive perimeter. Tig cracked the door open, his gun leveled, only to find a terrified teenager standing on the porch, holding a blood-stained manila envelope.
"Some guy... some guy paid me fifty bucks to drop this off," the kid stammered before dropping the envelope and sprinting into the darkness.
Tig retrieved the envelope and brought it to the table, sliding it toward Jax. Jax’s hands shook slightly as he tore it open. Inside was a single piece of paper and a silver silver ring—the ring Jax had given Clara when they were nineteen. It was smeared with dark, dried blood.
The note was written in jagged, erratic handwriting:
To the Ghost of the Highway,
You took our distribution routes, so we took your prize. Clara is a very loud guest, Jax. She keeps crying for her boy. If you want her back with her skin intact, you will meet me at the abandoned oil refinery on Route 9 at midnight. Come alone. If I see a single other leather cut, she dies slow. And then we come for the boy.
— Marcus Vance
"He’s playing you, brother," Opie said, his hand slamming onto the table. "Route 9 is a kill zone. The refinery has sniper perches on every tower. If you walk in there alone, you're a dead man before you even see her."
"I have to go," Jax said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. The sight of Clara’s blood on the ring had triggered something ancient and feral inside him. "If I don't show up, he kills her."
"We go with you, but we go dark," Clay ordered, stepping into the light. "We ride without headlights. We cut the engines a mile out and approach on foot through the drainage ditches. Jax, you walk through the front gate. You keep his attention on you. The moment we get our eyes on the snipers, we take them out and give you cover."
Jax looked at Clay, then at the rest of his brothers. For years, he had resented the club, hated the violence and the constant threat of prison. But looking at them now, seeing them willing to risk their lives for a boy they had just met and a woman they barely knew, he remembered why he had called them brothers.
"Thank you," Jax muttered.
He walked to the back office to check on Leo before leaving. The boy was sitting on a couch, wrapped in a blanket, while Gemma fed him a bowl of stew. When Leo saw Jax, he stood up, his eyes wide with fear.
"Are you going to get Mom?" Leo asked.
Jax knelt down in front of the boy, taking the blood-cleaned silver ring from his pocket and placing it in Leo’s small palm. "I am. I promise you, Leo. I’m going to bring her back. You hold onto this for me. When we come back, we’re going to be a real family. No more running. No more hiding."
May you like
Leo squeezed the ring tightly in his fist and nodded. "Bring her home, Dad."
The word Dad sent a jolt of pure electric adrenaline through Jax’s veins. He stood up, his face hardening into a mask of pure death. He walked out of the room without looking back, his leather vest creaking as he strapped his heavy .45 caliber pistol to his side.
