Even though Dani had caught Lana red handed, she still kept up the habit of counting the money. It would take her a while before she would trust any of her personnel again. However, she did promise herself to take on less shifts. Especially with a baby who needed to be taken care of. She didn't want Abel to grow up surrounded by nannies. She was going to raise this kid and she was going to raise him the best she could.
She had spent the entire morning in the kitchen preparing sandwiches for the wake. To be honest, Dani wasn't looking forward to the funeral at all. She wasn't sure if she was ready to face the fact that Donna was really dead. An old lady of the club, killed.
But life goes on and so had she. What Jax had told her had settled her down a little. She knew Jax would do everything to protect his family.
Not only the funeral had made her nervous. Wendy was attending as well. Undoubtedly, she would ask about Abel, probably wanting to visit him. But Dani remembered her plan, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Before they went she had to make sure Jax was in on her plan too.
She would ride with Gemma to the funeral, as the guys all went on their bikes. Members had come from different charters to support Opie. The long line of bikes following the car in which Donna would be laying, would certainly be impressive.
"You okay, baby?" Gemma asked when it was about time to go.
Dani nodded slowly, not sure if she was or not. That night she had dreamed it was her laying in that coffin, Jax crying by her side. It all felt so real that she had woken up screaming. When Jax had asked her what was going on, she told him she had had a nightmare about Harrison. Dani didn't want to worry Jax about her not feeling safe.
She picked up Abel and put him in his car seat. It was a hot day, so Dani had put a soft beanie on his little head to protect him from the sun.
Gemma carried the plates with sandwiches. They needed to drop them off by the clubhouse before the funeral, which was at the cemetery.
"Let's go," Dani said. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."
It was a hauntingly beautiful day outside. Blue skies, sun streaming through the trees. On a normal day, Dani would've gone to the park with Abel, enjoying the weather, but today she could enjoy none of it.
She was seated next to Jax, Abel sleeping in her arms. Dani couldn't pull her eyes off the coffin which stood before her. It felt so surreal that Donna was inside of it. A few days ago everything was fine, and now everything was sad and empty.
Dani finally managed to switch her gaze to Opie. She saw he was trying to hold it together, but it was proven to be harder than he thought. Next her gaze went to the children, who were crying uncontrollably. Dani couldn't blame them. She would've done the same if she hadn't ran out of tears from the days before.
She grabbed Jax's hand during the ceremony. It was hard to focus on what the funeral director was saying, but his expression had grabbed her attention. It was full of worry, full of doubt. Dani would like to know what was going through his head right now.
The ceremony was beautiful. It reminded her a lot of the funeral of her mother and father, however hard she tried not to think about it. Abel who was still sleeping in her arms reminded her constantly to be strong, so Dani tried her best to hold everything together.
The long procession of bikes and cars then made its way to the clubhouse. With all the vehicles lined up behind each other, they filled the entire Main Street.
Dani constantly reminded herself she had one part of the day behind her, just one more to get through. The wake would be just as hard as the funeral itself. She told herself to worry about the sandwiches, hoping it would relax her a little.
There were tables set up in the clubhouse everywhere. The prospect was behind the bar serving drinks and Dani was rushing to get the sandwiches out there, figuring everyone would be hungry by now.
When she returned she found Abel in the hands of Wendy. Dani narrowed her eyes, remembering she had left the baby with Gemma. Slowly, she approached her.
"Hey," Dani spoke. "Where's Gemma?"
"She went to the bathroom," Wendy spoke, her eyes staying on the baby.
Dani knew she could hardly grab Abel out of her arms, but the urge to do so was big. The whole plan was that she would control when and where Wendy was able to hold him. Now Gemma had decided for her.
"I can take him back if you want?" Dani asked impatiently, already extending her arms.
"Oh," Wendy spoke disappointing. Yet she gave in and handed the baby back to Dani. "He's getting bigger every time I see him."
"Yeah, he is," Dani replied hastily. "I'm going to see where Jax is."
She smiled softly as she approached him. He was talking with Piney, drinking a beer. Dani wasn't sure what to say to him, but she needed to be away from Wendy and close to him.
Jax smiled back, but Dani could see sadness hiding in his eyes. His hand grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him.
"You alright?" Dani asked to be sure, but Jax didn't reply and simply nodded.
"I'm going to feed Abel in the apartment," she continued. "I'm there if you need me."
She could feed him right here, in the clubhouse, but it seemed like a disrespectful thing to do. Besides, the apartment was a lot more quiet, which would be better for Abel. Before they had come here, Dani had dropped off a bag with necessities for the baby along with the sandwiches. It was amazing how much stuff you had to carry with you when you were travelling with a small baby.
She lifted up Abel higher, his tiny head coming above her shoulder. His eyes shot over the place, and Dani quickly took him with her to the apartment. This bustle was getting too much for the little baby who was not yet used to so many people around him.
"Let's get you some food," Dani whispered softly as she placed a kiss on his cheek.
The noise of the clubhouse drowned out the closer she got to the apartment. However, when she got closer to the apartment, she heard to voices whispering angrily. She couldn't help but listen. Dani moved behind the door of the apartment, leaving it open just a crack so she could hear what being said.
"We should tell him, man," a voice whispered. "Opie deserves to know."
Was that Tig? It was hard to make out, so she tried to keep as still as possible and continue listening.
"No," a second voice said. "We can't. It will rip him apart. He will not handle it well."
That voice definitely belong to Clay. Dani had never met anyone with a distinct voice like he had. But what were they talking about? She realized this was not meant for her ears, yet it didn't stop her from listening in on their conversation.
"He'll want retaliation, Clay. We're just gonna kill a Niner who had no part in killing her?" Tig said.
Dani's heart started to beat faster, slowly realizing what they were talking about. This was definitely not meant for her ears.
"We can't tell him we killed Donna. We just can't. Let him kill one of the Niners, settle the score. This will blow over in time."
She gasped when Clay had spoken his words. Quickly she turned away from the door when she heard footsteps approaching, putting Abel down on the bed. Her heart was pounding as she started rummaging through her bag to find his bottle.
When the footsteps had stopped she turned her head, noticing she had left the door open. Someone was standing in the doorpost and when her eyes focused she noticed it was Clay.
"He was hungry," she laughed nervously, holding his bottle she just managed to grab up in the air.
Clay nodded. "I'll tell Gemma you're here if she's looking for you."
"Thanks," Dani said, feeling like her heart was going to leap out of her chest.
When he was really gone, Dani sat down on the bed, raising Abel into her arms to feed him after heating up his milk. She couldn't come to grips with what she just have heard. All this time she had been afraid from the danger that came from other gangs in the area, while really the danger had come from inside of the MC. There was no way she was supposed to hear that conversation, or anyone for that matter. But Clay standing in the door like that… Did he think she had heard their conversation?
Suddenly, her fear for the Niners, Mayans and all the other gangs had disappeared and a new fear had come to her. If Clay could kill Donna for whatever reason he had, he could definitely kill her, for knowing too much.
A/N: Sorry for the wait and the length of this chapter, it's a little short, I know! Hopefully the twist at the end made that up :) My finals are starting tomorrow and instead of studying for phonetics, I wrote this chapter. Oh well! Hopefully you enjoyed it and please let me know what your thoughts are on the twist, I'm eager to read your reactions :)