Sons of Anarchy - Angel of Death

Previously...

Stevie's eyes widened. Clay was there too, and he was telling her to sit down. Well then. She took a few steps back over to her chair and sat down. "Okay," She took a deep breath, trying not to panic. "Lay it on me Juice, what the fuck happened?" She tried not to sound as frantic as she felt.

Juice sighed, "Donna."

"Donna?" Stevie asked, wracking her brain for who she was to SAMCRO. "Uh, she's Opie's Old Lady, right?" Happy nodded, leaning into her a little, putting his arm around her shoulders.

He nodded, "Yeah." Juice swallowed. "Stevie." He sniffled, "Donna Winston is dead."

Chapter 6: Need You Now

"How?" Stevie asked immediately, not even missing a beat. Happy stared at her, his mouth gaping a little. "Juice, how was she killed?" Clay had her help Tig sweep the clubhouse and their gear for bugs after Opie and his family returned from ATF custody three days ago. Everything came back clear. Why would someone attack Ope's wife?

"She was murdered." Juice sighed, "AK to the back of the head." Execution style. Hm. Change that, why would someone take out Ope? Unless Tig found something and he didn't share...

Stevie let loose a sigh through her nose. "Any leads on the shooter?" She bit her lip, trying to contain her anger. This had to be an inside job.

"We're w-working on it." Juice hiccuped. "You heading back to Charming, tonight?"

"Soon." Stevie sighed. "Haven't slept yet." She shared a look with Happy. He nodded. "Gotta go, Juice. I'll text you when we're back on the road."

"Okay," Juice sniffled, "Love you, Stevie."

Stevie bit her lip. "Love you too, brother." She answered before flipping the phone closed.

Lee leaned forward, addressing the table, "Opie Winston's old lady, Donna Winston was murdered tonight." The men around the table shifted uncomfortably. It was one thing for a member to die, another entirely to lose a woman a member loved. SOA was a protector of the innocent, women and children were top priority on that list. "We'll know in the next few days if we need to head down to Cali and assist Redwood."

The men all nodded, Stevie clenched her hand resting on the table into a fist. Happy's brow narrowed. Stevie was more upset than she should be. Granted it was a woman who'd been killed, but she didn't know Donna. She grew up with Ope, but she didn't know him as well as she knew Jax.

"Happy is requesting transfer to the Nomad Charter. He wants to be closer to his Mom, who is in hospice in Bakersfield." Lee explained, nodding at Hap. Hap just grunted and crossed his arms. "Might be a good idea for him to head to Charming for a bit anyways, looks like Redwood could use a little extra muscle right now." Hap nodded. Lee sighed. "Alright, any opposed?" The men shook their heads. "In favor?" The men all raised their hands. Unanimous. "Alright," Lee brought the gavel down. "Quinn's here now, I'll have him present you with the patches, Hap." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Get back to the party boys, don't let that warm pussy go to waste." He chuckled.

Stevie shot out of her chair and made it out of the room before any of the men. She stalked over to the bar, waving down the prospect. "Bottle of Jack," She demanded. The prospect hesitated. "Did I stutter, prospect?" She sneered.

"N-no ma'am." He stammered. He set the bottle on the bar. "Sorry."

Stevie grabbed the bottle and turned to scan the room for Hap. He stood with Quinn just outside the Chapel doors. Kozik suddenly appeared next to her.

"Hey," He smiled, looking her up and down, nodding at the bottle in her hand. "That good, eh?" He laughed.

"Bite me, Herman." She spat, getting in his face.

"Wherever you want, baby." He deadpanned, then he chuckled, slumping against the bar, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Shit, Stevie. I'm sorry, I know you're upset. You just say the word and I'll ride down with you."

Stevie smirked a little, running a hand through her hair. "Fuck, Koz." She sighed, "This is bad." She pursed her lips. "I'll let Clay know you're willing to come and help." She glanced over at Hap and Quinn. They were staring right at them. Hap looked like he was going to bust a nut. Quinn placed a hand on his shoulder, and Hap actually jumped a little.

"Easy, Hap." Quinn chuckled quietly. He knew a well fucked woman when he saw one. He also knew a dangerously jealous man when he saw one too. "Stevie and Kozik did basic together."

Hap cocked an eyebrow. He knew Kozik was a Jarhead. Stevie's reaction to seeing him made sense now. He figured she just reacted like that since she grew up in Charming and that's where Kozik had patched in originally.

Quinn sighed, shaking his head. "Go ahead get angry, but remember you're the one she let fuck her, not Kozik." He patted Hap on the back and went to find himself a warm little piece of ass for the night.

Happy took a deep breath watching Quinn walk away. He turned to find Kozik alone at the bar. He spun around to scan the room for Stevie. Where the Hell did she go? He stalked over to Kozik. "Where the hell is she?" He demanded.

Kozik smirked. "How the hell should I know, Hap? I'm not the one she's fuckin-" Happy growled and grabbed Kozik by the collar. "Outside! Jesus Christ, Hap. She went outside."

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Kozik." Happy warned, his eyes dangerously dark. "She's mine." Then he released him and stalked off toward the exit.

Kozik ran a hand over his messy blonde hair. "Shit." He swore. Hap was coming a little unhinged, even for him. "I need to find me a woman like that." He laughed, knocking back the rest of his drink.

Stevie settled on top of a deserted picnic table, the lot outside the clubhouse was thankfully empty as well. She unscrewed the bottle top and took a long hit. She knew Donna's death was meant for Opie. She could feel it in her gut. She also knew Clay had become increasingly paranoid with the ATF presence in Charming. She knew that JT's death wasn't all tied up neatly with a bow either. Then her brain decided to drudge up old ghosts. Fucking fantastic.

Happy emerged from the clubhouse to find Stevie sitting on top of the picnic table, downing a bottle of Jack. The streetlamp backlit her hair, causing his chest to tighten at the sight. Yeah, she was easy on the eyes, but she was more than that. She didn't talk non stop like some chicks he knew. She also didn't get all bent out of shape with the threat of other women. Sure, she'd punched that one croweater, but the bitch was asking for it. He took a deep breath and crossed the lot to where she sat.

Stevie wiped the tears that spilled over and down her cheek with the back of her hand. She took another hit on the bottle, it was half gone and the world was starting to look fuzzy. She couldn't stop thinking about Jacob and the night he died. "Shit's gone to hell, J." She murmured aloud, unaware Happy had come up behind her. "Fuck, I wish you were here, Jacob." She took a long drag off the bottle, "You'd know what to do." She sounded broken, like she was in so much pain, probably why she was plowing through a bottle of whiskey like it was water.

"I'm here." Happy said awkwardly, rounding the table to stand in front of her. He wasn't good at this, but he couldn't watch her drink herself into a stupor and pass out either.

Stevie jumped at the sound of his voice. She was shit faced drunk, she should be embarrassed. But she didn't care, this hurt too much to be sober.

"Wanna talk about it?" He sat next to her, his eyes never leaving hers.

Was he serious? She blinked. Happy never talked, she was honestly surprised he wasn't tossing the bottle and fucking her senseless. She wouldn't have protested much. He was a great fuck.

"S-seriously?" Stevie hiccuped. Happy just nodded and gently took the bottle from her hand, setting it down on his other side. "Shit." She swore, running a hand through her hair. She took a deep breath then blew it all out. "Jacob MacCaulister was my sniper partner. He helped me stalk my targets, gather intel, carry gear." She sighed, "He also kept me sane."

Happy cocked his eyebrow, nodding for her to continue.

Stevie shrugged her shoulders, "Life as a sniper is pretty dark. It can also be really lonely." She sighed and barked laugh. "Took him almost a year to kiss me." She met Happy's eyes, finding him watching her. She pulled out her cigarettes and lit one, taking a drag. "Our relationship was great in the field. He was always one step ahead of our targets, working with him was as easy as breathing." She stopped for a moment, biting her lip. She released a cloud of smoke, flicking the ash to the ground below. "Moving things to a more intimate place was kind of, well-"

"Inevitable?" Happy offered.

"Yeah, you could say that." Stevie agreed. She puffed some more. "We were together for five years." She shrugged her shoulders, "Then, he was gone." She released the smoke

"Gone?" Happy asked, tucking her hair behind her ear so he could see her face better, trying to get her to keep going. He knew this was hard for her, he could see the war of emotions on her face.

"Gone." She repeated. She shook her head, putting out her cigarette before continuing. "It was late, 3am. We'd eliminated our target earlier that night, just after dark. Jacob swore we had someone following us, but I was so tired. After I, uh well…" She swallowed hard, "After I kill, I usually need like 24 hours to recharge. It's like the adrenaline overload, when it calms down, just causes my system to go into shutdown mode." She scrubbed a palm down her face, "We'd hunkered down in a hotel room after shaking our tail, even going a whole two towns over, just for safety's sake." She turned to face him, meeting his gaze. "Jacob shook me awake, covering my mouth so I wouldn't scream. I was suddenly wide awake when I realized a small red laser was trained on Jacob's chest, right over his heart. He just looked me in the eye, told me he loved me over and over again. Then his breath caught and-" She sobbed once, biting her lip. "I knew he'd been shot. I looked down at my own chest, and there wasn't a laser dot. I watched the life fade from his eyes, felt his soul leave his body." She sniffed. "I sat in the dark, waiting for my breath to catch too. But it never happened. I'm not sure how long after, but I got up. I went to the window, threw open the curtains and screamed for them to shoot me too. I was so confused why they'd shot Jacob and not me too."

"Retaliation." Happy murmured, his eyes glistening.

Stevie nodded, "Jacob didn't always tell me the whole story of the people we were assigned to kill. He felt like it was a way to protect me, a way to distance me from the kill." She took a deep breath, "I'd killed the diplomat's male lover by mistake. He hired an assassin to deal a little justice of his own."

She reached out and gripped Happy's biceps so she could stare directly into his eyes. "Jacob was afraid to admit I enjoyed the kill, always trying to keep me from going full on dark side." She sighed, "But I enjoy it, Hap." She released her grip to lean back on her elbows, kicking her legs out in front of her. "Jesus," She swore, "I practically get off on it."

"I do, too." He admitted with a chuckle. Happy knew she'd been through hell. He just had no idea she was just as twisted and broken as he was. Most people, even his brothers kept him at arm's length. They couldn't wrap their minds around the idea that he enjoyed the kill, got off on it, even. He never imagined anyone would understand that deepest, darkest part of him.

Stevie bit her lip, trying to control the tears of relief, so she just nodded and pressed her knuckles to her lips to suppress the sobs wracking her body.

Happy slid off the table to stand in front of her. Then he leaned in, wrapping her up in his arms, holding her close to his chest. They stayed like this for a few moments until Stevie mumbled a soft, "Thank you." into his chest. Happy grunted in response, making Stevie smile. She pulled back a little to stare up into his eyes, finding them softer than she'd ever remembered. She closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his urgently. Happy groaned in response, tasting the smoke and alcohol mixed with her sweet mouth. As much as he wanted to have Stevie again, it was going to be fun to take her in such a risky place.

"Better?" Happy asked, wrapping her up in his arms. He knew full well the sex probably helped her sober up and deal with some of the frustration of the shit going on with the club.

"Oh yeah." Stevie confirmed, nodding her head. He looked smug. Rightly so, he'd just taken her against the picnic table in the lot of his home clubhouse. Happy stripped off his kutte and pulled out his knife. Stevie watched as he sliced off the TACOMA patch on the front. Then he flipped over the leather and went to start on the rocker.

"I'm gonna grab a water, you want one?" He nodded, setting down his knife, leaning over to claim her mouth in a deep kiss. When he pulled back, she licked her lips, laughing softly, "Since we're bugging out early, I'm gonna say goodbye to Koz if he's still awake. I'll meet you back at your dorm?"

He almost made a big deal about her seeking out Kozik just after they fucked, but he understood that they had history. Platonic history, from what he understood. "Fifteen minutes." He smirked, giving her the same time frame as before. She bit her lip. Jesus, this was fun. She almost felt guilty. Here they were, coming down from an ecstasy high while Charming was in ruin.

Stevie ran her hands through her hair, trying to settle the curls enough so they didn't scream 'just fucked' as she walked towards the clubhouse door. Rane Quinn leaned casually against the building, smoking a cigarette. She thought she had heard someone come outside while they were going at it. "Enjoy the show?" She asked, reaching for the door. Quinn's eyes widened at her question. Oh yeah, he saw them.

Rane didn't think she saw him, but maybe she had. The table was shadowed by the building, plus he did try not to stare at them. He mostly stayed where he was to not draw attention to them or himself. He didn't answer, just blinked at her forwardness.

Stevie laughed. A rare sound, Happy thought as he approached the door, having finished cutting off his patches. He'd been the one to loosen her up like that. That fact definitely scratched his ego.

"It's all good, brother." She winked, disappearing through the door, letting it fall shut behind her.

"What's all good, brother?" Happy asked, eyeing Quinn warily.

Quinn swallowed hard. There wasn't really a point and lying to Happy. It would only be worse if he found out from Stevie instead of him. "Uh," He scoffed. "I saw the two of you, a little bit ago…" He trailed off with a shrug, taking a drag of his cigarette.

Happy smirked. "Enjoy the show?"

"Herman!" Stevie shouted outside of Kozik's dorm. She found a couple of bottles of water in the fridge in the kitchen then continued back to Happy's dorm as promised. She didn't find Kozik in the main bar area, so he had to be in his dorm. A few scuffling sounds and curses later and his door was wrenched open.

"Stevie?" He asked. "Stevie Vale?" Herman Kozik was definitely stoned.

"In the flesh, baby." She teased. She took note that He only had his boxers on, which probably meant that was a lovely little honey still in his bed somewhere. "Sorry to interrupt, but Hap and I will be leaving super early tomorrow considering what's happened in Charming. Wanted to kiss your ass goodbye." She winked.

Kozik shook his head a little. "Oh, right." He seemed to come out of his haze for a moment. "C'mere." He held out his arms.

Stevie went gladly into them. "Thank you." She murmured into his chest. "I'll call you when I have an update from Redwood, alright?" She offered, pulling back.

"Sounds good, Stevie." Kozik smiled, "You take care. Don't let Hap push you around too much." He slumped against the door frame. "Speak of the devil." He quipped as Happy entered the dorm room hallway. Stevie waved and went into Hap's dorm and closed the door.

Happy found Stevie saying goodbye to Kozik and took the opportunity to say farewell himself. He stepped forward and held out his hand, bringing Kozik in for a bro-style hug. "Take care of her, Hap." Kozik said before they separated. Happy nodded and waited for Kozik to disappear back into his room and close the door before continuing on to his own room.

He opened the door to find Stevie wearing only his SAMTAC t shirt. She was at his sink, brushing her teeth, her hair piled high on her head. He stripped off his kutte hanging it with hers next to the door. He set his boots next to hers, stripped out the rest of his clothes save for his boxers and wife beater, setting them neatly with hers on his desk.

Stevie's breath caught at the sight of Happy getting ready for sleep. It seemed so natural, their kuttes hanging together on the wall, their boots side by side below. She spat in the sink and rinsed, trying not to let herself get too emotional over the whole thing. This was new territory for the two of them, she didn't want to fuck it up. Happy joined her in the bathroom, beginning his nightly ritual as she washed her face. Once she was finished, Stevie moved to the bed. She pulled back the covers and settled down, laying on her back.

"You still want a smoke?" Happy rasped, turning off the bathroom light. He slid under the covers, "Stevie?" He asked, smoothing a hand down her arm. She snored softly in response. He chuckled to himself and settled down, wrapping his arms around her.

She stirred a little, "Happy?" She asked, her voice thick with sleep.

"Yeah." He answered, kissing her temple.

"Mmmm." She hummed in response, her head pillowed on his shoulder. "Me, too."

Dearest Readers,

Need You Now - G Eazy - this track is only found on youtube and soundcloud. Check it out. It's FIRE.

I debated on whether or not to have someone catch them. I figured Quinn was perfect because he's not overly vocal about anything, ever. Also he's not present in Charming until a few years after this, so things shouldn't be too awkward. Plus I love that they both aren't afraid to be a little reckless every now and again...definitely a lot of fun to write.

We're heading back to Charming. Stevie's put two and two together that Donna's murder was an inside job. It will be interesting to see how she interacts with Jax, Clay and Tig with this new revelation.

Until next time…

xoxo

Lumora The White