Aoife couldn't tear her eyes away from the black SUV lurking across the street. She absentmindedly shoveled a few more bites of ice cream into her mouth without tasting it, but then licked the spoon clean and replaced the pint lid. She wasn't going to waste good ice cream. She listened to the sounds drifting in through the partially open window and heard broken glass crunching under someone's feet nearby. The SUV hadn't moved. One of the boards on her balcony creaked. Aoife slid open the drawer of the end table and retrieved the Beretta that Chibs had left there. She heard another creak, this one right next to her door. Her phone vibrated, and she opened it.
"Hey, doll, it's Tig. I'm right outside the door. Can I come in?"
"Aye." Aoife stood behind the door as she cracked it open, confirming that it was Tig, and then she opened it just wide enough to sneak him through. Tig crossed to the window and looked out, staying behind the curtains as much as he could.
"Oh, hey, I love ice cream," Tig commented on the container on the windowsill, earning a small smile from Aoife.
"Let me put that back in the freezer before it melts to nothing." Tig pouted but handed her the pint. As she put it away, he briefed her.
"I parked behind the shop and walked the perimeter of the building. Everything seemed locked up nice and tight. I want to check your apartment and the shop downstairs just to make sure everything's secure. While I do that, you keep an eye on that SUV. Chibs, Juice and Sack are on their way."
"Ok," Aoife nodded.
Tig pointed at the gun in Aoife's hands. "You know how to use that thing?"
She gave him a dark look, fear replaced by annoyance at his question. "Aye. Don't insult me. And you needn't worry. I'm right-handed."
"Sorry, sweetheart. That was a dumbass question considering what happened downstairs a few weeks ago." Tig looked into her eyes and touched her cheek. "Truly, I apologize. I just want to make sure that nothing happens to my brother's old lady on my watch. That and I'm kind of a bastard." He left her at the window as he systematically checked over the entire apartment. Tig had just gone downstairs to check the coffee shop when the sound of motorcycle engines floated in the window on the night air.
Aoife knew her boyfriend's silhouette on his Dyna as soon as his bike sailed into view, closely followed by another bike and a black van. She watched in horror as the black SUV suddenly leapt forward, clipping Chibs' bike and sending him skidding across the street. The SUV, lights still extinguished, zoomed down the road, and the black van careened in a wide curve to miss the fallen bike and biker and took off in pursuit. Chibs picked himself off the road and gesticulated wildly at Juice while yelling something unintelligible from where Aoife was standing. Juice rode off in the same direction that the SUV and van had while Chibs gingerly righted his bike and pushed it into the nearest parking space. His heavy footsteps soon pounded on the stairs and Aoife already had the door and her arms open when he stumbled through. He ceased the stream of curses that he was muttering in his Scottish growl to greet her. She helped him to the bathroom and sat him on the edge of the bathtub.
She relocked the door and raced back to the bathroom before Chibs could say a word. He had already removed his cut and shirt by the time she got back. She turned on the water, and yanked his boots off. "Jeans off. Now," she commanded. He smiled grimly and lifted his hips to comply as her right hand undid the fly and coaxed his shredded jeans and boxers over the road rash that covered his left hip and leg. "In the tub, love," she coaxed him. She soaped up a washcloth and said, "Ok, Filip, you know this is going to hurt like a bitch." He nodded and his hand reached for her casted left arm, hastily shoved in a plastic bag to keep it dry. She touched the cloth to the raw scrapes on his hip and a hiss of pain escaped his lips. Aoife glanced up at him and he managed a weak smile.
"'S alright, lass. Gotta be done. We make quite a pair right now as banged up as we are."
"I love you, too." Aoife answered, gently washing the grit and road dirt from his wound.
They both turned their heads when they heard a rap on the door. "Hey, doll, it's Tig. You got Chibby in there with you?"
"Aye, he's got some nasty road rash. You don't want to come in right now."
"You never know. I might," Tig called through the door.
"Open that door and I'll kick your ass," Chibs yelled. "Speaking of your ass, how's it healing anyway?" Aoife smirked. Chibs had told her about Juice's fuck-up with drugging the dogs.
"Fuck you, Chibs." Tig snapped back, but Aoife heard a chuckle through the door. Then they heard a cell phone ring, and Tig answered, "Talk to me." There were a few seconds of silence and then Tig cursed. "Ok, fine, I'll go back to the clubhouse and get the truck. No, you stay with him." The phone clapped shut. "That was Sack. The bastard in the black SUV ran Juice off the road, too. He's ok because he was smart enough to be wearing leathers." Chibs raised a middle finger at the closed door, and Aoife stifled a laugh. "Sack stopped to check on Juice and lost the SUV. They got the plate number though."
"You go back and check on Juice and my prospect. Call me once they run the plate. Otherwise we'll talk first thing in the morning."
Aoife dumped the contents of the pill bottle into her hand and picked out two doses, placing them on the nightstand next to the water glasses. "Guess I'll be using the available refill for this prescription," she joked as she handed Chibs the pills and glass of water. "These should help."
"You're too good to me," he told her after he'd swallowed the medication. They sat side by side in her bed, leaning against the headboard.
"What's the matter with your hand?" Aoife pulled his right hand onto her lap and examined the bruising. "You didn't hit this when your bike went down."
Chibs bit his lip. "No. I - well - I punched something when I found out you were hurt and I couldn't do anything about it." He stared down at his hand. "Sometimes I just get so fucking angry that I have to hit something."
"Can we work on you not punching things that are harder than your hand?" she asked. Chibs responded by lifting her chin and dropping a kiss on her lips.
"Aye, anything for you, lass. You know, all I could think about at night when I was gone was being in bed with you," he whispered.
"I spent a fair bit of time thinking of the same thing. And now here we are, both of us so damned bruised and broken that I'd be afraid I'd hurt you." She smiled, but Chibs saw disappointment in her eyes.
"I don't think you'd break me, love, but I'd be nervous about all your bruises. But I think there's something I could do," he informed her as his lips began to follow the curve of her neck. He kissed his way down her throat and then between her breasts, unbuttoning her nightshirt as he went. Aoife lay on her back, her nightgown completely open to reveal her milk-white skin, and Chibs pushed her underwear off her hips and down her legs, and his kisses traveled lower still. He settled himself on his belly. "Let me show you just how much I missed you." He dipped his head between her thighs.