Tallis smacked his hands away from the cuts, preparing to scold him like he was a small child. "What have I told you about that, Jeremy? They're going to get fucking infected, and it's real unpleasant to kiss someone who's missing their bottom lip." Satisfied that his wounds were now clean, she began stitching them out. In and out. Out and in. In and out. Out and in. There was something mildly soothing about sewing someone up. She couldn't help but laugh at his comment about her shirt. "Thanks. I've always liked this shirt. Maybe I'll let you take it off of me tonight, if you're a good boy."

It didn't take long for Tallis to finish stitching him up. The wound looked bad, but most of them only needed to be cleaned and bandaged. "Are you going to tell me about what happened, or would you rather talk about something else?"

Jeremy ended up doing a line or two mixed with a glass of whiskey, which made him feel slightly better. He was still feeling drowsy, and having Tallis repeatedly stick a needle in his side made him restless. Her comment about his shirt made his eyebrows raise, a look of curiosity displayed on his face. When she was all done, he let out a quiet "thank you" and motioned for him to sit on his lap. "She's so beautiful."

When she obliged, he began to open up, although very groggy. "Tallis, I..." he swallowed, "I've got a lot of shit going on. My minds already a fucking wreck. But when you're around me, I can't think straight..." he trailed off slightly, closing his eyes and rubbing his head. He reached in his pocket to pull out a cigarette and lit it in the dining room, something he'd usually never do. After exhaling a large cloud, he looked up at her. "I don't know what I'm trying to get at here. I..." He felt tiredness hit him like a brick, and he sighed. "Can you help me upstairs?"

She chuckled at his ramblings, unsure if anything he was saying was true. A part of her, though, hoped that it was. "Sure, baby, I'll help you upstairs." There was no lust to be found in her words or her voice. "I'm going to tuck you in and kiss you goodnight, and that's it, okay?" True to her word, Tallis helped Jeremy up the stairs; it was comparable to leading a giant toddler to bed. A very well muscled tattoos with scars and tattoos, but a toddler nonetheless.

Tallis shook her head to free herself of the silly thoughts.

Just put him to bed, and then go to your own room. Don't stay. Once he was seated, she plopped down beside him to catch her breath. "Need anything else, Tillman? Water? A back rub? Painkillers?" Never had she wanted to be so helpful.

He put out his cigarette as Tallis got off his lap and too her hands as she helped him up. The stairs seemed to stretch on forever as they slowly climbed them, relieved when he finally made it to his room. He took a deep breath as he laid down on the bed, looking over at her with half open eyes. "Nah," he said, closing his eyes. "Don't do it, Tillman." He smiled, eyes still closed, and patted his bare chest to signal Tallis to lay down on him. "Don't get any ideas, okay?" he chucked, sleepiness in his voice. He held out his arm so she could take place on his left side. He was fighting off sleep only to see the outcome. He wanted to feel her warmth on him, having dreamt about her in this manner since he was 17 years old.

He remembered when they were younger, he and Taylor would tease Tallis to death. They even set firecrackers off in her room while she was sleeping one morning. Although he treated her like his younger sister then, he had always tried to ignore the notion that some day they would be together. Taylor would always tell him, "Don't you fucking dare, Tillman," whenever he'd catch Jeremy staring at her. He made a promise to Taylor that he'd never sleep with his sister, which he waited a total of one hour after his funeral to break. Jeremy always felt a lot of guilt for the feelings he had towards Tallis, almost more now that Taylor was gone.

Tallis put her hands up in mock surrender, "I promise that I won't try anything." She gladly accepted his offer to lay atop him. The warmth of his body and the feel of his skin sent shivers down her spine. Memories came flooding back. They were in this very position, but their clothes had been tossed haphazardly across the bedroom floor. Moira's screaming voice floating up from the ground floor; she knew Tallis was there, and she was pissed and hurt. Tallis' and Moira's friendship ended that night, but Tallis knew it had always known it ended the day Moira and Jeremy got together.

True friendship was always difficult to come by outside of the club.

She exhaled the toxic memories with a sigh, tracing the tattoos that littered Jeremy's torso. He was fading fast. "Go to sleep, Tillman. I'll be here when you wake up. I'm not leaving this time." Despite everything that was telling her to run...she wouldn't do it this time. Tallis wouldn't leave in the early hours of the morning. She wouldn't receive text after text asking where she had gone and if she was coming back. She wouldn't have to listen to Tillman's drunken voicemails. Instead she would wake up beside him, still wrapped in his arms.

Everything about this terrified her. Everything. But somehow she managed to drift off into a nightmare filled sleep.

Having Tallis rest on him felt much more satisfying than he could have imagined. When he'd sleep with women, and they'd insist on staying the night, he'd make sure none of their body parts would even come close to touching. He hated cuddling. But, something about sleeping with Tallis brought him a euphoric feeling head to toe. He woke up once or twice throughout the night, almost in panic at the feeling of someone's weight on him, but would sigh and smile when he saw it was her. One arm was wrapped around under her head with his hand on her shoulder, the other resting on top of her arm that was on his stomach. One of the times he woke up, he caught himself staring at her still body, and he gently brushed away some of the hair that had fallen across her face.

He mostly expected Tallis to be gone when he woke up, her signature move. He knew it was his fault; being with Moira didn't exactly benefit Tallis and his relationship. Moira always knew that he had feelings for Tallis, although he denied it. He remembered a fight between them before Taylor was killed, and he and Tallis had yet to find out how the other felt.

"I've seen how you look at her, Tillman!" Moira screamed, throwing her glass she was drinking at him.
Jeremy dodged it just in time and audibly laughed. "Moira, you're acting fucking crazy."
"Oh, so you like when she acts crazy but not me, huh? Is that it?" Another piece of glassware was thrown across the room, hitting the wall behind him.
"Jesus, Moira. Calm the fuck down. She's like my little sister!"
"Don't lie to me, asshole!"
Jeremy walked up to her, grabbing her arm right before she threw a plate. It dropped and shattered on the floor at their feet. Moira blew a piece of hair out of her face as she looked to him with pure jealousy in her eyes.
"I know I'll find her in my bed one day."

And Moira did a year later. Part of Jeremy wanted her to find them, so that maybe she would finally leave him. But she didn't. She had loved him with all of her heart, and the fact that Jeremy didn't made her even crazier.

Jeremy began to stir as the morning sun peaked through his window; he had forgotten to close the shades last night. He looked down to see Tallis on his chest, and he sighed in relief that she was still there. The events of the night before were blurry to him, but since he still had his jeans on, he wasn't too concerned. He gently ran a hand through her hair and kissed the top of her head, gently enough not to wake her. He closed his eyes and lightly stroked Tallis' tattooed arm with his fingers.

---------------------------------------

Solo awoke in a cold sweat. "It was just a dream," he assured himself as he popped his head up and looked around. A small pool of blood had dried on his pillow from his lip. He grabbed his phone from the end table and began to type a message to Kaci.

"I'm alive. Passed out as soon as I got in. Hope you had a good night, K." He hit send and rubbed his eyes. He shot up out if bed and got into the shower. "Hope you had a good night? You take her virginity yesterday and then send her that?" He shook his head and thought about her in his bed yesterday. It caused a smile to slowly form on his face. She was so beautiful, and he felt completely undeserving.

Kaci grunted at the sound of her phone vibrating on her nightstand. Who the hell was texting her at this hour?! She groped the nightstand in search of the iPhone, finally finding it after what felt like forever. The text message was from Solo and to her great surprise, it was actually already 10:30. I must have been exhausted, I don't usually sleep in this late. She squinted as she read over Solo's message. A small smile was beginning to form on her lips. At least he was thinking about her. "Glad you're alive. I tried to stay out as late as I could, but I knew Jeremy would freak if he saw my car wasn't in the driveway. Can I see you today, or do yo have more club stuff to attend to this morning?"

She was hoping that they would have an off day after last night.

_________________________________________________

Her night had been too peaceful, her dreams too sweet. It was only a matter of time before the nightmare forced her awake.

"Cameron...please don't! The baby is yours! I swear." Tears began dripping down Tallis' cheeks, her hands twitching towards her stomach. "What are you doing?! No! Not my baby." As her body hit the first stair in her nightmare, she was jolted awake; her cold heart was racing as she searched for clues to where she was. Nothing looked familiar. I'm not back in Cherokee and Cameron is not laying next to me. I'm safe. He can't hurt me anymore. With a sigh of relief, Tallis settled back into Tillman's arms. He smelled like blood and alcohol.

She was safe when she was with Tillman. "Sorry if I woke you up, baby. I should have mentioned the nightmares." The embarrassment was clear in her tired voice. She was supposed to be a bad bitch, not some softie that cried in her sleep.

When Tallis started writhing around in the bed, breaking the peaceful moment that Jeremy had succumbed to, he threw his hands up in shock. Once he understood what was happening, he gripped her shoulders until she was lucid. He frowned at her apologies, shaking his head until she stopped. Because he had no words, he took her face into both of his hands gently and kissed her forehead, then guided her head back down to lay back down on his chest. He sighed, running his fingers through her hair until he heard her breathing regulate. "Tallis..." was all he could mutter, his thoughts of not being there for her eating away at him.

---------------------------

Solomon got out of the shower and immediately checked his phone, smiling at her reply. "I'll be free in a few hours, meet you then?"

---------------------------

Tallis and Jeremy laid there for a few minutes with no words exchanged between them.

He didn't have a busy day planned for once. His shipment, confirmed by a text, came through Moira's dad's port last night just as expected. Before he joined the club, the Devils had made a gentlemen's agreement to never move drugs. They saw it only ending in a bloodbath, which partly became true. When Black became President, he decided that moving would help the Devils stay relevant in the game and increase profit, which was completely true. They started by sending out 2 or 3 members to escort a smuggle, protecting the driver and the cargo from getting robbed or worse. Then, they began to sell. The money started pouring in, and the boys couldn't get enough of it.

You could tell who the responsible ones in the club were when they all started to get their cut of the profit. Some of the guys went to the strip club every night, drinking, snorting and fucking their money away. Others, like Jeremy, upgraded their bikes, bought houses, and invested. Nowadays, Jeremy had a steady, large amount of cash flowing to him every week. He didn't like to be flashy with it, though. If anything he'd get a new tattoo or visit the casino on occasion if he felt like being reckless.

Another fun part of the selling game was what they were selling. By now, on top of alcoholism, many of the members had a nasty coke habit. Jeremy always tried to limit himself; he told himself never doing blow two days in a row would do the trick. But God, he loved it. It made him feel like he was on top of the world, minus the comedown of course. The comedown was depressing, his mind usually wandering to the death of his father and Taylor. He'd take a shot of whiskey and sit in his shower silently for what felt like hours until he was tired enough to go to sleep. He felt pathetic at those times, dwelling on death and fighting with himself not to call Tallis. He went to bed plenty of nights with his phone thrown across the room.

He looked down to Tallis and nudged her a little. "Let me make you some breakfast."

"Let me make you some breakfast." Jeremy's words went in one ear and out the other, for Tallis was far too focused on his lips as she chewed on her own. The way they moved as he tried to seduce her with the promise of a home cooked breakfast. "Uh-huh," was all she could say as she continued to stare. Fuck, they just looked so goddamn kissable. Don't do it. She remembered how they sent electricity through her body all those months ago. These thoughts were making her weak. Don't do this to yourself. God, had he always been this handsome? Tallis reached up and brushed stray hairs out of that handsome face of his, letting her fingers trail across his lips. Fuck it, just do it. She leaned forward but stopped so close that he could feel the warmth of her breath.

"I'm going to kiss you now, okay?"

And she did, positioning herself that she was sitting on top of him in the process. Her fingertips kissed his scars, her hands running over his shoulders and arms before moving back up to tangling her slender fingers in his dirty blond hair. This was heaven, she had died and gone to heaven. "Jeremy Tillman," it was more difficult to talk between stolen kisses than she remembered. "I'm sorry, I should have never left you and I should have come back sooner. I'm sorry." Tallis cupped his face in her hands as she continued to kiss him, putting every ounce of passion that was in her body into them.

She wanted more, everything he had to give. The good. The bad. She wanted all of it. All of him. It was like being 18 again.

__________________________________________

Kaci stopped at Jeremy's door, prepared to knock until she heard Tallis' voice. "I'm sorry, I should have never left you and I should have come back sooner. I'm sorry." That sentence made her blood run cold. She had seen what loving Tallis had done to Jeremy, and she didn't want to see it happen again.

She's going to ruin him.

"We need to talk about Jeremy." She pressed send on the text to Solo, heading down the stairs to start her breakfast.

Millions of thoughts must have ran through Jeremy's head as Tallis climbed on top of him. "Stop her. Stop this. Fall out of bed. Run. ANYTHING." But he didn't act on anything. Instead, he embraced her, one hand slipping up to to her face and neck, and the other one gripping her back. He had even heard quiet footsteps approaching his door, which made him pause for a second, but as soon as they walked away, he continued. His mind tried to pull him away, but he wasn't going to let it. He's been waiting for this for too long. Too many sleepless nights. Too many women whom he chased to give him a fraction of what Tallis made him feel. He deserved it.

He stopped for a moment, catching her gaze and smiling deviously. He tugged his shirt over her head and began to kiss her neck and chest.

-----------------------------------

Solomon wiped his phone and checked his text from Kaci. "It's happening," he mumbled to himself as he read it. "Let me finish this bike and I'll do the rest later. Come over." The thought of Jeremy getting as wrapped up as he was in Tallis as he was last time made him sigh.

-----------------------------------

Jeremy had Tallis laying on him again, except there were a few differences from last night. The room was hot, they were both sweating, and they were naked. He wasn't really sure what to say, his mind was exploding inside. Part of him hated himself for giving in so quickly to her, part of him couldn't even put complete thoughts together to the euphoric feeling surging through him. "You've, um... grown up," he said with a chuckle. His mind flashed back to Kaci, who he knew had approached her door and walked away. He grunted as he reached for his phone on the nightstand, remembering his injuries. "Kase. Are you home? We haven't been able to talk the past couple days. Love you"

Jeremy took a deep breath and pressed a kiss into Tallis' hair before moving her gently off of him. He stood up and stretched, went to his dresser, and grabbed a pair of gray sweatpants. He went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, then returned to the edge of the bed. "I'm gonna make breakfast. You can shower while I do if you want." He turned around and scanned her head to toe. "You're beautiful," he said before leaning down and kissing her. He hated being or feeling sappy, but he couldn't control himself around her.

A shirtless Jeremy descended the stairs and walked towards the kitchen to see that his little sister had started breakfast. "Hey, stranger," he smiled and walked towards the fridge to get some ingredients. The club had been keeping him so preoccupied, and he held a lot of guilt for not showing Kaci the attention he wanted to.

Thinking of the day that he found out he was going to have a little sister filled him with warm feelings. He was 6 and his parents had been fighting constantly, mostly about his dad's involvement in the club. His mom always said she didn't want to be someone's "old lady" and that she regretted ever meeting his father, but it seemed like the birth of Kaci had calmed the house for a while. When she was about two, the fighting began again.

"Jeremy is going to turn out just like you, a worthless piece of shit riding a motorcycle. And Kaci's gonna be like me, waiting around for a guy who is never going to love her." They had been going at it for what felt like hours, Jeremy pressing his face between the stair case bannister to get a view. It was a normal night at the Tillman house. Once his father passed away 7 years later, Jeremy's mom finally got her freedom from the club and his father. She packed up and left, leaving 15 year old Jeremy and 9 year old Kaci with the Black family.

Events of the past made Jeremy protective over Kaci, sometimes too protective. They always had to fend for themselves, and Jeremy subconsciously took on the role of older brother AND father. He'd scare away any guy Kaci got close with and always made sure she was safe, either sending a member of the club to drive by where she said she'd be or panicking when she wouldn't be home by midnight. He knew she was an adult now, but the thought of losing her like they did their parents trumped logic. He especially never wanted Kaci to get involved with anyone from a club; she deserved better.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, Kase" he frowned as he spoke.

"Oh, hey." Kaci kept her back to her brother, continuing to focus on her scrambled eggs. She was angry with Jeremy. Angry that the club had taken up so much of his time, and, even more angry that Tallis had gotten a hook in him once again. How stupid could he be? Couldn't he see that she was wrong for him? "No, it's fine. I understand that the club comes first, it pays the bills after all." She moved the frying pan of the hot eye, finally turning to face her brother with arms crossed. He was covered in scratches. "What's not fine is that Tallis is staying in our house. Did you even think about asking me before you welcomed her in? You know how I feel about her, Jeremy. She's bad for you! Why can't you fucking see that?!"

Jeremy was over protective of Kaci, but she was also protective of him. It went both ways.

__________________

Tallis waved Jeremy away, grinning from ear to ear. She was still in a state of post-sex bliss, riding the lingering waves from what he did to her body. There was no way she was leaving this bed just yet, or ever. Jeremy's home was beginning to feel like, well, home. Something she hadn't felt or had in a very, very long time. The sound of her ringing phone pulled her mind from thoughts of Jeremy's ass. "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you, bitch?" Cameron was obviously drunk, his words badly slurred.

"Why does it fucking matter, Cameron? I thought I told you to leave me alone."

"You're my old lady, I have a right to know where you are."

"No, I told you we're done. I've already moved on."

There was a pause. "You're in Tillman's bed, aren't you, slut?"

"That shouldn't fucking matter to you, Cameron."

"I'm coming for you, bitch. Be ready."

The line went dead and Tallis threw her phone across the room. If Cameron said he would come for her, he would. Even in Jeremy's home, she wasn't safe.

Jeremy put down what was in his hands and turned to Kaci's back. "It was Black's orders, Kase." He sighed as she turn to him, her glare showed that she was really upset. "And yeah, I know how you feel about her, but you know how I feel about her," he said, feeling the anger starting to rise within him. He did his best to keep his cool, but it was getting harder to do so by the second. "I'm a grown man, for Christ's sake!" He yelled, turning his back away from her and starting to work on breakfast for him and Tallis. "Now that we're talking about who the other is fucking, where have you been?" Without waiting around for her answer, he gathered two cups of coffee and the food he prepared on a tray and walked upstairs.

He placed the stray on the table and looked at Tallis who was still laying in bed. She looked distraught and he noticed her phone on the other side of the room. "What's wrong, love?" He asked, sitting on the side of the bed. His face was stone cold.

"I've been with, Solo, thanks for fucking noticing. Asshole," Kaci muttered as Jeremy walked away. He was making a mistake, and she wasn't willing to watch him drown. Instead of chasing after him, she stormed out of the house and got in her car. Solo was the only one that would be able to calm her down, but she needed to talk to Moira.

______________________

"Huh?" Tallis pushed herself into a sitting position, pulling her knees to her chest so she could rest her chin on them. How could she tell him? She swallowed hard, rubbing the back of her neck and her shoulders. "Cameron's coming to get me, and it won't just be him. I'm not safe here." She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. Crying was something she had done far too much of lately. Everything was telling her to run and hide, but her heart was telling her to stay where she was.

I'm afraid.

She fell back on the mountain of pillows, covering her face with her arms. Her body was starting to ache at the thought of Cameron. He had done so much damage. She remembered the straw that broke the camels back so well.

Cameron had hit her, which was nothing new or surprising, but that night had been different. He had been wearing rings, four of them. Everything but her face had been targeted. Chest. Back. Rubs. Abdomen. Thighs. He laid his fist into anything he could reach. The more she cried out, the harder he hit her. He was trying to kill her, would have if his side-bitch hadn't called him to fuck. After he left that night, she ran. Ran as far away as she could.

Why was he just contacting her now? It had been months. Was she finally sober enough to realize she was gone?

It was weird that Solomon hadn't heard from Kaci after he told her come over. Usually she'd jump at the chance to come see him. He kept checking his phone to see if she had texted him. "You're pathetic, man," he thought to himself and laughed. Laying down in his bed in only in his jeans, he placed his hands on his stomach and deeply sighed, thinking about Kaci as he closed his eyes.

They'd have to tell Jeremy eventually. His feelings for Kaci were growing and the fact that they had to sneak around him made him feel like a liar. Solomon didn't know what was worse, Jeremy not knowing or Jeremy knowing.

---------------------------------

Jeremy sighed and laid down in the bed on his side, facing her. "If he thinks he's going to get to you, he's a fucking idiot," he smiled as he propped himself up to kiss her stomach, chest, shoulder, neck, and finally her forehead, slowly and softly. Part of him wanted to take her right there and then, but seeing how upset she was made him realize it wouldn't be a good move. He joined her in the pillows, looking up to the ceiling. "Would you feel safer at the clubhouse? All the guys should be there by now." Looking over to his alarm clock, he saw it was 11:00 am. She still didn't look convinced, so he threw his arm over her bare torso and looked at her intently. "I'm not going to let him hurt you, Tallis. I promise."

If Kaci had to choose between Solomon and Moira, she would always choose Solo. So instead of driving towards Moira's apartment she drove towards the clubhouse. To her great surprise, the clubhouse was a storm of activity; members were running around like madmen and Black was yelling orders from the helm. "Go home, Kaci!" "This isn't a place for a woman right now." "What the hell are you doing here?!" They even shoved her out of the way a few times, trying to make their point. What the hell is going on? Kase fought through the swarm of people and made her way into Solo's room. He was shirtless. "What the hell is going on here? Everyone is running around like madmen? Are you guys getting in a shipment?" She covered her mouth, she wasn't supposed to know about the shipments.

_______________

Tallis moved rolled on top of Jeremy, burying her face into the spot between his neck and shoulder. He still smelled like sex. "I would love to go the clubhouse, I wanted to discuss some things with daddy anyway." Two birds with one stone. As she let the silence settled in around them, she began running her fingers through his hair while nibbling on his earlobe. She wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with him all day and never leave, but there was shit to do. There was always shit to do. So instead of letting her hand trail down his torso and down into the band of his sweatpants, she slid out of bed and moved towards the bathroom to get ready. Today was going to be something else.

~An hour or so later~

Unsurprisingly Kaci's car was parked in the lot and Tallis hoped that Jeremy wouldn't notice, or if he did...he wouldn't care. With the amount of activity going on right now, though, she was almost sure that he would gloss right by it. "What the hell is going on?"

Black caught sight of Tillman and Tallis, his face turning bright red. "Get her the fuck out of here, Tillman."

Solomon jumped at the sound of Kaci's voice. "What the fuck is she talking about?" he pondered as he got out of bed and looked from his window down to the lot. "Shit. Something's happening." He looked back to her and kissed her quickly before looking for his shirt and cut. "Um," he said, still looking, "Stay up here. Don't come out until I come up to get you okay?" Finally locating his cut, he slipped her on and kissed her one last time before locking the door from the inside, slamming it and running down the stairs.

Solomon saw Patty and asked, "What the hell is going on, Patty?"
"We got a tip from someone down at the station that someone reported suspicious activity at the clubhouse," he huffed, lifting up two semiautomatic rifles and dropping them down into a hole in the floor. "Guns, drugs, the whole nine. There's a whole county coming here."
Solomon blinked, dumbfounded at Patty's words. "Well what the fuck do we do?"
Patty smiled and ruffled his hair. "We hide the guns and the drugs, boy-o!"
He nodded and joined the sort of assembly line that had formed, moving bricks and guns from hand and hand until they were dropped in the hole. When Patty was satisfied with the whole stash being hidden, he dropped the hinged door back onto the floor and locked the latch. He moved the rug that had been there over the covering and smiled. "Good as new."

-------------------------------

Jeremy rolled his eyes and smiled as Tallis got out of bed; she was still undressed. He stretched slowly and took off his sweatpants before walking to the shower door. He looked behind himself before stepping in, and locked eyes with her. He smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the hot shower with him.

~An hour later~

He and Tallis arrived at the clubhouse to see a swarm of members running around, carrying an assortment of items. "Ah shit," he mumbled as he got off his bike. Black approached them and barked orders. "Black, what's happening?" He was about to give a brief explanation for the madness when he saw police cruisers down the road heading for the lot. When he saw that Jeremy had noticed them, he grabbed his shoulders and gave him a stern look. "If you're holding, throw it in the hole. Keep her safe," he said as he nudged her head towards Tallis. Jeremy nodded in agreement, grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. He removed his gun from the waist of his jeans and a pocket knife he had holstered, threw them in the hole, and then covered it again. He turned to Tallis, no emotion in his face, and quietly, "Go up to Solo's room and lock the door. Go!" He kissed her cheek and watched as she went up the stairs.

Jeremy felt the soft, gentle man he had been for the past few hours roll off of him as he began to shout out to the crew members. "They're here, boys. Be respectful. Listen to them. The sooner the pigs are done, the sooner we can make more money." The crew members cheered and laughed momentarily until the squad cars pulled up to the front of the clubhouse.

Black and Jeremy walked out front as if they prepared to have a calm conversation with the officers. They were immediately told via loudspeaker to lay on the ground with their hands on their head, which they obliged. A sheriff and two policemen walked up to them with their guns out, and the sheriff ordered them to pat Black and Jeremy down.
“Can we help you, Officer?” Jeremy looked up, a grin on his face.
“We got a call saying that you guys had narcotics and illegal weapons here. Crazy, right?” the sheriff and the two other cops laughed. “We were starting to miss booking you boys. Glad we have the opportunity again.”
“We got nothin’, Sheriff,” Black said, a devious tone in his voice. “Go ahead, take a look.”
The cop scoffed at Black and signaled for the rest of his crew to enter into the clubhouse. “How many are in there?”
“I’d say 20,” Jeremy spoke calmly and smoothly. “Don’t rough ‘em up. They want to play nice.” He smirked.
The sheriff walked away from them, saying “Yeah, I’m sure. Get up.”

Black and Jeremy stood up, dusting themselves off. They heard the cops ordering everyone to get on their stomachs so they could search them as well. Solomon was with the group inside. “Aren’t their ’criminals’ you guys oughta be chasing right now?” Solomon said in an innocent tone. This caused a chuckle to stir amongst the outlaws, to which the cop reacted by kicking him in the side. “You’re the douchebag that punched one of my officers last year, right?” Solomon remained quiet at the accusation. “That’s what I thought.”

Once the pat down was completed, officers started searching, knocking things over and tearing through paperwork. One cop shouted from upstairs and guided Kaci and Tallis down. “Two women upstairs, boss. Searched them and the room. Both clean.” The cop ordered everyone to stand back up and pointed for the girls to join the rest of the members. The copped sighed, eying the two girls who joined the rest of them. "What are two pretty things like you hanging out with these losers? Ah, they always love the bad boys." Black and Jeremy walked in after, and he spotted Kaci. He had a look of disappointment on his face. ”Why the fuck is Kaci here?”

“Well, boys. You got away with it today,” the sheriff said, staring at Black and Jeremy. “You won’t be so lucky next time. Let’s move out.” The cops shoved their way through the small crowd of club members to exit the clubhouse. Some of the outlaws started batting their eyelashes and blowing kisses to the police as they left. Black sighed and put a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “Club meeting, one hour. Let the boys know.” Black walked away from the group and entered his office.

Jeremy walked over to Kaci, obviously enraged. “Kase, what were you thinking? Why the hell are you here?”

"I'd like to say that I'm surprised to see you here, but I don't like to lie," as Tallis spoke she plopped down onto Solo's bed. It was lumpier than she remembered. "What the hell are you even doing, Kaci? Whatever is going on between you and Solo won't last. You saw what happened with Jeremy and what's her face." She knew her name, but she would rather chew broken glass that let it fall from her lips.

"Yeah, because you're one to give advice on relationships. Fucking homewrecker." Tillman's baby sister stood with her back to Tallis, her eyes watching the scene bellow unfold. Everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

The Club Member couldn't help but laugh. "Do you think you can handle this life? Cops knocking on your door at three in the morning. The man that sleeps in your bed coming home strung out on drugs and so drunk that he doesn't remember who you are. He's covered in glitter and smells like cheap perfume and even cheaper alcohol. You going to rub his back after he comes home from beating this shit out of a man, nearly killing him? Are you going to be able to do that, Kaci? Because I don't think you can." She was planning on continuing, but the appearance of police officers shut her up real quick.

Officer Getty whistled at the sight of Tallis and Kaci, licking his lips like a hungry wolf. "What a pleasant surprise to see you, Tallis. How ya been? Ready for Reid to get out in a few weeks?" His words were meant to wound her.

"I'm ready to put a bullet in his head, if that's what you're asking."

"Is that a confession, Ms. Black?"

"It's whatever the fuck you want it to be, Roger."

"I'm going to have to search both of you ladies."

Tallis looked in Kaci's direction and shook her head. "I'll give you all the cocaine I have on me right now and $200 to bring us down there and say that we're clean and so is the room."

Roger Getty considered her offer but ultimately accepted before ordering them down the stairs. “Two women upstairs, boss. Searched them and the room. Both clean.” And with that Tallis and Kaci joined the other members of the Red Devils.

Before anyone could speak, another officer did, "What are two pretty things like you hanging out with these losers? Ah, they always love the bad boys." No one spoke or even acknowledged him, and soon after that, the pigs left. Long after they had left, the motorcycle club stayed silent. That was too close of a call, for all of those involved.

"Daddy, wait! Let me be part of this meeting." Tallis called out before running after the weathered, aging man. They needed to talk. He needed to know about the storm that was coming. They all needed to know about the storm that was coming.

Jeremy's harsh words caught Kaci off guard, her face starting to burn. "I came to talk to Solo about you and Tallis! I didn't know who else to turn to. I don't like what she's doing to you, and you don't fucking listen. You just protect her. She doesn't deserve to be protected!" Without realising it, she was yelling. All of the anger that had built up throughout the months was flooding out of her small body.

Patty stepped between the sibling, facing Jeremy. "Take this somewhere else, Tillman. We have stuff that needs to be attended to, and this drama isn't going to fucking help anyone." He turned to Kaci. "Go home, Kaci, it's not safe here right now. I speak for everyone when I say that we don't want to see you hurt."

"Fuck off, Patty."

Jeremy rubbed his hand over his face and exhaled sharply. He glared at Kaci for a moment and turned around, not knowing how to feel. Part him wanted to let go of this protectiveness over her; she was an adult, and I’m sure they both needed to breathe. But, on the other hand, she wasn’t giving him the full truth. That he knew. He saw Tallis run after Black, and he squinted his eyes in suspicion. ”If I found out that that fucker Cameron had something to do with this…”

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Solomon was able to see Kaci briefly before she left. He could tell she was upset, not sure if it had been caused by Tallis or Jeremy. He kissed her and held her for a moment before she drove off.

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The free hour went by quickly, and all the members filed in for their impromptu meeting Black had called. Unlike the usual loud conversation before the meeting began, everyone took their seats in complete silence. There was a lot of mystery surrounding the surprise raid, and the members seemed to be on edge. It had been a while since they had to deal with cops, seeing as they paid off most of them to look the other way.

Black slammed the gavel into the long, wooden table and cleared his throat. “I know that the cops showing up today was enough to make us all a little uneasy. Fortunately, Tallis is here to enlighten us.” The outlaws began to mumble among themselves as Tallis entered the room. Jeremy caught her eyes for a moment before looking down and reaching for a cigarette. He was still in Vice President mode, and the raid and Kaci had gotten to him. He took a deep breath, waiting for Tallis to begin.

Tallis was silent as she entered the conference room, taking a seat on the arm of her father's ornate leather chair. She looked at everyone but Jeremy and her father. "As you all know I've spent the last few years in Cherokee City, making myself at home in their chapter of the Red Devils. As most of you don't know...I was Cameron William's old lady for most of that time. He's not happy about the fact that I left, and I believe this raid was is doing. He's always wanted to consolidate the chapters, making one large one. I believe this was a power play as well as a distraction to get me and bring me back to Cherokee." Somehow, she had magically forgotten to mention that he had abused her during the time that she filled his bed.

Her dad didn't need to know that.

Black rubbed his daughter's back as she spoke, his face void of any emotion. "Tillman, what are your thoughts?"

Jeremy didn't look up the whole time she spoke. Hearing about Cameron made his blood boil, and knowing that he did this to the club made him want to find the fucker and shoot him point blank. But, he couldn't, not yet. He wanted to slowly torture Cameron like he did to Tallis while she was in Cherokee. He wanted him to suffer and beg for his life before Jeremy delivered the last blow to his head that would end his pathetic excuse for a life.

Hearing his name made him jolt, clearing him of his sadistic thoughts. ”What am I supposed to say? ‘Now that I’m fucking your daughter again, President Black, I’m gonna kill her piece of shit ex-boyfriend for you?’” he thought as he cleared his throat and shot Tallis a glare before sitting up in his chair. He put the cigarette out in the glass ash tray and looked across the table to all his brothers. “Brothers of the Red Devil Motorcycle Club, I know a betrayal like this makes us want to push for the execution vote right away. I wish we could. But for now, we need to still figure out who is behind Cameron. If others from his charter agree with what he’s doing, and we kill him, it can start a bloodbath that we don’t need. For now, we need to do some research, see who he’s working with, and what kind of weapons he has stocked. If he decides to come to us, we need to be ready. We’ll set up some patrol shifts to make sure there are bodies here at all time. Old ladies need to stay with a member if they leave the clubhouse or their homes. That goes for family as well. Those who don’t have family here, please offer your assistance to those who do. We’ll take this motherfucker down.” Laughter and a few cheers erupted from the table.

He looked back to Black to signal that he was finished. He reached down for another cigarette and lit it, slowly leaning back in his chair. His injuries were still fresh, and he was probably due to change the bandages on them. At times like these, he craved something horrible for him. Whether it was a shot of whiskey, a bump, or Tallis herself, he could feel the ball of anxiety grow in his chest that could only be removed by his vices.