Taking off his helmet and riding glasses, Angel rubbed his eyes.

"You scared the shit outta me man, you know that?" He chuckled lightly, his heart only just slowing down after the rapid increase he'd just suffered. Nicole had felt her heart do the same, only slowing down as she realised the newcomers were not a threat.

The bikes had boxed them in, the front rider then relayed a hand signal that Nicole couldn't remember and Angel had nodded, slowing down so the two could ride side by side. They were so close that if Nicole had stuck out her leg she could've easily touched the other bike. With no further signals or words between them, they moved in unison, like all the bikes were really one, and pulled down a dirt road.

At the end of the road in the now dark blue sky, several yellow rectangles of light could be seen from what looked like a large house. As they got closer to the lights, it turned out to be a large wooden shack of a building with unmanned bikes lingering around outside, which is where they had parked up now.

The guy who had rode beside Angel took his helmet off and pulled down the black bandana with skeletal design that covered his face. His hair was mainly grey which seemed at odds with his still youthful looking face. He had a great physique, somewhat hidden by a black hoodie that he wore over his Mayans kutte.

"Thought you could do with an escort, hermano{brother}," the stranger greeted Angel in a heavy Spanish accent, with a firm handshake. As the two talked briefly, Nicole took her helmet off and massaged her head a little bit, enjoying the feeling of the cool night against her sweaty hairline. She stayed still, legs up like Angel had told her.

The friendly escort eventually headed inside the shack cabin and Angel nodded for her to get off. Beside him he heard a thud and whirled his head to see Nicole on the ground. He gave a short laugh. "Shit, you a'ight?" he asked although knew she was fine.

"Other than not being able to feel my legs? I'm fine," Nicole was glad it was dark and he couldn't see her cheeks flush. How embarrassing.

Angel got off his bike, clocking a small group of bikes that belonged to an allied MC he knew of - the Red Vipers. They were big in Europe but didn't have as big of a presence in America, hence their ally with the Mayans. He knew a few of the members, the Nomad president well enough to consider him a friend, and he'd often heard how they'd helped out the Nevada charter. They had a reputation for liking to party, and Angel suspected his desire for some hot food in his stomach, a soft pillow and an early night was about to go out the window.

He held out a hand for Nicole and led her to the wooden shack building. A few members were outside smoking, which he nodded to in greeting. He didn't spot the skinny blonde woman, hidden in the shadows of a busted light, but Nicole did. Her hair was heavily bleached with dark roots showing. She was underweight; her denim jacket looked at least two sizes bigger than it should be. She held a cigarette between her fingers whilst staring at Nicole, and judging by the long line of ash on her cigarette that threatened to fall at any second, the mysterious blonde had been watching for a while. Nicole didn't feel threatened, but she didn't feel like the woman was overly friendly either. In fact, the lady had an almost distant look in her eyes, like she was looking but not really seeing.

The wooden shack was in fact a Clubhouse, and it was stifling hot. The exposed wooden walls were covered in photographs of bikes, and what looked to be police mug shots. The bar looked like it had been made from pieces of large scrap metal, varying shades of rusted grey to shiny silver. Chairs, tables and bar stools were all mismatched- no two were the same. Floorboards creaked under her weight, the wood well worn with it's varying visitors. Despite the shoddy exterior, and to some degree the interior, it was kept neat and tidy. It was old, decrepit, but still loved.

An average built guy with shoulder length hair greeted Angel, and Nicole caught his name as T-Bone. He wore more rings than Angel and had more patches on his kutte. Nicole remained where she was, by the door, as Angel was greeted by others. He introduced Nicole simply, stating "This is Nicole, she's with me." And to be honest, Nicole didn't really think there could be anything more to be said. Although, she did wonder if the other Club members knew their true purpose here. About the Red Fox.

"Got you a room right at the end of the hall," T-Bone clapped his hand on Angel's back and glanced to Nicole "If you wanna change or freshen up or, y'know," he gave Nicole a wink. She returned with a tight smile.

"Thanks, appreciate it," Angel replied for them, and guided Nicole further into the Clubhouse, to the dorm room that T-Bone had given them. The dorm was sparsely furnished and only just big enough to hold the double bed and a dresser with an old TV on it. Luckily, there was an en-suite which was strangely the same size as the bedroom.

"Need a shower?" He asked. She nodded enthusiastically. "I'll grab us something to eat. Be quick - there's not much hot water here. And lock the door when I leave. Only open it to me, okay?" He purposely held her eyes to make her know she was serious.

"Are we okay here? Safe?" She asked wearily, eyes flashing to the door.

"Yeah, 'course, but they don't know you and you're not my Ol' Lady so - forget it, sorry I'm not tryin' to scare you just...stick right by my side okay? All night."

Nicole nodded in agreement.

"Lock it." Angel reminded her as he shut the door behind him. She immediately locked it, and put the chain on the door as well. She wasn't sure what she had gotten herself into here, but Angel did seem like a good guy and he was telling her to be safe, like Alvarez said. She stripped off her clothing and turned the shower on, getting in almost immediately. The water was hot on her weary skin. She hadn't even done anything, just been sat on a bike but felt like she'd ran a marathon or something. There was desert dust and dirt on her legs and chest - god knows how it got there but she enjoyed watching it going down the drain. She quickly washed her body forgoing her hair because it took too long to dry anyway. After she had dried and dressed again, changing her t-shirt to one that Mae had packed for her, Nicole sat on the bed waiting for Angel. He appeared about 5 minutes later, knocking on the door. He was sort of surprised when she opened the door.

"You were quick. Got food." He held up his findings and they ate in silence as Angel checked both of his phones. She decided to ask him about her earlier thoughts as to if the other members knew the reason for their visit.

"Yeah. They know what they need to know. But that's not a green light to talk to anybody about it," he warned.

"I understand."

She went back to her food, picked up her phone and seeing no notifications or messages turned her attention back to her food. Angel clocked her movements. She seemed somewhat alone. Granted, he barely knew her but he got a feeling that she didn't have many friends.

"Did you, uh, did you tell anyone where you were going? That you're here?" He asked tentatively.

"No. I just said that work was busy so I'd be gone for a few more days."

Interesting, who had she told? A boyfriend? He asked her as such.

She laughed and her cheeks blushed a little. She was cute when she did that. "No, I don't have a boyfriend." Her comment made her seem a lot younger than she was.

He dropped the conversation, finished his food then went for a quick shower himself whist Nicole waited in the bedroom trying to get the TV to work. There were people in the next room having loud sex and she wanted to drown the sound out before Angel came back in.

He appeared freshly washed and dressed in the same clothing as before, hair still damp. As she watched him run his fingers through his jet black hair she noticed it was curlier than usual, a thick black lock in particular couldn't be tamed and kept falling to his forehead.

"Ready?"

"For what?" She asked puzzled by both his question and how the damn TV worked - it still wasn't working.

"To mingle." He nodded his head back down the hall towards the main Clubhouse room where the party was. "If you'd rather stay here that's cool," He smirked at her as the woman next door let out a high pitched over done squeal.

"Nope!" Nicole exclaimed launching herself from the bed. "Lead on Macduff."

They went back down the hall to the small bar area.

"Angel?" a male voice carried over the music and people conversing.

"Liam?"

Nicole looked to where Angel had directed his attention and saw a heavily tattooed man, the same height and build as Angel with dark blonde hair haphazardly pushed back off his face. He wore a plain white t-shirt under his kutte and his arms were covered in black tattoos of varying designs from koi fish to dragons and geishas. The only colour tattoo on his arm was a red snake, mouth open wide with fangs bared.

"Get over here, man! Grab a beer with us!" Liam waved over his friend to where he was sitting on a sofa in a little nook of the Clubhouse.

"I thought I saw your bike out the front, how have you been?" Angel greeted the man he called Liam with a handshake and a clap on the back that Nicole was seeing a lot of recently.

"Good man, you? Heard a rumour you'd be here for the night. You travelling solo?" His eyes flicked to the brunette standing behind him. She looked a little doe eyed and wondered if Angel had picked her up at a gas station or something. Sometimes tourists or travellers or just bored house wives couldn't say no to a rugged biker with a promise of a party and a good time to break up the boring monotony of their everyday lives.

"Yeah, Club business."

Liam nodded at the short answer. The Red Vipers and Mayans were allies but that didn't mean they sat round each others campfires and told intimate details of their everyday Club business.

"Grunt, grab us some beers. And go get Bridget, she's outside somewhere." He spoke to a short, older guy with a bald head.

"This is Nicole, she's with me," Angel introduced as Liam resumed his seat on the sofa, Angel and Nicole sitting on the sofa opposite, just a small coffee table between them.

"Liam," he offered his hand over the coffee table to her. She shook it and marvelled at how good looking Liam was. He could easily be a model with his gorgeous blue eyes and strong jawline that was covered in a short well maintained beard. As beers were brought to them the guys talked about what they'd been up to and Nicole took a long sip of the cold drink, eyeing up the mirror on the table in front of Liam and realising the lines of white powder were cocaine. The table was littered with ash trays, beer bottles and bongs.

Somebody appeared beside them and Nicole realised it was the skinny blonde from outside, with the oversized denim jacket.

"Hey babe," Liam spoke, "Look, it's Angel!"

Her far away eyes drew focus to Angel and she smiled. "Hey you!" she greeted. Angel stood and they hugged each other.

"Hey Bee, been a while, huh?" The familiarity of his tone and their easiness with each other made Nicole realise they were friends.

"Bridget," The lady spoke by way of introduction, offering her hand to the pretty brunette next to Angel - of course he'd get the pretty girls. Bridget noticed her as the girl from his bike who had fallen off. She wasn't the usual type to hang around a Club or it's members, and certainly hadn't been on a bike before. She wondered what the connection between them was.

"I'm Nicole," she shook the bony hand of the other woman. Bridget moved her cigarette to her lips, and took off her denim jacket revealing a plain white t-shirt that matched Liams. She draped her jacket over the sofa and Nicole was surprised to see a patch covered most of the back of her jacket. A red snake, mouth wide with fangs exposed, exactly like Liam's tattoo. Above were the words PROPERTY OF emblazoned on another patch. She sat close to Liam, their thighs touching and their fingers intertwined. Liam spoke to her in a low voice, to which she shook her head.

Liam told Angel that they were staying the night before heading south, then all the way to England for a couple of months, to the Red Vipers Mother Charter. Due to the heavy increase of gangs within London, the MC were losing some territorial ground. The high rise in knife crime wasn't helping them, with more police on patrol and tighter legal restrictions which were making some of their side businesses and runs tricky. As Liam spoke Nicole kept glancing at Bridget and realised she was high on something. Her eyes weren't focused and she was in a dream like state. Watching Liam as he spoke, Nicole realised his eyes were pinned, no doubt from the coke in front of him. He offered some to Angel and Nicole, which they politely refused. Angel side glanced at Nicole, and if they weren't on their 'mission' she guessed he probably would have taken some. Perhaps, even if she hadn't been there he probably would have. She, had never even tried a cigarette herself.

After another beer each Liam led Angel outside wanting to show him something on his bike. Nicole thought it a little odd as it was pitch black outside. Angel told Nicole to stay with Bridget and after the two men had left, Nicole voiced her thoughts to the blonde woman.

"Don't question it too much, baby." Bridget said in a sleepy voice her head rolled back on the sofa. A woman walked by, her heels clacking on the floor. Bridget turned her head, eyes cast down to the floor.

"Who was that?" Nicole whispered.

"T-Bone's Old Lay. She fucking hates me."

"Why?"

Bridget shrugged a shoulder. "Dunno."

"I'm going to the bathroom," Nicole announced.

"It's this way," Bridget stood and stretched her arms, and Nicole could see her ribs.

"It's fine, I can go on my own."

"Are you crazy?" Bridget hissed looking around. "You can't walk around here on your own without Angel or a patch!" She grabbed her denim jacket and put it back on.

"I didn't think girls could get patched?"

"It's a property patch, gives protection." Bridget took Nicole's hand and led her to the bathroom. Nicole went inside, and to her horror and surprise Bridget followed her in. "If you walk around Club gatherings as a single woman and no property patch it means you're only good for one thing."

"What's that, then?" Nicole asked. Bridget smirked and caught the other woman's eye in the mirror. She gave a crude gesture, pushing her tongue against the inside of her cheek so it protruded a little

"Oh."

The foursome returned back to their original seats as Angel, Liam and Bridget started regaining stories of their previous adventures together. Nicole found their stories interesting - Bridget and Liam has ridden pretty much all over the South West - but after a while she started to feel a little left out. When Bridget and Liam left for a few minutes Nicole was glad of the reprieve and asked Angel about Bridget's patches.

"If they're for protection, would it make sense that I got one? Just while we're doing this?" Normally Nicole would not be so bold to ask that but she was a little tipsy.

Angel paused in thought taking a drag from his cigarette. "Patches mean something sacred, not just to the individual but to the club and the wider outlaw community. Different MC's have different bylaws about Property patches but generally speaking they're for wives of members. Liam and Bridget aren't married but they're basically as good as. They've been together for ages, way before I knew 'em. It means protection, but it also means that on more than one occasion Bridget's proved loyalty to Liam and the Club. In return, the Club, the Red Vipers, will offer her protection. The patch basically means if you mess with the woman wearing it, you won't just answer to her Old Man, but to all its members, in all it's charters, worldwide."

"Wow." Was all Nicole could say. Maybe it was the alcohol but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Angels brown orbs.

"What, you want one Pop Tart?" He mildly teased, nudging her leg with his. He left it flush against hers. During his explanation they'd leant their heads closer together.

"Maybe. It'd be nice to be part of something." She thought back to how Liam and Bridget we're sitting close together, so at ease in each other's company.

"Yeah, I get that."

Angel had moved even closer and Nicole could smell the beer and cigarettes from his breath. His lips pressed to hers so quickly, too quickly, and before her brain computed what happened Liam had dramatically exhaled and flopped into his seat. He made a comment about being tired from being on the road and Nicole felt her cheeks flush as she realised he must've seen what happened.

"You want another drink? Water?" Angel asked in her ear, breath puffing out on the sensitive skin there and his hand quickly squeezed hers.

"Yeah that'd be great, thanks," Nicole barely got the words out as her mouth was so dry. She hoped it was due to how hot the Clubhouse was but in reality it was because how Angel was making her feel.

As Angel stood and asked Liam if he wanted anything, Liam protested and offered for his Prospect to get them instead. Angel waved the offer off with a laugh and said that as he needed to stretch his legs, so he'd go.

Nicole realised with a bit of trepidation that she was alone with Liam. His kutte, his extremely beautiful face and those steely blue eyes were intimidating her.

"You got any tats?" He asked in a bright tone. He looked up from where he was tapping cocaine with a credit card. A polite smile on his face turned his eyes into a cornflower blue and she relaxed a little.

"Uh, no, too indecisive."

He laughed at her response, and he stopped what he was doing and engaged her further.

A few minutes of conversation went by and Nicole quickly scanned the small area for Angel. She felt at ease with Liam now, or as at ease as she could be with a total stranger. She spotted Angel sitting at the bar, Bridget standing next to him and talking. With Angel sitting, they were almost the same height. Bridget laughed and reached out to the curl in Nagels hair quickly twirling it with her finger. Nicole felt the beginnings of odd sensation flutter in her chest. Jealousy.

What was she jealous of? A lot of things. Bridget's ease at being around this Outlaw MC. Her ease at being in a relationship with Liam and not caring about open displays of affection. Her confidence and the way she conversed easily with Angel and made him laugh. And, although Nicole wasn't sure, she bet Bridget had never fallen off a bike.

Nicole turned back to Liam, who was looking at her with interest. His eyes went to Angel and Bridget, then back to the brunette opposite him. He gave a small smile.

"You jealous?" He enquired.