I'm really glad you all enjoyed that last chapter. And I agree. Poor Sophia is always stuck either dead or paired with Carl. I wanted to make up for that! Thanks for the well wishes! So far they haven't worked, but hopefully they will soon. This sucks. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Chapter Eighteen

Daryl forced himself to calm down. There was only one way to go about this and he had to keep his head straight because if he didn't he could very well get Carol hurt. He steered clear of the bar and went straight to the room reserved for meetings. It had been a while since they had had one. He turned on the overhead light and ran a hand through his hair. He could fix this. He could fix all of it. He wanted to fix it by ramming a knife right into Ed Peletier's eye socket. He wanted to make the man suffer. Every fucking time he blinked he saw the bruise that Carol hadn't managed to hide. The cut on her lip. And then all over again he would have to force himself to calm down.

"You sure this is a good idea? Maybe I should stay in here while you talk to him," Merle said, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Daryl shook his head. "No, I got this. All I have to do is fix it to where he don't hurt her again. That's easy. Then I won't have to worry about it anymore. It'll be done and over with." He knew that saying that he would be done with her was just him trying to convince himself. No matter what happened today he wasn't done. He wouldn't ever be done. He hadn't been able to stand their in front of her for five minutes without kissing her.

Merle rolled his eyes. "I say we just kill the mother fucker and you go take what's yours."

Daryl looked up sharply. "She ain't mine." That was a goddamn lie and he knew it. From the look on Merle's face, he knew it too.

Merle shook his head. "Bullshit. I know it's bullshit. You know it's bullshit. You ain't been right in the head ever since you met the fuckin' woman. She's yours. Stop bein' a fuckin' pussy and take her."

"It ain't that easy goddamn it," he snapped.

Merle scowled. "Ain't it? You're a scared little shit. You really want him to treat her good? You want him to make her feel like you did? You want him to put his hands on her all gentle like, baby brother?"

"Fuck you, Merle. You need to shut your mouth."

Merle leaned against the door frame. "That makes your skin crawl, don't it? But here you are, gonna fix it to where that exact thing happens. You had a brain you'd give it to him straight. His wife ain't his no more and he needs to pack his shit and get the hell outta dodge. Me and you both know what's comin'. You're gonna end up with that man's blood on your hands whether he beats her or fucks her. You won't be able to deal with either."

"Merle I swear to God if you don't shut up-"

"Why? You don't like thinkin' about that? She's claimed, Brother. You know she is. Hell, she probably knows it. And now we all know you ain't man enough to step up. I don't even know why you're here. Lettin' that sack of shit get into all those places you already got cozy in."

Daryl shook his head. "Fuck you. Get out," he growled.

The corner of Merle's mouth turned up but he didn't make a move to leave. "You think she'll slip up and say your name when he gets her in bed?"

That was it. Daryl grabbed a grim reaper statue off the table and hurled it, grazing Merle's temple as it flew past.

Merle reached up, running his fingers across the scratch. "Alright then, asshole. I'll let you get on with your bitch meetin'."

Daryl was about to storm after him and knock the hell out of him from behind but he didn't. Ed would be there soon and he needed to get this over with. But Merle's words kept running through his mind, causing his head to pound. Was that what he was doing here? He never thought about that. What if Ed did stop treating her like shit? What if he became the guy she married in the first place? There had to have been a good reason that she married him. Surely she hadn't married him knowing he was a piece of shit.

He couldn't let that happen either. The images that Merle put in his head had him ready to blow Ed's brains out as soon as he walked in. He was right. In Daryl's head, Carol was his. Period. And that was something he never thought would happen. Ever. Not in a million years. It just wasn't him. He had never wanted anything like that. Being tied down to one woman. Getting nagged for doing shit he wanted to do. Not being able to come and go as he pleased. He'd never thought this would happen. But he fell and goddamn had he fell hard. It didn't make any sense but then again, things like this never had. Not to him anyway.

A knock at the door had his head snapping up. A few seconds later, after taking a huge breath and willing himself to calm down, to think about Carol and not his own impulsive need to beat her husband into a coma, he opened the door. His teeth snapped together and a muscle ticked angrily in his jaw. Breath. In out...

"You Dixon?" Ed asked, his face and voice filled with arrogance.

"You the asshole that my niece told me about? Don't come in here thinkin' you're already in, big shot. Most men leave this very room with their balls stuffed back into their purse," Daryl said, his voice dripping ice. He was going to have to keep his head straight. He had to stop looking at the man like he was Carol's husband. He had to pretend that this was just business.

Ed didn't seem put out by Daryl's harsh words. There was a glint in the man's eyes that made Daryl want to gag. "I'm not your average man."

Daryl motioned for him to come in, sweeping his arm towards a chair near the head of the table. The head of the table was reserved for Buck but these were unusual circumstances so he was taking it today. If Buck came in and seen him sitting there he would hand Daryl his ass. But he wasn't due back for a week and so he'd act the part.

Ed sat down and looked at him expectantly, speaking before Daryl had even had a chance to sit down. "Your niece mentioned you wanted to talk to me about my position at the dealership. Did you want to talk about under the table deals or something?"

"You'll go over all that shit with my old man. He handles the details. I just need to know a few things real quick, give you a run down of what's expected of you if you decide to stick around."

Ed nodded but seemed a little disappointed. It was obvious that he was eager to brag about what he knew about bikes.

"For starters, where the hell did you live before you came here? I need to know about anything that could be a benefit or a liability to this club. You ever been to prison? Any connections to any other clubs? Drugs, arms, women? Anything we can use for profit that you can dip your fingers in, I need to know about it."

Ed shook his head, finally looking a little nervous. "I lived in Atlanta before moving. I've never been to prison. Been to jail a few times though. I've never been involved in any of the other stuff either but I assure you, I can learn. I think I can bring a lot to this place."

"What'd you get locked up for?" Daryl asked, already guessing and hoping he could keep his temper in check.

Ed snorted. "Just a few bullshit domestic abuse charges. Not a big deal."

Daryl tensed and leaned further into the table, crossing his arms. "Not a big deal, huh?"

Ed shrugged.

"So you're married?"

Ed nodded and rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I was a dumb ass and ended up getting the bitch pregnant in high school. Married her cause I thought it was the right thing to do at the time."

"You realize, if you're serious about all this, she ain't your wife no more. She's your property. Your property becomes our property. And trust me, asshole. We don't like our property getting damaged. You get what I'm saying to you? You put your hands on her then you're putting your hands on what belongs to me and I'll slit your fuckin' throat for that. You understand where I'm goin' with this, Ed?"

Ed smiled coldly and held up his hands. "Done. She ain't worth losing out on an opportunity like this. Besides that, it's been a long time since anything like that's happened. That was in the past."

"Is that right? Cause I heard different." He'd seen it with his own eyes.

Ed got that flighty look in his eyes again. "Well, that was a slip up, really. Bitch lost her damn mind while I was away for the week. She needed it."

"I don't care what the fuck you think she needs. You don't touch her again. Not unless I tell you otherwise. You look at her wrong and I find out about it we'll have problems."

"You serious?" Ed asked, looking like he was hoping that Daryl was joking.

"Serious as a heart attack, Ed. You ready to hit the road now? That to much for you?"

Ed shook his head. "Hell no."

Daryl smiled. "Really?"

"Like I said. I'm not most men, Dixon. You'll see."

"What if I told you that I meant what I said about touching her? What if I were to tell you that you ain't allowed to fuck your own wife unless I give you the okay?"

Ed stared at him for a long time but finally shrugged. "I haven't touched that fuckin' woman in damn near a year. That won't be a problem. Why all the interest in my wife though? I mean, I thought we'd be talkin' about somethin' else here."

"Maybe I plan on fuckin' her myself," Daryl deadpanned.

Ed seemed to tense, his eyes growing hard.

"You got a problem?" Daryl eyed him coldly.

"So you all just pass around another mans wife whenever you feel like it?"

Daryl shrugged. "If we feel like it. Like I said, most men leave here with their nuts in their purses, Ed. No shame in walkin' out now if you can't handle the stipulations."

Ed laughed, the sound making Daryl's skin crawl. "Not a chance. You people want her, have the bitch. I've seen a few of the women that hang around here though. Trust me, you wouldn't want her. She's a sorry ass hag compared to these ladies."

Daryl's hands started shaking. "I've seen your wife and trust me, there ain't a whore in this place that can compare," he growled.

The door flew open just then and Piper hurried in, Merle on her heels. "You got a phone call, Daryl. Dad can handle the rest. You need to take this. It's important," Piper rushed.

Merle pretty much yanked him out of the chair by the sleeve of his jacket. "Yeah, I can handle the rest. You need to get the hell out there. Now!"

Daryl was thankful that the two of them had probably been standing with their ears glued to the door because he was five seconds away from killing a man right now. He let Piper drag him out while Ed sat there like a fat fucking idiot not knowing how goddamn close he had just been to dying. Merle shut the door in his face.

He jerked his arm out of Piper's grip and headed for the door to the garage and the stairs beyond. If he saw the man again he would kill him and there wasn't a fucking thing anyone could do about it.

"Jesus, calm down," Piper hissed as she followed him. "It all went the way we wanted it to go. He's not going to hit her. I can't believe you added that he also couldn't sleep with her. That was a smart move I guess. Slow down!" Piper hurried after him but her legs were much shorter.

He stopped in the hallway at the top of the stairs and punched the wall. He needed to hit something and he couldn't hit his niece so he let his fist fly. It went through the sheet rock easily so he punched it again. When he was finished his knuckles were bleeding and Piper was leaning against the door frame with her feet crossed at the ankles.

"You done?" She asked, raising a brow.

"Go the fuck away, Piper."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that dick weed. You gotta chill the fuck out."

He growled and stormed past her. He hadn't expected to feel like this. He knew he was going to be pissed off no matter what Ed said. Hell, looking at him had pissed him off and he had even expected that. He hadn't been prepared for the rage that he felt now. This all consuming murderous anger that felt like it was going to swallow him whole.

Suddenly there was a phone shoved in his face. "Here. It's ringing."

He looked down at Piper, almost unable to see her through the red haze that hung over his vision. The anger almost scared him. He was completely out of control. He didn't know what the hell Piper was up to so he grabbed the phone and held it up to his ear, glaring at the girl.

"Hello?"

He let out a breath at the sound of Carol's voice and then he sat down on the bed, clearing his throat. He had no idea what to say but her voice was a balm for the anger he needed to get away from. "Hey," he muttered, watching Piper as she got out some paper towels and started cleaning up his busted knuckles.

"Are you okay?" Carol asked, her voice filled with concern. He must have sounded as unstable as he felt at the moment.

Piper glanced up, meeting his eye and he nodded. "I don't know," he said, the anger ebbing steadily. "Just talk."

Piper got up, smiling at him and then finally left him alone.