I waited in Juice's living room for an hour before deciding if I was going to stick around and wait, I might as well do something useful. As usual, Juice kept his apartment pretty clean. I had grown accustomed to dealing with his OCD when we were children and admittedly exploited it on occasion. I remembered one time when Juice had doodled in my textbook, so I went into his room and took all of his clothes out of his closet and threw them everywhere. Our mother had forced us to work together to clean the mess I had made and do laundry for the next month.

"You know you can't be here. If the club finds out you're married to a cop, they'll kill you." Juice said as I put the last dinner plate in the cabinet, taking care to turn it in the same direction as the other plates. I shook my head.

"We're not married. We haven't been married for years." This wasn't why I had come to Charming. "I'm not here to talk about my mistakes. What is going on with you, Juice?"

"You wouldn't understand," Juice leaned against his refrigerator and lit a joint. He took a hit and offered it to me. I declined and hoped he would elaborate on what he thought I wouldn't understand. "This sheriff knows about our father."

"Okay? You never even met him. What does that piece of shit matter?" I barely remembered our father and he had left before Juice was ever born. Our mother never spoke about him.

"He's black." Juice's pupils were wide as he looked up at me. I twisted my mouth and blinked slowly. "If they tell the club, I'll be out. I'll lose my family."

"First of all, you wouldn't lose me. Don't give me that look, Juice. I know we haven't been close in a long time but I'm still your family." Juice rolled his eyes but let me continue. "Why does this sheriff think your father is black? Why are they blackmailing you?"

"What do you mean they think my father is black? They have all of his information." Juice snapped. "I know you don't remember much but I'm pretty sure you remember his skin color."

"Yeah, I do. He wasn't black." I shrugged my shoulders. I clearly remembered what my father looked like at least. He was Puerto-Rican, just like our mother and like Juice and I. Juice looked like I had told him that our father was an alien. "Juice. Breathe. He was Puerto-Rican and he died five years ago. Why is this cop blackmailing you?"

Juice didn't answer. He launched himself at the sink and threw up violently. I sighed and took his joint from his right hand so he wouldn't burn himself. I took a sniff and decided to join in and take a hit. I grabbed a dish towel and ran some water over it before gently pressing it on the back of his neck. I didn't know the science behind it but it always made Emma feel better when she got sick. He eventually stopped emptying his stomach and stood up. I wasn't sure what he had gotten himself into or why I felt the need to fix it but I knew this was going to take longer than the few days I had taken off from work.

"I fucked up," Juice finally said. I nodded, having gathered as much already. I turned my back to him and got him a glass of water, giving him a chance to gather his thoughts. "They're trying to get me to rat on the club in exchange for keeping the secret."

"The secret that doesn't exist." I corrected him. He nodded. "Okay, in the morning we're going to the sheriff and I'm taking care of this whole blackmail issue."

"What are you talking about? How are you going to take care of it?" Juice asked before spitting a mouthful of water into the sink. "Aren't you some business lawyer?"

"No, I switched to criminal defense after the divorce." I didn't want to bring my past marriage up again but the last time I had spoken to Juice, I was on a corporate law track. He looked back at me. "Can we go through all of that later, we need to focus on getting you out of whatever shit they pulled you into."

"Who got you here?" Juice seemed to suddenly remember that my arrival was a complete surprise. I swallowed hard, knowing the truth was going to send him on a whole new spiral. "Anya."

"Happy." I said simply. I wasn't ready to admit that I was a lot closer to my brother's motorcycle club than he could have guessed. His brow furrowed and he shook his head. "Can we just focus on you for now and I'll answer all the questions swirling around in your big head tomorrow?"

"Happy?" I nodded and he walked into the living room without another word. I rinsed out the kitchen sink and made myself a glass of water before joining him. "How are you going to make this go away?"

"Easy. Threaten them with litigation. What they're doing is blackmail and it's based on a lie. No small town police department wants that on the news, especially since they're making it about race." I explained. Juice looked startled. "Take a breath. I'd never actually get the news involved."

"It's not Charming PD. City Council voted to bring in the sheriff's office." I nodded. My argument wasn't going to change. "Thanks for showing up."

"Thanks for not shooting me." I laughed. Juice smiled for the first time since opening his door. "I need to go. Get cleaned up and get some sleep, Juice. I'll meet you at the clubhouse at eight."

"Ugh. Eight?" He groaned. I nodded and stood to leave. "Where are you staying? We've got some club issues right now and I don't want you to be alone."

"Juice, no one would even know to target me." I rolled my eyes at how much his concern sounded like Happy. I rinsed my glass out and put it in the dishwasher before walking to the door. "I'm staying with Happy."

"You're going to tell me what's going on before you leave town." Juice stated matter of factually. I nodded but decided to focus on one thing at a time.


I woke up to the sound of the truck door closing in the driveway. Falling asleep had caught me by surprise and I blamed the little brunette girl curled up to my side. She had a hard time settling down, so I had planned to just watch her sleep until Anya got back. Evidently, comforting her relaxed me enough to fall asleep too. I carefully got off the bed and exited the room, pulling the door closed quietly. Anya was opening the front door as I entered the living room. She looked exhausted.

"Hey," I was going to ask her how everything went but judging by how she flung herself into my arms, I had my answer. I felt her chest quiver as she cried quietly. It felt good to feel her against my chest again but it felt selfish too. I had refused to bring her closer to the club for her and Emma's own good. Now, they were both in the middle of the hot zone.

"He could have died before we reconnected," Anya sobbed quietly. I nodded. With everything going on with the cartel, it was almost surprising none of us had died yet. Well, except the rat Miles. "I don't want to lose either of you."

"I'm not going anywhere, mama. It's okay. You'll fix whatever Juice has gotten into and we'll be okay." I kissed the top of her head, knowing what was going to come up eventually. She pulled back slightly and looked up at me. "It's going to be okay."

"I missed you." She whispered. I nodded and kissed her gently. She deepened the kiss but not like the starving sweet butts and crow eaters. I felt the emotion behind it instead of desperation. When she broke the kiss off, I noticed some light had returned to her eyes. "I'm not sleeping with you until you get tested."

"How romantic," I teased. She rolled her eyes and left my arms but I knew she wasn't mad. This was our standing rule. She wasn't stupid. She knew what I did when we weren't together. I had given her permission to do the same but as far as I knew, she'd never taken me up on the offer. "I'll go in the morning."

"I'm going to help Juice with his bullshit in the morning. Can you give me a ride to the clubhouse?" Anya asked, taking my hand and leading me towards the bedroom. "Shit. What about Emma?"

"Jax's old lady can watch her for a couple hours." I offered. Anya hated having strangers watch Emma but it was better than keeping her around the clubhouse and I knew whatever Anya needed to take care of wasn't something our daughter needed to witness. She nodded slowly. "It'll be okay. She won't ask a lot of questions."

"I'm not worried about questions, Hap. I don't want to upset Emma." Anya peeled her jeans off as I started to undress. I barely heard her speaking. My full attention was on the shape of her bare legs and hips. She was even more beautiful than when we had met. "Don't even think about it, Killa. No clean test, no touching."

"Nah, I can touch. Just can't fuck." I corrected her. She smirked and pulled her t-shirt off. I watched her tits bounce back into place and groaned, wishing I could throw her on the bed right then. "How do you keep getting hotter?"

"Jiu Jitsu and chasing our daughter around," she laughed. I wasn't actually looking for an answer. I knew she stayed busy. I noticed the scar on her shoulder and it knocked the edge off of my hunger. She must have noticed what I was looking at. "It's okay, Hap."

"It's not but there's not much more I can do about it." I wished I could torture her ex every day for the damage he'd caused. If it was just the scar on her shoulder, one death would have sufficed but there were so many invisible scars that he needed to pay for. "I love you."

"I know." She whispered, climbing into bed. I followed her, looking forward to holding her through the night for the first time in weeks. "Goodnight, Hap."

"Daddy! Wake up!" I groaned as my daughter's knee dug into my kidney. I wrapped my arm around her and rolled, pulling her off gently. She giggled and squirmed as I tickled her. "Mommy has breakfast ready."

"I can smell that." The bedroom smelled like bacon and muffins. I couldn't remember the last time the kitchen was used for more than a microwaved meal. "Are you going to be okay staying with my friend Tara for a few hours?"

"She's a doctor?" Emma asked, turning to face me. I nodded and she twisted her mouth, weighing her decision. "Is she nice?"

"Yes, she is. That means you need to act more like your momma than me, kid." I knew Emma could be sweet like Anya but she got her temper from me. She nodded and kissed my nose before fleeing the bed and sprinting out of the room. Hearing her bare feet fly down the hallway made me question if Anya and I were doing the right thing or not. I sighed and threw the sheets and blanket off, knowing she'd come back in with a flying knee if I didn't get to the kitchen quick enough. I pulled on a pair of jeans and slowly made my way down the hall.

"Coffee?" Anya asked, handing me a cup of black coffee without waiting for my answer. She knew how I liked it, so I didn't hesitate to take a drink. "You didn't snore last night."

"I never snore," I argued. Emma laughed. "Didn't ask for your opinion, squirt. I slept alright, Anya."

"If you say so." She was choosing not to argue because she already knew the truth. I only snored when I slept deeply. After making out and falling asleep with Anya in my arms, I'd woken up at every little sound. I knew having my girls in town was going to put me on edge but it was worth it to settle whatever was going on with Juice. "Do you want blueberry or cranberry muffins?"

"Where did you even get muffin mix?" I asked, taking a cranberry muffin. I knew the cabinets were basically empty. I had rarely stayed at my house recently and I had cleaned out all the expired cans and food before the girls got into town. The muffin was buttery and airy. "God, I missed your cooking."

"We went to the store." Emma said after taking a drink of apple juice. I nodded, wishing they hadn't gone anywhere alone. Anya kissed my cheek, knowing I didn't like the answer. "Mommy got spaghetti for dinner."

"Well, I guess the surprise is out now." Anya laughed. She knew it was my favorite thing for her to make for dinner. I tried not to think about how much it was going to hurt to see them leave again. "Are you going to be home for dinner?"

"Yeah, I will." I gave her a quick kiss and left the kitchen. I loved seeing both of them under my roof but I knew it wasn't going to last long enough. When I got out of the shower, Anya was sitting on the freshly made bed. "Don't start, mama."

"I'm not right now but we need to talk about it, baby. Its written all over your face." She said gently. I nodded and kissed the top of her head.

"Maybe I need to add some face tats to hide that shit." I muttered. She laughed and stood up, kissing our daughter's name on my chest. No one had ever questioned the ink but they probably didn't notice it past all of the other ink. "You ready?"

"Yeah, we're just waiting on you, papi." She smirked. I adjusted my towel and groaned wishing we had more time and that she'd let me show her how that word made me feel. "I'll stop. Get dressed and I'll see you in the living room."

"Damn tease." I groaned. She turned back to look at me and winked. That woman was my weak spot and she knew it.


Happy stopped the truck in front of a creme colored house with a van and motorcycle in the driveway. Emma seemed perfectly fine with the idea of staying with a stranger, but it made me sick to my stomach. He squeezed my hand and nodded. We needed to get Emma dropped off and get to the clubhouse. I forced my nerves further down in my chest and flung my seat-belt off as a brunette exited the house followed by a blonde man that I could only assume was Jax.

"Hey, I appreciate this," Happy said, giving Jax and Tara both quick hugs. Jax nodded and glanced over at me, clearly questioning what was going on. Emma peeked around from behind Happy's legs and looked from me to Jax. "Emma, this is my brother Jax and his wife Tara."

"Hi, Emma." Tara said with a smile. I knew she and Jax weren't married but it was easier to use wife than explain relationships to Emma when she would have a hundred questions. "I'm happy to have another girl in the house for a few hours."

"Do you have my mommy's phone number?" Emma asked with concern. I smiled down at her, knowing she was suppressing her fear as much as she could. Tara nodded with a warm smile. "Okay."

"We'll be back to pick you up by lunch, Em. You be good for Tara, okay?" I squatted down and gave Emma a tight hug, hoping I seemed as brave as she was pretending to be. She nodded against my shoulder and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. Tara extended her hand and I watched as Emma stepped forward and took her hand apprehensively. I knew the majority of her fear was due to Jax's presence. She wasn't accustomed to being around strange men.

"She's yours." Jax said as Tara and Emma disappeared into the house. Happy nodded but didn't offer any explanation. Jax nodded and looked from Happy to me. "She can play with my older son, don't worry."

"Thanks." I said, a little less confidently than I had intended. Happy put his hand on my lower back for some reassurance. "We've got to go meet Juice at the clubhouse. Thank you, Jax."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll follow you there." Jax didn't seem surprised about me mentioning Juice, so I assumed Happy had told him about at least some of the tangled web. The three of us headed to the clubhouse and I let the sound of Jax's motorcycle fill the air between Happy and I in the truck. When we pulled in, I noticed how similar the Charming clubhouse was to Tacoma. Tacoma didn't have a working garage like Charming but the clubhouse itself was similar. The reaper seemed to be watching me as I got out of the truck. Juice was already waiting outside and his eyes didn't leave Happy.

"Is anyone going to fill me in?" Juice asked sharply. It seemed like his focus had left the situation with the sheriff and landed on the mystery connection between Happy and I. Happy nodded as I answered.

"I told you, after this is handled I'll answer your questions." I said quickly. Juice looked startled and his eyes darted between Happy and I. I shook my head. Happy hadn't asked for details and I didn't offer them freely. He knew I wouldn't betray Juice's trust unless I needed to and so far, I didn't see the need. I hoped that wouldn't change. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Juice said, offering me a helmet. I groaned but accepted it without arguing. I had only ever ridden with Happy and I knew how Juice drove. "You staying here?"

"Nah. I got something to take care of." Happy said, returning my hug as I wrapped my arms around him. He kissed the top of my head. "Don't be a dumbass with her on the back of your bike."

"She's my sister. I'm not going to get her hurt." Juice snapped. I knew he was upset about the missing details but it had to wait. I followed him over to his motorcycle and silently thanked myself for bringing Chelsea boots instead of my normal stilettos. While I was packing for the trip, I had to remind myself several times that I was going to small town, USA. This wasn't Seattle. I didn't have to dress to kill.

The ride to the police station was short. We parked underneath an Elm tree and I felt Juice's body start to tense as he turned the bike off. I knew he was worried. I wasn't. Whether it was confidence or arrogance was yet to be seen but I was ready to settle this and get Juice back on the right track. I handed him the helmet and shook out my hair. Juice zipped his jacket up, hiding his kutte. Happy had told me that he and the rest of the paroled members were under strict orders to keep their kuttes covered unless they wanted to go back to prison. I wanted to argue it but decided to pick my battles. I was here for Juice, not to take over the entire club's case.

"Anya Ray. I don't have an appointment but I need to see the sheriff, now." I said, passing my business card to the receptionist. She looked from me to Juice before standing up and walking further into the police station. Juice's hands were shoved in his jacket pockets and he was rocking back and forth nervously. A couple moments later, the receptionist returned with the sheriff in tow. "Good morning. I think we should probably have this conversation in your office."

"What conversation is that, Ms. Ray? Are you representing Mr. Ortiz now?" The sheriff asked, clearly trying to size me up. I opened my backpack and produced the photo of the man that he was claiming was our father. His eyes widened and he motioned for Juice and I to follow him. I waited until the door closed behind us.

"Your department has been blackmailing Mr. Ortiz with fabricated evidence and I demand it stop now and any attempts to turn him into an informant cease immediately." I said sternly. Juice said down in a chair across the sheriff's desk but I remained standing. The sheriff tossed the photo I had given him on the desk and leaned back in his seat. I waited.

"I'm not sure what you've been told but we aren't blackmailing anyone. I provided Mr. Ortiz with some answers about his family tree and simply asked if his gang was aware of his heritage." The sheriff seemed cocky. It irked me.

"First. He is part of a motorcycle club and unless you provide documentation classifying his organization as a gang, I suggest you stop referring to it as such. Second. The man in that photo is not his father. If he was his father, insinuating that you would reveal Mr. Ortiz' heritage to his motorcycle club, thus endangering his well being, unless he cooperates with whatever investigation you have going on is blackmail. According to California Penal Code-"

"What makes you think this isn't Ortiz' father?" The sheriff snapped, cutting me off. I rolled my eyes and pulled a photo out of my bag, slapping it on his desk. "What is this?"

"This is a photo of our father. It was taken a year before Juan Carlos was born. As you can see, the man beside me is not African-American." I snapped, annoyed that I had been interrupted. The sheriff's eyes widened quickly. He looked from the photo, to me, to Juice. "Like I said, you're blackmailing him with false information."

"There's no proof of this claim." He snapped.

"You're right. There's no proof of your claim that the man used in your blackmail is Mr. Ortiz' father. So, did you fabricate the evidence or was it someone else?" I asked, snatching my photo from the sheriff and folding my arms across my chest. The room was silent. I took that as an answer. "Whoever you're working for can be named along with your department in my lawsuit. My brother will not be an informant for you or any other agency involved in your investigation. Your receptionist has my card. Juice, let's go."

Juice looked bewildered but didn't question me as we walked out of the police station. We got back on his motorcycle in silence and I ignored the sheriff staring at us from the front door. Juice revved his motorcycle loudly before quickly turning towards the clubhouse. He cut our travel time in half.

"What did I tell you about not riding like a dumbass with her on the back of your bike?" Happy snapped as soon as Juice turned the bike off. My phone started ringing, so I stepped away from their argument.

"Diana, what's up?" I asked, watching my brother and Happy squaring off in the middle of the parking lot. I heard her crying and my chest tightened.

"You and Emma are on vacation, right?" I confirmed that we were. "I came by to check on the house like you asked and someone broke in. Stuff is everywhere and there's graffiti on the walls."

"Damnit. Did you call the police?" I asked, stepping further from Happy and Juice. I didn't need either of them to turn their focus on me.

"No, I called you. I know you told me if anything ever happened I needed to call you first." Diana said quickly. I nodded. "I emailed you pictures of everything. What do you want me to do?"

"Close the door and leave. Don't go back to my house until I call you. Do you understand?" I asked quickly, watching Happy walk towards me. She promised she'd stay away and I ended the call.

"What's wrong?" Happy asked as I opened the pictures that Diana had emailed me. My heart stopped. "Anya."

"What is this?" I turned the phone screen towards Happy and his face turned to stone. He didn't answer me before making a phone call.

"Tara, get everyone ready. Juice and I will be there in ten minutes to get you to the clubhouse." Happy barked. He ended the call without further explanation. "Get inside and don't come back out. I'm going to get our daughter."

"Happy! What is going on?" I knew he couldn't hear me over his motorcycle engine. Juice was right behind him as they drifted onto the street. I knew Happy would stop at nothing to protect Emma but I needed to know what was going on. Jax flew out of the clubhouse and I walked inside. I knew he was probably alarmed by Tara telling him about the call from Happy. He didn't hang around to ask questions. I looked around the clubhouse and couldn't help but wonder what this meant for my family and how many of the bewildered women staring at me had fucked Happy.