Chapter 3

To my fans, if I still have any, I apologise for my very long hiatus. I won't make any excuses, and I won't make any promises. A special mention to Sammibabyy. I haven't forgotten you.

Lucy didn't live in the best part of town, which meant Gabby had the joyful honour of walking though Nord territory, constantly glancing over her should to make sure she wasn't being followed.

While she didn't run into any of Darby's men, she did run into Tig and Juice, the both of them appearing to be very guilty of something. They were dressed casually, and neither of them were wearing their cuts.

"Hey."

Tig leaned against a parking meter. "Hey."

The two of them stared at her, and stared at everything besides her, and tried to look as though they belonged. Gabby looked pointedly at Juice. "What are you two up to?"

It was Tig who answered, before Juice could even open his mouth. "Nothin', nothin'," he said. "What are you up to?"

Gabby knew Tig well enough by now to know that he wasn't up to 'nothing'. His 'nothing' was the rest of the world's 'trouble'.

"I was visiting Lucy," Gabby told them.

It was true, after all; she'd been helping meal prep for Lucy, who was about to have her second child and who, despite claiming she was 'ready', was struggling with motherhood. Her eldest, Malachi, was more than a handful. He was a happy little boy, but a naughty little boy, and Lucy still wasn't very good at discipline. So she called on Gabby for support.

Juice perked up. "Oh yeah, she lives around here, doesn't she? Is she doing alright?" Tig smacked him round the head. "Um, yeah, well we gotta go and uh, uh Chibs was looking for you."

It was a lie, and they all knew it, but Gabby bid them goodbye and let them go on their way. And when they were far enough away and had stopped looking over their shoulders to see where she was, she followed after them.

Gabby wasn't usually one to eavesdrop but- well, okay she was one to eavesdrop. Ever since Filip went to jail she was becoming more and more invested in what was happening in the club, and how it would affect her. She'd spend her free time at the garage, trying to get an ear in any conversations were happening. Juice was easy to make talk; he was still eager to please to try and keep the club happy, and often just said too much.

So she pottered around the club, keenly aware that she was slowly becoming more and more like Gemma, and kept her eyes and ears open for any bits of information that she wasn't supposed to know.

And this might be one of the biggest secrets Gabby was privy to.

She kept her distance from the boys, keeping quiet and staying hidden to avoid their cautious eyes. In return, they inadvertently led her through the streets, to the door of the Hairy Dog. With a final glance, the boys ducked inside the pub, and Gabby loitered around outside.

The last dealing she'd had with Darby almost killed her. She wasn't too keen on risking her life again. Would anyone recognise her? Would anyone say anything?

Well, she thought, if Tig can walk in unnoticed, then I'll be fine. She swallowed her fear and opened the door.

It was quiet. Despite that, there were a few people in the pub, and Gabby spotted Tig and Juice sliding into a booth in the corner. She sat into the booth next to them, avoiding the curious glances from several patrons.

"Boys." Darby's voice was confident. "What brings you here?"

"I noticed you've made some new friends," Tig said. "I thought we had a deal."

Darby laughed. "The deal was for me to stay out of your way, and leave that girl of yours alone."

Gabby frowned. 'That girl' was obviously her. She knew Tig had made a deal with Darby to keep the peace while the majority of the club was in jail, but she didn't know it had anything to do with her. She certainly hadn't been told anything about it other than what everyone else knew, and that was that Darby wouldn't be bothering them anymore.

She'd have to interrogate Juice on it later.

"I've stayed out of your way," Darby continued, "and as far as I'm aware, the girl's alive and well. Now you didn't say nothing about me not being able to make friends." He still sounded calm, as though he knew there was nothing they'd be able to do about his new 'friends'.

In fact, Gabby thought there might have been a hint of confusion in his voice, and she wasn't convinced that these friends of his would be an issue at all. It wasn't unlike Tig to jump the gun, and make something out of nothing, and it was entirely plausible that he'd seen something and assumed that it was something else.

There was a noise, a small scuffle, Juice hesitantly telling Tig "don't", and it was quiet.

"Well I wanna know who your friends are," Tig snapped. "And I wanna know how many we'll have to kill."

Kane sunk into the armchair, his focus on the room he was seated in. It was dark, but cosy, full of furniture that was quite obviously preloved several houses before it landed in this one. The walls were covered in photos, presumably of the girl's family members. Joseph was huddled in the corner, his eyes wide and fearful.

"You understand why I'm doing this?" Kane asked the man.

Joseph nodded. Perhaps because he did understand, or perhaps because he was too scared to say anything else.

"Don't lie to me. Sit."

Joseph collapsed on the couch. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

After finding out the truth about Murphy, Joseph had barely spoken. He had no phone to call anyone, nowhere to run, and no way of escape. Kane's history of psychopathic violence was well documented, and necessitated the need for a carer. Murphy had been quiet in the six months he'd cared for Kane, though, and his bosses had no way of knowing what the man was really up to.

For the first time since they'd met, Kane smiled. "Because it's what I have to do. People are scum, Joseph. It's my job to stop that."

"By killing everyone?" Joseph asked.

"Exactly." Kane stood suddenly, causing Joseph to jump. He walked over to the window and stared aimlessly out of it. "I have to save these people from themselves. There's only one way to save these kinds of people."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Do you not?" Kane faced Joseph. "Do you not believe that this world would be better without the scum that inhabit it?"

Joseph didn't answer. He didn't trust himself to speak. Kane didn't seem to care, though; he was staring out of the window again. A truck pulled up in the driveway, and four men got out. After a brief talk they entered the house, armed with guns.

"You've outdone yourself this time," on of them said as he greeted Kane. "This is a nice place. I hear the locals are even nicer."

Kane shook hands with the four men. They all ignored Joseph as they settled themselves in, raiding the kitchen, hooting over the dead woman's panty drawer and smoking joints. Kane waited for them to quieten down before he spoke again.

"This town's home to a motorcycle gang called the Sons of Anarchy. What do you know about it?"

One of the men sat up. "Officially, they're an enthusiast club," he said. "Unofficially, they're known for selling guns."

"Drugs?"

"None. We couldn't even find a joint in the town; it seems that the Sons keep drugs well at bay."

"They cast quite a shadow over the town," another guy said.

"Thank you, James."

The second guy sunk back down. Joseph wasn't sure if these men were loyal to Kane out of respect, or fear. He suspected the latter.

"Hugh?"

The first guy, Hugh, motioned to James. "He's right. The Sons have a large presence in Charming, whether or not the people will admit it. Apparently they've got the police in their pocket, too."

Joseph let out a laugh that was more like a bark. All five men turned to glare at him, but he didn't care; there was no way they could contend with a gang who had the law on their side.

"This is Joseph," Kane finally said. "He's here to replace Murphy. Evidently, he still needs to learn his place."

He motioned at one of the men, who stood up and dumped his gun on the couch. Joseph didn't see the fist until it had already connected with his nose. Even if he had, there was no way for him to stop the barrage that followed, and he found himself curled up on the ground in a tight ball, trying to protect the most sensitive parts of his body as blow after blow hit him in an unrelenting storm.

At some point he blacked out and came to minutes later, only to black out a second time.

Gabby hid in the corner of the booth, waiting for Tig and Juice to leave. She was right; Darby's new friends were nothing to worry about. Not at this stage, anyhow. Just a neighbouring gang that was interested in a slice of Darby's trade to take back to their town. They were still negotiating the terms.

Basically, it had been a waste of everyone's time, especially Gabby's.

After a few minutes of awkward small talk, Juice and Tig stood from the table, did a quick sweep of the bar, and left.

Sighing, Gabby was about to leave when a figure blocked her way. Darby stood in front of her with his head cocked to the side as his eyes raked her body.

Her heart dropped; it was too late to call for the boys, and no doubt Darby would be armed.

"And you are?" he asked.

Gabby hesitated. Was it wise to tell him the truth? Was it wise for her to lie? "Gabby," she stammered.

"Sit down, Gabby." He motioned, and she had no choice but to sit. He sat opposite her, crossing his hands and placing them on the table, perhaps to show her he wasn't going hurt her. "Saw you follow those boys in."

"Just keeping tabs on them," she replied.

"Yeah I can see that. You're the girl Jeremy nearly killed." It wasn't a question.

Gabby rejected the memories of when Jeremy tried to kill her, and of the man Darby sent to finish the job. She'd done a good job over the past two years of blocking out those incidents. Especially since she didn't like to remember that she was a murderer. But somehow they kept haunting her.

"That's me," she told him with a sneer. "Same girl you tried to have killed, too."

"It was a shame that." Darby produced a handful of nuts from his pocket, and offered one to Gabby. She declined. "I take it that didn't work out, though, on account of you still being alive and all, and my men being dead."

"You don't seem too upset about that."

Darby shrugged. "A dead man is of no use to me. I've got a few new faces. Charming's got some new faces too, I hear."

"What do you mean?" Gabby asked.

Charming was a small town, and rarely saw much change in any aspect. Newcomers to the town were very easy spot, and didn't usually go unnoticed by the boys at SAMCRO. But Gabby had heard nothing about new people, aside from Darby's friends, neither at her work or through the club.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Darby feigned surprise. He had a smug look about him, proud to know something about Charming that the club might not. And by the look of him, the club didn't know. "There's a new gang in town. They want to eradicate SAMCRO."

Half an hour later, Gabby was on her way home, still reeling from Darby's news. He'd let her leave the bar without any issues, but had given her no more information on who the gang was, or where exactly they were. The boys hadn't been acting weird, and Gabby was certain they knew nothing of this new gang. Which meant it fell upon Gabby to tell them what she knew, and that meant letting them know where she'd heard it, and why she was at the Hairy Dog having a sit down with Darby. It wasn't a conversation she could see ending well for either party.

For the time being, Gabby thought, she would let it slide.

Filip was in the kitchen when she got home, cooking something that smelled suspiciously like cabbage. Next to him was a bottle of red wine with a note around it, probably a welcome home gift. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What are you cooking?"

"Stew," he replied curtly.

"What kind of stew?"

He turned to face her, resting his arms on her shoulders and giving her a kiss. "Irish stew. It's an old recipe that I learned back when I was in SAMBEL," he said.

Gabby studied him closely. It was rare for him to bring up the old days, especially the ones where he still lived in Ireland and still had his family. Gabby tried not to bring them up, either. She didn't like thinking about his family. Partially due to jealousy on her part, and partially because thinking of it angered her. The malice behind such an act was something she couldn't comprehend.

"How's Luce?" Filip asked, bring her back to reality.

"Struggling," Gabby told him. "It's not as easy as she thought it would be."

"Aye, I can agree with her on tha'." He studied her closely. "How are you with it all?"

She shrugged, untangling herself from him. She was trying to avoid this conversation. "I'm fine," she lied. "It is what it is."

"Well then, sit down. Dinner's almost ready."

She did as she was told, waiting for him to dish up the stew, which smelled delicious. And when he had, they ate dinner. Like a normal couple, with normal lives, they ate and talked and laughed, and Gabby drank wine while he drank beer until she forgot all about Darby's warning and everything besides him and her, and how perfect life was in that moment. Then the last two and a half years of being away from him came crashing back to her, and maybe it was all of the red wine she'd consumed, but suddenly she was crying.

Filip took her to their bedroom, holding her in his arms, stroking her hair and comforting her softly until she stopped. "You're alrigh'," he said, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "I'm not going away again."

She laughed, because that wasn't what she was upset about. "It's not that," she told him.

"Then wha' is it?"

"How long do you think this will last?" she asked him. "How long until everything turns to shit again?"

He blinked, taken aback by her sudden harshness. "don't worry about tha', love," he said. "Just worry about the now."

Gabby tried, but she couldn't. It wasn't as easy as all that. Because she knew, she knew something was going to go wrong. Something had probably already gone wrong. And what with what Darby had told her, it was probably going to happen soon.