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Chapter 11
Happy took his time and enjoyed the ride to his mom's house. He knew before long he would have to figure out a way to get more medicine for his mom. The supply that he had got from Piney's friend was going to run out soon. He'd get to it after this next run down south. When he got close he saw a familiar bike sitting in her driveway, Shep. About a year and a half ago while Hap and the boys had been on a run, his mom called because she had been having some trouble with thugs in the neighborhood. Hap had known Shep had been in the area dealing with business. Shep had went immediately, taken care of the problem and ever since then the two had been friends. His mom loved when Shep visited, he usually did at least once or twice a month. Happy didn't mind, it actually eased his mind knowing that she had more than just him looking in on her.
He parked his bike and headed in, hearing laughter from the kitchen brought a grin to his face. He walked in and Shep stood up, walked over and hugged him "Hap, didn't know you were coming in. Good to see you brother." And sat back down.
"Decided to come down and see Ma before next week" he said as he walked over and hugged his mom who was smiling.
His mom got up to fix him a plate of dinner and then sat back at the table with them. "I am so glad to have you both here, it makes my day! Here Happy, have some cookies for dessert, Shep's sister made them for me. She always sends the sweetest things for me." He looked at his mom for a minute thinking back, he did remember her getting little gifts from Shep's sister. His mom always treasured and bragged about each one when Hap was there. Knowing this made him start to understand that there were a lot of things about Melissa that he didn't know. And, he wanted to know. It freaked him the fuck out.
Happy looked over at Shep, "How long you staying for?"
"I'm leaving out in the morning early." Shep said
"Stay here, there's enough room." He didn't need to say that they needed to talk. Looking at Shep's face he could tell that they were on the same page.
Happy's mom stood up and told them she would make the beds for them and then she had things to do for a while. Hap went to the fridge and got out a beer for them and they headed to the front porch to relax.
Shep leaned back in his chair drinking his beer "Your mom seems to be doing ok this visit. She said the medicine helps."
"After this run we got coming up I'll have to find another supply, the one we got from Piney's friend is running out, and she got shut down. The stuff is too expensive to get from the doctor. Tig said he may have a lead, that's sketchy at best." Hap told him.
"Hold on" Shep took out his phone and turned it on speaker, dialed, waited for an answer. Happy was surprised to hear Melissa pick up "Hey, sweetheart. You doing ok. I'm at Hap's mom's house, you think you can call one of those connections you have and get something for us?"
"Sure, I'll see what I can do. Whatcha need?" She asked. Her voice always had the same effect on him every time. His cock was instantly hard.
"Happy's here, he'll have to tell you." Shep told her.
"Ok, let me get a pen. I'm ready whenever you are Happy." She said.
Oh, he was ready now and it wasn't to talk about his mom's medicine. Focus, he told himself. He told her the medicine name and dosage. She asked where he had been getting the meds before, he explained about Piney getting meds for them from his friend but she had been shut down.
Step asked Hap if the guys were at the clubhouse. When he said they were, Shep told Melissa to call Juice or Chibs and talk to Piney about what he needed. Piney had been a friend of their grandfather so he was family.
"Got it. I'll call you back shortly."
Hap looked over at Shep "Think she can do it?"
He laughed "Hap, you have no idea. She's smart as fuck, knows how to get things done, half the time people don't even realize it was her idea. Don't underestimate her. Most men just assume she's pretty and stupid."
He could tell that Shep had more to say and a pretty good idea what it was about. But the phone buzzed and he opened it on speaker.
"Hey guys, Happy I gotcha covered on your mom's meds, it should be enough to last about six months to a year. If she is still on the same stuff at that time I will arrange for more. I'm texting you an address now, you and Shep can go pick it up when you get it. They're waiting for you. Piney's and Bobby's will be delivered to the clubhouse tomorrow morning."
Haps phone went off, he checked the address, it wasn't real far from here. Her brother wasn't lying, she got shit done.
"Did you get it?" She asked
"Yea, thanks." Hap told her.
"You're welcome. You two better get going. Be careful." She hung up.
"Damn Shep, you weren't kidding, she gets shit done."
Both men stood up, Hap opened the door telling his mom they would be back shortly. Pulling out onto the road Happy felt lighter having this taken care of. He'd have to make sure to tell Melissa how much he appreciated it.
-xx--
Melissa had got off the phone with Shep and had to message him for Chibs number. She dialed and waited to hear his accented voice come on.
"Yea" he answered
"Hi, Chibs this is Melissa, Shep gave me your number, he's at Happy's mom's house with Happy."
"Well lass, this is a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you? Are the boys ok?"
"They're fine. Shep and Hap were talking about the friend Piney had who got shut down, the one Piney gets his meds from. Happy was getting his mom's meds and Bobby was getting something too. Can you get Piney and Bobby on the line? I need to know what the medicines are that they will need."
"Hold on, they're right here." He told her and she knew he had put her on speaker. He explained to them why she was calling. They told her everything she needed to know.
"Thanks guys. I'll call ya back in a little bit. Thanks Chibs."
"Thank you sweetheart." Chibs answered back and closed the phone.
"I like her and haven't even met her." Piney said "Her grandpa and dad were good men."
Chibs looked at the men sitting at the table "I like her too, I think Hap does too, let's hope he doesn't fuck it up."
Jax walked up to the table with Tig and Opie. "What's up"
Chibs told them what Melissa was doing and Jax was impressed that she would so easily help them.
"No shit, think she can do it?" Jax asked.
Chibs held up his phone "We're about to find out. What ya got for us lass?" He asked her when she came on.
"Hi guys, Piney you and Bobby are all set. I have arranged for a package to be delivered there to the clubhouse in the morning. It should cover what you both needed for six months to a year. Hap and Shep are on their way to pick up his mom's. If anything changes or you need something different just let me know." Her sweet voice told them.
Bobby leaned in "How much do we owe you sweetheart?"
She chuckled "It's already taken care of, don't worry about it."
Jax was the next to talk "Melissa it's Jax, how'd you manage that, that's a large amount of prescription drugs?" The others were wondering the same thing.
"Hi Jax, let's just say some people owe me some favors, and even after what they provided today, they still owe me. I take care of my family. Shep is my family and the Sons are his family. And, I know my granddad thought highly of Piney. Plus, you all did what you could to help me a few days ago. Checking my house, catching the asshole and taking care of him, and staying online with me. I never really did get to thank you all."
Every man standing around fully understood why her brothers and cousins protected her like they did. It wasn't because she was beautiful on the outside, that was undeniable. She was beautiful on the inside too.
Jax put his cigarette down "Sweetheart, Happy took care of that asshole. It's the same here, you're family. We take care of family. You need us, you call anytime. We really do appreciate what you did today. We'll be down there in a few days on our run and we can tell you thank you in person."
Melissa smiled as she listened to the men say goodbye to her.
"Look for that package in the morning and I'll talk to you all when you get here." She told them and hung up.
Going out to sit with CJ and her other cousins, she told them what she had been doing. She was glad she could help Piney and Bobby. But being able to help Happy with his mom, that made her feel good.
-xx-
Happy and Shep pulled back up at his mom's house. Hap was still stunned that it was all taken care of. He had expected to pay for it and leave, but the man had told him no money was needed, it had been taken care of. Shep hadn't been surprised though.
They went in the house and sat for a few minutes with his mom before she got up to go to bed. She hugged and kissed each man. They headed back out to the porch with some beers.
Happy figured he might as well get this out of the way. "You know I kissed her don't you."
Shep smirked at Hap "Yea, was wondering how long it was going to take you to get the balls up to say it. Juice told CJ the day you did it, he told us. It shocked the shit out of us. Since the attack, she hasn't let anyone except family touch her, sometimes that has been difficult for her. You're the only one outside of family and in a completely different way.
Even though he knew she had suffered something traumatic he felt strangely proud of the fact that he was the only one she let touch her. That meant no one else was kissing or touching her. If they were he'd just have to kill em.
"Thanks man, for taking care of that asshole who beat her. I would have sent some of the boys to do it, if you wouldn't have." Shep said.
"I needed to do it. They shouldn't have touched her." He growled. "Tell me about the attack." He needed to know.
The look in Sheps eyes was one that Happy knew all too well. It was unchecked rage. "I probably shouldn't, it's hers to tell, but I'll tell you what I can. It was horrific, they used tools like the ones you have, beat her, tortured her, the worst part was watching it all."
Happy's head jerked up "What do you mean watching?"
"They had a live stream from where they had her and hacked into CJ's computer to run the video feed, we watched it all." Shep said.
"Goddamn that's fucked up." Was all Happy could get out. He was at a loss for words. He didn't know that Shep could see the black rage in Haps eyes. Shep knew that Hap may care for Melissa more than even he realized.
"Honestly, in all reality, she should've died, that's what they had planned. They had her hands cuffed to a wall above her head, she couldn't go anywhere. It was sickening to watch her do what she did to get loose."
"What'd she do?" Hap wanted to know.
"She broke almost all her fingers on her own, and then broke the bones in both hands so she could squeeze them through the handcuffs. We stopped counting how many times she lost consciousness from the pain, it was one of the few times she couldn't stop crying. When she pulled her hands through the cuffs it was gruesome. One of the fucks who was there came into the room and somehow she was able to get his knife and stab him. She had to use her mangled hands to pull herself up to a window above her head to get out. By that time she was so beaten, bruised, and in such bad shape it was a miracle she made it out. We watched her, but had no idea where to even look for her when she disappeared out that window, didn't know if she was dead or alive. It took her almost eight hours to get help. She doesn't remember the whole thing, doctor said that happens often after a traumatic experience. She has nightmares a lot of nights, those aren't too bad. It's the night terrors that are scary as fuck, that's when she remembers what went on in that room and after. It's the same screams she had on that goddamn video, you have to talk her through it, waking someone like that up is traumatic to them. The doctors were very strict on not just waking her up. Those night terrors are the only times we can get solid clues about who was there."
Happy was stunned. He felt sick to his stomach and could hardly control his anger. "How often do those night terrors happen? She mentioned that she hadn't had nightmares the last few nights."
Shep seemed surprised by what Hap said about the nightmares.
Hap shrugged "we talked."
"They usually happen when she hasn't been sleeping much or at all. She'll go running and that will keep them from happening. Running really does help her avoid them, she refuses to take sleeping pills to keep them away." Shep told him.
He hated to even think about his next question, much less ask it "did they rape her?"
Shep took a deep breath "One did at the beginning, to humiliate her. Then they were going to wait until they were done torturing her, said it would be better when there was no fight left in her. Fuckers bragged that it would be the best part before they killed her, she got away before they got to that."
Happy stood up and began to pace, he needed to move "Can I see the video?"
"That's her call, only her and CJ can access it." Shep continued "there's something else you should know. One of the guys there was a Son, he's the one who raped her. We haven't been able to figure out who he is. They covered their faces and used devices to disguise their voices. Melissa can only remember that it was a tattoo on his arm that made her realize it was a Son. She can't remember what the tattoo was though. Doctor said it was part of the blocked memory, she came close a few times during some of the night terrors but not close enough. She hasn't had an episode in about five months."
"You said you got some of them, that means you know who's responsible? Why her?" Hap asked.
"Guy named Creagen, had a beef with us over us shutting down his meth operation. Crazy fucker, used to work for one of the cartels killing whoever they told him to. From what we can gather, Melissa was how he thought he could get at us best. We figure he somehow came across the Son who betrayed us and they worked together."
"Any leads on him?"
"No, up until a few weeks ago it'd been all quiet. Then the threats and the shit that just happened. It's like chasing a fucking ghost." Shep sounded as frustrated as Hap felt.
"Shit"
"Happy man, you know I think of you as a brother and a friend, right. But, this is the point where I have to tell you that if you hurt her I'll kill you, I may not be as skilled at techniques like you use, but I will kill you."
Hap nodded his head "I know man."
"No, I don't think you do. She isn't one of the club whores, never has been. Don't get me wrong, she's had relationships, never anyone serious, and she's always been very private about it. And it has never been with a Son, ever."
"I won't hurt her." Happy looked at Shep, when he said it he knew deep down he meant it.
"She's a grown woman, so she can decide for herself what she wants to do. I like you and know that you'd protect her, that's why it doesn't bother me so much. I just want you to know that we will protect her from being treated bad. She doesn't deserve that kind of humiliation. From anyone. I hope you can understand that."
"I got it." Hap told him, jaw clenched.
Shep watched as the Tacoma Killer paced, his jaw clenching and unclenching, he believed him when he said he wouldn't hurt her, he had looked appalled that Shep had even said it. Shep once again had a feeling that Happy didn't fully realize how he felt about Melissa. Sooner or later he would figure it out.
Shep needed to say one last thing "Melissa is very closed off about what happened to her, all I ask is just don't push her, she'll tell you when she's ready. She's convinced herself that she was weak and we are ashamed of her because she let them do those things to her. We've done what we can to tell her that she is braver than anyone we know, and that there is nothing for her to feel ashamed of, that she never had a choice. I couldn't be prouder of her and what she did to survive."
Happy stopped pacing "Thanks for telling me." Shep walked over and hugged him and slapped him on the back.
"I'm going to bed. Plus, I figure it's about time for her to call you." He grinned smugly at Hap. Hap laughed and shook his head.
Happy sat back down on the porch after Shep went in. He replayed their conversation over in his mind. It still made him sick to think about it. He'd help them find and kill anyone who had a part in hurting her.
He sat quietly on the porch lost in his thoughts, waiting for her to call.
--xx-
Melissa finally made it to her room and settled in for the night. She was sore, might have done a bit more than she should've today. Opening the phone she dialed Happy and waited for him to answer.
"You in bed for the night?" He asked her.
"Hi, to you too, and yes I am. I'm a little sore tonight so I came in early."
"You resting enough? Can't heal if you aren't."
"That's the second time today I've heard that. Auggie stopped by today to check on me. Tomorrow I will try to relax some." She told him.
"You need to. Gonna tell me what you're wearing?" He asked her in a smug voice.
She laughed softly "Nope, not gonna tell ya."
There was a long pause before he spoke "Thank you, for what you did today. You should have let me pay for it though."
"You don't have to thank me Happy, I wanted to do it for you and her. I didn't have to pay for it, why should you have to. My connection owes me, and even after getting what you, Piney, and Bobby needed, they still owe me."
"Thanks." He told her again. "I realized today that you've sent mom little things each time Shep visits. She's always bragged on them when I came in. She really likes Shep and you too."
"Yea, Shep cares about her. Says she reminds him of our mom. He's always in a better mood after he visits. You're lucky to have her." Melissa told Hap.
"I am lucky."
"How long you staying? I think Shep is leaving out in the morning."
"I'll probably leave in the afternoon. Gotta get back to Charming and help get ready for the run in a few days." He said.
"CJ, Juice and the boys were working on stuff for it today. Seems a little more complicated than usual runs."
She heard Hap let out a breath "It is, gonna have to make a few runs instead of just one. We'll be staying there at the clubhouse with you guys. You'll have to give up that kiss you owe me."
"What if I forget?" She teased him.
"You know that if I have to remind you, we have to make new arrangements." He sounded like he would enjoy that.
"That really doesn't seem fair Happy." She laughed.
"Sweetheart, I never said I played fair." His voice was little lower, it made her feel excited at the thought of kissing him again. That in itself was a huge step forward for her. She was still thinking about it when he spoke again.
"I'll see you in a couple days, but you still have call and tell me goodnight. You can tell me now." He said. She knew what he meant.
"Goodnight Happy." She softly told him.
"Goodnight Sweet Melissa."
-xx-
Happy hung up the phone. He was hard as a rock, even knowing what she had been through didn't change how his body reacted to her. He had wanted to ask her about the attack, he needed her to tell him about it and over the phone wasn't the right way. He had taken Sheps advice and decided to let her tell him in her own time. She needed to trust him first.
He got up and went inside, looking forward to seeing her in a couple days.
