Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own OCs and storylines…

She Will Be Loved

Chapter 30: Strong Girl

By Love Ink

Angela stared at the house, double checking the address she'd been given and the number on the house in a relatively deserted part of town. Skeeter had said it was a simple pick up. Some little old lady who was found dead in bed by her son, a natural death. The decedent was small, the house was easily accessed, and the son was amenable. An easy removal for her to do by herself, something she'd done often in the small town. She'd strapped on her conceal-carry appendix holster, tucked her Glock-26 inside, and didn't think anything of it. It was standard for her when she went on calls by herself. Happy had drilled it into her head the second she'd told him it was something she had to do.

The house was on the bigger side, but it looked almost abandoned. A big square hole in the lawn looked strangely as though there had once been a "For Sale" sign there that had been dug up recently. There was a van parked in the driveway, which raised her hackles a bit; not many normal people chose to drive big white vans. Still, she couldn't judge too harshly. Maybe the decedent's family were plumbers or something of the like and needed the van for work.

"All right," she breathed, grabbing her gurney out of the back of her own van and heading up the front walk. Inhaling sharply, she prepared herself for whatever grieving family member she was going to find on the other side of the door.

To her surprise, a huge guy wearing an oversized purple shirt stared back at her. He didn't look at all like he was grieving, and there was a strange nervous air around him. She made sure to keep the surprise off her face as she nodded to him. "Hi, Mr. Andrews?"

He nodded meekly, his eyes darting to the side for a moment as he stepped back to let her in. "You the undertaker? Ruiz?"

"Um...yeah. That's me," she said, pushing the gurney in front of her and taking great care to make sure it was between her and the guy. There was something about him she didn't trust. "My condolences to you on your loss."

"Yeah. Thanks."

She felt a presence behind her, saw the shadow as it came closer, and instinctively ducked, just as whoever it was swung something down. A metal bat hit her left shoulder, making her cry out as she heard something inside her shoulder crack and a wave of pain washed over her. Gritting her teeth, she pulled her elbow back, elbowing her attacker hard in the balls. He doubled over, grunting in pain as she reached for the bat. The other man was fast, though, and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist from behind. She was prepared for this, had practiced two against one combat over and over again with Happy and Kozik. She dropped her weight, elbowing him in the balls as she did so. He let her go, and she spun around, grabbing him by the shoulders and using his bent over position to drive her knee into his face. He fell back just as her other attacker grabbed her by the hair.

She bit back a cry of pain as she lurched forward instead of back, surprising him and knocking him off balance. Enough was enough. She reached into her appendix carry for her gun, turned around, and shot the guy once in the thigh and once in the stomach. He howled with pain and let her go. She took two steps back just as the other was starting to sit up. She tried to bring her other hand up to get a proper grip on the gun but pain radiated through her left arm. Something was definitely broken. She hesitated as she held the gun out in front of her, aimed at the other guy. She didn't want to kill him and hoped the gun in his face was enough to scare him away. "Get back," she ordered, noting the way he clocked her hurt shoulder. Her other attacker was on the ground, holding his stomach. "If you let me go now, you can go get your buddy some help and you both can live."

The other man seemed to consider her words. His gaze flitted to the gun in her hand, and he took a step forward. She didn't flinch. "I said get back!" she commanded.

He smirked at her and lunged. She emptied the rest of the magazine into him as she heard him screaming. Except he wasn't the one screaming. It was her, she realized as he fell limp, face down on the ground. "Shit," she breathed, her chest rising and falling quickly.

"Fuckin' bitch," the other one said, coughing up blood.

Angela sniffed, feeling her stomach churn as she stared at the dead body on the floor. She'd seen hundreds of dead bodies throughout her life in all shapes and sizes, but for some reason, the sight of this one made her sick. She had caused this. She raked her shaking hands through her hair. "W-who sent you?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you," he laughed, his teeth red as he grinned at her. "We shoulda known better though. Dirty cross club cunt like you. Knew we shoulda came armed."

She tensed at the name. She hated that word. Cunt. It made her cringe. "Cross club," she repeated the first few words, stopping before the last. Dread filled her at the significance of them. They knew. Knew she was tied to both clubs.

"We seen you. Jumpin' between those fuckin' biker clubs. Can't pick which dick you like, huh? Brown or white? Like the swirl."

"Jesus Christ," she breathed, feeling as though the walls were closing in on her. She staggered outside, taking deep gulps of fresh air. They knew. Whatever enemy the clubs had in common had been following her, and she hadn't even noticed. Hadn't even thought about it. Her head was spinning as she sunk down on the front steps of the house. She was in deep shit. Deep, deep shit.

Reaching for her phone, she dialed her cousin's number, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes. The phone rang once before Happy's voice came on the other end. "Yeah?"

"Hap?" she asked, hating how small her voice sounded to her own ears. "I need you."

Happy had never ridden so fast in his life. His kid needed him, and he needed to get there. He flew down the highway, Kozik and Tig at his sides. They were the only two he trusted when it came to his cousin, the only two he'd asked for help. He would've told the prospect, but he knew he and Angela were not in the best place right now; Juice was still butt-hurt about the damn Mayan. Hap couldn't blame him, though; he was still irked about it too.

He pulled up in front of the house, noting the van in the driveway. What the hell had his cousin been thinking going there alone? Hadn't the lack of cars save for the big white van in the drive been a red flag?

"Kid say what happened?" Kozik asked, pulling a gun from inside of his cut.

Happy shook his head, doing the same. "Just said she needed me. Didn't ask why."

The blonde nodded slowly before pointing towards the front where it seemed Angela was waiting on the steps for them. He crouched down in front of her. "What happened, kid?"

Angela's dark eyes looked up at him, and he saw something within them that gave him pause. Whatever had happened wasn't good. A fine spray of blood was visible on her arms, blouse, and face though she didn't seem to be bleeding. Her left arm was held close to her chest as though something was hurting her, and he hoped like hell she wasn't hiding some larger wound. She still hadn't answered him, though. He snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention. "Hey. Kid. What the hell happened?"

She blinked for a minute, squinting in the sun. "I...don't...I did everything y-you taught me," she stammered, looking more scared than he'd ever seen her. "I tried to fight first. Brains before bullets, but...there was just one of me...a-and..."

Happy noticed the gun sitting next to her, locked in its open position, empty from what he could tell. "You hurt?"

She sniffled a bit, shrugging her right shoulder. "Think this is broken," she said, her voice shaking as she indicated her left shoulder. "H-he had a metal bat, and I ducked, but h-he got my shoulder."

"Better than your head," he assured her. She nodded numbly, clearly unsure of how she should be acting. "It hurt?"

"If I move it."

"Don't," he ordered simply. "How many guys?"

"Two."

"Color?"

"Black," she answered inhaling sharply.

Happy heard Tig curse behind him. Kozik grimaced. "Had to be Niner retaliation."

"He-he called me a 'cross club cunt'," Angela said softly, her face twisting as if the words were poisonous.

"Jesus Christ," Kozik muttered, raking a hand through his hair. "Told you this Mayan shit wasn't going to end well!"

Happy didn't like the sound of that. How long had someone been tailing her? It had to be for awhile if they'd seen her going between Charming and Oakland. How had she not noticed? "You didn't see someone followin' you?"

Angela blanched a bit, raking her fingers through her hair. "N-no. I didn't even think about it! Why would someone follow me?"

" 'Cause you're fuckin' the president's son?" Kozik put in making both Angela and Happy wince at his bluntness.

The loud sound of motorcycle engines filled the air. Happy glared at his cousin, knowing exactly who was coming now. "You called him?" he spat, feeling just a little offended.

Angela didn't look at all fazed by his anger. "I had to. I couldn't...I'm a cross-club cunt," she repeated flatly.

Tig snickered a bit, repeating the words under his breath in amusement. Happy ignored him. Whoever had called her that had to die. Like a lot. He knew his cousin hated the 'c-word', that it was the worst thing anyone could call her. He didn't know why, or if she even had a reason, but he knew the words had cut hurt her more than she'd ever admit. "How many dead?"

"One. The other was a belly shot, 'n'...I dunno," she trailed off for a moment before shrugging again. "I didn't want to go back in there."

"On it," Kozik said, hitting Tig's arm before nodding towards the front door. Both men disappeared inside.

Happy nodded, leaning over to kiss her head. Despite everything, he was proud as hell of his kid. She'd gone up against two people and had come out alive. Had killed them just like he'd taught her to. "Proud of you."

She didn't look pleased like he thought she might. Sorrow and pain was written all over her face, and he didn't know how to help her. She nodded slowly, her eyes following the chromed out bikes as they came towards the house. "Please don't hurt him."

"You need him?"

"Yeah," she said softly.

"Then he lives."

"Thanks." Her shoulders sagged in relief before she winced as the movement pulled at her injured shoulder.

Happy waited until her asshole boyfriend was close enough. Esai had run over, thrown his helmet—and almost his bike—on the ground to get to her. The concern on his face, the fear in his eyes was enough for Happy to at least feel a little comfortable leaving her with him. "Shoulder needs to get checked out. Now."

"I'm fine," Angela ground out stubbornly as she got to her feet. He didn't know where this second wind of strength had come from. It was like she was putting on a show for the Mayan. Trying to look stronger than she felt. "I have the big van. You're gonna need it."

"Don't give a shit about that," Hap said with a scowl. While he'd much rather see his cousin standing strong, he didn't appreciate her ignoring what he'd said. She needed to get out of there as soon as possible so they could get more information out of the asshole she'd injured before he croaked. "Don't worry about it. Get to the hospital. Now."

To his credit, Esai nodded. He'd approached her slowly, reaching out a hand to touch her face in a gesture meant to comfort. "C'mon, chiqui. Let's go. You can tell me what happened on the drive over."

She stepped back, shaking her head. "N-no. Is he alive?"

Happy clenched his jaw, knowing she wasn't going to leave until she got answers. "Anyone livin'?"

"Yeah! Barely," Tig's voice shot back. "Think we got some time to get some intel from him."

"Good," Marcus said, bobbing his head as he approached. "Let's go do that. Esai, you take care of Angelita. We'll take care of the rest."

Angela seemed to hesitate for a moment. "How are you going to move the bodies? You need my van. I'll wait, drive it back, and then I can...I can cremate them later."

Happy knew she was trying to keep her mind busy. To keep occupied so she didn't have a total meltdown in front of the Mayan, but he didn't want her around for what came next. Plus, the awkward way she was cradling her left arm against her chest, a deformity obviously visible on her shoulder, made him think something was broken. "We'll figure it out," he said on a scowl. He nodded to Esai. "Take her in the van. She can't ride like that."

Angela started to protest, but Esai moved an arm around her shoulder making a soft whimper of pain escape her hold. He wasn't sure if the asshole had done it on accident or to prove a point. Either way, the point was made. "Shit! Sorry, chiqui," he muttered, eyes wide. "C'mon. Let's get you to the doctors. I'll say you fell or some shit."

She grimaced and nodded, allowing him to take her hand and lead her to the van. Happy waited until she was out of sight before turning to the Mayan President. Marcus' shoulder were tight as he nodded towards the door. "I'll let you take lead on this. We need to know who did this," Marcus stated, his own hands clenched into fists. "Gonna talk to Clay. I want someone tailing her at all times."

Happy nodded in agreement, slightly thankful for the way the Mayan President thought of his cousin as a daughter for once. "Agreed," he said, knowing just the right person for the job.

A broken clavicle, the doctor had diagnosed, looking over Esai with suspicion in her eyes. She kept staring at Angela beseechingly, imploring her to admit it was Esai who'd done it. Angela was quiet; she knew how bad it looked, but she didn't know what to say to convince her otherwise. Her head was pounding, and her heart ached. She'd killed someone. Two people. And yes, it was self-defense, but that didn't make her feel any better.

She hadn't noticed the doctor left the room until Esai reached out a hand to touch her cheek. It was meant to be a soothing gesture, but she really didn't want him touching her. "You okay, chiqui?" he asked softly.

He was trying to comfort her; she knew he was, but Esai was a little too selfish to be any good at it. She swallowed hard and nodded. "Sure."

A pained look crossed his face, and he reached for her hand. "I um...you kicked some ass today, chiqui. I'm so proud a you. My strong girl."

Angela appreciated the sentiment, but she didn't want it. Didn't want to be told she was strong any more. She wanted to fall apart. Cry her eyes out and have someone hold her. It was getting hard to keep this strong front up. She knew that's what Esai expected of her, though. He loved her because she was low maintenance. She didn't fall apart. She was his strong girl, and she had to stay strong for him. "Yeah, thanks."

He squeezed her hand lovingly, and she ignored the wave of pain that washed up it. Tears sprung to her eyes, but she kept them back. She'd cry later, when she was alone...maybe with a bottle of tequila too. A nurse came back in with a brace in her hands. Esai checked the nurse out, his eyes dragging over her petite frame, lingering on her chest for a moment. She was a pretty girl. Short dark hair, hazel almond-shaped eyes, and freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose. Her teal scrubs complemented her tan skin very nicely; it was no wonder Esai was checking her out. Angela wished he would leave; he wasn't helping anything. Breathing in deeply, she glanced at the nurse. "Yeah?"

"Hi, I'm Chloe, and I'm gonna help you put the brace on and give you some guidelines, okay?" she asked, looking awkwardly at Esai. Clearly, she'd noticed him checking her out. Angela nodded, allowing her to put the cumbersome brace on her, aware of Esai's laser like gaze on them. The poor nurse had to fit it across her chest, and she noted her hands shaking a bit, betraying her calm behavior. It was obvious the nurse wasn't used to being in the presence of big bad biker men despite the front she was trying to put on. "You'll need to wear this for about three weeks. During that time, no lifting over five pounds. And no strenuous activity."

Esai crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes at the nurse as if it was her fault. "So no sex?"

Angela felt bile come up in her mouth; she was injured and the thing he was focusing on was no sex? She wanted to smack him. "Seriously, E?" she asked, glaring at him.

"What? I want to make sure I don't hurt you," he defended, throwing his arms out to his side.

Chloe frowned, busying herself with adjusting Angela's brace. "Well, I wouldn't recommend it for at least two weeks. You could hurt her more, displace the fracture, and then she'd need surgery. But its at her discretion."

Esai looked disappointed for a moment before he nodded. "Okay."

"May I speak with you alone a minute, Ms. Ruiz?" she asked.

"Go. I'm fine," Angela said to Esai, nodding to the door. Esai pressed a quick kiss to her temple before leaving the room. Once he was gone, she leveled a bored look at the nurse. "I already told you. He didn't do this."

Chloe gave her a doubtful look but nodded. "I'm more worried about that sex comment, to be honest. He's not...forcing himself on you, is he?"

Angela smirked and shook her head. "No, he's just...stupid. Typical man, only thinking with the head in his pants."

"Not all men are like that," she said solemnly.

She felt a lump form in her throat as she thought of Raj. No, not all men were like that. Raj would've been pacing the room, beside himself. He would've been asking about physical therapy and if she should wear the brace to sleep or in the shower, and stupid shit like that. Sex would never have come up. She shook her head, biting back tears. "No, they're not," she agreed on a tight smile. "He's not a bad guy, though, and he didn't do this. This was my own fault."

Chloe nodded a bit, shifting from foot to foot. "Okay," she replied, though she still seemed unsure. "Here's some pain meds to start you off."

Angela took a moment to size up the nurse as she took the meds with a swig of water from a glass Chloe was handing her. "You're new here, huh?"

She chuckled and shrugged. "Is it that obvious?"

"Kinda. You look like you've never seen someone like E before, and if you've been in Charming for awhile, you'd know the Sons. They're always laid up at this hospital," Angela explained on a shrug.

"Yeah. Just moved here. Originally from New York, went on a travelling spree for a year or two before deciding the small town feel was right for me," Chloe explained, going to throw away the packaging of the brace.

Angela smiled. The pain meds had to be working, because she was starting to feel really relaxed. The weight of what happened before had slid off her shoulders, and she felt a little friendlier than usual. "New York, huh? Where abouts?"

"Brooklyn."

"No shit. I lived in Brooklyn for a few years for school."

"No way. Small world," Chloe commented with a small smile. "What brought you to Charming?"

"Work. I work at Dubrowski's Funeral Home," she answered, sliding down onto her feet from the table. "Grew up in Oakland, though, and my family's here, so I came back."

Chloe bobbed her head, her arms crossed over the file she had, holding it to her chest. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Ang. You're free to go. I'll see you back here in a week to check out your progress. Here's a list of exercises for you to do in the meantime. Come back if you have questions about any of them."

"Thanks. Nice to meet you too. I'm sure I'll see you around. I'm always here picking up bodies and grabbing coffee," she said, waving her good hand a bit. Chloe gave her a disapproving look, to which she backpeddadled a bit. "Which I won't be doing for a while. Because they're definitely more than five pounds."

"Uh-huh. Moving all that dead weight is not helpful for the healing process," she stated, laughter in her eyes.

Angela snickered, shaking her head at the nurse. "Dead weight. Wow. You proud of yourself for that joke?"

"Real proud," Chloe replied on a nod. "Take care of yourself. Don't let him push you into things you don't want to do. Surgery for that thing is gonna suck and take even longer to heal. 's not worth it just for the sex."

"I know, I know. Thank you," she shot back, taking in a deep breath before going outside. Esai was leaning against a wall across the room. She nodded to him, giving him a small smile.

Esai nodded back, a look of relief crossing his face at her smile. "You all right? We good?"

"All good, baby," she murmured, leaning into his chest. "Just ready to go home and get in bed."

He frowned at that, taking in a deep breath. "Yeah, about that. I can't stay with you, chiqui. I can't...I gotta help the club find out who the fuck did this, so I can't..."

"Take care of me. Got it."

"But, I'm gonna drop you off at your aunt and Ma's place, and they're gonna help. I'll come visit soon, but I gotta deal with this shit first, all right?"

Angela tried to hide her disappointment. This was where the similarities between Raj and Esai came up. Raj would've stayed a few hours with her before having to leave for work, just like Esai. Again, she felt tears spring to her eyes as that lonely feeling started to spread through her chest. "Okay."

"Love you, chiqui. So much. We're gonna find who's behind this. I'ma keep you safe, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded slowly. "Love you too."

Esai was kind enough to walk Angela up the stairs and help her get comfortable in the bed. She was aware of the way her aunt glared at him as they entered, despite Esai's relatively polite greeting. While Elena had generally approved of their relationship while Happy was in prison, when Hap got out, and E started to treat her differently, Elena's dislike for him started to grow. To her credit, Elena bit her tongue and was respectful to him now; she must've been tipped off about what happened by Happy because she didn't ask any questions.

The second Angela's head hit the pillow, she felt her eyelids grow heavy. Whatever pain meds she was on had to be strong because she was struggling to stay awake. Esai chuckled at her, his lips brushing against her forehead. "Sleep now, mi vida. I'll come check up on you later, yeah?"

"Mmkay," she murmured sleepily.

"I love you," he said, brushing her hair back from her face. "So glad you're okay. My bad ass girl."

Angela was too tired to respond, too tired to reply. The adrenaline she'd gone through before paired with the pain meds had left her drained. All she wanted was to sleep and forget about everything that happened. She wished Juice was there. The thought and the feeling caught her completely off guard, but as soon as it came to mind, it felt right. She wanted him there to hold her while she fell apart, to listen to her in his quiet, patient way. She wanted him beside her, ready with a joint and some stupid joke to make her smile. She fell asleep with that thought in her head, guilt just starting to creep into the edges of her mind.


Kind of a different vibe for this one, but I really enjoyed writing Angela actually using her fighting skills for once. I feel like I mention them every now and then, but she never gets to use them.

Also couldn't resist adding Chloe into the mix too.

Please let me know what you think!
Stay safe out there!

~Love Ink