Chapter 17: Danger

Dana fell back into the bed and sighed, lighting yet another cigarette. "You know those things will kill ya," Laroy said, throwing an arm over her flat stomach. She scoffed and glanced down at the man whose sheets she was currently wrapped up in. "So will friendly fire," she replied, taking a long drag.

"How did you handle that situation?" Laroy asked, running his hands up and down her side. "I pretty much told him to step down and give Jax the reigns. Plus, I'll be V.P., so I'll still be in control of things," she replied. He sat up in bed and cocked an eyebrow at her. "How does that change things between you and me?"

Dana cocked an eyebrow also and sighed. She didn't know what the response would be. Laroy and her didn't really have a relationship. They sort of just fell into bed together ages ago, before he even became the 9'ers ring leader. They knew each other from word of mouth and eventually they came to realize that they were the only ones that could stand each other. The Sons always had animosity towards 9'ers and the 9'ers never really made an effort to keep things kosher between them. Laroy and Dana ultimately took it upon themselves to straighten things out, to keep the peace. Even if it meant having meetings in between the sheets. Things got straightened out between the two rival gangs- that was all that mattered.

"It doesn't. We do business. When we get lonely, we pay each other a visit. That's all that matters. I think we can file whatever we do under business expenses," she said, climbing out of the bed and reaching for her clothes. They both dressed in silence and felt comfortable about it. Nothing had to be said between the two. Shit just worked.

"So a week from now, down by the warehouses," Laroy said, confirming what they had discussed between grunts. Dana nodded and pulled her hoodie on. She had opted to leave her cut at home. She didn't want their business dealings out on the streets. His right hand knew about their negotiations but other than that, Tyler was the only other person that knew. And even then, he didn't know they still saw each other.

---

Gemma placed the coffee mug on the dining room table and glared at Clay. "How could you tell her that you would give up your title as president?" She yelled. He shook his head and picked up his drink, taking a sip of it. "I didn't have a choice. She was gonna tell. Have me kicked out of the club or worse," he replied, picking up his newspaper. She snatched the newspaper out of his hand and threw it across the room.

"Fix this, Clay! You can't lose everything we worked so hard for because you fucked up!" Clay stood up from the table, his chair falling over from the force. His body shook with rage as he realized that there was no way out of this. "It's time, Gemma. We can't rule the world for ever. We knew that eventually I wouldn't be able to ride. It was just a matter of time. We have no choice but to play this out and act like as if this was the way we wanted things," he growled.

Gemma stared at him as he left the house, slamming the front door behind him. She seethed with rage as she realized that she was no longer top dog. She was no longer in charge or in control of things. Clay would give up his title to Jax and Dana would be the new queen in Charming.

She slid into a dining room chair and ran a hand over her face. The end was near for them, she could sense it. It was just a matter of time before Gemma became a memory. Before Gemma was nobody. But she would rather die than become another civilian in Charming. She was royalty, God dammit. Gemma slapped her hand down on the table and stood up, heading for the door.

She was on a mission.

---

Jax waved as Gemma walked into the garage. He frowned as she ignored him and speed walked right passed him. He watched as she walked up to Dana and swung her around, punching her in her face. "Oh shit," he said, as he ran over to the two women. Gemma pushed him off and jumped on top of Dana, who was bent over cradling her bloody nose.

Dana pushed Gemma off of her and began to swung at the older woman, her manners going out the window. The two fell to the ground and began to pummel each other. "I don't want to have to hurt you!" Dana yelled, as she climbed on top of her and held her hands down.

Gemma spat into her face and growled. "You couldn't sleep your way to the top, so now you gotta blackmail it all the way there!" She yelled. Dana rolled off of her and stood up, shaking her sadly. "This isn't the time or place," she said, wiping the spit off of her face. Gemma grabbed on to her leg and began to try to drag her down. Dana shrugged her off and kicked her in the ribs.

Gemma fell back on to the floor and grabbed at her side. "Stay down!" Dana ordered, as the rest of the club members came running towards them. "What the fuck is going on?" Chibs yelled, reaching down and helping Gemma up. "You little bitch. You have to have everything your way, don't you? You couldn't leave well enough alone," Gemma said.

Dana scoffed and glared at her. "Do you really wanna air your dirty laundry out right here, right now?" Dana said, wiping some blood off of her face. "I don't have anything to hide. Why don't you tell everyone how you and Laroy have been screwing each other behind everyone's back? Or maybe I should just continue down the long line of guys you've been fucking to make yourself feel like you're worth something? Just like your God damn mama," Gemma spat out.

Dana froze and she could feel her heart drop as Gemma's words hit their target- her heart. She reached over and picked up a wrench that was near the bike she was working on. She glanced down at her hand and felt the heavy weight between her fingers. The cold steel. She shivered, realizing that if she had a gun, she would've jumped at the chance to put two bullets into Gemma's heart. But she would have to settle with bashing her face in.

She lunged for the older woman and delivered a swift hit to her ribs. She could've sworn she heard the sound of bones crushing and she didn't really care. She lunged for her again but was stopped short by strong arms holding her back. She growled and dropped the wrench, pushing away at the arms holding her back.

Dana glanced back at Gemma, who was on the floor holding on to her side, and ran out of the garage. She ignored the voices yelling after her and climbed into her truck, speeding off. The guys stood around Gemma, a mix of scowls and confused looks on their faces. They didn't know what the hell just happened, but they knew that heads would roll when Clay found out about this.