The limbo period between black and white is back as Stahl starts picking off the women of the MC, one by one, leaving SAMCRO worried that one wrong word from a lover scorned, will land them in the red.

My sincerest apologies if you spell "gray" where you're from :/

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

Playlists are available on Apple Music (mssierraalexis), and Spotify (M.S. Alexis), links can also be found on the ARAC Tumblr (aravenamongcrows). Be sure to follow where ask and submissions are open, and m. s. alexis on Instagram (tracking #aravenamongcrows), for exclusive photos, updates, and more!

CHAPTER 63: GREY AREA

Sydney awoke much more enjoyably than she had the day before, the light of the rising sun forcing its way through the heavy, down-turned blinds at the early hour, and coaxing her eyes open. She smiled when the first thing that she saw was Tig's chest where her face had been buried all night long, squinting as she peered up at the yellowing wooden slats that laid over her bedroom window, making a mental note to replace them with something lighter, and more cohesive with her decor as soon as she was able-bodied again. She could still feel some pain in her thigh, but the way that Tig had propped it up over his hip during the night had done wonders to mitigate what she knew would've been a similar reaction to the one that had ripped her from her sleep, not twenty-four hours earlier.

"Mornin'." Tig mumbled against her forehead without opening his eyes as the feeling of her stirring brought him out of his peaceful slumber.

"Morning." She whispered as she nuzzled her nose deeper into his neck, inhaling his comforting scent.

"Feel better today?" He asked as his hand wove gently into her hair, stroking the mass of messy blonde curls.

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile, not pulling away. "Thank you for coming..."

"Of course." He finally opened his eyes, pulling back as he took her face into his hands. "I love you." He smiled as he looked into those beautiful eyes that were a dark, emerald green after being out of the light for so long, tilting her head up as he lowered his lips to hers in a lazy kiss.

"I love you, too." She smiled once their lips parted, stroking her thumb over his hand where it rested on her cheek. "I'm gonna take a shower." She nodded as she began easing herself up.

"You want help?"

Sydney looked over her shoulder expecting to see one of Tig's mischievous looks; his brows raised suggestively or his teeth bared in a shit-eating grin, but instead all she saw was sincerity. She hesitated on instinct, but immediately shook it off before she nodded—pushing herself to accept his help where she could.

"Okay." He smiled in surprise, springing to his feet and scooping her up into his arms—grinning as she giggled all the way to the bathroom.

"Jesus," she scoffed when he rushed over to get the water running the second that he set her down onto the countertop. "You ain't wasting any time, huh?"

"Nope." He shook his head, walking back over and grabbing their toothbrushes out of the gold cup next to the sink, loading them both up with toothpaste before handing her the pink one. "Gotta take what I can get before you change your mind." He explained with his mouth full.

Sydney giggled, feeling her face getting hot with giddiness the longer that she watched him, her smile lingering before she finally turned away to brush her own teeth.

"You wanna do it, or should I?" He nodded to her leg once they were finished rinsing, twisting off the tap.

"You can." She nodded, letting him do as much as possible while she was in the mood so that it couldn't be used against her later by him or her conscience.

Tig nodded, his brain switching into Sergeant mode as he got to work; pulling her off of the counter and stripping her down quickly, smiling when her cheeks flushed. He lifted her back onto the smooth surface, pushing her to lean back against the mirror as he pulled her hips forward so that she was teetering on the edge of the sink, wrapping her leg around his waist as he began unravelling the tensor bandage. Once it was time to remove the medical tape, he tipped her chin back to get some leverage—pushing her head against the mirror lightly as he slid his fingers into her mouth. "Bite." He ordered before swiftly ripping the tape off, and pulling his fingers away, not once looking up from her leg.

"Motherf—" She winced, but her attention to the sting was easily diverted by how sexy it was to watch him expertly maneuver her around without a single word. She let the early morning lust take over from where she sat pulsing below him, slowly dragging her foot up his leg.

Tig's focus refused to falter when he felt what she was doing, grabbing her thigh and pinning it down to the counter to stop her movements, his thumb resting dangerously close to where she was exposed in front of him.

Sydney became even more aroused as he tried to ignore her, the challenge forcing her bottom lip between her teeth as her chest rose up and down with an excitement that had her eyes glued to his until he finally looked up at her.

Tig took his time meeting her gaze, roaming over her naked body on the way up to her penetrating, fiery eyes. He straightened up, the hand that had been supporting her injured leg dragging up her thigh, around her waist, up her back, all the way until he was gripping the back of her neck—yanking her body against his. "Come on." He nodded before abruptly pulling away, knowing that the water would be ice cold by the time that they made it into the shower if he let her have it her way.

Sydney shivered when her bare chest made contact with his, the shudder spreading through her entire body and escaping as a whimper from her lips when his command landed on them. She chortled, shaking her head as she hopped down off of the counter where her feet hit the cold tiles; a surprisingly calming sensation in contrast to the fire in her veins, and the throbbing in her leg. She followed Tig into the shower, being sure to give him a very slow once over as she brushed past him, stepping under the spray where she shrivelled instantly, gritting her teeth as she tried to fight off the searing pain as water coated her wound.

"Too hot?" Tig reached for the tap.

"No, it's fine." She choked out, willing herself to get used to it as she rapidly shook her head.

"Here, baby, sit down." He guided her down to the floor. If she insisted on taking the pain, the least that she could do was make it easier to take.

"I'm not fucking sitting down in the show—" She began to roll her eyes but was cut off by his fingers jabbing into her sides, shrieking as she fell back into his arms where he sat them both down onto the tiles.

"No fair." She pouted as she crossed her arms in front of her, not daring to look back at the smug smile that she knew he was sporting.

Tig chuckled, glad that she was at least accepting the defeat. "Which one?" He nodded to the shelf above them that had been lined with various bottles, both his and hers.

"The purple one." She grumbled playfully.

Tig reached up, attempting to maneuver the purple bottle out from behind the other ones without having to stand up, knocking half of them off of the shelf in the process. "Sorry..." He winced, listening to Sydney's heavy, theatrical sigh as they rained down onto the floor around her.

"This is why I need a bathtub." She whined.

"Wouldn't be a problem if you didn't insist on making me use this fancy shit." He nudged the fallen bottles with his foot before beginning to lather her hair in the bright purple substance.

"Old Spice 3-in-1 doesn't cut it here." She smirked.

"Oh, I see... Good enough to get ya, but not enough to keep ya, huh?" He leaned over her with a brow raised.

"Relationships are about bettering each other, right?" She mused as she tilted her head back, looking into his eyes as she feigned innocence, but it was eclipsed by the shit-eating grin on her lips.

Tig chewed the inside of his lip as a bashful smile came to his face as she looked at him like that; playfully, and with her eyes sparkling. But when he finally had the strength to pull his away, the love behind them was replaced with worry. "Uh… Your hair, it's— It's turning grey..." He held his hands up in horror.

"What!" Sydney pulled away, whipping her head around as she gathered her darkening hair in her hands. "What the fuck did you do?" She exclaimed, looking back up at him with wide eyes.

"I don't know!" He shook his head rapidly. "I used the one that you told me to!" He began frantically searching the floor around him for the culprit.

Sydney couldn't keep up the charade any longer as bursted out laughing while he thrashed around under the water that was raining down onto his head, struggling to see through the wet curls that were hanging in his eyes.

Tig's head snapped up when he heard her laughing—a sound that he was both thankful and terrified to hear. "God, you're an asshole." He breathed a sigh of relief, shaking his head as his racing heart began to slow. "Get back here." He growled playfully, motioning for her to turn back around so that he could rinse the evil concoction from her hair.

Sydney grinned, spinning back around and tilting her head back as he guided her under the stream. "Don't get it in my eyes." She warned with a nervous giggle.

"Don't worry, doll, ain't the first time I've heard that..." He smirked.

She pulled away as she laughed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold still for him to properly do the job. "Okay..." She took a deep breath, stilling her shaking shoulders as she laid back again.

"Woah..." Tig's eyes widened in awe as the grey tone of her hair instantly disappeared once the water hit it, rubbing it between his fingers curiously.

Sydney chuckled as the world of beauty products managed to stun her biker boyfriend once again. She closed her eyes, deciding to try and enjoy the experience as his fingers massaged her scalp, and the hot water trickled over her body—if it wasn't for the injury, she may have found this peaceful...

Tig smiled as he felt her beginning to properly relax as he conditioned her hair, her weight becoming more and more prominent against him until he was finally fully supporting her. He let her lay like that for a while, glad that she had been able to find some comfort under the uncomfortable circumstances—even if it meant a steady stream of hot water in his eyes.

"Enjoying this?" He whispered into her ear with a knowing smile once he was finished rinsing the suds from her hair.

"Just finding some comfort in the pain." She mused, letting him guide her to her feet where he grabbed her coconut body wash, squirting some into his palm before he began lathering her skin.

Sydney grinned when she felt his strong hands slipping and sliding up and down her body, bending over as he turned her around, pressing her ass against his dick that she could tell was hardening by the second.

"Not now, baby. I'm workin'." He chortled, turning her back around to face him as he continued trying to wash her body in the least sexual way possible.

Sydney felt the same arousal as earlier when he'd been flipping, lifting, and spinning her into whatever position he wanted her in. "You take your job seriously, huh?" She nodded to his almost full erection, biting her lip as she slowly began sinking to her knees, feeling herself being lifted right back up.

"Yeah, I do." He stated harshly as he removed his hands from her once she was back upright, but she knew that he was enjoying the game just as much as she was by the way that his cock pulsed as he deflected her advances.

"And what job is that?" She bit her lip as she took a step closer, smoothing her hands up his chest.

Tig let his eyes slide down her glistening body where his erection was now pressed against her stomach. "Taking care of my girl." He whispered as his hands gripped her sides.

"It's not so bad when you say it like that..." She nodded in a whisper of her own.

"Yeah?" He stayed hovering over her lips with a proud smile.

"Yeah..." She nodded as she bit her lip, winding her arms around his neck.

;

Jax sat on the edge of the bed in the dorm that he used to occupy—the dorm that Happy had claimed as his in the recent weeks, but since the Nomad was out of town, it gave the VP a quiet place to think. He hovered over the final box of his things that had been left in the room that held far too many meaningless, and short-lived memories that he wasn't sure if he was ready to leave behind. He sighed, turning his father's manuscript in his hands as he pondered what all of these changes meant for him, small bits of parchment breaking off where they had been burned.

He placed the leather-bond book into the small box with the rest of his belongings, falling back onto the bed as he puffed on a cigarette, blowing smoke rings into the air above him. He hoped that between his progress with Tara, and the quickly approaching homecoming of his son, some physical distance between himself and the club would be just what he needed to get his head screwed on straight.

;

Half-Sack revved his engine as he pulled up in front of Cherry's new job at the nail salon, her arms wrapped tightly around him as she sat behind him atop the rumbling machine—a feeling that he still wasn't quite used to yet.

"Are you gonna pick me up?" She asked as she slid off the spare helmet, letting her eyes slide over the image of her man; her biker, on his brand new ride.

"Yeah, if I can." He nodded with a smugness that he could only assume came from the feeling of owning a Harley.

"Okay." She smiled knowingly, leaning in for a kiss. "Bye." She winked.

"You be careful!" He called awkwardly after her, making up for his temporary moment of coolness.

Cherry scowled as she watched him ride off. What the hell did he mean be careful? Be careful of what? But her question was answered as she pushed the door open to the salon to see two federal agents talking to her boss. She felt the panic that she hadn't felt in years rise to the top of her chest, turning around and doing the only thing that she had ever known how to do; run.

;

"You hungry?" Tig asked as he made his way to the kitchen with Sydney trailing behind him.

"Yeah… But I don't have anything to eat here." She looked down at her white sneakers as her ringless fingers fished out a specific one of the many silver chains that had been stacked around her neck. " I haven't been able to go grocery shopping since…" She trailed off awkwardly as she fiddled with the necklace, frustration beginning to fill her once again.

"You just don't wanna eat my cooking." Tig grinned, diverting the attention away from her delusional shortcomings. "We could go to the diner?"

"Okay." Sydney smiled gratefully.

"Okay." Tig repeated with a smile and a nod, kissing her cheek as he headed upstairs to grab his kutte. But once he reached the top of the stairs, he pulled out his phone, looking over his shoulder before slipping into the bathroom.

;

Gemma looked up from her morning coffee when she heard her phone ringing, her brows knitting as an unfamiliar number popped up on the display. She slid off her reading glasses, glancing at Clay as she wearily flipped the phone open. "Hello?" She answered tentatively, the scowl not leaving her face.

"Hey." She heard Tig's voice, exhaling in relief. "Sorry for the private number—only got the prepay on me."

"What's going on, sweetheart?" The crease in her brow softened to one of consideration rather than one of concern.

"You think you could do me a favor? It's for Syd…"

"Yeah, of course." She nodded.

"Could pick up some groceries for her while you're at the store today? She hasn't been since the accident... I'll pay you back. I would do it, but she's still kinda..."

"Reluctant to accept help?" She chortled knowingly.

"Yeah, that." Tig chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm on it."

"Okay, thanks, Gem. I'll leave the back door unlocked."

Gemma smiled as she hung up, looking up at Clay who was sitting across the table with a soft smile on his face. "Damn…" He shook his head. "I haven't seen him like that since—"

"I know." Gemma cut him off. "I know…"

The moment of happiness was immediately taken over by and outpouring of guilt as Clay realized the true weight of Tig's resurfacing past, reminding him just how close history had come to repeating itself...

"Here." He sighed as he pushed himself up from his chair, pulling out his wallet and tossing a few bills down onto the table to cover Sydney's groceries.

"You still not right with that?" Gemma looked up at her husband with a raised brow.

"More than I care to admit…"

;

Sydney trailed behind Tig as he led her up the walkway to the diner, her chest filling with dread as she realized that what was meant to be a harmless meal, was about to turn into her inadvertent debut to the public after the shooting—and she knew just how hot of a topic a gunshot victim was in a small town.

"Hey, you okay?" Tig turned around as he felt her beginning to lag behind him, pulling his sunglasses off.

"Yeah, it's just…" She looked away as she tried to figure out how to put her feelings into words. It wasn't that she was necessarily afraid of the attention—that had never bothered her. It was that said attention was about to go from cautious and curious, to pitiful and judgmental as they laid their eyes on her for the first time since the incident, and she was going to have to witness it.

"I can grab it to go if you're not ready." He tilted her chin up to look at him.

"No..." Sydney felt her voice trail off as those gorgeous blue eyes instantly grounded her, slipping her under the most blissfully ignorant veil as the sun bounced off of them, making her a feel utterly untouchable. "No, it's okay." She nodded dreamily.

"Okay." Tig smiled as she instantly relaxed in his grip, sliding his hands over her cheeks as he rested his forehead against hers.

Sydney let herself soak up the moment as her nerves calmed almost completely, only pulling away when a loud honking coming from the adjacent street startled them, looking up to see Gemma driving past with a grin. She laughed, shaking her head at the black car before turning her attention back to Tig, standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek.

"Come on." She took the lead, smirking over her shoulder as he she now led him into the small restaurant that was crawling with weekend diners.

"Shit…" Tig grumbled. He hadn't thought to consider that there would surely be a wait for a table on a Sunday morning—and a long wait, at that—his face falling even further as every pair of disapproving eyes seemed to be on them in an instant.

"It's okay." Sydney nodded, taking his hand reassuringly. Tig nodded back, draping his arm over her shoulder as he pulled her to lean back against him, his sour expression fading as her dainty fingers twirled around his rings while they waited to be seated.

Sydney was thankful for the surge of confidence that Tig had given her as she basked in the attention of all of the uptight townies that were staring at them, amusement tugging at the corner of her mouth when she heard a throat being cleared.

Unfortunately, Tig wasn't exactly sharing in the same ignorance that Sydney was—the suit of forced calmness that he'd put on, sliding off the second that he located the source of the noise; a dark-haired, dressed in his Sunday best, narrowing his beady black eyes in disgust as the sleazy old biker stood with his hands all over the far too young girl with no regard for the fact that there were children around.

"You got a fucking problem, asshole?" Tig growled.

"Oh, sugar!" The confrontation was halted by a loud screeching, everyone turning to see Doreen as she passed her tray of coffees off onto a co-worker so that she could greet the couple. "I am so glad you're okay!" She hauled Sydney into her arms, pulling away to pinch the cheeks of her favorite customer. "Did you get my flowers?"

"It was my favorite bouquet," Sydney mused with a smile. "Thank you." She nodded genuinely as she squeezed the pudgy waitress' hands, bringing her in for another hug.

"Come, come!" The red-haired woman ushered them over to a table that had just freed up. "This one's on the house." She winked.

"No, Dor, you don't have to do that…" Sydney began shaking her head.

"Speak for yourself. You ain't the one payin'." Tig scoffed with a playful wink.

"Oh, you!" Doreen smacked his arm with a flimsy menu, shaking her head. "This one is trouble." She widened her eyes to Sydney in a mock-warning as she headed off to get them some coffee.

"So I've been told…" Sydney smirked as she twirled one of the many chains around her neck—the one that had his ring on it.

;

Cherry frantically ran up and down Main Street, ducking behind parked cars as she searched for the sleek black Cadillac that she was beginning to worry she wouldn't find. But she had to. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing down the panic that was beginning to take hold of her throat. She knew that it would only be a matter of time until they found her, and she didn't want Half-Sack to find out the truth, not that way... The Matriarch was the only person who could possibly help her get out of this.

;

Sydney had forgotten all about the opinions of onlookers as she and Tig enjoyed their mountainous breakfasts, and bottomless bourbon-spiked coffees, courtesy of the Charming Diner.

"I can't fucking believe you ate all of that." Tig shook his head in awe as he watched her take the last bite of her eggs benedict after having struggled to clear his own plate, just minutes earlier.

"I didn't really eat yesterday." Sydney explained with a bashful shrug as she lifted her coffee mug to her upturned lips.

"I guess so." He nodded. "I'm glad you're feelin' better today."

Sydney nodded in response, avoiding his eyes as she drained her cup, looking up when she heard the blaring police sirens to see two black vehicles speeding down Main Street.

"That can't be good…" She began sliding out her seat, knowing exactly what this meant...

"Nope..." Tig answered as he shot up to his feet, pulling out his wallet and tossing a few bills down onto the table for the service.

"Thanks, Doreen!" Sydney called behind her as they rushed out the door.

;

Gemma had been enjoying her regular Sunday grocery shop at the Charming Grocer, taking her time perusing the shelves as she chipped away at the multiple shopping lists that she'd written out. She had always enjoyed the mundane tasks that came with being a homemaker; they gave her purpose, something to do, time to think. She maneuvered her shopping cart around a narrow pivot and into the canned goods aisle, having to work a little harder than usual with all of the extra food that she'd gathered for both Sydney and Cameron, on top of her usual load that covered her household, Jax's, and the clubhouse.

"Gemma!" She heard behind her, ignoring the small voice that surely belonged to a croweater who had been kicked to the curb a little too early. "Hey, Gemma, I gotta talk to you..." She finally turned around to see Cherry, returning her attention to the pasta sauces without a second thought. It wasn't that she didn't like the Nevada sweetbutt, necessarily, but she didn't like her personal time being interrupted—especially not by somebody who wasn't in her inner circle.

"I'm worried about the feds…" Cherry tried again.

Gemma's head snapped back, quickly giving the young girl her undivided attention. "How do you know about that?" She attempted to keep her cool as she scowled as casually as possible, not giving away anything that she didn't have to.

"They just came to the nail salon looking for me. I called Half-Sack and he told me that they're pressing all of the women." She spoke breathlessly as she looked over her shoulder.

"It's just a scare tactic." Gemma rolled her eyes, pulling a jar of alfredo off of the shelf and continuing once the exactreason that she didn't like outsiders, became apparent in the new girl—because they could never handle the life. "You tell them that you open beers, and suck dick. That's it." She tried to shoo her away. "There's nothing for you to be scared of, okay? They got nothing."

"I, uh…" Cherry blinked as she walked alongside the cart. "I haven't been completely honest with Half-Sack..."

"I don't like where this is going." Gemma scoffed. She knew that she shouldn't have been so accepting of Sydney's judgment when it came to letting the little tart stick around...

"Yeah… I'm sort of married."

"Sorta?" Gemma's eyes almost popped out of her head.

"Well he was a sadistic asshole! He wouldn't divorce me, so I left. I took everything… Took the car, the money, the dog…"

"So you're wanted for grand theft." She shook her head. This was bad.

"And arson…" Cherry hung her head. "I burned down our condo."

"Nice touch." Gemma sighed as she began walking away again, this time with the weight of yet another burden.

"He was such a dick, Gemma!" She chased after the older woman.

"Jesus Christ, Cherry..." Gemma turned back around on the chunky heels of her knee-high boots.

"It's actually Rita..." Cherry chewed her lip. "Cherry was our dog's name, and she died, and I always liked it better than mine..."

"Well that's sweet." Gemma smiled sarcastically.

"What am I gonna do?" She whined. "I love Half-Sack, I love the club. It's going so good, Gemma, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"You gotta get outta here, Rita." She gave the young girl the same advice that she had given her the day that she first set foot on the compound—the advice that she should've stuck with.

"But I don't wanna leave him…"

"Then I ain't the person you should be comin' to for help." She shook her head impatiently. "They're gonna threaten you with jail time."

"Yeah, but I'm not a rat." Cherry shook her head.

"You ever been inside?" Gemma scoffed, walking up to the shorter woman who shrunk under her deep amber gaze.

"Oh, shit!" Cherry ducked as the feds entered the grocery store, rounding the aisle until she was almost close enough to the door that she could make a run for it, but her path was blocked by a dark-haired agent. She grabbed the first thing in arms reach; a bottle of rum, jumping out from where she'd been crouched as she swung the bottle into the woman's face with full force before bolting for the door where she was immediately grabbed by another agent.

"Jesus Christ." Gemma sighed at the horribly executed escape plan.

"Very impressive, Vicky." Stahl nodded sarcastically as she stepped over the wailing woman on the ground as blood gushed out of her nose. "Hard to find good help these days, huh?" She commented as Gemma approached the end of the aisle.

"Tell me about it." Gemma scoffed as she continued walking. "That little tart doesn't know anything." She nodded to Cherry, who was desperately looking back at her as she was being handcuffed—hoping to God that she was right.

"What about the pornstar? We've got her in custody, too." Stahl mused as she followed her.

"That one might know a little more." She shrugged casually. She was much less worried about Luann, a seasoned vet when it came to the feds, rather than Cherry, who was clearly all new to this.

"Looks like you got enough food here to, uh, I don't know... House a fugitive?" Stahl raised a brow as she examined Gemma's nearly overflowing grocery cart.

Gemma chuckled, turning around to face the blue-eyed woman. Clay had been right, she was smart—much smarter than Gemma had anticipated. "Picking off the ones who have the most to lose… Smart." She nodded with pursed lips. "It's how I would do it."

"Yeah… I've seen you in action." Stahl smirked. "What was that one doing?" She nodded out the door. "Asking for The Queen's advice? What lies to tell?" She reached her hand out, brushing Gemma's dark hair behind her ear in and entirelynew tactic that the stonewall of a woman before her, required. "I'll bet that there are enough secrets in the pretty little head of yours to bury an empire." She whispered.

"Several." Gemma smirked. "You know…" She took a step closer to the law-woman, their chests almost touching. "You might wanna unscrew that penis sometime… It's fun being a girl." She winked. "And if you want me? You know where I live."

Stahl smirked as she watched Gemma walk away. The Matriarch was right, it was much easier to go after the weak ones.

;

"You're lucky, Rita," Stahl mused as she tossed photos of the charred condo down onto the metal table that had been dented since she'd last had a use for it. "Nobody died in the fire."

"Eh," Cherry shrugged from where she had her exposed knees pulled up to her chest in the interview of Charming's police station—the one police station that she'd hoped to evade. "I gave it my best shot..." She chuckled as she glanced over the ugly brick building that she'd always hated having to look at.

"Apparently he was more upset about losing his dog, than you." Stahl mock-pouted as she looked over the police report.

"It was my dog." Cherry scowled. God Bruce was a piece of work...

"Mmm." Stahl nodded, unamused. "What can you tell me about Indian Hills, Nevada, hmm?" Cherry rolled her eyes, gathering her long auburn-tinted locks, and throwing them over her shoulder. "Sons of Anarchy patching over the Devil's Tribe?"

"Nothing." The younger woman's lips flattened into a tight line as she breathed out the exhausted excuse that she knew wouldn't be enough this time. She was no stranger to being questioned by the cops, but she was a stranger to the cops knowing her past...

"Well I doubt that..." Stahl whispered. "You've got balls, sweetheart. I'll give you that. The club must have found you veryresourceful..." Cherry blinked sarcastically, clinking her tongue with a cock of her head. "Nothing? Alright, well," Stahl shrugged, gathering the photos from the table. "I'll go start on your extradition paperwork."

"Extradition?"

"Yeah," The blue-eyed woman nodded innocently. "Nevada—they, uh, they want you back." She shrugged a lazy shoulder. "Probably throw attempted murder at you... Twenty-five years. You'll get out just in time for menopause." She smirked as she pulled the heavy door open. "You think about that for a while, and, um, we'll talk before you leave. Okay?"

Cherry's bangle-covered wrists screeched against the table as she practically collapsed onto it. "Oh my god..." She shook her head, straightening up and sticking her thumbnail between her teeth. She couldn't go to jail...

;

"Got Luann on drug charges, now they got Cherry on theft and arson…" Clay sighed, looking around the full table—Unser and Half-Sack included.

"No," Half-Sack shook his head. "That don't make sense."

"Hey!" Tig hollered across the table. "Mouth. Shut." He ordered the prospect who was already abusing his privilege of sitting in on a meeting, not thirty seconds after said meeting had begun.

"Stahl's trying to use RICO." Unser explained to the testosterone-packed room before tempers could boil over in his presence. "If she can prove her case, she could take you all down..."

Sydney felt her blood run cold—a distraction from the mounting pain that she could feel in her leg as she gripped the arm of her chair. This bitch was much smarter than she'd thought... With RICO, anything that they did, had done, or would do, whether they'd been caught or not, could be used to potentially lock them up for life...

"And if we go down?" Chibs narrowed his eyes at the cop whose one job was to make sure that they didn't go down.

"Why do you think I'm sittin' at the goddamn table, Scotty?" The Chief sighed.

"We got anything to worry about with the doc? She's seen a lot of shit over the last couple of weeks..." Clay turned his attention to Jax as he mentally inventoried everybody that the feds had, and would want to interview.

"Nah—"

"Little Miss Tara is the one who got ATF here in the first place." Tig cut off the horribly misplaced confidence in the shake of his head, his blue eyes hardening as he stared him down bitterly. None of this would've been an issue, had the VP just listened to him, weeks ago...

"We got nothing to worry about with Tara. I trust her." Jax's words were sharp as he matched Tig's gaze, shifting his eyes to Sydney, who nodded softly. She knew that Tara could be trusted—not because she was loyal, but because anything that she said would only end up incriminating herself, and even wit-pro couldn't preserve the career of a doctor.

Tig looked between Jax and Sydney as they shared some kind of silent agreement, chewing his lip before turning his attention back to Clay. "Alright, now we gotta worry about Luann…" The President sighed. "We can't get through to Otto, he's on a federal watch—no calls in or out."

"Stahl's pressin' him for history, using Luann as leverage…" Jax surmised with a smart nod.

"Otto would never rat." Piney shook his head as he spoke directly to Jax—the only person who he really seemed to speak to when they were at the table—defending his longtime friend. But Jax's wide-eyed nod of clear disbelief did nothing to uphold the old man's slowly deteriorating respect for the man who had taken his place as VP.

"You know, if it was me, and they had Gemma..." Clay thought aloud, hoping to table yet another argument. He needed everybody on the same page right now... "I'd just give 'em something useless—some old shit that couldn't hurt the club."

"Nothing is useless with RICO." Sydney shook her head. "That's why she's going for the women—hopes that they will give her the past that she needs, while she works on the present." She explained as she held one of her necklaces to her lips, staring deep into the eyes of the reaper carved into the table.

"She's right." Unser nodded regretfully.

"The way that Otto pines for Luann?" Jax began wringing his hands. "He would do anything to protect her..."

"Cherry Pie knows all about Indian Hills." Tig craned his neck towards a very nervous Half-Sack.

Sydney knew that it was a serious matter, and as the Sergeant, Tig was just doing his job by taking it seriously, but she couldn't help from noticing the way that he was being extra harsh with both Jax, and Half-Sack… The two men whom he knew she'd been in cahoots with in the past few weeks...

"No." Half-Sack shook his head. "Cherry would never say nothin'."

"Oh, yeah?" Chibs scoffed. "You willing to bet your top rocker on that, prospect?"

"We all have our past and present indiscretions, boys…" Bobby reminded them as he looked around the table with narrowing eyes.

"That goddamn ATF bitch, that goddamn bitch!" Clay yelled, shoving himself away from the table. She had him checkmated, they had no way out of this. They were going to go back to jail. After all of their hard work to cover their tracks, they were going to right back to the—

"Hey," Jax perked up as an idea came to him. "They keeping the girls in your holding cells overnight?" He nodded to the Chief.

"Yeah," Unser shrugged.

"You still got your keys?" He raised a brow, a devious smirk came to his face.

"What are you thinkin' here?" Clay scowled.

"Get a message to Luann…" Sydney's face lit up, nodding along with the genius plan.

"She talks to Otto, she can warn him about Stahl using RICO." The VP shrugged.

"Well, what about Cherry?" Jax heard from behind him, whipping his head around to deal with the audacity of the younger man, but apparently somebody had beat him to it...

"What the hell did I say?" Tig yelled again, standing from his chair as the stupid kid continued to disrespect his authority, first with his old lady, and now with the club.

"We'll see where she's at." Jax nodded, doing them both a favor before he could get himself into even more trouble with the Sergeant, than he already was. "You think you could get me inside?" He turned his attention back to Unser.

"I doubt the feds are working around the clock, but I got four guys on dispatch from 11:00P.M.-7:00A.M..."

"Well maybe we come up with somethin'… Keep 'em busy." Tig suggested, desperate to be a part of the plan that was shaping up to be yet another genius coup formulated solely by Sydney and Jax.

"If you can clear 'em out, I'll get you in." Unser nodded.

"What about like, security cameras?" Half-Sack added.

"It's a police station… I got cops, I don't need cameras." The older man deadpanned.

"Sounds like you might." Sydney scoffed.

Jax looked around the table at everybody who seemed to be in agreement, his eyes landing on Opie when the perfect idea came to him... "Me and Ope." He nodded.

Opie's brows knit together when he heard his name being offered up, and by Jax, nonetheless. He had fully expected the blond man to try and keep him off of anything and everything, just he had before, only this time, he had a good reason...

Clay looked between the two younger men, then to Unser, nodding as he raised his hand. "Everybody in favor?" He listened to the chorus of affirmations, watching as the Chief cautiously raised his arm amongst the cheer. "Put your goddamn hand down." He sighed, slamming the gavel down.

;

Jax sat on the roof, smoking a cigarette as he nodded into the calming breeze. He had done something good today, and he had done it without the lingering ghost of his father's disappointment altering his thoughts. Maybe he could do this, after all…

"Hey, man." He heard behind him, turning to see Opie who nodded as he sat down, pulling out a cigarette of his own. "What was that about?" He asked as he lit up, shielding the flame of his Zippo from the warm August wind.

"I told you, man… That shit about me not wanting you on Hefner? It wasn't personal. Was just trying to protect the club." He laced his lie with as much truth as possible.

"I want this, brother." Opie reassured him, hoping that it wasn't just a pity offer—a chance to make up for what luckily hadn't been a grave mistake.

"I know." Jax nodded. He knew, alright… And he knew that Opie would keep wanting this unless the VP did exactly what he'd done; giving his best friend a job that couldn't possibly land him in the tough spot that he himself, was in.

;

Tig sat around a table in the bar with Opie, Jax, Piney, and Bobby as they tried to figure out what they could possibly do to get all of the cops cleared out of that station house; something that couldn't be pinned on them...

"What about street racing?" Tig suggested.

"And risk losing our licenses?" Bobby raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, man." Jax shook his head. "Don't ride, don't vote." He shrugged, reminding the Sergeant just a little too smugly as he so clearly tried to take over what had been his plan. Tig ground his teeth, his lip turning up a snarl.

"Bar fight." Sydney stated from outside of their circle where she sat at the bar, not bothering to lift her head from where it was buried in a sudoku puzzle.

Tig looked up from their huddle, pursing his lips as he sucked in a deep breath, contemplating her smart suggestion that they hadn't even considered. He looked to his partners in crime for the evening, all four men nodding their agreement. He nodded his confirmation, brushing off the pang of resentment when, once again, she swooped in and stole what should've been his win, but he quickly decided that taking her suggestion to help fulfill her service needs would be better than worrying about trying to stop her from fulfilling them another way, while she needed to heal.

"Maybe, uh… Maybe I should come with you... Talk to Cherry." Half-Sack tried from behind the bar after seeing Sydney's successful interjection, but he soon realized that he wasn't going to have the same luck as everybody inhaled slowly, turned their heads to look at him before sharply exhaling their disbelief for his stupidity.

"No, dumbass. You shouldn't." Jax scoffed.

Tig closed his eyes as he straightened up, taking a deep breath as he rolled his neck from side to side, preparing to get an early start on the evening brawl after Half-Sack had successfully cut the thread that his patience had been hanging from. "I need your help." He heard from behind him suddenly, feeling himself being pulled from his circle and marched down the hallway by Sydney who turned to face him when they finally reached the end of the corridor, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

'What?" He whined impatiently, knowing exactly where this was going...

"Quit being mean to Half-Sack." She scolded.

"Quit being mean? " He mocked. "What are you, twelve?"

"Are you?" She countered, narrowing her gaze until he shrunk down a bit. "Cut him some slack. He's just trying to protect his old lady." She rolled her eyes.

"I don't give a shit what he's doing." He shook his head.

"I do." She took a step towards him, completely changing her demeanor as she trailed her hands down his sides gently. "I think it's romantic. And I know you would do the same for me…" She rasped as close to his lips as she could get in the flat shoes that she was wearing while he stayed standing tall above her.

Tig scoffed, ignoring her as she preyed on his weaknesses; using her tactics against him to protect another man. He tried as hard as he could to stay angry—something that he never struggled with before he'd met her—but he could feel his temper fading as she touched him so gently, as her voice pleaded with him so seductively…

"You would do the same for me, wouldn't you, Sergeant?" She asked innocently, gently coaxing his eyes down to hers like the snake charmer that she was.

"Yes," he sighed when he finally allowed himself to make eye contact.

"That's what I thought." She purred, pulling him down to her lips.

Tig let her kiss him; allowing himself to indulge in her valiant effort as she swept her tongue through his mouth before he finally had the strength to pull away, nodding his compliance before walking away. He no longer found himself bitter about her plan to create a violent diversion, now he was grateful, because he needed to blow off some steam.

;

Song for this chapter

Doin Dirt - Maroon 5