Kiera was working a shift at TM. She knew the big meeting with the Irish and cartel was happening that afternoon. There was a pit in her stomach making it difficult for her to concentrate on her work. She watched Jax pull in, followed by Gemma and not long after Tara showed up. The pit grew. Chibs walked into the office and she could see the stress on his face. "I have a bad feeling, Filip." He pulled her in close and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Aye, so do I doll. But ye have te believe everything will work out." Placing a finger under her chin, he lifted her face to his. "Promise me, if something happens you'll leave." Before she could protest he gave her a small kiss. "Promise me."
"I promise. But you better return to me. You and me are getting out of here together." She could see an end, it was so close for them. They needed to move this deal along and fast. Once they were legit she really believed they could get out and start a new life. The next kiss left her breathless and her knees shaking. "Ye 'ave my word, angel."
He left the shop calling to Jax that they needed to get going. Kiera watched her cousin climb onto his bike. The look he gave her was a promise from him, they would return. She saw Tara speaking to Gemma then quickly leave again. Her aunt looked lost as Kiera walked over to speak with her. She hadn't told her that Kiera was planning on leaving and taking Chibs with her. It would break her heart but she knew she needed to get out. Just thinking about staying left her feeling sick. "Hey aunt Gem." She took the offered smoke and light up beside her.
"Hey baby. I feel like I haven't talked to you lately."
"It's been a little nuts. How's..." she trailed off not sure how to ask about her face that was smashed in by her husband. Something Kiera would not forgive Clay for.
"I'm fine. I need to tell you something." Kiera nodded for her to continue. "It's about your uncle John. Some letters surfaced that he was sending to someone in Ireland. He had suspicions that Clay was trying to kill him. He wanted out of the gun business and Clay didn't."
"No," she shook her head, "it was an accident. We all know it was an accident." Maybe if she repeated it enough it would be true. "It was Clay. I'm so sorry baby. Jax now knows everything. I read the letters and it all became clear about what happened all those years ago. Piney found those letter and Clay killed him too. He put a shotgun to his chest. Opie found him." She reached over and wiped a tear from her nieces cheek. "Jax is going to kill Clay. He's going to make this all right, Kiera." Her aunt could see the pain in her eyes, she loved her uncle dearly. Now she felt betrayed by someone she had come to love after all these years.
"Gemma we need to leave this town. Look at everything that's happened." She pleaded with tears running down her face. "Come with me and Chibs. We can go anywhere. We both know Jax wants nothing more than to leave and take care of his boys. Maybe we can all go somewhere. Us as a family." Before she spoke, Kiera knew what she was going to say. "This is my home. I will never leave Charming. You think Jax and Chibs will just walk away? You're as delusional as Tara." Gemma looked at her with pity. "We've talked about it. He'll leave for me." She stood as those words turned to ash on her tongue. "I hope so." Was all her aunt said before turning away from her.
That evening she was at the clubhouse with Chibs. The tension was so thick in the air she could drink it with her beer. Her Scot didn't talk much, nor did anyone else for that matter. Jax came in with his head high. Chibs, Tig and Juice followed him into chapel. Tara opened the doors to their meeting allowing Kiera to see the new order. Jax sat at the head of the table and Chibs was to his right. Gemma moved to the doorway and Kiera stood behind her. With Jax at the gavel and Chibs his right hand, realization set in, no one was leaving anytime soon.
Jax confronted her and swore her not to tell Chibs about Clay. He said he would tell the club when everything was right. Jax assured her that he would tell everyone the whole story and she wouldn't be held accountable for keeping quiet. She hated it but she kept her promise.
Opie decided to have a funeral for his father. It was simple and only for the few close to him. The sun was high and warm on her skin. Her heels clicked along the cement as she walked up to her stoic friend. "I'm sorry Ope. I loved Piney." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head like always. "He loved you too Key. Thanks for coming out." He looked over her head as Jax approached with the rest of SAMCRO. "I'm here, whatever you need doll."
She gave Jax a kiss on the cheek and went to Chibs' arms. Things were a little rough between them lately. He knew she was keeping something from him. He had been able to read her since she was a kid. For now, he let it go. "How's he doin'?"
"Opie is the strong silent type when he's not in pain. Even I can't get him to open up. I just want to be there for him."
"How did I end up with the most amazing girl?"
"Probably all those hail Mary's you've done in those little boxes in church." He laughed and moved her to his bike. The way home she rubbed herself up against him to tease him as best she could. She encouraged him to drive faster and take her the minute they walked inside.
"Kiera!" Chibs came storming into the house after church the next afternoon. She came around the corner, wiping her hands on a towel. Knowing it was better to let him yell, she raised an eyebrow in question. "Did ye know? Did ye know Clay killed Piney?"
"I'm sorry, Jax swore to keep quiet about it. What did he tell you?"
"Clay came in and told the club. He said it was self defense and Ope came and shot him." She nodded, knowing that was a lie. "Ye could have told me." He cupped her face and pulled her in for a kiss. "No more lies." She smiled up at him, not able to make that promise. So instead she went with, "I love you." The rest of the truth would come out. She was still to keep her promise to Jax, she just wish she knew why there were more lies.
Chibs called her letting her know the cops were looking for him, Jax and Tig. He was heading into hiding with Jax and promised to watch out for her cousin. They also sent Bobby to come stay with her. Pope was out looking for them and they were worried for her safety. "I love you angel. I won't be gone long." The door bell rang announcing Bobby's arrival. She sent her love and opened the door to her friend. "Your personal babysitter." He pulled her into one of his hugs she loved so much. "The cops will probably be here soon." She moved her gun off the table and into a drawer. "Be honest, how bad is this shit with Pope?"
"It's bad doll. He's a serious player and Tig killed his daughter." She rubbed her hands down her face. "Fuck." Roosevelt arrived at her door with backup. "We've come for Chibs."
"He's not here. Just me and my friend grabbing a drink." She looked back to a grinning Bobby. They pushed past her and searched the house. She stood her ground in front of the Sheriff. He crossed his arms and leaned against her doorframe. "Where is he, girl? You're his old lady, surely you know." She had been done with this sheriff since she first met him. "See, that shows you know nothing about old ladies. I'll let him know you stopped by." He sighed and whispered, "please stay safe." She glared and shut the door in his face.
She headed up to Diosa with Bobby after he filled her in on Tig's daughters death. Chibs pulled her tightly to him when she walked in. "One night and I missed ya like crazy." She smiled into his kiss. "Missed you too, baby." She looked around the brothel with a scowl. "Keep it in your pants." He gave her a mock salute. "Yes ma'am. Always."
She was introduced to Nero. He was charming and Kiera could see the way Gemma was looking at him. "He," she pointed to Chibs, "gets no free nights." She knew what happened when the boys went on trips. Chibs swore he was more afraid of Kiera ripping off his balls than getting his dick wet by another woman. He laughed and nodded. "Si seniorita." It wouldn't take long before Nero learned to fear her as all the other men did.
Jax and Tara were tying the knot in a brothel. With all the shit happening she could understand it but couldn't believe Tara was going with it.. She sat on Chibs' lap and watched their quick ceremony. He stood when the priest asked if anyone wanted to say anything. He gave them a Celtic blessing and everyone hugged the happy couple. Kiera couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to marry her old man.
"We're turning ourselves in tonight, love."
"Promise me, you'll return."
"Aye, ye 'ave my word. I love ye."
"I love you too."
The police showed up and they said their goodbyes. She prayed to whatever god was out there they would be kept safe. Taking Tara's hand she watched them cuffed. Opie threw a punch at the sheriff, causing himself to get thrown into jail with them. She sat on the table as the van drove away. Juice quietly sat next to her. They had their issues but it was his brothers, her cousin and the love of her life getting taken away. He put a comforting arm around her and offered her a smoke. They didn't talk for what seemed like hours. Eventually, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and went into her room at the clubhouse. Going back to her empty house was out of the question. She would have slept on the bar top to avoid going back there alone.
Tara took Kiera aside and told her how Opie died in jail. Her heart shattered at the loss of her friend. She grabbed a large bottle of scotch and disappeared into her room. Everyone was sullen and keeping to themselves. She was still passed out when the boys arrived back from county lockup. Chibs peeked into her room and saw her asleep on the bed. There was a bottle was tipped over on the floor and tissues all around her. She had done nothing but get drunk and cry herself to sleep without him. It broke his heart almost as much as watching Opie die in front of his eyes. He went to church to work out this situation they found themselves in.
When she finally woke up Chibs had come and gone. She found Bobby working on Opie's wake. He pulled her close. "You look like shit darlin." She gave a small laugh. "Yeah well, I already landed my old man. I can look like shit every so often. And you are the only one allowed to say I look like shit." She grabbed a beer for her hangover and turned to Bobby. "How can I help?"
He put her on a few duties, grabbing pictures and other items. Tara was tasked on checking on Layla and the kids. Chibs found her on the bed covered in photos. He picked up a few before lifting her up and holding on as tightly as possible. "I'm so sorry angel. God, I'm so fucking sorry." His arms felt like her heart might actually be put back together. "I'm sorry too." She gave a sniffle. "I'm sorry you had to see it. I miss him already."
The casket arrived and he was placed on the table in chapel. She held Chibs' hand so tightly she thought it would break. Wearing black had never bothered her but wearing this much for funerals was getting really old. She wasn't sure how many more family members she could bury. Saying goodbye, she placed a picture of them when they were growing up and an orange rose in his coffin. "I'll miss you, Ope. Watch over all of us from up there."
That night Chibs held her tight. They didn't talk for a long while, both lost in their own heads. "Is it ever going to get better?" She whispered. His breath went across her neck as he sighed. "I honestly don't know. We've lost so many. And these break-ins are a huge concern." She nodded, knowing they needed to find out who was behind them. "I'm carrying at all times. They come in here and I'll happily take them out since they dared to hurt Unser." She didn't realize she was clenching her fists until his hand slipped into hers. "You scare me sometimes." He pulled her hand up and kissed where her nails had dug into her palms. "I should." She rolled over and kissed him deeply working her way down his chest. "Christ," he hissed.
She saw them bringing in Tig to the clubhouse and bleeding from the ass. Following them in, she found him bare-ass with a bite mark. Tears started running down from laughing so hard. "Tigger, I told you to stay away from those dogs."
"Sorry Key, I hate marking up this ass you love so much." She gave him a joint and crouched in front of him. "Tell me you're up to date on your rabies shots." He took a hit while Chibs patched him up. "Tara can gave me a quick one." She laughed and kissed her old man. "Do I even want to know?" Chibs slapped Tig on his other ass cheek. "Trust me, I don't want to scar ye even more."
Jax and Bobby came up to TM and Bobby filled her in on Chibs being kidnapped. She ran to her bike before he could stop her and started to drive off. She would travel every road out of Charming to look for him. "Kiera!" She heard Jax call as she took off and didn't look back. Her bike could travel easily at one hundred and fifty miles per hour, Jax wouldn't dare to try and catch her. If Frankie decided to kill him she would find him and make him suffer.
It was starting to get light out and she was going about ninety on the main highway out of town when she spotted a truck. She didn't know what Nero's truck looked like but it was her best shot. Slowing down she spotted a body that was not moving. "No, no no," she repeated as she threw herself off the bike and ran to Chibs. "Baby," she looked him over and saw the damage to the back of his head. He gave a small moan letting her know he was alive. She pulled out her cell and dialed Bobby, he told her to stay put until he got there. Chibs was starting to wake up when she hung up. "Don't move too much. I don't know the damage to your head." Pulling off her sweatshirt, she put it on the back of his head to help stop the bleeding.
"Ye shouldn' be here." His gruff voice washed across her.
"Don't you dare tell me where I should be, Filip." She snapped. "You were kidnapped I would have searched this whole goddamn planet to find you. Now I'm going to find Frankie and rip that ugly head off his shoulders."
He reached up to her face and pulled her down to his lips. "I wouldn' 'ave ye any other way."
Bobby pulled up and helped load Chibs into the van. "I'll take your bike back. Take him to the hospital." She nodded and grabbed the keys from him before speeding to the hospital. Chibs started nodding off on the way in. "Listen here old man, I know car rides tend to knock you out but you better stay awake 'til we get you stitched up. Talk to me." He laughed softly. "Aye, okay. Ye win, no nappin' for me. Yer very demanding for an angel." Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel. "That I am. You know better than to die on me. I will bring you back and kill you myself."
She watched him in the hospital while he rested. The doctors assured her he would be released shortly and recover just fine. That hard head may have saved his life. She brushed a lock of salt and pepper hair from his face. Everything in her was screaming that this was the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. And how their lives were going they didn't know how long their lives would last. Kiera didn't know that Chibs was quietly watching her. His mind was in the same place hers was. This girl was his and he would do anything to keep her safe.
It was late one night and Kiera stayed back with Chibs to help close up TM. She watched as Bobby rode up, him coming this late was not a good sign. He walked up to Chibs and her saying that he needed to fill Chibs in on everything. A pit in her stomach formed at the word "everything". If they told Chibs, he would know she had been lying this whole time. She sat at the clubhouse bar while they went behind closed doors. A few minutes later Jax showed up.
"I have to fill him in." He said apologetically and kissed the top of her chair. She nodded, knowing Chibs should have been filled in long ago. Now, she waited for him to come out and probably never speak to her again. He threw open the doors and stomped to where she sat. "Ye knew? All of it?"
Words caught in her throat so she meekly nodded. She had no defense to her lying. Jax tried to defend her. "I made her keep silent, brother. This is on me." Chibs didn't even look at Jax. "I told ye, no more lies. Ye promised me." He turned and walked out of the clubhouse without another word. She heard his bike start and take off into the night.
Jax gave her a hug. "He'll come around kid. He loves you. He knows why you kept the secret." She shoved him away and went back to her room at the clubhouse. She knew going back to her house was out of the question. The bottle of scotch was all she needed to keep her company.
A knock at the door the next morning woke her from a restless sleep. She mumbled to whoever it was to leave her alone. Bobby peeked his head in with his usual smile. "Brought ya coffee. Black, right?" She nodded and scooted into a sitting position as he walked in and sat down on the bed next to her. "I wanted to let you know that he's here but we're about to do a run. Give us about ten minutes if you don't want to see him. If you do, then you've got about ten minutes to get that ass out of bed."
Bobby always knew how to make her smile. "I can't face him yet. I'm so torn between guilt and anger. Keeping that from him almost killed me. But I did it for Jax and my family." She took a sip of the coffee, letting it reach her soul.
"I know darlin', and so does he." He gave her a kiss on her forehead and walked back out. Almost ten minutes later exactly she heard their bikes take off. Taking a quick shower and throwing on shorts and a black tank top she went to start her day at TM.
They returned a few hours later. From her spot in the office she could see Bobby was pissed off. She heard Jax yell about Opie's murderer and prayed they had killed whoever it was. She watched Jax and Chibs sitting on the table. It hurt to have him so close and still not be in his arms. She slammed her fist on the desk sending papers flying off. Punching someone sounded like a lot of fun to her in that moment.
"I love ya kid." Chibs said to Jax before kissing his cheek. "And Kiera?" Jax asked to the back of the Scot. "You love her?" His shoulders slumped but glanced over his shoulder. "Aye. I've always loved tha' woman." An' I always will, he thought silently. "She's loyal to a fault. She's all torn up about all of it."Chibs ran a hand through his hair before walking into the clubhouse.
After work she decided to actually go home. His bike wasn't out front when she pulled up. She looked around inside and it didn't look like he had been there to collect anything. It gave her a very small glimmer of hope. She didn't feel like eating but cooked something to keep herself busy. That night he still didn't come home. The next morning she went to the one person who she knew she could talk to.
Opie's grave was beautiful. The sun was out, warming the grass around it. She sat in front of his grave and spilled out her heart. "I miss you so much. I wish you were still here. Everything has gone to shit. I lied to Chibs. I did it to keep a secret for Jax. How do you guys do it? All these secrets are killing me. Clay killed my uncle and your father. I can't even look at him anymore. I wanted to tell Chibs. I want to spill everything because there's still some he doesn't know. I'm so lost, Ope. Some days I feel like Chibs is all I have left." She angrily wiped away a tear. "I know what you would tell me. You'd tell me to get off my skinny ass and fight for him. You never once let me just sit by. You made me stronger than anyone. You saw the fire in me and pushed me when I needed it the most. You made me just as strong as you and Jax. You never let me sit back and have you boys do something for me just because I was a girl. I will always owe you that. I'm gonna fight. I deserve to fight."
She sent Chibs a text saying she would be at the house that night and asked if he could just hear her out. A response never came but she knew he would see it eventually. He actually knocked that evening a little before midnight. She moved and ushered him in. He looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Thankfully, he didn't speak and sat down on a chair.
She sat on the coffee table, not able to get comfortable. "I can't keep this shit up, Filip. Please let me get everything off my chest because I'm not sure I'll be able to if you interrupt me." He gave a nod so she continued. "There's more to the secret that Jax made me keep for him. He found out that Clay killed my uncle John. There were letters found by Tara who got Piney involved. He even tried to have Tara killed." She cleared her throat, looking at the floor. "I wanted to tell you. It's been killing me. I keep thinking if Tara would have come to me, it might have saved Piney. Gemma tried to confront Clay about the attack on Tara and he beat the shit out of her. Clay can't be trusted. I've done everything to stay away from him. Looking at him makes me sick. I adored my uncle and I wanted to kill him myself. Then everything about the Ricco case came up, he needed Clay alive. I saw you at his right hand. I knew you would keep him safe. I begged him to tell you, he kept saying he would and he was the one who had to tell you when the time was right." She took at deep breath but still didn't raise her eyes. "I'll do anything to make this right."
He moved to his knees to crouch in front of her. "Angel," he tilted her chin up, "I know why ye kept it. He's yer family. You were protecting him." He grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her face close to his. "Ye are the most loyal, stubborn, fierce, amazing woman I know. Clay will die. I promise ye tha'." He kissed her hard. "I love ye. Yer mine, forever." He took her hand in his and placed a ring on her finger.
A sapphire ring sat on her left hand. The center sapphire gem had to be at least two carats and had three small diamonds on either side. The white gold band was warm from being in his pocket. "Filip," she whispered.
"I got an official divorce, Key, I did it months ago. I don' need some fucking ceremony. Just say the word an' you'll 'ave it. I will give you the fucking world."
"You are my world. I don't need anything else. I am fine with a fucking courthouse." She fell into his arms and didn't leave them the rest of the night.
She saw the boys arrive and carry a large white dog into the clubhouse. From the office she could see it was injured and bleeding. She ran in as Chibs was threading a needle to stitch her up. He turned as she walked in, "Key, stay away. I don' want ye gettin' bit."
"She won't bite me." She slowly walked to the dog. Her cropped tail started thumping on the table. "Isn't that right, sweetie?" She cooed as Chibs laughed behind her. "He's going to get you all fixed up."
"My dog whisperer." He joked and gave her a kiss which caused the dog to give a soft growl. "I'm not hurtin' her." He assured the dog and returned to fixing her up. "And she knows who to protect." A hand on her ass let her know Tig was behind her. "She's perfect, huh?" Tig stroked the dog and Kiera could see the love on his face. "Tiggy, I'm going to teach her a few tricks. Like how to remove balls." She grabbed his crotch with just enough pressure to get his attention. He shuddered, "you scare me, doll. Kinda turns me on." She laughed a blew him a kiss before going back to her office. "That's my goal."
After Bobby left she heard that he was looking to start back up the Nomads. She was the only one who he kept in contact with. He would try and text her daily, at least to let her know he was alive. He didn't update her much on what he was doing or how his recruiting was going. She missed him every day. Chibs told her it was important for him to know he still had family in Charming. Remembering his family might help convince him to return to Charming.
