"Talia!" Hayleigh squealed as she bounced in front of her girlfriend. "It's happening! It's really happening!"

"What's happening?"

"I'm getting adopted! This guy came to the home and we've been hanging out together and talking on the phone and he wants to adopt me!" Hayleigh elucidated, still bouncing like a bunny. "He's so nice, Tal. And he said he has three other daughters, so I won't be alone and I'm gonna have sisters and we're gonna be a family!"

"That's amazing news, Halo."

It was two weeks ago that Hayleigh told Talia about her adoption and Talia hasn't heard from her fiancée since then. It was strange not being around or talking to Hayleigh for so long and Talia didn't like being away from her. She was trying to give Hayleigh time to spend with her new family and get adjusted to them, but she still wanted to know what was going on with her.

"Hey, Halo. It's me again. Um...it's been a while since I saw you and I miss you, so I'm just checking in. Gimme a call back?" Talia sighed as she left another voicemail on Hayleigh's phone. There had to be at least 40 unread texts littering Hayleigh's inbox from Talia as well, but there was something tugging at Talia's gut about not hearing from Hayleigh and she didn't like it. She was at the bar in the clubhouse, but she went to Juice's dorm and knocked. "Juice, I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, Tal. What do you need?" He asked as he waved her inside.

"I need you to find out who Hayleigh's foster Dad is."

"Is something wrong?"

"She hasn't talked to me since she told me that guy adopted her."

"Tal, this is a big deal for her. She's never had a stable home or a real family. She's gotta be excited about it and you told me how much she liked her foster Dad."

Talia knew he was going to say something along those lines and shook her head at Juice's train of thought. "Hayleigh would never go this long without talking to me, Juice. You were there when she was on the hood of my car telling me not to leave after we just spent the weekend together. I don't like this feeling I've got. I feel like…I don't know what it is, but it's not a good vibe. I don't know anything about that guy."

"What's her whole name?"

"Hayleigh Renée Owens. The first 'e' in her middle name has an accent aigu."

With a nod, Juice searched for Hayleigh's name on his laptop and after about 2 minutes of looking, he pulled up a profile. "Okay...says here that Hayleigh was adopted by a man named Trevor Perry and he has a squeaky clean record. Guy doesn't even have a parking ticket. He went to college to be a doctor, got married to Naomi Riggs a few years back and they have three adopted daughters."

"Does it say where they're living now?"

"The hell…" Juice mumbled with his brows pulled together.

"What is it?"

"It says Trevor and his family's been living in Toronto, Canada for the last seven years. I'm literally looking at a selfie his daughters took with him this morning at the CN Tower." He told her, a confused look still on his face. "If Trevor Perry isn't even in the States, who the hell adopted Hayleigh?"

"Track her phone now." She ordered before going to the hall to yell, "Chibs, Tig, load up! We're going out!"

"Someone's gonna die today." Tig sang.

"Her cell's in West Modesto, that's an hour away from here." Juice informed her as she, Tig and Chibs loaded in her Challenger.

"Put your seatbelts on." She warned before peeling out of the lot.

"Talia, what's goin' on, lovie?" Chibs asked.

"Son of a cunt kidnapped my goddamn girlfriend, my future wife." Talia growled as she swerved past all the cars in front of her. "The hell does he think he is? Thought he was gonna get away with it too, but I caught on to your little game, motherfucker. I'm comin' for your ass now, gonna gouge your fucking eyes out."

"That makes me very nervous." Tig commented.

"Bow your heads, lads." Chibs instructed. "O Almighty and merciful God, who hast commissioned Thy angels to guide and protect us, command them to be our assiduous companions from our setting out until our return. To clothe us with their invisible protection, to keep from us all danger of collision, of fire, of explosion, of fall and bruises, and finally, having preserved us from all evil, and especially from sin, to guide us to our heavenly home. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen."

After an hour of driving, Talia was parked down the street from where Juice said Hayleigh's phone was. They were watching the house and there were two men seemingly guarding the front entrance, but Talia didn't see a gun on either of them.

"We're in West Modesto, right?" Tig asked and Juice nodded. "Tal, gimme two minutes to make a call."

"You've got thirty seconds." She grumbled, tightly gripping the steering wheel.

Tig pulled his Burner out and quickly dailed a number; it picked up on the second ring. "Quinn, you remember if there's any pimps in West Modesto?...alright. Thanks, brother. Ride safe."

"Well?"

"Quinn said someone named 'Mr. Smith' runs a brothel around here. He hasn't been playing this game long, but he knows what he's doing. Guy can run identity theft like a pro. He picks up strays off the street, from orphanages or group homes, trains them, gets them dolled up and puts 'em to work. Some of those girls are really young, too young."

"Oh, Christ." Chibs sighed. "He didn't get Hayleigh, did he?"

"I'm gonna kill him." Talia threatened. "I'll tear his fucking head off his shoulders."

"Wait a minute, Talia." Juice stopped her from getting out of the car and put his hand on her shoulder. "We can't just barge in there without knowing what we're walking into. I wanna get Hayleigh and those other girls outta there as much as you do, but running in there blind could get us killed."

"Juice-"

"I know you're upset, I know, but you gotta be rational. Just take a minute to let us plan something, okay?"

~SOA~SOA~SOA~

Juice, Tig and Chibs walked up to the house with the two men and Talia was in front of them all. She wasn't supposed to say a word, just look as innocently as possible and let the Sons talk until it was time to strike; she could handle that.

"We wanna talk to Mr. Smith, gotta proposition for him." Chibs said to the men and they looked at Talia.

"How old is she?" The man on the left asked.

"Sixteen. Got her when she was ten, trained her ourselves."

"We've got a couple more, but she's the most obedient." Tig added, giving Talia a pat on the head.

The men looked at each other and nodded. They unlocked the door and began leading them inside the house.

"I didn't see a gun on either of them. We got this." Juice whispered to Chibs.

"Hold off 'till we see the man in charge." Chibs advised and both Juice and Tig nodded.

The men led them to what looked to be a study and another man was sitting behind a desk, scribbling on some paperwork. He looked up from his notes when he heard the group come in and his eyes were on Talia.

"What can I do for you fine gentlemen?" He asked with a grin.

"You the boss around here?" Tig questioned.

"I am. And I hope this is what you're selling." He smirked at Talia while she was trying to keep her cover when all she really wanted to do was lunge on the sick bastard. "You said she's trained. That's good. How much did you want for her?"

"Actually, we were lookin' to trade her for one of yours." Chibs said.

"Which one might that be?"

"Hayleigh Owens. We saw her at a shelter, but she was gone before we could get our hands on her."

"I haven't broken in my new girls yet and that Hayleigh you want needs to get that shit washed outta her hair first." He explained. "Just for you guys, I'll personally get started on her today. I can tell she's not a fighter, so gimme 'till the end of the month and she'll be perfect."

"Or we could just take her and the rest you've got locked up here." Tig said as he drew his gun with Chibs and Juice, shooting the two bodyguards and they fell against the wall while Mr. Smith had his hands in the air.

Talia went to the desk, grabbed the lamp and smashed it on the end of the table. The bulb cracked and she was going to use it as a makeshift spear or knife as she held the jagged end to Mr. Smith's throat.

"Tell me where my fiancée is and I might let you keep your tongue." She hissed.

"She's upstairs with the rest."

"Juice, call her phone. Go with him, Chibs." She ordered and the two were off.

Talia grabbed the man by his collar and dragged the broken glass across his cheek before she began carving lines into his face, making him scream in pain. She threw him to the floor and flipped the lamp around, using the blunt end to bash the man in the face over and over again.

Upstairs, Chibs and Juice were following the sound of Hayleigh's chiming phone until they found a room of at least 20 teenaged girls that either screamed or began crying when they entered the room. Chibs hushed them all and told them that they were there to help them.

"C'mon, girls. We're gonna get you back home." He announced and most of the girls began running out of the room.

"Hayleigh, you in here?" Juice called.

"Juice!" Hayleigh ran into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Hayleigh, you're okay. It's alright." He calmed her as he stroked her hair. "Did anyone touch you?"

"H-He's had me locked in here with t-the other girls. He said he was collecting more until he got enough, then he was gonna...he would've…"

"Don't think about it. It's not gonna happen, not now or ever."

Talia sighed as she sat down in the lush executive chair and leaned back. She felt tired, but not a physical exhaustion one would feel after they just brutally mutilated a man to death with a broken lamp. No, she was emotionally drained. She let all the emotions she's had bottled up since Hayleigh's lack of contact to when she found out the truth about her sweet girlfriend's 'adoptive father' and throughout the few unbearable minutes she had to bite her tongue not to fuck up the plan the Sons made.

She was drained, she let everything spill out. And now, she simply felt empty. That emptiness came from knowing exactly what was going to happen next, how this sanguineous little outburst would conclude.

Talia propped her feet up on the desk and layered them atop one another, crossing her legs at the ankles. She looked down at what was left of that rancid son of a fucker who had plans on destroying these innocent girls' lives and couldn't even find the energy to spit on his corpse.

When she heard the mobs of feet coming downstairs, a quick bolt of fear bolted through Talia's heart, but it simmered away. She knew this was going to happen eventually, Hayleigh seeing this sadistic, monstrous side of her. She ran with the Sons of Anarchy, so Hayleigh had to be expecting to see some blood or something gruesome at one point, but Talia wished she could've avoided it.

It was too late to change anything now.

"Talia…"

Under all the blood, Talia was staring at her girlfriend. Her pale hair, those gorgeous eyes, her demulcent lips that weren't coated with that tasty strawberry-kiwi chapstick that just made it harder for Talia not to make out with her girlfriend every few minutes. She knew Hayleigh was frightened by who she was looking at right now because she was not looking at Talia. Right now, the Talia she knew was as dead as the man on the floor.

This was not Tig's little angel or Gemma's personified joy. This wasn't Juice's silly kid sister or Marshall's laidback stoner friend. Bobby wouldn't recognize his foster niece, the girl who had a voice that could lull Hell's most heinous demons to sleep.

For the first time in her life, Hayleigh was staring into the eyes of the bloodcurdling secret weapon that Clay had tucked in his back pocket for safekeeping, the eyes of what Jax feared would happen due to the girl he considered a sister being involved with the Club. Sitting in that chair was the dark side of the upbeat girl the Sons have come to love, the nightmarish fiend that Happy created.

Hayleigh was looking at the psychologically disturbed killer that ran with the Sons and in that moment, she understood why the bikers probably kept Talia so close, why she'd be gone for days or weeks at a time.

Sitting in that chair with darkened eyes as vacant as a black hole was a sadistic outlaw.

A teenaged torture master.

A beautiful, devilish killing machine.

Talia wanted Hayleigh to see it, to see her, even if it scared her. Talia needed Hayleigh to see the entirety of her girlfriend, not just the loving and affectionate side she was used to. She had to see the whole, ugly truth about her girlfriend and let it sink in so that she could figure out if she could still love Talia.

~SOA~SOA~SOA~

Talia was at the clubhouse after taking a shower in Chibs' dorm since he offered. She kept her jeans on because they didn't have blood on them, but she borrowed one of the Scotsman's shirts to wear because she had to torch her previous one due to it being utterly soiled with blood. She was sitting at the bar and playing with some beer bottle caps as she waited for an update from one of the boys, her phone out next to her.

"Hey." Juice quietly greeted her as he came into the clubhouse and sat next to her. "Charming PD's sending out squad cars to get all those girls to a safe place. Some of them are even tracking down family members. Hayleigh's at Gemma's. She's gonna be staying there for the night, Mom's orders."

"She okay?"

"She said she wasn't touched, but she wants to talk to you, Tal. She kinda needs you right now."

Talia looked away from Juice as she felt an ache in her heart due to being out of contact with Hayleigh. She wanted nothing more than to hold and comfort her girlfriend for the rest of the night, but she couldn't get the image of Hayleigh's face seeing her covered in blood out of her mind. She was probably terrified of Talia now and was waiting for her to call, so she could break up with her and tell her to stay away from her forever. She couldn't handle that, not now.

"I can't, Juice…I couldn't even look at her if she was here." She sighed. "I'm gonna crash here tonight. Chibs' letting me have his bed."

She grabbed her phone and sulked back to the dorms to be alone for a while. She made her way back to the hallway of doors and unlocked Chibs'. She shut the door and sat on the edge of the bed, falling back into the mattress to stare at the ceiling.

She had to battle with all the emotions stirring inside her, but it felt like every time she even thought about Hayleigh, rejection was there to rear its ugly head and remind her that she was one fucked up pup that nobody was going to be able to love because they were too afraid of her to do so. But Hayleigh knew that Talia could be cute and cuddly, experienced it firsthand from their very first interaction up until their last. Talia loved being affectionate and soft to her girlfriend because Hayleigh brought it out of her. She never knew she had so much affection to give and wanted to share it until she met Hayleigh.