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River's determination to stay calm and focused around Chibs only makes it as far as the back of the bike. There is something decidedly sexual about climbing to the back of the large metal contraption and holding his hips while he kicks it to life. It doesn't help that this particular morning he decides he wants to ride his other bike, he refers to it as the "street", and the available space is smaller. On the larger machine she'd been able to hold tight while leaving a little space between their bodies but the street bike is designed with no such consideration.
It's a short ride to the garage but River spends the entire time with her full front pressed tightly against Chibs' back. Her legs are split around his hips and her hands clasped over his stomach. Even with his sweatshirt and leather she can feel his muscles jump under her fingers at every turn. She keeps her face pressed into the patches on his back to avoid the fall chill and she can smell him over the exhaust. With the rumble of the bike under her and Chibs basically everywhere else she feels like she's in sensory overload by the time he backs the bike into place at TM.
Ignoring his offer to sit in the garage she snatches his cigarettes and her book out of the side bag and heads for the picnic tables under the clubhouse overhang. She sets her phone up to monitor sound so she doesn't miss anything while she reads and tries to bury herself in the book. Much like the day before she's just managed to get settled into the novel's plot when the tactile buzz of the phone's vibration pulls her away. She looks up to see Tig nearby on the phone. She picks up her own phone but he's too far away for it to have picked up his words.
"Mother fucker!" The words appear on her screen and she makes a surprised noise looking up to see Tig watching her, his own phone now at his feet in multiple pieces. "Did you hear that?" He moves toward her while he speaks, a suspicious look on his face that softens when she shakes her head no and holds up the device in her hand.
He picks up her pack of cigarettes and lights one watching her closely. "What is that?" She puts her thumb on the screen typing to reply.
It reads what I type and detects nearby noise.
She sees his eyes widen as the phone's voice reads out her words and he settles into the seat across from her taking another drag on his cigarette.
"Looks a lot like a phone." He doesn't look suspicious anymore, just curious.
It was once. Juice helped me get it. Chibs knows I have it.
She hopes the mention of his brothers will relax him and it works a bit but she can still see something behind his eyes. He doesn't like being out of the loop she realizes. It bothers him that he didn't know. She types again.
Juice just brought it over this morning. I can tell you secrets now.
She gives him a teasing smile as the phone reads and he sends her a dirty grin in reply.
"Secrets huh? You just a high-priced hooker after all?" He smiles wide at his own joke and blows out a line of smoke. She looks down to make sure she read his lips correctly and then rolls her eyes before she replies.
You couldn't afford me if I was.
"I dunno, I'd pay quite a bit to find out if I could make you talk in bed." She doesn't need to check that on the screen, she's been fed that line before and she pulls a face before replying.
I think it would take more than what you're packing to get me to talk. Others have tried.
"You're quick with that thing. I thought you were just stupid the first night but you can't say I'm never wrong. So Chibs hasn't gotten you to talk then?" He narrows his eyes at her even as he smiles and she doesn't miss the second question hidden behind the words.
I "talk" to Chibs plenty. Mostly about what's for dinner.
He shakes his head, smile still in place. She's got him relaxed so she takes a risk.
Are you okay?
She nods towards the broken burner phone still laying on the pavement behind them with raised eyebrows and he rolls his shoulders before reaching to get another cig.
"My daughter." He shrugs like this should explain everything. River doesn't move just watches him to see if he'll fill in the gap if given the chance. She's not disappointed. "She needs some money. I'm not sure I should give it to her. We don't talk often." River can tell it's not something he'd normally share from the way his shoulders hunch and he looks around as he speaks making sure no one else can hear.
As a daughter I can assure you we're assholes sometimes.
She watches his face as the phone reads and is rewarded with his laugh. There's a long pause in the conversation as he smokes staring at nothing. She's actually a little surprised when he speaks again.
"I just want to see her." She can tell he didn't mean to make this admission from the soft look on his face. He's not talking to her anymore, he's just talking. She feels for him, a man feeling cast out by his club and now his daughter.
River reaches out and puts her hand over his on the table, it's instinctual, and he looks up at her surprised. "You're a nice girl." He takes another long drag on the cigarette. "I'd still fuck you sideways given half the chance." She pulls her hand off his and rolls her eyes at his dirty grin.
Tig opens his mouth to speak but is stopped by something River can't hear. He turns his head and River follows his gaze to see Gemma tear into the lot in her SUV. She watches the older woman park and head into the garage. River scans the bays and her eyes settle on Chibs. He's leaning against a toolbox smoking a cigarette staring back in her direction. Her eyes meet his and she feels a chill slide through her at the dark cold she finds there. He's pissed about something.
There's a movement in her peripheral vision and Tig is getting up. The phone buzzes and River looks down to see the "see you later" he threw over his shoulder typed on the screen. She tucks the device away and gets up herself. She moves across the pavement rubbing her hand up the back of her short hair. The look on Chibs' face made her nervous. Something is wrong. Chibs watches her the whole way there and in less time than she'd like she's standing in front of him looking up into his still icy eyes. She glances around but no one else is paying them any attention. He takes the last hit off his smoke and crushes the butt under his boot.
"Gemma's going to take yeh out this afternoon." River doesn't bother getting the phone out to reply she just nods. "Yeh aren't to give her any trouble." That's new.
River wasn't aware she'd given anyone trouble in the week she's spent with SAMCRO. Maybe that prospect the first night but after that she was pretty sure she'd been the most easy going Cartel favor ever. She raises an eyebrow in question and he huffs out a breath annoyed.
"She'll bring yeh to the house later." River nods along. Then signs.
You okay?
He signs back yes with a nod of his fist but the motion is terse and his face is still tight. She has no idea why he's being like this and she can feel anxiety start to build as she considers the possibilities. Was there new info from the Cartel? Had Jax told Clay about who she really was and she was being traded again? Had something else happened with the club? She's not about to wander off with Gemma without answers.
She looks around again to make sure no one is watching them and decides to take her second risk of the morning, reaching out she grabs his wrist and pulls him roughly out of the garage and around the corner where they can't be seen. He comes willingly, she wouldn't have been able to move him if he didn't want to follow. As soon as they're alone she releases him and he steps back leaning against the wall arms crossed over his chest. She rolls her eyes and pulls out the phone, flicking it into silent so it won't read for her to keep things quiet. She starts to type.
What is going on?
She holds out the phone and she sees his lips move as he takes it but he turns as he speaks and she can tell he doesn't want her to lip read whatever it is he's mumbled. He glances at the phone screen and looks back up at her.
"Nothing." He's full of shit. She doesn't even bother to take the phone back to reply just leaning back on her heels and signing repeat.
He gets the point and she watches him chew on the inside of his cheek looking anywhere but at her. She can feel her blood pressure going up the longer he refuses to reply and she snatches the phone back before typing.
Is it something that will get us killed?
She holds the device back out to him and for a moment he refuses to take it. He finally grabs the device from her outstretched hand and reads. He signs back a very terse no. She makes a strangled noise in the back of her throat and it seems to get his attention. He opens his mouth as though to speak but something interrupts and his head jerks to the side. She turns too and sees Gemma standing at the corner of the building, Jax just behind her.
Chibs moves immediately towards them and River bets he's talking with his back to her. They make it to the others and she stops looking from face to face to catch something mid conversation.
"Ground rules… no worries… good." She catches the words as they fall from Chibs' mouth but they make no sense.
"Not going to be… trouble…prospect tail" Jax is talking now but looking at Chibs and Gemma.
"We'll be a few hours… house.' Gemma speaks next and River can feel her frustration growing quickly.
"Be good." Chibs directs these words straight at her and he holds out the phone as he speaks. She snatches it from him and turns to Gemma with a smile.
"Come on honey." The older woman throws an arm over River's shoulders as she talks and walks them away.
River is still fuming over Chibs minutes later as they head towards main street, trailed by Phil on his bike. Gemma, for her part, seems fine to sing along to the radio and let the younger woman stew quietly in the passenger seat.
River's mind is still racing through all the possible reasons for Chibs' shift in mood. He'd been friendly that morning. More than friendly, he'd been flirting. She knows he'd been fine on the bike or at least she thought he had. He'd adjusted her hands a few times and grabbed her thigh at one of the stoplights but that was normal. She wasn't an experienced passenger on a good day and this morning she'd been particularly antsy at his closeness. It wasn't anything that had upset him before.
She's pissed at herself for going to the picnic tables instead of the garage. She has no idea what took place on the other side of the lot this morning and it's very possible he'd had a conversation that put him a foul mood. Maybe someone fucked up one of his cars. It still doesn't explain why he took it all out on her. She lets out an angry huff and a wave of Gemma's hand gets her attention. They've parked outside a small salon but the Gemma isn't moving to get out of the car.
"Chibs said you have a phone thing?" River pulls the phone out and turns the silent off so it'll read.
Yep
Gemma makes an incredulous face at the digital voice then speaks again. "You okay? Looked like some tough ground rules for a haircut?" It takes River a moment to get the context and then she realizes Chibs had covered their disappearance around the corner by telling the others he was laying down the rules for this little trip.
He takes his role as guard very seriously.
River can tell the other woman isn't buying it.
"Sure he does honey and I love the taste of my husband's cum but let's talk about things that are true." River is sure she read Gemma's lips wrong but when she looks down at the phone for confirmation, she lets out a snort. "You fucking him?" The new words appear on the screen and River shakes her head typing.
No.
She looks back up for Gemma to speak again. "Uh-huh, not yet would be more accurate right?" River provides no reaction and after a moment Gemma continues. "I don't care either way, Chibs deserves some good pussy but what I saw around that corner was not a guard laying down ground rules. It was a man mad at a woman." River shrugs in reply, she feels like a teenager caught doing something bad by her mother.
"Okay, let's go get that hair fixed." Just like that the conversation is over and Gemma moves to get out of the car. River follows not missing the bulk of the large prospect as he trails them inside.
The salon is small with only four chairs, it's obvious that the employees know Gemma, and no one bats an eye when Phil takes up a spot in the front picking up magazine to keep himself busy. Gemma being a regular sight at the salon is no surprise to River, the woman is clearly well maintained. It doesn't seem worth it to use the phone for this so River switches it off and just lets Gemma handle everything. The older woman seems more than happy to take charge and it's not long before River is in the first chair with a stylist standing behind her.
Ignoring her image in the floor to ceiling mirror River uses the reflective surface to read lips as best she can. She picks up that Gemma has introduced her as a niece. She knows the moment her lack of hearing comes up because the stylist's eyes fill with pity and she brings a hand up to hover over her heart. Then all attention is on River, she sits patiently while Gemma and the woman discuss possibilities for her hair.
River takes advantage of their distraction to finally look at herself. It's been easy to avoid mirrors so far but now faced with the bright reflective surface directly in front of her she can't help it. She stares at the face looking back at her and it's like meeting a very familiar stranger. The bruise across her cheek has almost faded but there's enough left to call attention to her pallor after three months trapped inside. Her eyes look impossibly large above her hollowed out cheeks. River will admit that her cheekbones look pronounced in a way she knows some find beautiful but she prefers herself less gaunt.
She lets her eyes drift up and she takes in her hair. Her previously long curls are completely gone. It hurt when they'd done it, the dull knife pulling with every chunk they sawed through. She knows why Gemma recognized that it'd been hacked. The dark locks lay in uneven pieces. Some in the front are almost long enough to fall into her eyes but most are only a few inches. There are even a few wispy pieces that were partially missed by the knife almost hitting her shoulders.
She closes her eyes as the stylist starts to run her hands through it all. When the first tug and jerk of the scissors takes place River's remaining nails bite into her palms. It feels familiar and yet still too close to the feeling of the chopping. She muscles through and after the first few locks start to fall she's able to relax into it. Looking back in the mirror she scans the room for Gemma and finds the woman relaxing in the chair behind them. The older woman winks when she catches her eye and River gives her a small smile.
River spends most of the haircut with her eyes closed. She wants to use the time to sort through her current situation piecing together next steps for calling Vinny and dealing with the cartel. Her mind has other plans though and she keeps drifting back to Chibs. He'd looked so mad and she can't figure it out. The words Gemma shared in the car bounce around behind her eyes. Not a guard… a man mad at a woman. Maybe the file Juice brought over with all the pictures. Chibs had ended the conversation about it with some attitude before they'd left.
If that's his problem though River can't do anything to fix it. She's a rich woman with a fun life. One day when her father died, she'd be even richer. Playing poker brought in good money and she was careful with her investments. On top of her own earnings she had a sizable trust fund from her mother's distant Sicilian family and her father liked to spoil her. As Consigliere, Piero managed most of the DiForno outfit's legitimate money and relationships as the clean front. It had made him a very rich man without taking into account any side deals or criminal efforts. River grew up never thinking twice about utilizing both her family's wealth or connections.
When in Chicago she lives in an expansive 9,000 square foot apartment with six bedrooms and a terrace that overlooks the lake. She'd traveled to Vegas three months ago on a private jet and was no stranger to the city's high-roller penthouse suites and exclusive clubs. She likes to wear pretty, expensive clothes and her jewelry collection costs more to insure than some families make in a year.
The list of people she can call for a favor is massive and very powerful. Ranging from well-known business men to political figures. She can still remember her first speeding ticket at 16 when her father called the mayor to get the mark taken off her driving record. Piero still took away her car for three months as punishment but he'd refused to leave her with any kind of record.
Sure, she hadn't shared these pieces of her life over the last week trapped with the MC, they didn't seem particularly relevant given the circumstances. Until the night before she still hadn't known if she was on a mafia hit list and with the promise from Luis breathing down her neck it didn't seem logical to bring up her ability to call senators or charter jets. She'd never lied to the Scot during their time together. She may have been reluctant to share a few details but once she'd realized he was an ally she'd given him everything he needed to save them both.
Plus, it's hard. It's hard to communicate with no words and no hearing. If she'd stumbled into a group of deaf bikers she would have been able to say more, hell, she probably would have over shared as is custom among deaf groups. She hadn't though. No one here speaks her language and while she knows they're trying, it's still not the same. Just as she's starting to get worked up, a tap on the shoulder pulls her out.
Opening her eyes, River looks up to the stylist standing behind her. The petite blond has a massive smile on her face and her hands spread wide as though to say, ta-da. River gives her a weak smile and focuses on her own face in the mirror. Her mouth opens in surprise. The woman had done an amazing job, managing to take the mangled remains of her curls and transform them into an edgy pixie cut. The front, where most of the longer chunks had been focused, is been layered carefully and the soft hair falls across her forehead, dipping into dark eyes. The rest has been updated to appear intentionally choppy. It's not a style River would have picked but it looks good.
The stylist is pulling the salon cape from her shoulders and River stands up. Short hair like this makes her eyes look massive and she gives herself a wicked smile in the mirror. Gemma comes up to stand behind her looking very pleased with herself and River signs a thank you to the older woman.
"It's amazing what not looking like shit can do for a woman." Gemma is smug but she has reason to be. River runs her fingers through the short hair and nods along. "Come on, we've still got some time before I have to take you back." Gemma pays for the haircut and River takes note of the amount planning to pay the woman back for all her kindness.
They end up getting light lunch at a restaurant down the street, Phil leaning on his bike within sight of the front door, and while they're waiting for the food to arrive River pulls out the phone again. Feeling pouty about the events of that morning is no reason to be rude to someone who's been so generous. She sets it up on silent to avoid bothering the other diners and types.
Was that your normal salon?
Gemma reads and nods, "Carrie, the girl who did your hair, she does mine too. I don't use her for color though, not that I'd let anyone color those curls you have. I bet it was beautiful when it was long." River lets a sad smile slide over her face.
It was. Really long. It's got more curl when it's longer. I miss it.
"Hair is important to women. I get it. You doing okay with -?" Gemma motions to the phone as she speaks and River shrugs before replying.
I'm used to it. The world isn't designed for the deaf. Having the phone helps.
Gemma makes a face of agreement. "Do you know what the deal is then? When you'll get to go home or whatever?" River appreciates that Gemma said when rather than if but the question brings her back to reality. To the older woman River is still a special favor to the Galindo cartel. Gemma is being nice but has nothing has actually changed.
Nope, no word. They don't seem to want me dead, at least not yet. Thank you for being kind.
The other woman is embarrassed by her gratitude and River watches as Gemma shrugs and looks away after reading the words. Feeling bold in the moment River pulls the phone back across the table and types again.
Has Clay said anything?
It was too far and River knows it from the way Gemma stiffens before she speaks. "Maybe we should stick to hair and clothes." River nods and works to change the topic.
Are we going back to Chibs' house after lunch?
Gemma checks her watch before speaking, "We've got some time to hit a few shops. How was dinner last night?" Dinner, River isn't sure how to describe dinner. The food was good and Tara was nice but the main event had been finding out she was safe to contact Vinny. Then there's the added complication that Gemma seems to tighten her lips whenever she talks about Tara and River has a feeling the women are only on good terms publicly.
Dinner was good. Tara is a good cook. I didn't really get to meet the boys.
The mention of Gemma's grandchildren seems to be a good move as the older woman relaxes back into her chair with a nod. "Those boys are my life. Tara is something but a good cook isn't it. You want good food come to my house next—" Gemma's mouth goes still and River realizes the other woman doesn't want to bring up a next anything given the uncertain situation. Feeling bad for the awkwardness River types.
It's okay.
Gemma reads and then looks up to meet her eyes. River can see respect in the older woman's face. "You handle it all well. Good for you." The lingering awkwardness is cut off as the waiter arrives with their food and River tucks the phone away while they eat.
When lunch is over, they still have time so Gemma leads River down main street towards a row of clothing stores. All conversation of the MC and the Cartel falls to the background as they shop. Gemma seems to be trying to make up for something or impress the sales lady and River watches as the pile of clothes grows. Her shaking head is ignored and while most of the purchases are made for Gemma herself there's still a bag with a pair of jeans and a few tops for River. The only item she hadn't even thought to refuse was a new pair of boots, more comfortable and better fitting than the second hand pair she's been wearing.
Between the new boots and with the haircut River feels oddly positive as they head back towards Chibs' house. The closer they get though the more her stomach starts to twist up in knots. She hasn't forgotten his anger and she had no idea what she's walking back into. Gemma seems to pick up on the energy and when they pull into the drive she grabs River's arm pausing her exit from the car.
"Don't let him push you around. You may be— you may not have status here but that doesn't mean you have to take shit." Gemma's face is hard as she talks, a trace of something far away and sad in her eyes. River wonders what happened to make the woman so protective. Gemma doesn't seem like a woman to naturally extend kindness to outsiders but then she's been wrong before. River nods in agreement and Gemma seems satisfied, releasing her arm.
River climbs down from the big SUV and digs her two bags out of the back. Checking to make sure she has her phone she waves to Gemma and Phil watching them both back out of the driveway. Time to go inside and figure out if she still has an ally in the Scot.
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