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General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.

CHAPTER 47: LUCK OF THE IRISH

"You wanna go to bed, baby?" Sydney lifted her head from Tig's shoulder when she heard the whisper of his smokey voice in her ear. She looked around the room lazily, seeing that the party had died down significantly, and much earlier than usual - likely due to the early hour that the drinking had begun.

She nodded, running her fingers over his hand which was resting comfortably on her thigh. Once the alcohol had taken over, her emotional clinginess had morphed into a physical one - spending the evening on Tig's lap or tucked under his arm. Thanks to the negative experiences that they'd both had with hard liquor in the past days, they stuck to beer - pacing themselves enough to comfortably feel the effects without becoming completely inebriated.

The pair stumbled down the hallway clumsily, taking turns tripping over each other as they giggled drunkenly. Tig fumbled with the door, finally getting it open and stepping aside for Sydney to enter first. She crossed the threshold, spinning around with her arms at her sides before falling back onto the bed with a smile on her face as the cool blanket puffed up around her warm body, a radiant glow emanating from her pink cheeks. The night had gone much better than expected; she hadn't been questioned by any of the guys, things didn't seem to be hostile or awkward with Jax, and she was back to her normal 'no strings attached' relationship with alcohol.

"Nu-uh." Tig heard her whining from the bed as he tried to walk to the bathroom, turning around to see her holding her hands out for him. He chuckled, letting her pull him down to the bed where he wrapped his arms around her.

"You tired?" He kissed her cheek, nuzzling his nose in her neck.

"Yeah." She sighed with her eyes closed and a sleepy smile on her face, feeling the sides of her mouth turning down. "You didn't sleep last night…" She probably wouldn't have brought it up if she was sober, but tipsy and on the topic of sleep; she was reminded of the few times she'd discreetly woken up the night before and he'd still been awake next to her.

"Couldn't." He answered easily with his lips pursed and his head shaking.

"Why?" She felt her lips turning to a pout now.

"Didn't wanna wake up and realize I was dreaming."

She smiled at the vulnerability and pureness of his answer, running her fingertips over the cross ring on his middle finger while his hand rested over her stomach. "Well you're gonna sleep tonight, right?" She rolled to face him, looking up at him with her innocent green eyes as her fingers danced across his chest. "Now that you know I'm not going anywhere…"

"Mhmm…" He hummed, catching her lips in a kiss as he rolled her onto her back. "I'm gonna sleep real good." He spoke with a sly grin, sliding his hand over her exposed midriff and up her shirt. "And so are you."

Sydney awoke early the next morning to a wet heat engulfing her chest, a sharp contrast to the cold air that whirled around her naked body under the rapidly spinning ceiling fan. She felt her back arch, her body giving in to the touch even though her brain was still too clouded with sleep to comprehend what touch it was that she was giving in to as she kept her eyes closed. A smile formed on her face as she languidly revelled in the pleasure that she quickly recognized as Tig's mouth, her sensitive and hazy body writhing under his lips.

His generous kisses made their way down her body, the softness of his tongue and the roughness of his beard sending goosebumps breaking out across her skin. She moaned softly but kept her eyes closed - too enthralled by the feeling to use her brain for anything other than indulgence.

Tig smirked when she stayed silent but let him know that she was awake and willing by parting her legs slightly for him as he got lower between her hips. He kept up the slow and sensual smooches, down her thighs and then back up - dragging his hands in sync with his lips as he spread her legs completely. His eyes rolled back when he could see her glistening in the low light, pulling his focus back to the task at hand as he flattened his tongue over her slit and licked a long stripe through her folds.

Sydney's back arched further, pressing herself against his tongue as he ate her out in the most gentle way possible - which effectively drove her crazy. Her fists dug into the mattress below her as she pulsed with need, forcing her spinning head back against the pillow as she felt her body growing hotter with desire.

Tig looked up at her as she squirmed uncontrollably, knowing that she needed more than just his tongue. He pressed a kiss to her hip bone before sliding a finger into her, eliciting a breathy scream from the back of her throat as her walls locked down on his digit instantly. He shivered, blinking a few times to try and shake off the electric shock that went straight to his dick as her arousal instantly coated his hand. He glanced up at her again, seeing that her eyes were still closed and that his slip-up had gone unnoticed, spitting down onto her clit before going back in with his tongue, alternating between gently licking and harshly sucking all while his fingers worked in tandem.

"Mmm, Tiggy." She whined between her moans which were getting louder and louder, it was too much and not enough all at the same time. "Fuck me…" She finally cracked her eyes open, the feeling of emptiness only increasing when she looked down at the erotic sight between her legs.

"I'm tryin to be nice here, baby." He pressed a sloppy kiss to her lower lips. "And you just wanna act-" He kissed her thigh as he pushed himself up to his knees. "-like a little whore." He smirked as he guided her propped up leg down to the mattress.

"Will you fuck me like a whore?" She closed her eyes as she stretched, her ribs sticking out as she dragged her hands down her body and brought her leg back up his chest, re-exposing herself to him. "Hmm?" She pressed her foot against his peck and looked up at him pleadingly.

"You sure, angel?" He looked down at her white toenails, feeling himself growing harder and harder. He hadn't planned on sex - he was just happy to have the opportunity to please her again - but if she wanted to cum on his dick instead of in his mouth, he would give her what she wanted.

"Yes, Sergeant…" She moaned as she dragged her foot down towards his erection.

"My perfect girl…" He rasped, leaning down as his large hands roamed up her sides appreciatively and he pulled her down to where he was hard as a rock. She was soaking wet - making entry an easy task, but he guided her down his cock with some resistance, letting her take in every inch slowly.

A hiccupped scream left Sydney this time as the intensity of the pleasure knocked the wind right out of her. Her eyes rolled back as her mouth lay agape, feeling his hand tightening around her calf as he held it in place on his shoulder. He rested his forehead against her leg as he stilled himself inside of her to let them both adjust, the sensation almost being too strong for him at the early hour as well.

"So fucking tight…" He groaned as he retreated, letting his head roll back before thrusting forward slowly.

Sydney's knuckles went white as she gripped the sheets below her, rolling her head back and forth over the pillow as the sensitivity consumed her while he began a slow but steady rhythm, feeling her insides quivering with every stroke.

"Flip me." She begged, out of breath with her eyes barely open as her hips instinctively rocked back to meet his. She could feel her orgasm building hard and fast, controlling the imploring requests rolling off of her tongue.

Tig obeyed, pulling out and roughly flipping her onto her stomach, sliding his hand under her to bring her to her hands and knees, but instead she laid back down on her stomach with her ass in the air. He felt a growl rumbling in the back of his throat as she presented herself to him eagerly, running his hand over her ass appreciatively as he guided himself back inside of her, his eyes rolling back again when her wetness slicked the tip of his dick, sending another jolt of sensitivity through him.

Sydney knew she wouldn't last long, but she didn't want it to end. Unfortunately, her body was not on the same page as she pushed her hips back, meeting his long and agonizing thrust half way before pulling forward and repeating the action. Her long moans swallowed every other sound in the room, reminding him that he was the only man on this earth who knew how to satisfy her.

"God damn, babygirl…" Tig groaned as she took control while he enjoyed the ride - literally, watching her tight hole swallow his thick cock that was dripping with her juices.

"Tiggy…" She whined breathlessly between moans, feeling her stomach coiling tighter and her head getting fuzzier.

Tig snapped out of his own personal heaven, remembering that he had a job to do. He gripped her hip lightly with one hand, taking back control as he leaned over her and attached his lips to her exposed shoulder, keeping up the long and deep thrusts.

"I'm here, baby." She felt his lips on her ear and his hand underneath her, keeping her pressed tightly against him as her entire body tensed and curled under his touch, waves of hot and cold crashing through her veins. She tried to open her eyes or speak but she couldn't, all she could do was succumb to the pleasure as it took her prisoner.

"I'm-" She couldn't even finish the sentence before her body gave into the rare occurrence, squealing as her orgasm hit her like a freight train and she gushed violently around him.

Tig was no match for her on a good day, let alone when she was squirting around his cock and screaming his name. He tried to hold on; let her ride out the high for as long as possible - but the excitement was too much. He buried his nose into her hair as he came inside of her, marinating in his own orgasm before his legs started twitching from the sensitivity that the extra lubrication provided.

"Jesus christ…" He groaned as he rolled off of her, landing on his back with a dreamy smile. "I love it when you do that." He looked at her with stars in his eyes, her cheeks red with embarrassment only widening his grin.

"Yeah, yeah…" She rolled her eyes, burying her burning face into the pillow.

"Nah, nah. C'mere." He tickled her ribs, pulling her into his arms where he pressed his lips against her jaw, sloppily kissing her over and over below her ear. "It's so fucking hot." He whispered as he ran his hand between her legs.

"You know what's even hotter?" She asked in a low coo, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Hmm?" He raised a brow.

"You-" She whispered as she turned to face him, lightly touching her lips to his chest and dragging them up his neck as she spoke. "Getting me a cup of coffee because I just squirted for you." She bit his earlobe playfully.

Tig chuckled and shook his head, obliging as he stood from the bed and pulled on some sweatpants. "You want anything else? Food?" He asked as he approached the door.

"Coffee's fine, I need to rehydrate." She joked, nodding to the soiled sheet with a bashful smile.

Tig returned her playful smile, closing the door behind him as he made his way out to the kitchen where he was met by Happy pouring a cup of coffee.

"Got enough for two more?" The quiet man nodded curtly, stepping out of the way.

"Heard you two made up."

"Oh yeah?" Tig smirked as he grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. He knew that Happy wasn't talking about actually hearing them making up, but he wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to push the Nomad's buttons after he'd pushed his.

"She's not usually like that." He observed.

"Yeah… She's usually a one and done but I uh… I keep her going." The curly haired man winked.

Happy's lip turned up in a wince as he recoiled. "That's not what I meant, dick." He stomped out of the kitchen. This was what he got for engaging in conversation.

"Hey." Sydney turned around from where she'd been loading the washer with Tig's bedding, to see Jax standing in the doorway, shirtless.

"Hey." She returned the greeting. "You wanna throw anything in with this?" She nodded to the half-full washing drum.

"Nah, you go ahead. I just wanted to check in." Sydney felt herself stiffen with the familiar discomfort of being coddled, forcing it down with a deep breath instead of getting defensive. "You guys seem to be okay."

"Yeah." She nodded with a grateful smile.

"I'm glad." The VP smiled with sincerity behind his blue eyes, hoping to wordlessly tell her that he wasn't putting any weight on what had happened between them and that he wasn't going to bring it up again. "Never thought I'd miss the sight of you two mackin on each other." He grinned playfully.

Sydney rolled her eyes but laughed. "Did you get to hold Abel?" She changed the subject to something with less potential of awkwardness.

"Yeah, I did." His face lit up.

"Was it awesome?" She felt his infectious grin widening the smile on her face.

"It was pretty awesome." He chuckled.

"I've never held a baby, I wouldn't know what to do." She chortled through the surprisingly comfortable small talk.

"I didn't either." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Tara and my mom made sure I got in line." He smiled bashfully.

"Tara… And your mom?" Sydney raised a brow, thankful for her awkward situation being replaced with something much worse.

"Yeah… I know." Jax scoffed.

"Did you two talk?" Sydney had been too preoccupied to think much about the doctor since she had unleashed the wild accusations on her, and she wasn't sure if she felt better or worse about the fact that not once during her tango with Jax had she considered the brunette.

"Nah, not with my mom there. Shit was tense."

"I bet." She scoffed. "You gonna try and iron it out?"

"Don't know yet." Jax bit his lip. He knew what he wanted to do - but what he wanted to do and what he knew he should do, were two different things. He knew that he should just leave Tara alone - let her live her life on one side of the law while he lived his on the other; go on pretending like they're nothing more than old flames - despite the recent rekindling - who benefitted from each other's lifestyles from time to time. Even though he knew how much drama it would cause, how much drama it had already caused, he still couldn't stay away. She had just as much pull on him as she had ten years earlier.

"You should… She's got a lot of wrong ideas going in that pretty little head." Sydney mused, drumming her fingers over his bare chest as she brushed past him.

Sydney spent the day doing typical Sunday activities: she went to the gym with Donut and Happy before the Road Captain set off back home, bought groceries, washed her car, and bleached her hair. She rolled back onto the compound after the sun had set for the day, just in time to intercept Tig and Clay as they geared up to go and meet with Cameron.

"We heading out?" She called as she approached the two men mounting their bikes.

"We?" Clay raised a brow and looked to Tig who shook his head rapidly as a display of innocence.

"Yeah." Sydney grinned. "You're going for inconspicuous, right?" She nodded to their missing kuttes. "Group going out for a drink is much more believable, no one would expect a business deal to go down in the presence of a croweater." She mused, looking down at her attire. "You know what they say, 'two's a suspicious meeting, three's a party'." She winked as she rounded Tig's bike, swiping the spare helmet.

"Uh… Yeah." Clay blinked a few times and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess so." She had a point, and he realized that he may be in need of some of her negotiation skills once the purpose of their meeting was revealed.

Sydney smiled cockily at both men as she pulled the helmet down over her curls. She was smug with her sway over them, but her intentions hadn't been as pure as exercising a pull. She wasn't lying about her presence helping them blend in, but she wasn't truthful about the fact that she was pushing it in case the feds were still watching them. She was also dying to know what this meeting was about, and why a simple phone call wouldn't have sufficed - she wanted to be able to begin working out a plan for Laroy as soon as the answer hit her ears rather than having to think on her feet and risk showing weakness to the gang leader again.

Gemma pulled her Cadillac up in front of the bikes, rolling her window down as she scanned over Clay, Tig, and Sydney. She felt her heart picking up, a feeling that had consumed her since she'd seen Tara eyeing up Jax at the hospital the night before.

"Hey baby." Clay greeted his wife with a smile as he approached her low vehicle.

"Plain clothes?" She raised a brow in worry. "Where you goin?"

"Meetin an Irishman for a drink."

"Well be careful." She thought that the explanation would've eased her nerves, but it didn't. For some reason, it only made them worse.

Clay smiled, leaning down and kissing her lips briefly before waltzing back to his bike and taking off. He thought she was overreacting, but he'd learned over many years together that it was better to indulge and assure, than to deny and deflect.

"Sydney!" Gemma called to the blonde. "Come here." She nodded.

Sydney shuffled over to Gemma as quickly as possible without scuffing the red soles of her stilettos on the pavement. "What's up?"

"You watch them." The older woman ordered as she narrowed her amber coloured eyes. "I got a bad feeling…"

"Yes ma'am." Sydney smirked, her smugness only increasing when she was trusted with another task.

Gemma nodded, feeling a little more at ease to have a set of sharp eyes watching their backs. "You talk to Tig?" She lowered her voice, nodding to the curly haired man who sat watching the two women with a smile.

"Um, kind of." She answered casually.

"What does that mean?" She knew exactly what it meant.

Sydney felt her cheeks burning under the raised brow of the matriarch. She had been quite happy that Tig hadn't felt like a long conversation was necessary. They had established an unspoken understanding that they both knew what they'd done wrong and were finally on the same page about what they wanted and how to get there; they didn't need to talk about what had happened in the short time that they weren't together.

"Look at me." Gemma softened her tone, regaining Sydney's attention from the hollowness that had clouded over her previously lively green eyes. "I know you, and I know Tig. I know you two may think that you've got it all worked out, but you don't."

"Gemma-" Sydney sighed, beginning to roll her eyes.

"He hurt you. He needs to know that." Gemma cut her off. "If you let him think that you were okay without him, those same demons will come creeping right back in; will tell him that you only took him back because you liked the attention and the same shit will start back up." She spoke the harsh truth to the sweet girl standing hopelessly before her. "Love is enough to keep him happy, it's not enough to keep him sane."

Sydney nodded along. As much as she didn't want to even consider reliving that awful night, Gemma's words - as usual - made sense. She liked living under the blanket of delusion that her and Tig could say everything that they needed to say without words, but that was what had brought their relationship to it's demise in the first place.

"Good luck." Gemma smiled, touching Sydney's face and pulling her down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry dolls." Tig called apologetically. "We gotta go." Sydney nodded to Gemma before hurrying back over to Tig where she wrapped her arms around him as she buried her face into the back of his black jacket.

Tig pulled his bike up alongside Clay's where the President was waiting outside of the dingy Irish pub. He squeezed Sydney's denim covered knee, taking her helmet as she stood from the bike. "You okay? What'd Gemma want?" He asked as they followed Clay inside. He knew that Sydney was put off by something that the older woman had said by the way that she'd squeezed him so tight during the ride - and Gemma was known for scaring off girlfriends.

"To make sure I protect you." She smirked. "I'm okay." She nodded, turning her full attention back to whatever it was that they were there for.

"Hey." Tig nodded to Devon who was working behind the bar as Clay scanned the room, looking for Cameron who he spotted sitting by the far wall with his back to them.

He walked up wearily. It wasn't that Cameron Hayes was a stranger - he was McKeevy's cousin and local business partner who Clay had dealt with for distribution many times - it was that he was walking into this completely blind with the threat of feds and rivals still looming.

"Boys." Cameron greeted them with a curt nod, extending his hand. "Didn't know we had one more." He commented as he took a tentative glance at the little blonde with the bikers.

"Sydney Harding. Part of our crew." Clay introduced her.

"Aye." Cameron nodded, motioning for Devon to bring over another beer. "Welcome to the cause." He shook her hand with a small smile, moving his chair so that she would have room on his side of the table while Clay and Tig took the opposite.

"Pleasure." Sydney returned the bald man's smile as she took her seat next to him. She decided that of the two Irishmen, she very much preferred Cameron who seemed impartial to the fact that she was a woman.

"Where's McKeevy?" Clay cut right to the chase.

Cameron's face fell back into the frown he had been wearing before they arrived, staring at the condensation on the outside of his glass while Devon set down the extra drink and Sydney nodded her thanks.

"He's dead." He answered quietly once the bartender left.

Shock washed over the table when he delivered the news. Sydney's mind began racing, wondering how this could have happened, if it was a message from the Mayans or completely unrelated, and what it meant for them moving forward with distribution.

"Jesus…" Clay winced while Cameron shut his eyes in grief. "How?"

"The Oakland Port Commissioner threatened to bust open the shipment that was supposed to come in today. Wants to triple his pay off money."

"Hefner. Greedy prick." Clay sneered as Tig sighed. "Been riding roughshod over the ports for years."

At least it wasn't the Mayans. Sydney usually wouldn't have been glad to hear of an additional threat, but in this case - she would take it.

"Michael was pissed - went off on him for changing the deal. He got jumped by Hefner's port goons - they beat him, broke his neck, and left him for dead." His voice got thicker with emotion as he explained what had been done to his kin.

"I'm sorry." Clay sighed.

"That's awful shit man, condolences." Tig added, Sydney nodded her agreement as she touched the grieving man's hand.

"Thank you." He squeezed her hand lightly, turning back towards Clay.

"Anything we can do to help with this?"

"Aye." The Irishman nodded, tipping his glass back. "I'll be your full time contact from now on. I can get you your guns as soon as I find us a way around Hefner."

"You let us know if there's anything we can do to speed up the process." Sydney added.

"Lovely." Cameron smiled at her enthusiasm. "Glad we could work through this, Clay." He turned his attention back to the President.

"Me too, Cameron." Clay nodded with a sympathetic smile.

"How is uh, the cause going?" Tig reached for his beer.

"Like any good war - slow and steady." Snickers rounded the table at Cameron's lighthearted answer.

"Michael McKeevy." Clay raised his glass. "Good soldier, good friend."

"To a unified Ireland that'll never happen with nonviolence." Cameron added with a small smirk.

Sydney giggled, clinking her glass against theirs in the toast and tipping it back before her focus was drawn to Devon yelling at the door.

"What the hell do you guys want?" Sydney has been on high alert, slamming her drink down as her head whipped around to see what had caused the ruckus.

She felt everything around her slow down and blur into the background, any noise instantly being replaced by the sound of her own heartbeat when she caught sight of the two hooded men staring right at them, their hands clasped in front of them. It was like she was watching the scene in slow motion as their arms began to raise, revealing the guns.

"Get down!" She screamed, hopping out of her chair and yanking Clay to the ground behind the table as shots began ringing out, shattering the glasses where they'd been sitting.

Tig saw it coming half a second after Sydney did, dropping to the ground and reaching around for his gun as he heard the shots getting closer and closer as the shooters approached. He took a deep breath, waiting for the moment between bullets when he popped up from behind the table, firing three rounds right into the chest of one of the men while Devon took down the other with a single bullet from a shotgun he had behind the bar.

Sydney remained on the ground over her President. Something wasn't right - it was no longer the world moving slow around her, it was her moving slow in the world. The gunfire had already ceased but her ears were ringing so loud that she didn't even notice as she continued to try to reach for her gun to fight back. Her head was spinning so fast that she couldn't even look down to see what the problem was, but she could feel that her limbs were restricted as if she was trying to move through water. Eventually she recognized the sound of Tig's voice which, even muffled, was able to bring her back up to speed, but when she tried to lift her head to see what it was that he was saying, she couldn't. She blinked a few times, trying to gain her bearings as she took a deep breath before trying to move off of Clay but she couldn't do that either. All she could register was her heartbeat getting quicker with each time that she tried to move.

"Are you okay?" A worried Tig repeated himself from where he stood over his President and his old lady who hadn't responded the first time that he'd asked.

Clay began to panic for the first time since the attack, when Sydney didn't respond and remained covering him with her dead weight. He was okay, but he could tell that she wasn't.

"Yeah." He answered after peering up to see that she was alive and breathing. "Hey." He patted her bicep, trying to pull her from whatever panic she'd succumbed to. "It's okay." But that didn't work either. He turned his body under her, grabbing her arm and gently guiding her onto the ground.

"Oh shit…" Tig's face went white when he saw it.

Clay's eyes trailed down to where Tig was looking, finally seeing why she was unresponsive as her blue jeans turned red from the blood seeping out of the wound on her thigh. His worry that she had just been startled by the attack was washed away by the reality of something much worse. He pressed his fingers against the opening, feeling that the bullet was lodged deep into her muscle.

The surge of pain overtook the shock and sent Sydney straight back into reality as she recoiled and cried out. She knew now why her body hadn't cooperated and why she thought she'd bowed under the pressure. She'd been shot in the process of pulling Clay to the ground.

"Stop!" Tig yelled, racing over to her.

"Sweetheart…" Clay shook his head as he placed his large hand against her cheek apologetically. "This is bad. We need to get you to the E.R."

"No." She shook her head firmly. "Not from here. Feds will connect it to the Irish. This happened at the clubhouse - driveby." She choked out, clenching her teeth to test her steadily declining strength. She couldn't feel any lingering pain, but her mind was clear and she could feel her body shutting down.

"I'll call the guys." Clay stood, letting Tig take over. "Cameron, you get out of here." He knew she was right - they couldn't risk the feds drumming up the conclusion that this attack had something to do with the Irish, but he also knew that they didn't have enough time to wait for a car to get her to the clubhouse where they could call an ambulance. They needed to get her to , and fast.

"I'll lock the doors." Devon scurried after Cameron, grabbing rags from behind the bar and tossing them to Tig so that he could apply pressure to the wound.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry baby." Tig winced as he pressed the palm of his hand against the wound, eliciting another awful cry from her which brought tears to his closed eyes.

"It's okay." She assured him shakily, placing her hand over his and pressing her fingers against his rings.

Clay stomped over to one of the bodies, lifting the limp arm and seeing the Mayan tattoo before throwing it to the ground. "Mayans." He sneered, spitting onto the assassin.

Tig went from visibly distraught, to an anger so strong that he became calm the second that the word left Clay's mouth. The Mexican scum had fucked with him one too many times. Keeping him from Sydney, trying to kill his best friend, and now shooting his old lady.

"I guess it's on." He spoke eerily as a murderous look came over him. This wasn't business, this was personal.

"And this war aint gonna be slow and steady…"

Honourable mention to my sister who I suggested I name this chapter 'Fire in Australia' because "it's a bullet through Sydney"

Songs for this chapter:

Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya - Dropkick Murphys

Nate Growing Up - Labrinth (I watched Euphoria last weekend leave me alone)