Chapter 10 A long wait

The moment was really tense. At the HQ, those who were in the confidence were on the road or on stand-by, the Nomads were brooding and the ones not knowing what was happening weren't dumb enough to think everything was right but wouldn't ask. Giuseppe sat on a stool next to Elena who had switched to coffee for she wasn't in the mood for booze anymore and Ruby poured him some before, once again, stepping away to let them talk for it was clear it's what the president wanted to do or he wouldn't have bothered getting out of the nest.

-"You're settling in amazingly well Elena." He said looking right in front of him. The doe eyed lawyer looked at him wondering if this was a good or a bad thing "Well you know the saying, 'When in Rome…'"

-"Fuck a Roman?" He turned his head to look at her. A claim for the show was something, a relationship with someone who was blackmailing you, another. Sure they looked genuinely close, not that he'd seen his son smitten before but, it seemed it was real on his side. Her, he didn't know.

Elena blinked a few times to shake the surprise on her face, he got her on that one, she didn't expect that kind of bluntness right now. "This was uncalled for… but please go to the bottom of your thought."

-"It's a work in progress, I could get lost in conjectures but I'm going straight to the source so, you tell me." This time he looked straight in her eyes and she realized his were the same color as Stefan's.

-"You have that bad an opinion of your son that you think he can't catch and keep a woman with brain cells and covering clothes? Maybe it's what he was looking for and didn't find until now."

-"Hmmm and what are you getting in this relationship?" He was going with her words - flattering words for her - but asked the real question. Yes he could be attracted to her, the beauty, novelty, the ego boost of being with a smart one but her, there was a real gap between them and it was obvious to him and a few others in the MC.

-"Wow… I got the feeling you didn't have that high an opinion of Damon - I'm observant - but I didn't know you thought he's a stupid and lazy ass. He's not. Yes, it didn't go unnoticed he's gorgeous, I have eyes, maybe it blinded me for a minute but maybe you should try talking to him here and there, he's clever too and believe it or not he's deep when he wants to be." She was defending her not boyfriend with as much strength as she could - trying not to lose her temper - and it wasn't just for show. But, looking in his hazel eyes, seeing a light in them she realized he'd gotten her where he wanted her to be. She took a long calming breathe then relaxed a bit "Did I pass the test?"

-"Sort of, I'll bite on that one but if you feel like being a muse or something, remember this MC is mine." He got on his feet and looked down at her. So it's what he was thinking, that she could be a siren singing in Damon's hear telling him he could take over the MC? Interesting but Giuseppe's eyes told her she had to be careful with her next words.

-"Maybe if you stop sending him into dangerous situations like the one he's in right now I'll feel like you care for him. But don't worry, Damon knows his place in the MC, I have no power over this or even the will to push him on your throne. All this was foreign to me a few weeks ago, I didn't become a MC mastermind because I met and defended a few of you." This wasn't completely true, she wanted the throne to burn with the current king still sitting on it, but half a truth was enough for now or so she hoped. "Make sure he'll always come back to me and I'll be more than happy with it. It's all I ask if I'm allowed to ask for anything."

Giuseppe looked at her for what felt like a long time then he turned his heels and walked away without a word. A behavior she's seen in Damon before and yet she didn't know what the man was thinking right now. Hell she didn't know what she thought about herself. Had the Nomad incident fried her brain?

Damon and the team he was with reached the warehouse outside of Atlanta. They had people keeping an eye on things here and when they arrived unexpectedly they knew something was off. Smugglers were used to have a fast way to move the merchandise so they got in motion in a flash.

Did the Nomad really have a tail, He didn't know but he wasn't taking this as a training exercise, all this was happening way too soon and too fast for him to find a way to pin it on his father, other occasions would come so now he had to finish what he started. The guns got shoved in leather bags that could be attached on bikes and each member took two, they's all go their own way and ditch the bags at points they'd pinged before. Non MC related people - or so the police thought - and hideouts.

Once again they'd know if everything went according to plan when all the guys would meet up again at the HQ, no phones allowed, no communication whatsoever. He was going to be the one going the further and the last to come back. The prospect had to come back first then the six others, it's the rotation they'd agreed on. For all pissed he was Damon had to keep his mind on what mattered right now, dealing with the guns and keeping away from anyone who'd try to get on his way.

Giuseppe was in the Nest but the door was open, from time to time Elena was giving a quick look that way. The air was thick and the Nomads had been asked to gather out of town under MC watch would thing go south and someone should be punished for it. But retribution was the last of her concern, the real problem was that things had to go that way in the first place.

She tried to store everything in her mind for further use but she couldn't shake her fear Damon could never come back leaving her there under Giuseppe's reign. She realized how unprotected she was when he wasn't around and how neck deep she was in all this. Now was no time to reconsider everything, it was too late for that, she was having a taste of the reality on the MC, not under the comfortable roof of a court room or at a party, in the HQ, waiting.

A prospect she'd seen earlier and had been in Damon's team - she guessed cause he'd left when Damon did - entered the bar and walked straight to the Nest and this time the door got closed behind him. Elena's stomach did a flip and it took everything she had for her not to run to that door and open it to know what was happening. It'd been hours. She'd refused food and booze and the MC members who had come and go all day wondered what she was doing there on her own, not asking her directly though. She felt alone, more alone than she'd felt in her whole life. Useless too.

Another prospect came back, then a MC guy - judging by his kutte, she hand't met that one - and half a hour later another one. Chad got in later, at this point she'd lost track of time, every minute felt like hours. Another one and another one… and another one. It was a lot to bear and she was so on edge she was glad no one felt like trying to talk to her, not even Ruby. Whatever was happening right now, they knew better than to say a word especially to her in Damon's absence.

Then the door opened and Elena turned to see Damon coming in. She was so relieved none of the scenarios she'd made in her head turned out to be true that it showed on her face.

Eyes were on them now, they both could feel them, all the guys in the bar were watching them as if they were royalty. What was the proper way to welcome your VP boyfriend after he had secretly saved the MC, MC she was supposed to be completely dedicated to? There was just one way.

She crossed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down for a kiss. Had he been surprised, she couldn't tell because he didn't hesitate and kissed her back. It wasn't a gentle kiss. His hands moved down her body and she found herself wrapped around him, legs around his waist. He sat her down on the counter and once she got settled there his hands moved to cup her face and he deepened the kiss. She let it happen and when his tongue claimed access she parted her lips. Her fingers tangled in his hair at the back of his neck to make sure he wouldn't stop. And he didn't. The kiss turned into a fight for dominance again but this time she let him take the lead. When they broke it to breathe she playfully bit his lower lip, something she liked to do with her lovers and when she realized what she had done she looked into Damon's eyes and froze. He looked back at her, he was breathing heavily and it was as if they were frozen in time for a moment. But it must have lasted only a second and when a man laughed and said «Get a room you two» she got back to her senses and so did he. She let her hands slide along his arms and he put her back on her feet casually wrapping an arm around her waist. People were now going back to what they were doing before. Damon leaned to whisper in her ear.

-«We have to talk.»

-«We must definitely do.» She answers and took his offered hand and he once again pulled her to the corridor that led to the bedroom behind the bar.

Damon locked the door behind them and she looked at the room. It wasn't much, a bed, a small bathroom, a few pieces of furnitures and posters on the walls. It was a man's lair for sure but she felt way better being in here that she'd been in the bar and way less tense now he was back. -" Are you alright? " He asked when he saw her wrap her own arms around herself.

-" No, it's been hell waiting for you in there. " No need to lie.

-" Considering how you welcomed me back I can tell. "

-" It's not funny."

-" No it isn't. It wasn't for me either. "

-" Is it over? "

-" I don't even know if it even begun. The tail…. Everything… I'm out of the loop on this one, Nomads came, spoke to my father in my absence and that deal got discussed real fast. The warning came from someone we trust though. What needed to be done has been done." He didn't sound pleased, he was frustrated and she knew the feeling.

-" So much we have to understand, know, process…" She was still holding herself and realized she was doing it, she forced herself to relax. " Your father talked to me earlier… he wondered if I was whispering in your hear encouraging you to take his place." Damon frowned at those words.

-" What did you say?" His eyes hardened and he looked right into her eyes.

-" What do you think? I told him it wasn't true and that all I wanted was him seeing you for what you are and to stop putting you in danger like he did today. " His frown deepened and she felt the need to elaborate "I'm your girlfriend right? If I'm not scheming then I'm caring, about you, about your safety."

-" And he bought that?" He was incredulous, she was way out of his league, his father knew that, it was obvious they were a bad match, no wonder he'd asked.

-" Maybe you should give yourself a bit more credit it'd help convincing your father to give you some." Those were unsaid praises and he wasn't feeling comfortable with that.

-" I'm going to talk to him then I'll drive you home, it's late." He didn't want to dive into that kind of subject right now but was glad she'd dodged his father's sneaky attack. Elena looked at the clock, it was close to 10pm, hell she'd waited for a long time in there, she nodded, home sounded good. Damon left the room not asking if she wanted to follow, seemed like she needed some time alone without anyone looking at her.

It was Wednesday and Stefan hadn't heard of Elena, hadn't she said she had a trial the day before? He'd said he'd called after he finished with his own, a burglary, pleading for the State, he won, so he picked up his phone and sent a text. «Still up for a night out? Thaï food? S.»
She loved Thaï food, he was sure with that offer he'd make her get out of her lair even if she was brooding for some reason. But that evening he received no answer.

TBC