Chapter 13 – His Lady?

There's a common misconception about love, I realised now that I was in it, that when you are with that other person you should feel vulnerable and weak with them. That's not true. I think being with them should make you feel strong and like you could conquer the world.

That night, on that hill under the stars, we were the only people that existed and the world was ours. Nothing mattered except for him. Nothing else existed other than the feeling of his lips on mine and his body against me but this wasn't like what I had with Nikolai; just some hook up meant to distract us from what was really happening. It didn't matter how experienced we both were; it was clumsy and tender with lots of swearing and laughter at the craziness of our situation and how absurdly right everything felt.

When he looked into my eyes as his body moved with mine I knew that he needed this just as much as I did. Filip needed this sense of connection and for someone to be gentle with him too; he didn't just want someone that could only give him a 5 minute fuck and be done with it. He wanted- no, needed to be loved just as much as I did.

The elation we felt would come crashing down though when we got back to my house and saw 3 police cars parked up outside. I was worried that Al had contacted the police about smashing his ribs but as we got closer I saw that all of my windows had been smashed and my door had almost been taken off its hinges. My car had also been smashed up and spray painted with offensive words. I gripped onto Filip tighter as Hale came over to the bike. Filip had switched off his bike and amongst the noise and police chatter Hale was asking me about everything. I couldn't speak though.

"Come on, Sweet Girl," Filip murmured and helped me get off the bike.

"You can't go in!" Hale shouted as I pushed passed him to duck under the police tape.

"Ah piss off," Filip growled as he followed me.

I walked in being careful of all the broken glass underfoot and making sure that Filip didn't stand on it either but he didn't seem bothered by it and just stepped on it. He grabbed hold of my hand when I gasped. Everything had been either broken or torn up. My couch was in shreds and the contents of the cushions had been strewn about the place; all the picture frames I had around the place were thrown and smashed; the kitchen was a mess with all the food Gemma had packed for me over the walls and counter tops with bits of smashed crockery and glass over the floor. Upstairs was worse; my bed had been torn up like the couch and my clothes had been emptied out of my wardrobe onto it. It smelled like petrol had been poured over it, like they were going to burn everything but got interrupted.

"What the-" I faltered as I looked at my shredded curtains.

"Has Clay been called?" I heard Filip asking Hale behind me but when I was about to pick up the jumper said, "don't touch anything Hen."

"Just this," I said quietly and grabbed it, the jumper was dry but smelled like oil.

"I can get you another."

I just shook my head and clutched it to my chest before making my way back to him. He smiled sadly at me as I passed him to go back downstairs. Once I found what I was looking for, I went back outside to sit on his bike while I watched the police walking in and out of the house talking on radios and to each other.

The sound of motorcycles dragged me out of my thoughts and I looked around to see the club approaching. The police officers moved to block them off but I saw Clay push through them and come to me. He took me by the shoulders and shook me slightly.

"Vivania? Can you hear me?" he asked and I nodded numbly, "what happened?"

"The Warrens," I said angrily, "it has to be. They tried to burn my clothes, they destroyed everything I own!"

Clay nodded and looked behind him as Filip came out of my house with a serious look on his face. It was his business face, I realised, the same expression he wore when he was beating Al. He clapped Clay on the back.

"Obviously it was breaking and entering," he relayed, "nothing was stolen, tv is there and stuff. A neighbour called it in when they heard the windows break. When they knocked on doors they found Crabb dead. Been dead nearly a month."

I gulped. That's why he hadn't called in when Michael and Christopher went into my house; he was dead already. So, who had I flipped off when I came in drunk? One of their guys I supposed.

"He'd been shot," Filip continued, "they don't think it's related but we know it has to be them."

He came closer to me and saw the book he had brought for me in my hands, bundled up with his jumper. They were the only possessions I cared about; everything else was just stuff that filled the house. I was still angry that it had all been destroyed though; I spent so much money on it. I heard someone shouting my name and turned to see Kimbra running up the road with Livia and Cinnamon. She was wearing a thin silk robe over her body and slippers. I hugged her back when she held me.

"I'm ok," I said, "I wasn't in the house."

She looked down and noticed I was wearing the same clothes as she left me in and looked between me and Filip with a small, knowing smile. I couldn't help smirking back but made sure that Clay didn't see.

"Come on," Cinnamon said, "you can stay with us tonight."

"No," Clay commanded, "she's coming back with us. Chibs, you alright taking her?"

Filip nodded and looked at me with a small smile. He put his hand on the back of my neck and kissed the top of my head. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to think back to not even an hour ago when I was actually happy. Clay coughed and I looked up at him with a blush on my cheeks.

"We'll talk about this," he gestured between us, "when that family has been dealt with. Now come on."

He told the girls to get back to their house and make sure all the windows and doors were locked. Kimbra said they had guns hidden around the house so they would be safe. I squeezed her hand before she left and swung my leg over the other side of the bike so that I was straddling it. I tucked my two prized possessions between Filip and me before wrapping my arms around him tightly.

Riding in the group with the other guys was amazing. They rode in a formation so that Clay was in the front; Filip was on his right and Jax on his left. When I looked behind me I just saw a sea of headlights but I didn't know who was who. The roar of the engines was exciting and I could not only hear them, I could feel the thrum of the engines all around me and it made my heart beat so fast. I looked up at the starry sky and smiled. I noticed Jax looking at me with a grin.

"Riding's in your blood!" He shouted over the sound of the engines, "we knew you couldn't stay away forever."

I guess he was right. My dad was Clay and, although mother didn't have a motorcycle, I grew up around my Uncle John and the club. I just smiled back at him and rested my head against Filip's reaper while clutching the front of his shirt. I reached out to Jax with my left arm and he ducked his bike to meet my hand with his; holding it firmly for a moment before we let go and he went back into formation. I put my arm back around Filip's waist and hugged him tightly. He reached back to put his hand on my knee and rubbed my leg gently.

I noticed that we weren't going to Clay and Gemma's house but instead were on the way to the TM lot. I looked around in confusion but nobody else was fazed, I guess they knew this was the plan. I had no choice but to go along with it.

"What's happening?" I asked Filip.

"Emergency meeting," he called back as he parked up.

Filip got off first and helped me remove my helmet, even though I was perfectly capable of doing it myself. I happily took his hand as he helped me off but didn't let go as we walked across the concrete towards the bar. I felt a hand on my head and knew that it could only be Happy. I looked around and saw him looking at me with the tiniest smile.

"You ok?" Happy asked as he walked on my other side.

"Yeah," I nodded, "I will be once I've had my- oh shit! Filip, I didn't get my tablets from the house."

I heard the Scottish man chuckle then when I looked up at him he patted his chest so I could hear the rattle of the pill bottles.

"It's a good job someone wasn't too busy being sentimental in that house," he laughed and I rolled my eyes at Happy who smiled a bit wider.

"But, you're ok?" Happy asked again and I realised he meant in myself, not just physically.

I thought for a moment before nodding. He seemed satisfied with my answer and put his hand on my shoulder firmly before falling back into step with Juice and Tig. Tig was looking between me and Filip with a lost look on his face but before he could say anything, I was being pulled into a tight hug.

"Are you alright?" Gemma asked, bending down to look into my face.

"Yeah," I nodded, already getting annoyed with the question, "yeah I'm alright."

"We got worried when we heard you weren't in the house. Where were you? You've got grass in your hair Baby."

"It's ok, don't worry."

"Yeah," Filip said with a shrug, "she couldn't sleep and asked if I could take her for a ride around."

I sat with Gemma in the bar while the guys went into the chapel. She helped me take the bits of grass out while quizzing me about Filip and telling me the evidence she had gathered while looking at us both.

"You can't lie to me," she said with a knowing smile, "you have got grass in your hair and Chibs has got mud on his knees. I know what happened, even if your dad wants to be blissfully unaware."

"You think he'll be angry?"

She gave me a look as if to say, are you kidding? And I laughed. I knew he would be angry but I was hoping that he would realise that I was happy, that Filip made me happy, and would come to accept it in time. I was thankful that he would wait until the Warrens were dealt with before he concentrated on us though; he might see that Filip and I would look after each other.

When they finally came out, the guys surrounded me and Gemma as she was tying my hair back up. Clay sat in front of me and gave me a quick rundown on what they had just spent almost an hour discussing.

"So," Clay said with a small sigh and folded his hands on the table in front of him, "here's what's going down. Hap and Tig are gonna go with you and Chibs to your house tomorrow to pick up anything you need to stay here."

"Here?" I asked, baffled, "at the clubhouse? I thought you meant with you and Gemma."

"They won't dare come into the lot," Jax said, "so you'll be safer here than at any house."

"Ok… then what? What are you gonna do about the Warrens?"

"We're gonna beat them at their own game. Juice hacked into their accounts and we know where their warehouse is. Since we took their business, they have got guns just lying around. We're gonna blow it up."

"Or steal the guns and sell them on?"

"We don't have enough guys for that. It's just us Vee, unless we get some nomads in and ask some boys from across the border."

I shrugged. It wasn't up to me but I just thought it was just a load of waisted money just sat there just to get blown up. I could see his mind whirring though; he was tempted to do my idea but I decided to let them know they probably shouldn't do it, too high of a risk factor but he seemed interested now and he was just as stubborn as I was so it would be hard to talk him out of it. I hoped that maybe if I appealed to him as his daughter I would make him think twice.

"Dad," I said and put my hand on his, "the risk is too high and I don't want to lose any of you. Ok? I'd rather you just blow it up; it would make a bigger statement."

"Yeah," Clay nodded, "you're right. We don't know how many guys they have."

I nodded back happily as Gemma threw my now tidy braid over my shoulder. She interrupted our conversation to ask about my wrists. I hadn't really thought about them since they were bandaged but when I looked down I saw my bandages had become tatty and loose. I gave her my hands so that she could unravel them. I couldn't help wincing when I saw the newly opened wounds.

"You need to get these cleaned sweetheart," Gemma said with a wrinkled nose, "they'll get infected."

"Did you pick up the antiseptic cream?" I asked Filip.

"Aye."

Out of his various pockets, he pulled all of my stuff. I saw Clay smile slightly as Filip looked at me with a smile in his warm brown eyes. I was thankful that he had had the thought to grab everything I needed before he left the house because I certainly wasn't thinking about anything other than "holy shit my house has been destroyed." He was just a caring guy. Dangerous, yeah, but also kind and caring. Once all my medications and stuff were on the table, he stood to go to the bar.

When he came back, he was wearing his glasses and had a bowl of warm water and a medi-kit. Jax clapped him on the shoulder as he and a few of the other guys stood to leave. Clay and Gemma stayed with us and Happy watched intrigued as Filip washed my wrists with a soft cloth and the warm water. It was quiet, only the sound of his quiet apologies when I would flinch. He was wiping away the old scabs that had been building up as the wounds opened, and the bits of skin that had flaked off the blisters. Once they were cleaned up, Gemma kissed the side of my head and told Clay and Happy to leave us too it. Clay didn't seem to be too happy about this development but did as his wife said and went to the bar for one last drink. I was glad because, even though he was only tending to me, it felt kind of like an intimate moment. He put some latex gloves on as he applied the antiseptic cream over the cuts.

"You should let these breath for a while," Filip said as he took off the gloves and held my wrists so he could look at them closer, "they need to develop strong scabs so they can stop splitting."

I made a face that I hoped conveyed my disgust with the idea but he gave me a look that told me he wouldn't be backing down if I argued. I sighed with a small smile as he rubbed his thumbs over the inside of my wrists where I my skin wasn't split. He was quiet for a while before telling me to move my hair so he could get the burns on the back of my neck. He was gentle even though they didn't really hurt anymore.

"I hate these," he murmured.

"Of all of my injuries? Why?"

I turned my head to look at him but he turned it back so he could continue down the nape of my neck and the couple of burns on my back and shoulders.

"Because these are gonna scar. The bruises will go and your wrists will heal up nicely if you keep them open. They were deliberately done to you. They did this on purpose."

"They broke my ribs on purpose too."

He was quiet but pulled me back so he could kiss the top of my head. He told me again that he was going to get them. Clay came over and told me that he and Gemma were going to go home with the other guys but that Filip was going to stay in the clubhouse with me. They all bid me goodbye and told me to stay safe. Before Jax left though, he said that Clay probably didn't want me to stay at the clubhouse but was letting Filip and I have some time together. Maybe he was going to be more accepting of this than I thought.

"Come on, Sweet Girl," Filip said once everyone had left, "you need to get some sleep. God knows I do."

He led me back to the dorms. I thought it was just going to be a random one but he seemed to have a preference. It must have been his because he pulled out a set of keys to open it. Going in was strange; everything inside was so… him. I didn't have much time to look around though. Once he had shut and locked the door, Filip came behind me with his arms around my waist and his lips on my shoulder. He walked me over to the edge of the bed to sit me down. I thought we were going to have sex again when he took my tank top off but I was surprised when it was replaced with a large, soft white t shirt.

"You've looked after us," he whispered to me when he knelt between my legs and took my face in his hands, "so let me look after you now."

I nodded before kissing him softly then he lay me back to take off my jeans and underwear. He removed his own clothes but it still didn't lead to sex. We lay under the blankets, with my head tucked under his and his arms around me. He drew patterns over my back as I fought to stay awake. I didn't want to sleep because I wanted to enjoy the feeling of being in his arms like this and I was worried that if I slept, he would be gone in the morning like every other guy I had been with.

"Sleep," he said quietly, "I'm still gonna be here tomorrow."

"Can you read minds?"

"No Lass, I can just read you. Now, go to sleep."

I snuggled in closer to him, if that was even possible, and finally let myself drift off.

I felt like I had only been asleep for 5 minutes when there was a loud knock on the door. Filip was awake immediately and sat up but I found it a bit more difficult to wake up. It was so cold without him so I pulled the blankets up around me to try and fall back asleep. He wasn't the most stealthy when he was getting dressed with lots of cursing when he couldn't find the clothes he wanted. The door was being hit again and he sighed aggressively.

"Stop fucking banging, I'm awake!" he called angrily but it didn't end, "I said stop!"

"Oh, were you asleep?" Tig said with a laugh once the door was open, "sorry brother."

"You know I was asleep. What do you want?"

I turned over to glare at the other man who was grinning. He walked in, ignoring Filip's protests, and sat on the bed in front of me. In a rare moment of tenderness, Tig put his hand on my shoulder and asked if I was alright.

"I was," I said grumpily, "until someone woke me up by bashing the door in."

"Sorry sweetheart, I just wanted to see you were safe. I wanted to warn you in case you were getting busy. Why didn't Clay assign me to look after you? It's just not fair."

The tender moment was over but it was nice while it lasted.

"Just the luck of the draw I'm afraid, I think he chose the best guy for the job."

"Alright brother," Filip said before the other man could reply, as he grabbed Tig by the scruff of the neck and marched him back to the door, "leave my lady alone to rest."

I blushed when he called me his lady, I didn't know he would think of me that way already. It hadn't even been 24 hours since I had told him that I loved him but here he was, calling me his lady. Once the door was closed and locked again he looked back and saw my smile. He looked at me confused before the realisation dawned on his face.

"Ah, sorry love. I didn't-"

"You think of me as your lady already?"

"I've thought of you as my lady for a long time."

I grinned wider as he came over to sit where Tig had just been forced to vacate. We were silent for a while before I sat up stiffly. Immediately, Filip was stood up and grabbing me a glass of water and my painkillers. He was taking this looking after me very seriously. I thanked him before popping a couple of them in my mouth and gulping down some water. He sat with me while they kicked in before helping me stand up and taking me over to the bathroom.

"Here," he said as he turned the shower on and took off his shirt, "hop in."

"With you?" I asked, incredulous.

"You don't want to shower with me Sweet Girl?"

"No I just- I haven't ever showered with anyone else before. All of my relationships are kind of… hit and run."

He smiled at me and took off the grey sweatpants he had thrown on when Tig had knocked before grabbing the bottom of my shirt and swiping it over my head. I pulled his face down to mine to kiss him deeply as he put his hands on my waist and pulled my body to his. Things got quite heated quite quickly and he took us back to the bedroom. I knew he was holding back and was being as gentle as possible so that he didn't jolt my ribs too much. I was kind of grateful to be honest though I couldn't wait until I was fully healed to see what it was like when he wasn't holding back.

"You're my lady," he murmured into my neck as he moved his hips against mine, "you're my sweet girl. Mo chailín milis."

I tugged his hair gently so I could look into his face and he rested his forehead against mine. I mumbled incoherently, not wanting to make any noise in case anyone was in the clubhouse. He laughed quietly before ducking down to kiss my neck again. We whispered quiet a "I love you" to each other before I felt his body tense and I gripped onto him tightly.

In the shower, Filip helped me wash my hair and kept commenting on how long it was, telling me I was beautiful and stunning and perfect. I laughed but told him to keep the compliments coming. I repaid the favour by washing his hair as best I could and showering him with compliments too which made him laugh and blush. It was nice to see him genuinely happy and relaxed. It was so rare that I decided I would compliment him all the time. I called him handsome and sweet and sexy.

"Alright, Sweet Girl," he chuckled softly, "I think we're clean enough. The guys are probably waiting."

"I never want to leave," I sighed and wrapped my arms around his waist, "I want to stay in here forever."

"You'll look all old and wrinkly like me though Sweet Girl."

"You're not old! Just older than me."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

I shook my head seriously and pulled him down to kiss his nose which made him smile enough to show his dimples. I hoped he would understand that I really did love him.

"You're a very handsome older man," I said with my hands holding his hips and kissed his chest up his neck to his jawline between every few words, "and I love you. I don't care what anyone else says."

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by more bashing at the door to the dorm but I had barely heard it over the sound of the shower. Filip groaned in frustration and asked what they wanted. We could hear someone saying something but I couldn't understand what they were saying Filip seemed to hear it though and sighed.

"Your dad wants to see me," he said, "you finish up here love. I'll see you outside."

I hummed in agreement against his jaw and, with one final irritated groan, he stepped out. The shower felt huge without him in there but I could easily finish washing myself without his wandering hands interrupting me. Once I was done, I dried my hair and body, put on one of his shirts and my jeans before having a poke around his room. I saw a picture in a frame on his bedside table. It was of his wife, Fiona and his daughter. I knew he had a wife and kid, Jax had told me about them but Filip rarely spoke of them and I didn't ask. I tried not to think about how I was maybe just a replacement for his wife and put the photo back down.

I slipped my boots on and padded out to the bar where I was just in time to see Clay swing his fist at Filip. I shrieked in horror and went to run over but I was held back by Happy. I shouted at him to let me go but he held me tightly, telling me that the two men needed to sort this out. But I refused to accept this and struggled against him even harder as Filip swung back and hit my dad in the face; catching him in the cheek and his rings cutting his skin. The rest of the crew gathered around, cheering them on and shouting. Happy held me still, being careful of my ribs and wrists, as the two men fought.

Suddenly, I had an idea to make Happy let go of me. I hated thinking that I would have to make Happy feel bad about anything but I also didn't want Filip to beat the shit out of my dad because he was quite clearly winning. Although it was difficult to tell who was winning because both men were now covered in blood and red in the face. Physical violence was always hard for me to see and the sound of fists making contact made me feel sick.

I gasped and shouted to Happy that he was hurting me so he immediately let me go. As soon as his arms were released I barged through the guys and shouted at them both. They stopped fighting immediately and looked at me, panting heavily but with scowls on their faces while I stood with my arms folded.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I shouted and looked between them, "you have got a war on your hands and you decide that you're going to start a brawl at-" I checked the time, "-10:30 in the morning? You're as bad as children!"

"They're just settling a disagreement like men, Darlin'" Jax said as if I was just going to accept them beating each other up.

"Don't get me started on you lot!" I whipped around to face the others, "Cheering them on like a rabble of school boys. Don't you have work to be doing? Go on then, go!"

They skulked away muttering under their breaths, Happy smiled slightly at me and looked a bit proud which made me feel pleased with myself but I didn't show it on my face. He ruffled my wet hair but walked away with the rest of them leaving me to deal with the two, fully grown adult men who had just been fighting. They looked amused until I fixed them with a harsh glare then their faces fell into both embarrassed and annoyed expressions. I could tell that Clay wasn't impressed with his daughter telling him and his guys what to do, much less have them following my orders, and Filip was embarrassed that "his lady" had told him off.

"Go and clean yourselves up!" I ordered and pointed to the dorms, "I'll speak to you two as soon as you can behave like grown-ups!"

Clay was opened his mouth to protest, but I jabbed my finger once more and they also wandered away, talking about me.

"Teller women will be the death of me," I heard Clay sigh and Filip laughed.

I sat smugly in the bar, eating some cereal, while my dad and Filip cleaned themselves up and the guys walked around doing… whatever they did during the day. It looked like a whole lot of nothing to me but they seemed to be making themselves look busy so I would leave them alone. The power had definitely gone to my head. I just got an entire biker gang to do what I say and it felt great. When I had finished my food, the two newly cleaned up men sat in the booth in front of me looking ashamed. Clay was looking distinctly worse than Filip and I had a weird sense of pride for the latter. I guess that's just something you get from hanging out with a biker gang every day for 3 months.

"You both look like shit," I told them and sipped my orange juice, "you should be ashamed of yourselves."

"Pumpkin," Clay appealed, "you've got to understand that this is how we settle things."

"I don't have to do anything. If you have a problem you should talk about it instead of beating each other into bloody messes."

"Sweet Girl," Filip tried but I held up my hand to stop him.

"Don't try and talk yourself out of this Filip Telford. I am angry at you both."

They sat at a loss for words as I faced them with my arms folded and a scowl on my face. I noticed Filip smiling and was so confused by his reaction. Clay explained that he wanted to make sure that Filip was serious about being with me and that he would be able to protect me if something were to happen. It didn't cut it as an explanation for me.

"Do you want me to be happy, Clay?"

"Of course, Pumpkin."

"Then accept what's going on. We haven't even discussed what this is yet so how we would be able to explain it to you I have no idea. I am happy, Filip is happy – I think, and you should be happy that I am happy. There are more important things to focus on right now."

"We needed to get this done though sweetheart otherwise we wouldn't be able to focus on the Warrens."

"Address the elephant in the room," Filip shrugged.

I threw my hands up in frustration but decided that this was taking too long and if I wanted to get my stuff and see what the police had to say about the break in I would have to just let this go. I stood up, expressing my unhappiness but telling Filip to stand up and come with me to the police station. Clay laughed when he stood up like he was on wires and followed me out of the bar. I went straight over to his bike and waited while he sloped across the lot towards me.

"Nicely done Hen," he said when he got to me, "looks like you've got us all wrapped around your little finger."

"I knew that already," I said with a light laugh, "now come on. I want to see what's happening with the house."

He waved Tig and Happy over and hopped on the bike in front of me. One of the most useful things about riding on the back of a motorcycle was that it dried my hair quickly. The downside to this was that it was a tangled mess when I got off at the police station.

We walked in, something that the guys didn't do voluntarily very often, and went to find Hale. He sat me down at a desk with the guys hovering behind me protectively. I could tell Hale was uncomfortable with them doing so but they refused to leave so he just accepted it and focused on talking to me. he was asking me about potential enemies and people that would have it out for me but I lied and told him that I hadn't really spoken to many people since I arrived, only the club. I feel like I did a fairly good job of lying to him, even breaking out the crocodile tears when I was telling him how scared I was feeling.

"You don't have anything to worry about, we have found some fingerprints that we're running through the system," Hale said gently, handing me a box of tissues, "so we should have some results soon. We're gonna catch the guy that did this."

"Thank you, officer," I sniffed and dabbed at my eyes with a tissue, "do you know if they stole anything?"

"Nothing appears to be missing, it just looks like criminal damage. Now, I have to ask, do you think this may be connected with your attack a few weeks back? It seems highly likely that it would be the same guy. There was no sign of forced entry so either you let them in or they had a key, which you said had been taken from under your mat."

"I don't know…" I faltered and looked up at Filip to ask him to help me; I didn't know what else I could say that wouldn't look suspicious.

"Can she get anything from the house?" He asked immediately, "she's got no clothes or anything."

"I'm afraid not, every clothing item has either been doused in gasoline or shredded. Now, Miss Teller, when we canvassed your neighbourhood and asked your neighbours if they saw anything they mentioned that, on the week of your attack, they saw two men skulking around the back of your house and into the home of the late Mr Crabb. We think that the men that attacked you were the same that killed your neighbour."

"We went around the back of her house," Happy said suddenly, "when we went to check on her."

I nodded quickly and told him that it was just the one man that had attacked me. I also mentioned that Crabb was a curtain twitcher so maybe he saw the guys face and that's why he was killed. Hale nodded thoughtfully but told me that the bullet used to kill the old man was from a specialised weapon, used mainly by the Italian Mafia and American Special Forces. I was very quickly running out of ideas and lies to tell him but my confusion must have been obvious because he stopped the questioning let me go, telling me just to stay somewhere safe for the time being and he would contact me as soon as the fingerprints had been analysed.

Before we left, Filip caught Chief Unser's elbow and spoke to him in a low voice, telling me to wait outside with Tig and Happy. I wasn't too pleased with being told what to do but he had an expression on his face that made me think that he wasn't open to argument. While we waited I apologised to Happy for making him think he had hurt me but explained that I couldn't just let the two guys hurt each other

"Don't worry," Happy shrugged and nodded towards Filip as he approached, "you did well."

Tig made a comment about Filip being under the thumb already to which Filip didn't deny and only kissed me on the forehead gently. He let us know that Unser was going to try and get Hale off the scent and make him follow a false lead to give them time to get to the Warrens before the police did.

I kept thinking I saw the Warrens car on the way home. It was just flashes and small glimpses around corners in the town but it was only quick. I gripped tighter to Filip but didn't say anything; I didn't want them to know I was scared. We now knew that they had specialist guns and equipment and we were vulnerable on the bikes. It was a frightening thought but I pushed it down until I saw the car approaching us. It was going fast down our side of the road. Filip swore and swerved to get on the other side of the road with the other two behind us. I gasped in shock at the sudden movement then flinched violently as I heard gun fire from behind me.

When I looked behind me I saw that Happy and Tig had their guns out and were now shooting towards the white car; shooting out the wheels. The screech of brakes filled the air as the car swerved off the road into the surrounding rough terrain. Filip slowed to a stop and looked back. I hadn't taken my eyes off of the vehicle so I saw Michael getting out of the back of the car with a large gun in hand and some other guys following him. If I wasn't fearing for the lives of my family, I would have made a comment about it being like a clown car. I shouted at Filip to keep moving, saying the same to Happy and Tig; I didn't want them to do anything stupid. Happy looked less than pleased about having to leave the fight but made himself feel better by shooting back and getting two of the goons in the head; making blood splatter on the clean white exterior of the car and Michael jumped back into the back.

Happy stopped his bike and turned back around. He got shot in the shoulder but didn't stop shooting until all the goons had been killed. I shouted, or more like screamed, his name and he looked back at me with shock on his usually stoic face. He nodded to me once, understanding that I really didn't want him putting himself in danger. He sped up to join us up the road.

Once the bikes had stopped in the TM lot I jumped off and ripped the helmet off my head. I ran to Happy to look at the bullet hole in his shoulder. Blood was pouring from the wound and I gagged but asked him if he was alright. He waved me off, as if to tell me to stop fussing, but I refused and dragged him into the clubhouse. I let Filip take over the first aid as I made sure that Happy was alright.

"Oh God," I cried, "your mum is going to be so angry with me."

"Stop crying girl," Happy sighed with a wince as Filip pulled the bullet out of his shoulder.

I couldn't stop crying though. I kept apologising to him and touching his face, saying I didn't want to lose him too. Happy actually laughed at me and moved my hands away from his head; covering my hands in his blood and I wanted to throw up but I didn't want to leave him. He let me hug his head against my stomach though, with a reluctant sigh and put his arm around my hips to hold me against him.

"You're so soft," Filip told me with a smirk, "he's gonna be fine."

"I just want to keep you all safe."

Happy nestled his face into my stomach with another sigh as Clay came storming in to demand someone tell him what happened. Filip filled him in with the details as he stitched Happy's wound together. Clay was furious. He was raving at the guys about how they could let someone shoot at me and asking why they weren't more careful until I shouted at him, letting him know that there wasn't much they could have done with a group of 6 guys and my stepdad shooting at them.

"We can get them back Boss," Tig said with a shrug, "just need to get someone watching them and see where they go."

"They go to a strip club in town," Happy said, his voice muffled against my stomach, "I've seen that guy in there with your mom."

"My mother is a stripper?" I asked before Clay could say anything, "that's terrible."

"She is a waitress. They go in every Friday night."

"That's tomorrow," Clay said and scratched his chin, "once this is all cleaned up you all need to come into the chapel for a meeting."

They nodded and Tig pulled out his phone to start calling the guys that had dispersed since this morning. I didn't want them to hit the club but I knew they couldn't just let one of their guys get shot without getting back at them somehow. I worried that not only would they get hurt, but also that my mother would be hurt too. I always felt so conflicted when it came to my mother. On the one hand, I hated her with every fibre of my being but on the other, she had been drawn into this life and forced to be her husband's punching bag.

"What if Mother gets hurt?" I asked them quietly.

"She only wanted you back so her husband would stop hitting her and hit you instead," Happy said against my stomach and squeezing me, "she doesn't deserve you to feel sorry for her."

The word analysing has the word anal in it and I laughed for longer than I would care to admit – a catchy tag line, huh? I had literally never typed out analysing before and now I can't un-see it. Yes, I am a child.

I can't wait for there to be a huge shoot up in the strip club, I feel like I have been waiting my whole life to write out a gun fight. Is that sad? Probably.

Anyway, I hope you like this one! Thank you to Imaginemotherofdragons for your review, I'm happy that I made you happy and to slytherinxgryffindor12 who found me on tumblr! I tried to see if I could stalk you on tumblr but I wasn't sure if you were under the same name or not, LOL.

Enjoy! Hopefully a new chapter will be up soon!

Lots of love, from

Doe

xxxxxx