Chapter Nine: Perfect Mistake

"The belief in a supernatural source of evil isn't necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."

Anna's Point of View

"Anna, what do you think about this new brownie recipe?" Tori asked.

Before I could answer my stomach lurched. I covered my mouth with my hand as I ran to the bathroom, kicking the door open and dropping into the first stall. My knees smarted from landing on the linoleum as I threw up everything I had eaten in the past few hours. Goddamn this kid better get here soon, or I was gonna kill it's father.

"Annie?" Juice asked, walking into the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

I was leaning against the porcelain savoring the cool material against my burning face. It was slightly embarrassing how fast I had ran in here, no doubt drawing everyone's attention. I spat into the toilet bowl before I rose awkwardly to my feet. I frowned at him as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Do I look okay to you?" I growled. "My sense of smell is ridiculously high and do you know how much of a pain in the ass that is? I work in a diner, Juice! I need my sense of smell to be normal so the slightest scent doesn't send me running to the bathroom. It doesn't do so well for business."

"You're stressed," Juice sighed.

"No shit!" I shouted. "My best friend in the whole fucking world is being threatened. Some asshole is sending me the same goddamn notes. And she's the only other person who knows that you knocked me up."

"You want this kid just as much as I do, if you're going to keep it!" Juice snapped back. "So, stop giving me that I knocked you up shit. I forgot the condom but you told me you were on birth control."

I bared my teeth but Juice stood his ground, glaring back at me. I huffed before I attempted to brush past him when his hand reached out and grabbed my bicep.

"I love you, Annemarie Winston," Juice whispered. "You can be the biggest bitch I know, maybe even giving Gemma a run for her money but I know you love me and this kid just as much as we love you. And you're lucky that you look sexy with that sneer on your face otherwise…"

I rolled my eyes as Juice rambled on, twisting the lock on the bathroom door before shoving Juice against the wall and pressing my lips against his. He was surprised for a moment before taking control of the kiss, turning us so that my back was pressed against the wall. He grabbed my leg, right behind my knee, lifting it up to rest on his hip as he pushed closer to me. I lifted myself, wrapping both legs around his torso as things quickly became more heated.

As much as I loved Juice, the man could be a bit of a moron, that fact being proven when he ripped my shirt open, sending buttons everywhere. My black, lace bra was suddenly visible as the rest of the shirt was removed from my body. I slid the vest and shirt off him. Just as things were getting so much more passionate someone began to bang on the door.

"It's ocupado!" I snarled.

"Anna?" A voice gasped.

"Opie?" I responded. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my sister," Opie responded. "I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks, kid."

I glared at Juice who this time at least had the decency to look ashamed. I was now standing in my diner's bathroom shirtless. Before I could come up with something I heard the tumblers click seconds before the door was swung open and Opie walk into the bathroom. I saw the lock picks in that paw he called a hand, rolling my eyes as I stepped away from Juice. I always knew that my brother was intimidating in stature but it had been a long time since my six foot four brother glared down at me. I was saved from his glare for all of a minute as he locked the door again, leading me to wonder, what exactly people thought was going on in here.

"Anna," Opie sighed, actually trying to control his temper, although I could see the vein in his neck begin to twitch, "is there a reason why you're not wearing a shirt?"

"I was hot," I shrugged.

"Yeah?" Opie snorted. "Is that why it's in tatters?"

In the moments it took me to come back with a suitable comeback, Opie had turned his attention to Juice.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Opie growled.

"Oh, come on, Ope," I scoffed. "I know you were in prison for five years but you're not that thick."

Opie's jaw clenched as he cast me a scathing look before moving towards Juice, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him against the wall. "You had sex with my sister?"

"Opie," Juice tried to explain.

"You had sex with my sister?" Opie repeated, irately. "And you were about to do it again here?"

"Come off it, Harry," I warned sharply, startling Opie with the use of his real name. "I'm an adult and I don't need my brother dictating who I can and cannot have sex with. He's my boyfriend, Ope."

"Annie," Juice hissed knowing where I was going with this tirade.

I shot Juice a I-have-no-other-choice look before I stated, "He's also the father of my unborn child."

"Uh, Anna, was that supposed to help?" Juice squeaked.

"You're pregnant?" Opie clarified. "He knocked you up?"

Before I could answer, Opie had swung back around and punched Juice square in the face. Juice slumped to the ground, hands clutching his nose as blood poured.

"You fucking knocked up my baby sister?" Opie raged before turning towards me. "And you didn't tell me."

"Don't you yell at me," I snapped back before I punched him in the arm. "And don't hit my boyfriend."

"You're boyfriend?" Opie repeated. "Most people who have boyfriends don't hide it."

"Yeah?" I sneered. "I seem to remember a certain someone keeping their relationship with Donna a secret from Pop for months."

"That is not the same thing," Opie retorted. "I was in high school. You're a grown woman."

"Yes, Opie, I am a grown woman, which is why I don't appreciate you patronizing me," I growled. "I'm twenty four, Opie! I want a family. Is that so awful?"

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Opie asked.

"Because I knew you'd react like this," I shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Anna," Opie sighed before moving to help Juice to his feet. "And I'm sorry for punching you in the face. Although, if you pull this bathroom stunt again I can't guarantee that I won't do it again."

I rolled my eyes at my brother. For all he ranted and raved I could tell that he would be happy to have a niece or nephew. Although, he had come around a little fast, even for someone who was as mellow as he was. When a surprisingly sinister grin lit up his features I knew my feelings were well founded.

"What?" I asked.

"You're the one who has to tell Pop."

At that Opie laughed, ruffling my hair before walking back out into the diner. I glowered at him as Juice gave me one of his shirts. I then fixed my hair before walking back out to the diner. How was I going to tell Pop? Ah, fuck it, I was just going to go over and tell him now.

"Kat, can you run things for me?" I asked. "I gotta talk to my dad."

"Go ahead, sweetheart," Kat replied.

I smiled in reply as I leaned over the counter grabbing my purse and jacket before running out into the parking lot. Within a few minutes I was on my way to TM. I drove slowly through the lot, parking next to Gemma's car as I saw Dad's modified bike. It had a bigger bike than he had driven when I was a kid, but he was now carrying around an oxygen tank. I walked through the clubhouse seeing Bobby but there was no sign of my father.

"Bobby, where's Pop?" I asked.

"Kitchen," Bobby answered getting up to give me a hug. "Way to say 'hello', brat."

"Hi, Uncle Bobby," I smirked. "How are you this fine afternoon?"

"Now you're just being a smartass," Bobby laughed.

"I see nothin wrong with that," I grinned.

"I'm not surprised," Bobby laughed.

I smiled back before I walked into the small kitchenette where my father was eating.

"Hey Pops," I greeted.

"Anna," Dad rasped. "What are you doin here? Shouldn't you be at the diner?"

"I have news for you," I said.

Dad shot me a wary look before waving at me to continue.

"I'm dating Juice and I'm pregnant," I stated.

"And?" Dad asked.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"You don't think I know when one o' my kids is keeping secrets?" Dad scoffed. "That idiot hasn't been in the dorms for months, his bike is always outside your house. I figured as much."

"And you're okay with it?" I wondered.

"Does he treat you right?" Dad asked.

"Yeah."

"Then I don't give a shit," Dad shrugged. "He has a job. The kid's an idiot but he has a good head on his shoulders, whether or not he uses it is a completely different story. But, if you love this kid then I don't have a problem with it."

"Thanks, Pop," I grinned giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," Dad shook his head. "Get back to work."

"Love you too, Daddy," I snarked as I began to walk out of the kitchen.

"Smartass."

Izzy's Point of View (Four Hours Ago)

Every so often Anna, Kat, Tori, or I would take a day off. We loved the diner but sometimes we needed a break. Especially when our little establishment became the hotspot or gossip, which it often did. Today was my day off and I spent it in bed with Marco before he had to go to the shop. Even being a Son didn't save you from a forty-hour work week. It was around one thirty in the afternoon when I heard the front door open.

"Marco, that you?" I called from the basement.

When I didn't hear anything I tried again, "Half-sack?"

It was the second best guess considering that Half-sack had been playing the role of baby sitter ever since the others had found out about the letters. I frowned when no one answered, even though I clearly heard footsteps on the main landing. My heart began to race as I moved out from behind the pool table, grabbing the revolver that I had stashed under it. Whoever the hell thought that this little prank was a good idea was going to walk away limping.

Just as I got to the stairs the basement door closed with a bang. I pointed my gun towards the stairs ready to shoot when I saw that just the door was shut. I walked quickly up the stairs, and found that the door was locked, which was weird because this door never had a lock on it before. I didn't want to stay by the door just in case the person on the other side opened the door so I walked back down the stairs and behind a bunch of boxes.

I don't know how long I waited for something to happen. I could still hear the person walkin around, and then I heard something breaking quickly followed by more crashes before I heard the front door open and shut once more. Even though I was pretty sure I was now alone in the house, I knew that they hadn't unlocked the basement door.

"Come on, somebody come visit already," I muttered as my irritation grew.

Finally I heard a motorcycle before the front door opened again.

"Holy shit," Some growled. "Izzy! Izzy, are you here?"

"Half-sack!" I yelled. "I'm in the basement!"

The door was kicked in seconds before Half-sack ran down the stairs.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Someone locked me in here!" I snapped. "But, yeah, I'm okay."

"What happened?" I questioned.

"No, Izzy, just stay here for a second," Half-sack said. "I gotta call the others."

"Can I go upstairs? I mumbled.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Half-sack replied. "Why don't we just wait for the others."

"Who did you call?" I wondered.

"Clay," Half-sack said. "Was that the right decision?"

"Yeah," I said. "I mean it was either Clay, Jax, or Marco. One would tell the other."

Half-sack seemed to ponder that and I laughed when I heard three motorcycles barreling down the street. It was interesting to see how quickly Half-sack had adapted to MC life in the few months I had known him. He was learning things quickly and didn't seem that cautious anymore.

"Stay down here for a second," Half-sack ordered. When I raised my eyebrow he sighed and said, "Please?"

"You do realize I've been down here for hours?" I huffed.

"Just a few more minutes, Izzy," Half-sack cajoled.

"What the fuck?" I heard Jax yell.

"Izzy?" Marco exclaimed. "Bells, where are you?"

"I'm in the basement," I said.

Seconds later I heard the thump of feet on the stairs. I didn't have time to blink before Marco wrapped his arms around me, pulling me hard into his chest. I could hear how fast his heart was beating and glanced up at him.

"What did they do?" I whispered.

"Izzy…"

"Marco, they locked me in down here and I want to know what they did to my house," I growled.

"Okay," Marco sighed.

I took a deep breath and readied myself for whatever was waiting up on the main floor. I walked up slowly with the guys on my heels. The first thing I saw was that there were broken glasses, dishes, and everything else littering the floor. The coffee table in the living room was overturned, the plasma screen was broken and was laying on the ground. The picture frames that decorated the hallways were all broken. I went from feeling sad and scared to feeling unadulterated rage. Whoever had done this was going to pay, by my hands. This time I wasn't about to let the boys handle this prick.

"You okay, Bella?" Jax whispered.

"'M pissed," I managed to grind out before I turned on my heel and stomped towards my room. I swung the door open and turned on the lights. What I saw, I wasn't prepared for. I had thought that the rest of the house was bad. But, my bedroom was the worst. Clothes littered the floor and spray painted in the wall behind my bed was one sentence. See you soon, sweetheart.

I didn't realize that I had let out a shriek of fury until I was pushed out of the room and shielded from some danger that the guys had automatically assumed that I had found. They saw the state of the room, and I could tell that they had become even more angry. Someone thought it was funny to fuck around on our territory. Someone had the balls to walk in and destroy my house.

"Iz, pack a bag, you're staying in the clubhouse," Clay ordered.

"Dad…"

"Isabelle, do as I say," Clay commanded.

I wisely shut my mouth and packed a bag growing more furious by the second. At this point I hoped that the Jackals showed up because I was going to murder every last one of them.

"Come on, Bells, let's go," Marco whispered.

"I don't wanna stay at the clubhouse, Marco," I whispered as I allowed him to grab the duffle bag and lead me out of the house. "They win that way."

"Izzy, someone broke into the house in broad daylight," Marco said. "It's not safe."

"Then put guards on me," I said. "Fuck, do something else. Don't lock me down in the clubhouse."

"I'll talk to Clay," Marco sighed. "I'm not promising anything though."

"Thanks, baby," I grinned kissing him on the cheek.

I heard Marco breath heavily out of his nose as we both climbed on his motorcycle. He had recently had it customized and detailed. As a prospect, Marco hadn't been allowed to put anything SOA related on his bike. But, now that he was now a fully patched member. He Sons of Anarchy on one side of the tank, on the other was the was a Grim Reaper's scythe superimposed in front of the sniper rifle he had in the army.

It only took a few moments to get to TM, four motorcycles following in formation into the lot. Once everyone had pulled into their spaces, I hoped off the bike, walking towards the garage. The second I spot the punching bag, I made a beeline there. I slid in between the ropes of the boxing ring. I bounced on the balls of my feet, wrapping my knuckles in boxing tape to protect him.

I tied my long hair back into a ponytail with the elastic I always kept on my wrist as I threw a hook to the bag. I don't know how long I circled the punch throwing different variations. When suddenly the bag had resistance.

"I. Don't. Wanna. Talk. About. It," I growled my response staggered as l managed my breathing and punched the bag.

Sure, the person hadn't said a word but it was more of a preemptive strike. Things like this became predictable something bad would happen. And then they would question us, watch out for us far more closely than they had. Not that they weren't always watching, but once something happened everything became suffocating. I didn't want to talk about my feelings, I wanted this asshole caught so that I could gut him.

"Take a break, baby doll."

My head shot up at the unexpected voice. I figured that maybe one of the prospects, Clay, Jax, or Marco would be the ones to see if I was okay. Tig Trager coming into the ring wasn't something that I had anticipated.

"I figured the last thing you wanted was to be coddled," Tig explained.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"You know that we're not going to let anything happen to you," Tig said. "We didn't back then and we're not going to start now."

"That asshole had the audacity to come into my house and destroy it," I growled. "I don't give a shit about protection, I want his fucking head on a platter."

"We're going to take care of it."

"I don't want you guys to," I shook my had. "Just let me do it."

"You know for a fact that neither Clay nor Jax is going to let that happen," Tig shook his head. "You're mad, Iz. I get that. Rage is something I understand but you don't want that shit on your conscious."

It had taken a whole lot of wheedling and pleading to get Clay to let me go home. I wasn't surprised that Marco followed me home, maneuvering me into the guest bedroom, the only room that wasn't destroyed. This was the first time in recent memory where I fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep the entire night. When I woke up, Marco's side of the bed was empty. I sighed getting out of bed, walking out of the room and into the kitchen.

"Morning, Izzy."

With a startled yelp, I whirled around armed only with a cup of boiling hot coffee. When I saw that it was Half-sack I glared at him, putting the cup down.

"You lost your mind?" I grumbled. "Don't sneak up on someone like that."

"Sorry," Half-sack winced. "You going to the diner today?"

"Yeah," I frowned. "I can't stay here."

"Are you scared?"

"No," I shook my head. "At least not for me."

Half-Sack tilted his head to the side, contemplating what I had said. In the past few months that he had been a prospect, I had really enjoyed getting to know him. Unlike the other guys he chose to be quiet most of the time, observing his surroundings. I offered him a cup of coffee as I moved around the house, straightening some things before I took a quick shower. I tied my damp hair into a loose pony-tail. I put on a tank top and jeans. After I put on some make-up, I slid my feet into flip-flops, walking back out into the living room.

"Escort?" I asked.

"Yep," Half-sack said. "Clay told me if I ever want my top rocker I won't let you out of my sight no matter what."

"That sounds like him," I mused.

I grabbed my car keys and purse walking out through the garage. In minutes I was driving towards the diner with Half-sack on my heels. By the time I pulled into the diner's back lot, I noticed how busy it was. I walked through the back entrance, pausing by the office o drop off my bag before making my way to the front room.

"Hey, Iz," Kat greeted. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I frowned. "I'm going to kill whoever broke into my house, though."

"Good," Tori said. "I can't believe someone would be that fucking stupid."

"Why's this place so busy?" I questioned.

"No idea," Kat shrugged. "A lot of these people I've never seen before."

"Weird," I mumbled.

In a place like Charming everyone knew everyone. That wasn't just something people said, it was true. I knew where my first grade teacher lived and the fact that she had cheated on her husband with Tig and Bobby on multiple occasions. It was an odd day when Charming had visitors. Hell, the only motel we had was on the edge of town.

"There a convention in town?" I guessed.

"Actually, there is," Anna said, coming around the counter after delivering table nine their food. "Some business convention on the Oswald's land."

"You think Eliot's planning something?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Anna mumbled. "Hell, the better question's what has he told them? We keep getting these frightened looks."

"Because we're so intimidating," Tori smirked.

"If they think we're threatening," Kat laughed when we heard motorcycles. "They're gonna shit themselves when they see the boys."

The motorcycles did have the tendency to startle people. Even those who had lived in Charming and around motorcycles their entire lives. One by itself was loud, but when they were in a pack the sound was deafening and all consuming. The people sitting at the booths looked apprehensive and more than a little skittish as Clay walked up the steps flanked by Tig and Jax respectively.

"Well, they certainly look cheerful," Anna mumbled.

"Something don't feel right," I frowned. "You feel that?"

"Yeah," Anna sighed. "Fuck."

The three men pulled up stools and we quickly filled coffee cups, placing them in front of them.

"No luck?" I guessed.

"We're going to find them," Clay growled. "There's no where they can hide for long."