Chapter Four: Loose Ends

Gemma's heels clicked sharp against the concrete until she stopped just a few feet from me. Her gaze slid from me to Jax and back again, narrowing just slightly — not disapproval, not quite curiosity either, more like she could already see the strings neither one of us had tugged yet.

"Well, well," she said, lips curling into something that wasn't quite a smile. "If it isn't Rachel Lane."

"Gemma." My voice came out steadier than I expected.

She gave me a slow once-over, her tone flat but carrying an edge I couldn't quite place. "Sorry about your dad. He was a stubborn son of a bitch, but he raised you alright."

The words landed heavy, but before I could thank her, she asked, "So how long you plannin' on stickin' around? Or is this just a drive-by?"

I offered the same answer I'd already given Jax. "Tying up loose ends. Starting with the Chevelle."

For a heartbeat, something softened in her eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came. She tilted her head, smug as ever, like she knew more than I did about myself. Then she turned on her heel and walked off, leaving only the scent of her perfume and the faint sting of her presence behind.

Beside me, Jax smirked, his eyes still warm on mine. "I'll catch up with you later," he murmured, slipping his hands back into his pockets. "Be happy to give you a lift home."

And just like that, he walked away too.

I barely had time to breathe before Chibs reappeared, a stack of paperwork in hand. "Alright, lass, let's get you sorted," he said, setting the forms on a scarred workbench. I picked up the pen, signing where he pointed, though my hand shook a little with the weight of it all.

He leaned against the counter, watching me with that sly, knowing glint in his eye. "So... you and Jackie boy, eh?"

I barked out a laugh and shook my head. "There's no 'me and Jax.' Never has been. We've only ever been friends."

"Mmhm." Chibs didn't look convinced.

"I thought he was married," I muttered, almost defensively.

That softened his face. He glanced around, making sure no one was within earshot before lowering his voice. "Wendy's in the hospital. Boy's in the NICU."

The pen stilled in my hand. My stomach dropped. I looked down at the paperwork, suddenly blurry. "I didn't know," I whispered.

Chibs only shrugged, though his eyes carried the weight of something heavier. "World don't stop spinnin' just 'cause we want it to, lass." He clapped a hand gently to my shoulder, then pushed the paperwork closer. "Car'll take a bit. Transmission's worn, couple seals leaking, timing chain's on its way out. Two weeks at least before she's back on the road."

I nodded, swallowing the knot in my throat. "That's fine. I'll figure it out."

"Would give ya a lift, but we're tied up here." He grinned, that mischief never far from him. "Unless ya want Tig to play chauffeur. Might be safer walkin', eh?"

I laughed despite myself, shaking my head. "It's okay. I'll wait. Maybe catch up with Piney if he's still around."

Chibs chuckled, eyes crinkling. "Your funeral, Trouble."

And with that, I slipped the papers back across the counter, squared my shoulders, and found my way toward the clubhouse, the sound of bikes humming in the background like the pulse of a town I thought I'd left behind.