Aoife opened her eyes. The rapping on her door continued. She'd been asleep for probably an hour or two. Still blinking, she picked her cell phone off the coffee table, unlocked the screen, and clicked into the app Juice had installed for her. An image of Gemma standing at the door, tapping her foot impatiently, appeared. "I'll be right there, Gem," Aoife called out.

Rolling to her feet, Aoife checked her reflection in the mirror above the couch and quickly pulled her hair into a messy bun. She punched in the security code and opened the door. Gemma walked past Aoife and dumped her purse on the table. "Evening, baby girl."

"Evening, Gemma." Worry bloomed in Aoife's mind. "Is everything alright?"

Gemma shook her head, and Aoife's heart turned to ice in her chest. As Aoife's face paled, Gemma quickly amended her gesture. "Chibs and the guys are fine. That's not what's wrong. The feds raided Luann's studio earlier today and arrested her. I just had a confrontation with that ATF bitch in the grocery store. I expect she'll be by to see you before too long."

Aoife filled a coffee mug for Gemma. "She's already been here." Aoife pointed at the business card on the kitchen counter, and Gemma picked it up.

Gemma raised her eyebrows as she turned the card over, keeping it between the tips of her blood-red fingernails. "What'd you tell her?"

Aoife indicated that Gemma should sit and took the chair opposite. "She already knew about me and Chibs going out, thanks to Hale, so I told her that I didn't know much because I was just in it for the sex."

Gemma barked a surprised little laugh. "What'd she think of that?"

"I don't know if she bought it, but Hale was the color of a tomato till I was done. She tried to throw out the gunrunning and Chibs' wife to rattle me, but I held it together."

Gemma nodded approvingly. "Good girl."

Aoife frowned at the memory. "She pissed me off. I don't care how mad Filip makes me, I wouldn't say a word to that bitch."

"No, I didn't figure you for a rat," Gemma commented after a sip of coffee. "So how are things going with our favorite Scot? I heard he didn't sleep in the clubhouse last night."

"No, he slept on the couch. He was keeping an eye on me after what happened with the brake lines."

"On the couch?" Gemma started, but Aoife cut her off.

"This is something Chibs and I have to work through, Gem. I appreciate your concern, but I want to keep this between me and him."

Gemma looked taken aback. She took another drink of her coffee before pursing her lips and nodding. "Okay. I can respect that." She finished her coffee.

"Luann need anything right now?" Aoife asked.

"Not that I know of, but I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"You do that."

After Gemma left, Aoife changed into a pair of ripped jeans and an old t-shirt and went out to the garage to sort the items in storage. The detached garage, which was decades older than the building in front of it, had space for two cars on the ground floor with a single room above. The upstairs room was still equipped with the original ovens that Rois had baked in before she managed to install the existing kitchen in the main building, and the room was lined in wide, metal shelves for bulk ingredients, seasonal decorations, and extra tableware. Between Rois' illness and Aoife's takeover of the shop, however, things had been allowed to stack up in the garage and never make it to the shelves. After sweeping upstairs and wiping down the flat surfaces to clear the dust, Aoife sliced open the first box on the front pallet and found the new tablecloths she had ordered. She glanced between the giant box of tablecloths and her casted arm, sighed, and released the flap of the box. The next item on the pallet was a 50 pound bag of flour. Aoife picked up the smaller case of chocolate chips under her good arm and carried it upstairs. She made another dozen trips, carrying the smaller items and dropping them on shelves. Upstairs again, she fished her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed, feeling frustrated and stupid.

"Evening, lass," Chibs answered a moment later. She heard voices in the background.

"Is this a bad time?" she asked.

"Nah, just keeping Jackie-boy company. We should be on our way home soon. How you doing, lassie?" Aoife realized they must be out on a run for the Club.

"Remember how I told you I could handle cleaning out the garage without help? Well, I lied. I seem to have forgotten that my left arm is in a cast." She heard Chibs let out a low, warm chuckle, and she felt a smile creep across her face.

"I wasn't going to point that out at the time. I'm sure that we can find some help for you. You doing alright otherwise?" He asked softly. Aoife drifted over to the window that overlooked the alley behind the shop.

"I'm…" Aoife's voice trailed off as the lights of a passing car illuminated a figure crouched at the back door of the coffee shop. The car's headlights continued on, plunging the alley back into darkness. She strained her eyes and was able to discern the outline. Someone was creeping around the building.

"Aoife? A chuisle?" The pitch of Chibs' voice rose, and the endearment slipped past his lips.

"Someone's hiding the shadows behind the shop." She hissed, as if the suspicious figure would hear her if she spoke at a regular volume.

"Behind? Where are you now, lass?"

"I'm in the garage."

"Ok, here's what I'm going to do, lass. I'm going to stay on the line with you. I'm going to have Jackie call back to the clubhouse and get someone over there right away. It would be me, but I can't leave right now. Believe me, if I could get there right now, I would. Just a sec – here comes Jax." Aoife kept her eyes glued to the alley, barely listening as Chibs explained the situation to Jax in a strained voice. "Can you still see him?"

"Aye," Aoife confirmed. "He seems to be doing something to the back door of the shop."

"Ok, Jax got a hold of Hap and Tig. They're already on their way over. I want you to keep talking to me until they get there."

"Ok," Aoife agreed reluctantly. Part of her wanted to run out of the garage with the gun in her concealed holster, but she knew that it wasn't the best idea, and the boys could make it here in under ten minutes. She might be able to shoot the guy, but what she really wanted were answers, which were hard to get from a dead man. She checked the clock. It seemed like forever, but only four minutes had ticked by since she'd heard Jax make the call to his brothers.

"You still there, lass?" Chibs asked.

"Aye."

"Can you still see him?"

"Barely. Can't tell what he's doing. I think I can hear Tig and Hap's bikes." The figure froze, and the headlights of another car swept over him as he cocked his head, seemingly also listening. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that concealed his face in shadows. Instead of whipping by, this car turned down the alley, and then the suspicious character was diving in the back seat while he tossed something back towards Aoife's building. The car tires squealed and the late model sedan accelerated down the alley as the fire erupted at the back door of Aoife's shop. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! He just set the place on fire!" She yelled into her phone as she ran down the stairs. "I've got to call the fire department!"

"Jax is on it, love! Don't hang up!" Chibs begged.

Aoife burst out of the garage at the same time that Tig and Hap pulled into the alley. "The fuck?" Hap yelled over the approaching sirens and sound of flames.

"Silver Honda Accord - that way!" Aoife pointed down the alley.

"I got this! You keep her safe." Hap's motorcycle disappeared after the car.

Tig looked down the alley and back at Aoife. As the first fire truck pulled up, she waved for Tig to follow. "Go. Bring those bastards back alive so we can figure out who did this!"

"Fire department's here. I'll call you once we know how bad things are," she told Chibs.

"I will be there as soon as I can. Please make sure you stay with someone until I'm there. Tá mo chroí istigh ionat."

"I'll be safe. I'll see you soon." She heard the line disconnect. "Táim i ngrá leat," she whispered into the dead air.

Tá mo chroí istigh ionat - My heart is in you.

Táim i ngrá leat - I'm in love with you.