After a blissful night of making up for lost time, Sydney and Tig spend the day realizing just how hard time is to come by after being continuously interrupted on their pleasure journey.

General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death, racism/gang activity.

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CHAPTER 34: INTERRUPTIONS

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Tig woke up the next morning with a smile on his face before he even opened his eyes after a peaceful night's sleep - a proper peaceful night's sleep, not the alcohol-induced slumbers that he had reduced himself to over the past week. His heavy lids lifted slowly, squinting in the bright sunlight that poured into the living room where he laid still for a few minutes, soaking up the bliss as Sydney slept soundly against his chest in the tight space. He pressed a kiss to her temple before scooping her up and bringing her upstairs where he tucked her into bed properly.

"Don't go." She whined, her arms circling his shoulders to keep him in place as he tried to straighten up.

"Didn't know you were awake." He chuckled into her hair as he hugged her back, his mind flashing back to the night of Bobby's wedding when he had found himself in practically the exact same predicament, only this time he wasn't going to make the wrong choice.

"I'm not." She murmured with her eyes closed.

"I'm right here, baby." He nodded, sliding under the baby pink coloured silk sheets that, had they been on the bed of any other woman, would've made his skin crawl. He settled next to her, maneuvering her head to rest on his chest while he rubbed his thumb gently over her arm as she slept for the next hour.

"You gonna let me get up now?" He pressed his lips against her neck as he rolled her onto her back once the morning sun was at a more respectable height in the sky.

"No." She smiled sleepily, running her nails lightly across his shoulder blades as he chuckled.

"I'll be back, you don't have to get up." He kissed her on the cheek before finally lifting himself up.

Sydney took a deep, cleansing breath as she wrapped herself up in the blankets that she knew she needed to wash today, smiling in the comfort of the first normal thoughts that had been at the forefront of her mind, in days. She felt her ears perk up at the sound of clanging of pots and pans coming from the kitchen, finally deciding to get herself out of bed before she could oversleep, and destroy the progress she'd made in resetting her internal clock. She lifted her arms above her head as the soles of her feet hit the freshly shampooed carpet, stretching the muscles in her back as she rolled her head from side to side before finally padding into the bathroom where she pulled on a silk robe and headed downstairs to seek out the source of the ruckus, rounding the corner to see Tig; shirtless, and frying up bacon.

"Thought you said you were comin' back?" Tig spun around when he unexpectedly heard her voice, finding her leaning against the wall with a grin as she took in the dreamy sight of her old man cooking her breakfast, half naked.

"Well I would've if you stayed asleep like you were supposed to." He shook his head with his eyes wide in a mock-scold.

"Now we're even." She smirked as her eyes slid over him lewdly. "C'mere..." She bit her lip, motioning for him with a crooked finger and a dirty grin.

"I'm slaving away makin' you breakfast, and you gotta come down here and distract me? C'mon, doll… That ain't fair to your old man." He whined playfully as he walked over to her with his arms held out expectantly.

"Is it working?" She smirked once he reached her, draping her arms over his shoulders and tilting her lips towards his.

He scoffed, looking away from those innocent eyes as he placed his hands on her hips. "Maybe." He cocked his head, glancing back down at her as she grinned. He rolled his eyes as he gave in, leaning down where he placed a chaste kiss to her lips, but Sydney deepened the kiss instantly - not allowing him any time to pull away before she could open her mouth and tease him with her tongue.

Sydney smiled as she felt his hands moving to grip her waist. "C'mon, babe..." He pleaded weakly, unable to hide the growl in his voice - or his growing erection against her abdomen.

"I'm making things easy for you, baby." She whispered into his mouth, continuing to lick at his lips.

"No." He pulled her hand to his crotch. "I promise you're making it very hard for me." He narrowed his eyes.

"You want me to stop?" She slowly pulled her hand away from where she could feel he was rock hard beneath the denim.

"I want you to eat." He pulled away, returning to the stove where he plated up the food that was now bordering on burnt.

"I'll eat..." She hopped up onto the kitchen island where she spread her legs with a smirk. "After you eat."

Tig felt his eyes drawn to her even as he tried to ignore her, his pupils dilating when he turned to see that she was bare under her robe. He grumbled as he felt his body being pulled towards her as if there was a magnetic force that he had absolutely no control over, dropping the spatula and sinking to his knees on the ground in front of her where he wrapped his arms under her thighs, yanking her to the edge of the marble surface so that she was practically sitting on his shoulders.

"This what you wanted?" He taunted with his lips just a hair away from where she desired, lightly blowing against her clit as he spoke.

"Yes." She replied shakily as her head rolled back, a shiver of anticipation rolling through her.

He smirked, flattening his tongue and licking a long, tantalizing stripe through her folds, holding her quivering thighs tight against him as he repeated the same action a few times - listening to her labored breathing before finally wrapping his lips around her clit and sucking harshly.

Sydney squealed when he finally began eating her out with the enthusiasm that she so knew and loved, bracing herself against the counter as she arched her back while he brought her still hazy body close to the edge in no time. She straightened up so that she could look down into his eyes as his mouth worked her expertly, and the erotic sight had the desired effect as her body seized up, but the pleasure wave that she'd been riding the crest of quickly crashed as all contact ceased. She opened her eyes in confusion as her orgasm faded into nothing, a chill easily combating the previous heat that she'd felt once she saw those commanding, ice blue eyes.

"You can come after you eat." He stated from where he now stood above her.

Sydney's face flushed as she closed her legs and instinctively pressed her thighs together. She raised a brow and bit her lip, but once she caught her breath she realized that his unexpected assertion of dominance had turned her on far too much to be able to challenge him in her flustered state.

"Now go sit down." He growled playfully through his gritted teeth, pointing to the table as she sat defiantly before him, teasing him the way that she knew he loved.

"Yes, sir." She cooed as she got to her feet, her eyes lingering on him as she turned and sashayed towards the table, sitting down and crossing her legs where she did her best to ignore the wetness between them - for now.

Tig nodded when she obeyed him - something that rarely occurred these days - before walking over with the plates, taking his seat across from her where he'd placed the fresh red roses from the night before, into a vase that sat between them.

"You're not gonna poison me, are you?" She carefully examined her scrambled eggs before taking a weary bite, dropping the facade as she grinned around her fork.

"Damn." Tig slumped back in his chair with a grimace as he reached for a piece of bacon - extra crispy. "No faith." He shook his head with his hand over his heart.

"If you made me a good breakfast and finished me off, then I might have too much faith." She smirked, chomping down on her own strip of bacon.

"Can't let ya get bored if I get too soft." He winked as he brought a coffee mug to his lips.

"You're right..." She rasped, her foot dragging along the smooth wood under the table as she looked down at her plate coyly while it creeped up his chair before she pressed the sole against the inside of his thigh, trailing up towards the still prominent bulge in his pants. "I like you much better hard." She shot him a devious look through her eyelashes as she took another bite.

"You done eating yet?" He nodded to her half-full plate.

"No." She replied casually as she straightened up, pulling her foot away quickly and turning her attention back to the remainder of her food.

Tig clenched his jaw as a rush of frustration crashed through him once she began to use his own game against him. "Come here." He stood, pushing his chair back aggressively which sent the ear-piercing sound of wood screeching against the freshly polished floors, slicing through the tense air in the room.

Sydney smirked, standing from her chair and slowly making her way around the table to where Tig was pointing to the floor in front of him, whimpering in surprise when he harshly jerked her towards him by her biceps.

"Greedy little girl." He spoke animalistically with his jaw clenched.

"I just want you, Sergeant..." She pleaded with glossy eyes. "Your strong hands." Her hands trailed down his forearms, reaching towards his chest. "Your filthy mouth." She leant in towards his neck, nipping at her favorite vein. "Your big cock..." She looked up at him as she sank to her knees, dragging her hands down his soft chest, towards his belt buckle.

Tig gave in, he'd missed that pussy - and the reassurance that came with it - far too much to try and stay within his role. He pushed everything on the table out of the way while she unzipped his pants, lifting her by her elbows and setting her onto the wooden surface before pulling his chair back in front of her where he sat down and spread her legs before him.

Sydney grinned when he cracked, laying back so that he could get to work - which he wasted no time in doing as he twirled his tongue around her clit eagerly, not teasingly like he'd done previously. She moaned freely, figuring that it was the least that she could do to thank him for his efforts - which doubled in spurring him on as he flicked his tongue faster, holding her down as her legs began to shake.

"What the hell are you two doing?" She heard a displeased voice behind them that once again, stopped her orgasm dead in its tracks - tilting her head all the way back against the table to see Clay standing before the frenzied scene with a deep scowl.

"Havin' breakfast, what does it look like?" Tig whined, peering up from his position between her legs.

"What kind of sick shit did your mama's do to you?" Clay shook his head with a grimace as Sydney laid barely covered by the tiny black robe, both of them looking like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar - literally.

"What do ya mean?" The pair asked in unison as their vastly different coloured brows knit.

Clay didn't say anything as he stared at them blankly, unsure of where he would start even if he wanted to answer that question.

"How'd you get in here?" Sydney's smile of amusement faded and was replaced by a creased brow when she realized that he'd shown up uninvited.

"Uh, door was unlocked." He finally averted his eyes, rubbing his forehead uncomfortably as the horny couple not only made no effort to conceal what they were doing, but also didn't bother to move from their position. "Have to make house calls now since neither of you answer your phones." He smiled sarcastically.

Sydney looked nervously down at Tig who mimicked her expression of worry from between her legs. "Sorry, man... Had an early night." He tried to explain as he finally stood from his chair.

"I'm sure you did." Clay nodded, trailing his eyes down to Tig's obvious erection. "Go get dressed, Jax will be back from the peckerwoods soon." Tig nodded curtly, stalking down the hallway and up the stairs to ready himself for the day as Clay turned his attention to Sydney once they were alone. "You handle things with Laroy?" He raised a brow.

"What?" She feigned confusion as she finally sat up.

The President's face dropped, realizing that he may have had a little too much faith in the young girl, and their silent communication. "I'm just fucking with you." She dropped her facade with a cackle as worry plastered itself all over the man's face.

Clay forced a chuckle through his sigh, not even wanting to think about what was to come from Sydney and Tig today if he'd already had more than enough of their antics, and it was barely 9:00 A.M.. "You got out alive, so I'm assuming it went alright?" He raised a brow.

"Damn, Pres." She shook her head. "You were really just gonna throw me to the wolves, huh?"

"Sydney, I'm tired." He groaned with a heavy blink of his eyes as she continued her vexing, building the suspense as she dodged his questions.

"You really are an old man." She scoffed, nudging him in the ribs before finally dropping the act. "Laroy's gonna take his original two for fifty, the rest as usual."

Clay smiled for the first time that morning when she pulled through not only with the cash, but with the consistent partnership that they so desperately needed right now. "You must've sucked his dick real good." He laughed.

"My specialty." She cocked her brows playfully. "You almost got to see, actually." She blinked.

"Yeah..." He trailed off, not needing the reminder that was still fresh in his brain. "I'll owe Tig for that one." He scoffed.

"Now that I've told you the good news..." She watched his face fall once again before she looked to the ground. "He only wants to deal with me from now on..." She swayed nervously, peeking up through her lashes to gauge his reaction.

"Well." He cocked his head. "I guess I better keep you happy then." He nodded with a smirk.

"I guess so." She smirked back, relieved.

"You want this to be public knowledge?" He glanced down the hallway.

"I don't give a shit what he thinks." She scoffed with a playful roll of her eyes.

"That's my girl." Clay nodded with a wink. "I'll see you at the table, quickly ." He narrowed his eyes in a warning before finally taking his leave.

;

Jax stood with his arms crossed and his lips pursed as he waited for Russ Meineke to put down the pair of binoculars that he had been staring down the singular dirt road through, for what had to have been the last five minutes.

"We're not idiots." The VP eventually scoffed as his lack of patience got the best of him. "We weren't followed."

Russ lowered the binoculars from his small eyes, looking to the blonde man where he raised a threatening brow before turning back to his father where he stood at the tailgate of their truck that had been loaded with the remainder of the AK's - or so they thought.

"They're all here." Piney sniffled as he nodded to Nate. "Three dozen." He pulled out a pocket knife and jabbed it into the burlap sack that was filled with explosives. "Cut open a bag, check for yourself if you'd like."

Jax exchanged a glance with Opie as the younger pair tensed up when they were forced to put all of their faith in Piney - and that hadn't exactly boded well for them, so far. But the two men breathed a sigh of relief when Piney's intuition proved itself useful, watching as Nate grabbed the old man's hand and shook his head.

Russ smirked as he walked back over to Jax, whipping out an envelope from the inside pocket of the tacky camoflauge jumpsuit that he for some reason felt the need to wear, and slapping it against the leather of Jax's kutte.

"Thanks." He smirked before turning away, as if he had succeeded in fucking them over once again.

"Yup." Jax nodded, stifling a smirk of his own as the smug piece of shit erased any guilt that he may have had for what they were about to do. He was going to have the last laugh. The Sons always did.

"Sorry about how this went down." Nate nodded to Piney. "I wanted to tell you, but..." He looked over his shoulder at his son. "Russ thought it best not to."

Piney blinked slowly. "Well, that Russ... He always was a big thinker." He smirked sarcastically.

"He's a good kid, just a little excitable." The light-haired man defended his son. "He believes in the cause."

"So, this is your retirement plan?" Piney looked in the bed full of 'guns'. "Hiding out in some bunker?"

Nate looked away, chewing the inside of his lip as he chose not to answer the question that he had been asking himself ever since the plan had come to be in the first place.

"You got anybody up there with you?" Piney questioned, hoping to ease the slightly guilty part of his mind. He knew that they needed to eliminate the threat - the so-called 'direct line' back to the club, and he had been able to get right with that. But the idea of killing one of his oldest friends was much harder to stomach with the lingering thought that others may have to pay the price, as well. "Family, women, kids?"

"Nah." Nate shook his head. "Frank and Russ' boys are gonna lie low until the heat dies down. We got some people waiting for us in Mexico."

"Mexico?" Piney raised a brow. "You're gonna be runnin' this revolution from Acapulco, huh?" He grinned.

"Yeah..." Nate's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Piney felt the twinge in his gut, the twinge that he had always felt when they did something wrong. "Hey." He nodded, pulling his old friend into one last embrace, a hollowness finding its way into his eyes as he looked over his shoulder at Jax - now a spitting image of both of his fathers...

"You, uh." He pulled away. "You take care of yourself, friend." He nodded.

Jax felt a bite of irritation in his nerves that he had managed to calm during a morally-questioning situation for the first time, in a long time. His jaw seized up as he looked over the old man who was staring him down with a painful sense of disapproval. He was trying the best that he could to walk the line, but any time that he felt he was finally learning how to balance, somebody's expectations of him head to go ahead and knock him back over.

"Well..." Piney sighed as he watched the rickety truck pull off of the road and into the woods, rolling over tree roots and mounds of dirt. "There ain't no innocents with them." He announced to nobody in particular - except maybe himself.

Jax exchanged another glance with Opie, who seemed to be just as indifferent towards the greedy shitheads as he was, which made him feel a little bit better. He nodded to both men, not bothering to stick around as Opie pulled the remote control from the pocket of his kutte and prepared to detonate once the father-son duo was far enough away - making his way back to his bike where, despite the slight speed bump on his road to balance, he breathed a sigh of relief, because this time his sinful actions where his own, not Clay's.

;

"Where'd Clay go?" Tig questioned when Sydney finally made her way to the bedroom, poking his head out the bathroom door as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Back to the clubhouse, waiting on us for church." She stated pointedly as she scurried around the room to make herself look presentable in a timely fashion.

"Didn't wanna ride with us?" His brows wrinkled.

"Got what he came for, I guess." She shrugged as she stood in front of her dresser and dropped her robe, biting the inside of her cheek to contain the smirk forming on her face when lust overtook Tig's expression immediately. "Which is more than I can say." She scoffed, rolling her eyes before disappearing into her closet where she bit down even harder.

"Hey!" Tig whined, following her into the small room as she chose her clothes for the day. "That ain't fair." He shook his head where he stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips as she ignored him, stalking up to her where he backed her against the wall.

"It's okay, you're just too busy for me." She pouted studiously, dragging her fingers over his chest.

"I'm never too busy to take care of my princess." He husked as he looked down at her with a depth in his eyes, pressing himself against her naked body.

Sydney let her eyes slide over him before they landed on his chest as she gripped his leather covered shoulder. "I think that flash says differently." She pulled him down to her lips by the back of his neck, kissing him deeply. "Sergeant." She winked as she pulled away, turning and walking to the bathroom, smirking over her shoulder before kicking the door shut.

Tig ground his teeth as he listened to the door slam, grumbling as he got started stripping the bed as he impatiently waited for her to finish dressing, just so that he could take it all off again.

Sydney quickly pulled on a tight, white tank top that buttoned at the front, and a pair of light-washed denim shorts, leaving her hair down in her signature loose curls that had held up nicely throughout the night - despite Tig's efforts. She bounded out of the bathroom and over to her vanity where she plopped down on the cushioned bench-style seat, quickly applying some light makeup.

Tig finished pulling the dirty sheets off of the bed as she continued to ignore him, sitting himself on the edge in silence as he watched her brush shiny powder across the tops of her cheeks, but he stood when he saw her reaching for her lip gloss - stopping her with a grip on her wrist before she could bring the goopy wand to her lips.

She peered up at him through the reflection of the mirror where he stood over her with authority as he guided her hand back to the desktop where she dropped the tube. He moved his hand to her throat, lightly dragging his fingers up the soft skin where she instinctively tilted her head back under the gentle pressure, looking up at him innocently as she turned in her chair so that she was facing him before he descended his lips on hers - claiming her mouth with his tongue and guiding her up by the grip on her throat where he pushed her to sit on the bed with his lips never leaving hers.

"We're gonna get in trouble..." She warned with a smirk.

"The only trouble you need to worry about, is the trouble you're gonna be in if you don't take my cock right now."

Sydney's face flushed when the brash statement hit her tongue, feeling her insides tingling as her breathing picked up. "What kind of trouble, Sergeant?" She asked shakily as she laid back on her elbows.

Tig growled as her wicked expression taunted him, grabbing her elbow and flipping her onto her stomach where he pulled her hands behind her back. "The kind of trouble that'll have you screaming my name and begging me to stop." He rasped against her ear as he grinded his pelvis against her ass.

Sydney was glad that he'd pinned her down, or else he would've seen her eyes rolling back as his command sent shivers throughout her entire body. "Can I have both?" She asked as goosebumps broke out across her tanned skin at the thought - ready to do whatever he wanted, and ready to do it happily.

Unbeknownst to Sydney, Tig was glad that she wasn't able to see his face for the exact same reason as a grin spread across it. He brought his hand down swiftly across her denim-clad ass cheek, the loud thud echoing in the room before her gasp followed. "I told you that you were a greedy girl."

"Only for you." She moaned, wishing that she had waited to get dressed.

"That's right, baby." He nodded as he worked his fingers under her waistband, beginning to tug the tight, revealing bottoms off of her.

Sydney's head snapped up when Tig's phone began ringing on the nightstand, smirking when her point was proven - the only thing that could save her from the frustration of yet another interrupted orgasm.

Tig stared begrudgingly at the offending device, strongly debating ignoring it - but he knew that the ice he'd been walking on with Clay was too thin. He growled, getting up off of her and stalking over to the small table where he plucked the phone off of the glossy surface. "We're on our way." He spoke down the line with a bite in his tone, snapping it shut before he could be chewed out.

"And you say that I need to be careful about crossing Clay..." Sydney scoffed as she got up from the bed.

;

High on his win and deciding that his successful morning had earned him some lenience, Jax decided to take a detour and stop in at the hospital to see Tara where he hoped to finally figure out what the fuck Sydney had been talking about - if she had even been telling him the truth.

Clay sighed where he sat at the head of an empty table, exhaling a cloud of cigar smoke as he reached for his buzzing phone that he had just put back down onto the table after calling Tig.

Jax: Delay church. Will be late. Need to stop at hospital.

The President grit his teeth as he squeezed his burner in his unrelenting grasp before whipping it across the room where it bounced off of the safe against the wall as both of his hands skipped out on their morning duties to bury themselves in pussy.

Jax slipped his phone into his pocket as he passed through the sliding glass doors of St. Thomas, looking among the gaggle of dark-haired women dressed in green scrubs before his hopeful eyes finally landed on his dark-haired woman dressed in green scrubs.

Tara felt her heart leap when her dark eyes shifted nervously around the room - like they usually did these days - as a coworker spoke to her about the improving patient in room 111. She blinked a few times as she tried to figure out if he was actually there after her mind had played many cruel tricks on her over the exhausting last few days that she had spent trying to stay away from him for his own safety - and hers. But as that boyish face that she had fallen in love with came into focus, she knew that she couldn't keep her distance anymore.

"Hey!" She practically ran across the waiting room to greet him. "Are you okay?" She suddenly felt like she could barely breathe as she spoke to him for the first time since she had gotten him into trouble.

"Yeah? Why?" Jax asked, his blue eyes full of concern rather than accusation.

"I was going past the clubhouse the other day... Saw all of those cops." She nearly choked on the words as they carried the anxiety in her chest, out with them. She had assumed by the fact that he wasn't imprisoned, that she hadn't gotten him in too much trouble - but she hadn't had anybody else to ask.

"Ah." Jax shook his head as he swatted the air, fighting the urge to let his arm drop down around her shoulders. "That was a bunch of bullshit - got this ATF agent harassing us; following me, showed up here. The guys nuts - looking for dirt that don't exist." He mused, giving her the opportunity to speak up if she really knew something.

But Tara knew that it did exist. And if anybody was going to find it, it was Kohn.

Jax watched the gears turn behind her eyes as her hands found her hips, a scowl coming to his face. This wasn't like the expressions of worry or frustration that he had grown accustomed to in their time together when the club caught heat, this was something more - something deeper. Sydney had been telling the truth, after all.

"Um." Tara shook her head as she saw the question teetering on the tip of his tongue. "I'm just finishing up my rounds, would you mind giving me a lift home?"

"Sure." He nodded a little too eagerly as the simple request made him forget all about why he had come there, in the first place. "What's going on?" He asked through the exhilaration that, just a few short months ago, he would've clung ignorantly to - but things between them had changed since then, and he didn't want to make the same hopeful mistake of thinking that she actually wanted to spend time with him.

"Shitty day." She shook her head again. At least that wasn't a lie. "My nerves are kind of shot..." She forced herself to meet his eyes - a gesture that she knew he wouldn't turn down.

And she was right. Jax felt a smile tugging at his lips as that damn hope flitted in his chest. "Alright." He nodded, placing his hand on her arm. He had plenty of time to find out what she knew about Kohn.

Tara's smile fell what she knew was a second too soon. "Thanks." She quickly turned away, scurrying off to collect her belongings.

Jax scowled again, but before he could think too much about it, she was leading him to the elevator. And in the blink of an eye, she was on the back of his bike, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her cheek against his shoulder.

"You alright?" He asked over his shoulder. Tara nodded. She was now.

But Jax wasn't - not as the silver Saturn peeled out of the lot directly after them, and followed the entire ride to Tara's house.

Tara felt all of her worries washing away as she held onto him on the back of that bike, just like they had all of those complicated years ago when her man, his Harley, and the open road were the only escape that she had from her father. She squeezed him a little tighter as he turned onto forty-four, taking the scenic route around the town instead of through it.

Jax felt his eyes drift from the side mirror as he watched the vehicle continue to follow closely behind - much to Tara's oblivion - slowing as he approached a construction zone where at least a dozen machines had gathered off of the highway.

Tara felt the weight return to her chest as they pulled into her driveway, peeling herself off of him quickly, because if she didn't, she feared that she never would. "Appreciate the lift." She nodded as she reached to unbuckle the helmet.

"No problem." Jax stood from the bike, looking around the empty blacktop. "Where's the Cutlass?" He scowled.

"It's at the hospital." She squeaked out, feeling her palms beginning to sweat as it came up again.

"Shit, did they not fix it up?"

Tara nearly jumped out of her skin when the sound of a nearby dog barking, startled her, kicking off her fight or flight as she frantically looked around for any sign of him. "Um." She blinked out of the fearful haze as she noticed the look that he was giving her. "It's running fine, they did a good job."

Jax blinked incredulously as she gave him absolutely nothing. "This worry I'm getting here..." He raised a brow. Maybe it wasn't what Tara knew, after all, maybe it was what she didn't know... "It got anything to do with that car that's been following us?" Her face fell as she suddenly stopped looking for whatever she had been looking for, because apparently he'd found it. "The compound parked halfway down the block." He nodded behind them.

Tara felt her stomach sinking, almost falling backwards as she retreated towards the front door. She should've known that this was a bad idea, now they would both suffer the consequences. "Tara?" Jax called as she fumbled with her keys. "What the hell is going on here?"

Tara felt her hands shaking and her throat locking up as she struggled to get the door open, finally giving up as she proved too nervous to be able to escape his questions - trying to repeat Sydney's encouraging words in her head as she willed herself to come clean.

"That ATF agent that's been looking into you guys..." She whispered shakily, her chin wobbling as she tried to force the words out. "He's here for me."

But Jax only became even more confused as the pieces started to come together like Sydney said that they would. "What are you talking about?" He shook his head frustratedly as she stalled, joining the ever-growing list of people who couldn't just use their fucking words and tell him what they wanted him to know.

"I was with him in Chicago." She felt the words slipping from her trembling lips at lightning speed, hoping that it was at least slow enough to be intelligible - because she didn't know if she could say it more than once. "It got violent, I tried to end it, he started stalking me." As painful as the words were, it felt good to finally get it off of her chest in the presence of someone who she knew could keep her safe - as long as Kohn didn't get to him first.

Jax felt his jaw clenching harder and harder with every word that left her mouth until he finally understood. Shaking his head as he turned towards the coward.

"Jax..." She felt her chest filling with a dreadful worry as he stalked down the driveway, but also a sweet, blissful relief. "Jax, don't. He's dangerous-" She tried weakly.

"Go back inside, Tara." Jax shook his head as he stomped down the street. "Lock the door." He called over his shoulder as he pulled out his knife, smiling at the grey-haired man who sat behind the steering wheel before jabbing the blade straight through the grill and into the radiator without an ounce of hesitation.

"Vandalism, deadly weapon... That's six months in county, asshole." Kohn scowled as he got out of the vehicle.

"Violating a restraining order? Stalking? You'll be in the cell next to me." He scoffed. "They teach you how to suck a dick in ATF school?" He smirked.

Kohn grinned menacingly as he stood, toe to toe with his competition. "Badass biker..." He scoffed, the only thing coming to mind as he recovered from the shock that Tara had actually ratted him out. He thought he'd shown her what would happen if she did that...

"You guys gave it your best shot." Jax shook his head. "You got nothing on SAMCRO. And you harassing Tara? That ends here. Or next time? It won't be your piece of shit rental car that I'm draining fluid from."

"You threatening a federal agent?" Kohn raised a brow, pulling out the last stop that he had left on what he refused to believe would be a halted journey back into Tara's heart.

"No." Jax spit on the taller man's shoes. "I'm threatening you." He took a step back. "That's my last warning."

;

"Do you think we're gonna be running today?" Sydney mused as she scanned her shoe selection.

"Nah, but you're gonna be riding." Tig swiped her keys from her hand and tossed them back onto the short table by the door. "You're with me." He nodded out the door.

Sydney concealed her grin by biting her lip while he stormed out the door, thoroughly enjoying the dominance - and fluttering in her core - that his frustration provoked. She decided on her black mules now that the guarantee of the bitch bar provided her a wider range of choices, quickly lacing them up and heading out the door after him.

Tig pulled onto the compound along with Sydney a few minutes later, parking in his usual spot with a little difficulty among the crowded rail - proving that church really had been waiting on their arrival.

"Maybe we'll be off the hook, after all..." Sydney spoke as she removed her helmet, looking to the front gate where Jax was riding in late, as well.

The blonde man parked his bike, nodding his greeting to the Sergeant who was staring him down. "Hey." He spoke as he dismounted his Dyna, hoping that Tig was just being Tig and would be reminded of his place in the presence of his superior.

Tig didn't move. He'd been able to table his need for revenge the last few days, for Sydney's sake, but being in Jax's presence with her by his side and nothing in the way to distract him from the fact that he had dared to lay his hands on his old lady, had him wrestling with the urge to return the favor.

Sydney could feel the air around them getting thicker as they got closer to the VP, stepping forward to stand in front of Tig in hopes of cutting some of the tension - but that hope was demolished the second that Jax opened his mouth.

"Can we talk?" He asked, his eyes flicking up to Tig's.

"Yea-" Sydney was cut off by Tig moving her out of the way, walking up on Jax where he stopped only inches from his face.

"You know?" He cocked his head. "I don't know about that, Jax."

Sydney squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. She knew he was trying - if he hadn't been, Jax would've been on his back right now. She stepped forward again, pressing her hand against Tig's chest as she guided him to face her.

"It's okay, Tiggy." Her pleading gaze doused water onto the raging flames behind his, shifting her eyes to Jax who was watching wearily before turning back to her old man. "Go inside, tell Clay we'll be right in. He'll understand." She held the sides of his neck as she nodded her assurance, keeping his focus on her and not on the man that he wanted to pummel. "Okay?" She urged when he didn't respond, narrowing her eyes before bringing his lips to hers.

"Yeah." Tig pulled away, covering her hand with his to let her know that his cold reaction was not directed at her. "Okay." He spoke as he pulled away, his gaze lingering on Jax before he fully turned himself away.

Jax watched the dark-haired man with a faint smile of amusement, finally speaking once he was out of earshot. "You must whip him real good if he's listening to you like that." He scoffed.

"He listens to Clay." She shrugged, clearly the younger man knew little about what kind of reaction respect garnered.

"Yeah, that's my point." He looked at her as his smirk grew.

Sydney let herself laugh at his clever joke, but the awkward silence quickly set back in. "So, you told him what happened?" He asked with a grimace as he was forced to recount the regretful, and severely miscalculated incident.

"Bits and pieces." She nodded vaguely.

"Thought you said that secrets were a burden?" He pulled out a cigarette as he leant against the metal railing.

"I said that your secrets were a burden." She scoffed.

"Fair enough…" He chuckled humourlessly as he lit up. "So I guess I should expect a beatdown for that sometime, huh?" He squinted.

"Did you really think I was gonna let you get away with it?" She raised a brow.

"Nah, guess not." He chuckled lightly, looking to the ground as the guilt stung in his chest. "I'm sorry." He looked up into her eyes. "That was wrong." He nodded to the spot on her chest where his mark had faded away.

"Eh." Sydney shrugged, looking down at her red toenails with a small smile. "It's the only thing that you've done so far to show me that maybe you are an outlaw." She nudged him with a smirk.

Jax chuckled, glad that she didn't seem nearly as affected by what he'd done, as he was. "I, uh, I talked to Tara..." He swallowed. "Why did you tell me?" He hoped for a sincere answer, because that was the only part of the complex situation that he hadn't been able to wrap his head around.

"I didn't do it for you, if that's what you mean." Her words were razor sharp as the encounter took a more serious turn.

"I know." He nodded. "So why did you?"

"Her being close to you is what made Kohn tail us." She explained. "The closer she gets to you without you doing something about him, the harder he's going to come at the club to try and scare her away."

"So you really did this for the club?"

"The golden fucking question." She smiled sarcastically as she shook her head and exhaled through her nostrils. "Yes, I did." She snapped. She understood why they had been skeptical in the beginning, but after nearly two months and countless acts of service, she thought that by now she would've been past the point of trying to convince them of her motives.

"Okay." Jax accepted her statement. "So what do you think I should do about it?"

"Oh, so now my opinion matters?" She snarked playfully.

"I never said you weren't smart. You're way smarter than I am." He admitted.

"Well, I know that." She smirked. "I think you should tell Hale." She decided after a minute of running through the best way to handle the situation - even if it was quite the opposite of what her first instinct had been.

"You want me to talk to the cops?" He tilted his head as his face wrinkled in confusion.

"I want you to do this the right way, so that there's no way it'll land on the club." She clarified. "You tell Clay right now that a personal issue could affect us? It won't go well. Hale knows and cares, I think you should tell him."

"Wait, Hale knows?" He scowled as the plot that he thought he finally understood, only seemed to get thicker.

"Not directly, he doesn't know it's Kohn. But if you tell him that it is, he'll understand what it means." She nodded reassuringly.

"Okay, I'll talk to him." He nodded, dropping his cigarette butt to the asphalt. "Now let's get in there before my ass ain't the only one catching a beating." He smiled, draping his arm around her shoulders as they waltzed into the clubhouse.

"Sorry." The VP apologized for both of them as they entered the chapel to the full table.

"Ah, the reaper royalty has finally decided to grace us with their presence." Clay mused as the two blondes took their seats.

"A queen is never late." Sydney stated with a smirk, giving a small nod to Clay to let him know that she and Jax had worked their shit out.

"I've had a long morning." Clay sighed, rubbing his eyes while Sydney and Tig shared a knowing glance. "I wanna make this quick - Jury and his crew agreed to take one order, $45k. I want you and Juice driving them up Monday afternoon, blend a truck in with regular traffic." He looked to Tig.

"Aight, we're gonna need somethin' big though." Tig nodded.

'I'll call Unser." Clay was overdue in speaking to the Chief anyways, figuring that his old friend was in his debt, once again... "Speaking of cops, run that $10k up to Trammel - let him know Nate's been taken care of." He nodded to Jax.

"So, where are we at with the Irish then?" Juice questioned.

"Only ten short." Clay spoke with a smile.

"How's that work?" The Treasurer questioned his President's horrible miscalculation with a scowl.

"Laroy's gonna take his two orders for fifty." Sydney announced with a smirk as she slid her necklace along its chain.

Tig whipped his head to the right, then back to the left for confirmation - but his President's smirk told him all that he needed to know.

"How'd you manage that?" Jax nodded with a condescending smile.

"The same way that I manage everything." She mused theatrically. "With my tits out, and a gun in his face."

"And that ain't gonna blow back on us?" He raised a brow.

"I guess we'll have to find out." She responded with a snip in her tone.

"Juice, call Laroy and set it up." Clay intervened, hoping to keep the peace between them long enough for his headache to subside. "I want you, and you, getting all those guns ready." He pointed between Chibs and Tig, making a point to separate him from Sydney for the day. "Take the prospect."

"Got it." Tig nodded, tapping the tabletop in confirmation before he stood from his chair and hastily made his way out to his bike, avoiding Sydney's smug little smirk as he did so. Now he understood where it was that she'd run off to the day before...

;

Song for this chapter

Call The Sheriff - Julia Michaels