Chapter 16

Shawna

"His ass is nice. Not too big, not too small."

"Hmmm."

"Yes, but I think his eyes are the best. They are almost gray."

"Hmmmm."

"You ladies quite done?"

Candice, Lyla and I break apart from the entrance of the kitchen where we were just caught checking out Demon, the Nightmare Warriors newest patched in member. The man is muscles upon muscles and has the attitude of a prison guard, but holy guacamole, the man is the sexiest thing I've ever seen. Well, besides Max.

"Sorry Demon, we're just bored. Have you heard from Austin yet?"

"Nothing yet darlin' sure he will be here soon." He goes back to making his coffee but turns back around when he notices we have returned to our favorite program of starring at his ass.

"Like being eye fucked and all, but doubt your men would appreciate it." He says smirking in our direction and holy shit the man looks good with a smile. Someone needs to have a baby with that man, stat.

"Oh right, yeah sorry. I'm going to go and stare at the door." Candice says retreating from her position while Lyla and I giggle.

Lyla decided to stay and make sure we were alright. After my headache finally subsided I was able to come out to the living room and hang out with them. After the guys left earlier and left us with a few of the members, Shane got a call and was told to head to the compound. All except for Demon, who we have been unsuccessfully secretly eye fucking ever sense.

"Hey, I don't technically have a man anymore. I think I'm more than entitled to look." Lyla says and I want to laugh as her accent shows as she speaks. Candy told me it's something she tries to hide but if you listen carefully enough, you can hear it when she lies or gets angry. She had lead me in on the reasoning behind her and Shane's story and it's not the prettiest thing. I support her being a single mother but I think deep down the two of them need to rekindle. It's painfully obvious they still care for each other.

Pot meet kettle.

"Nice try Lyla, but we both know if Shane comes and finds out that you were checking any other brother out, they would be dead. Like being alive, so pissin' off my road captain ain't necessarily something I want to do." Lyla rolls her eyes at that but I don't miss her slight blush.

"And what about me? Am I one of those 'she's taken but not really' girls?"

"Yep. Pretty as hell, even with your face all fucked up, but Max is yours darlin'." He says as he drinks his coffee and leans against the counter. I shrug and move into the living room with Lyla trailing behind me.

"I think Austin's home." Candice says excitedly as she stares out the window.

Demon comes walking out, caffeine free, and walks outside, telling us to stay put. Two minutes later Austin walks in and Candice jumps right on him. The two of them embrace each other for a few moments while Lyla and I both search the yard for the others.

"Ain't here." He say looking over at me. "You all need to sit down, we need to talk."

The three of us look to each other then sit and wait.

"Cops were at the compound. When we got here they were already inside and searching. Apparently they didn't need a fuckin' warrant."

"What? How the hell is that even legal? They can't do that." Lyla causing all of us to look her way. "Sorry, guess I shouldn't be a part of this conversation right?"

"Shane will eventually get his head out of his ass Lyla. When he does I know he'll make you his old lady, so yeah, you can be a part of this conversation." Austin smirks and then continues. "They found something when they were looking around. Drugs and a fuckload of them."

"You were set up." I mumble but apparently loud enough for him to hear me.

"Yeah, we think so too."

"So what now? They just let you guys go?" Candice asks.

"Not exactly. They needed someone to answer for the charge and Max took the fall." Panic sets in as I bend over on the couch and burry my face in my hands.

I try to recall the rest of the conversation Austin portrays to us. I can feel both Lyla and Candice on both sides of me as Austin speaks, breaking me piece by piece at every part.

"Abby's dating some tool that works for the D.A. so we're going to see if we can get Max released sooner rather than later."

"Wait, you think he will be in there longer than a few days? How is that possible? He doesn't have priors and he isn't on probation?" Candice asks rubbing my back as I hiccup through my cries.

"Timmons is confident that he won't be in there more than a night but apparently they are trying to say he had guns in his name but he's not fit to have them."

"W-what do y-you mean?" I sniffle as I ask.

"They are trying to pin PTSD on him Shawna. If they do that and they see how many guns he has in his name, he can get into trouble. More trouble that we don't need right now, but we've got Abby's guy looking into it."

"Can't be making Chance feel good." Candice adds and I smirk through the tears. I've been gone two years but apparently some things never change.

"I wanted you all to know because we need to keep more eyes on you. My guys will be going to your work Candy, and they will look after you too Lyla. I won't let what happened before, happen again." Candice and Lyla both nod their heads, clearly not trying to give Austin any shit. "And someone will be here for you until you go back to work Shawna."

I nod my head as well. Austin had given me a few days off from Sin and I found out that he also had Miles go over to May's and spoke with Mickey. He was told that I had gotten into an accident. So, at least I had no work for a few days until my swelling went down.

"So what's our next step Austin? I mean, does someone go over there to see him tomorrow?" I ask.

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"I know my brother. He didn't just sacrifice himself to be the guinea pig. Whoever is setting us up, they wanted us in jail and now Max is going to meet them head on."

Fear guts at me but I manage to push it down in front of Austin. I can tell he is worried about his little brother and although he trusts Max, this is the kind of situation that is completely unpredictable. It's out of their hands at the moment, and for men who always take charge and take control, this can't be an easy bridge to cross.

"So get some sleep you two. I've got some more business to take care of then I'll be right in." Austin says to Candice and me.

"I should get going. Call me tomorrow Candy and it was a pleasure to meet you Shawna." I smile at her discretion as she gets off the couch.

"Shouldn't someone follow her Austin?" Candice asks standing as well and hugging her best friend.

"Yeah, gonna have Shane take you home."

The three of us pause and I fight the smile tugging at my lips. This should be good.

"Wait what?"

"Know your history darlin, but he's the only one I don't have on an assignment. I don't feel comfortable with you driving home alone when there is clearly some asshole out there watchin' my house."

My eyes automatically gaze over to the window and fear creeps up around my spine and across my chest. I hope that whoever attacked Candice and I last night are no longer around here. I never got a chance to speak with Max about the tags but at least I had given them to Austin. The rest would be up to him.

"Shane. Need you to take someone home." Austin says with his phone up to his ear, pulling my gaze over to him. "They drove but follow them, make sure they get home alright, then head back to the clubhouse. Good, see you soon brother."

"Notice you didn't exactly tell him who I was." Lyla says crossing her arms. Her big curly brown hair moves as she shakes her head at Austin.

"More fun this way." Austin says smirking in her direction.

I stare in fascination as I witness Austin Stone joking and laughing with one of his girlfriends' friends. Something I never thought I would see. It's obvious Candice was simply made for him. He's still the same grumpy moody man, but the light shows through his movement now.

Ten minutes later, Shane arrives. Once he comes in and see's it's Lyla he has to take home, he stares daggers at Austin whom simply shrugs and pushes his girl to the bedroom to get some rest. I wave a goodnight to everyone as well, exhausted but knowing I won't get much sleep tonight. Not with Max being where he is.

I make it to the guestroom and spend the next fifteen minutes going over my new nightly routine. I brush my teeth, wash my face, and take some pain killers. My face is still swollen and if I move to fast in the middle of the night, I'll jolt awake from the pain.

I automatically rub at my ankle from standing majority of the day and spend the next hour tossing and turning before sleep finally finds me.

Today is my first day back a work and I can't believe I'm actually excited. It's been three days since Max was arrested and at first I was angry that he wouldn't be out yet, but Abby's boyfriend, whom is a total tool by the way, explained that because he already admitted the drugs were his, he will most likely stay in jail until he meets with a judge. Since it's Monday, that should be today. Austin was able to speak with him for a few minutes and I heard my name in the background. It took everything in me not to grab the phone from Austin and hear his voice but when I asked Austin why I couldn't talk to him, he explained that Max needs his head in the game at the moment and maybe hearing how badly I wanted him back home, would have made it worse. It made sense, but I hated it.

Since I work tonight at Sin, Austin thought it would be a good idea to have Shane take me to work. I look over at Shane's grumpy face as he stares at the road and I want to poke him with a stick. Shane and I go way back. When I first met Max, he was the first one to show me that it didn't matter my past or that I had no family, because the club would now be my family.

I wasn't there when his father passed but if affected him badly. I also wasn't there when he and his ex-wife split but I already know it was something she did. Shane is a good man and would never make the woman he vowed to love more than anything, feel like she wasn't important.

"You're quiet." Shane says as he pulls into the parking lot of Sin.

It's a large establishment and has the aurora of a classy club. The waitresses and rest of the staff are all friendly and on any given day, there are at least three of four brothers here.

"Should I speak loudly?" I turn and give him a fake smile and bat my lashes causing Shane to smirk and shake his head.

"You're a nut."

"Guess I'm just worried about Max."

"He's good. Be out soon. Want you to watch your surroundings in here, yeah?"

"Yeah. Oh hey Shane?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you spank the bacon with Lyla that night you took her home?"

"The fuck is spank the bacon?"

"You know, did you crank her shift into gear? Did you smell what the rock was cooking? Did you guys save a horse and ride a cowboy?" He looks at me funny but he has no idea. I've got a million of these.

"You know your fuckin' crazy right?" I laugh then get out of the car when he turns the ignition off. Shane's car is a brand new black on black Chevy Camaro and I kiss it when I hop out.

"Told you to stop fuckin' kissin' my car."

"Can't help it. Look how beautiful she is." I bend down so that I can whisper to the car. "If he treats you badly, I will come for you. I'll take you away from this bad man."

Shane chuckles as we head to the front entrance where there are already two security guards standing outside. It's two in the afternoon and I have the long shift but I asked for it. I needed something to allow me to play catch up for my lost hours. I also needed something to keep my mind from wondering with thoughts of Max.

Once inside, I wave to Shane as he heads into the main office and walk right into the dressing rooms. There are mainly used for the dancers that go on at specific times each night, but during the day, we are able to use them to change. After getting dressed in my small black dress and black heels, I apply my makeup consisting on simple mascara and red lipstick. I push up the girls for more tips, while equally fighting off my inner feminists.

I'm halfway through my shift when I head to Toni, one of the other waitresses to let her know I'm going on break. She waves me off, letting me know she's got my section. It may be Monday but we've had a packed house all night. Some famous person decided to have their bachelor party tonight and because of social media, it made this place packed in all areas.

I sit down on the small blue benches, not designed for comfort, and pull out my phone. I wasn't able to use it since the moment I got here because of how busy it has been. First thing I notice is a missed call from Inette and I make a mental note to call her and let her catch up with everything. I was able to chat with her the day Max went to jail. I gave her the abbreviated version, at which still shocked her. She told me to be careful and to keep her updating and in the mean time she was still loving Torque being there to watch her.

I call her and she answers on the first ring.

"Shawna?"

"Hey."

"It's loud wherever you are, are you at work?"

"Yes. I'm at club Sin. Today was my first day back."

"I have to so much to tell you, can I meet you there?"

"Oh, um if you want to, but were pretty busy tonight. I may not be able to spend much time talking. Is it important?"

"Yes. I tried talking to that Torky guy but he just gave me a whatever look and told me he would talk to his president. Ugh whatever."

I laugh at her exasperation at Torque. "His name is Torque."

"Whatever. I'll meet you there in about an hour. Whatever you're doing try and make time." She says then hangs up.

I stare at the phone in shock. Not that Inette has never been one to beat around the bush, but it seemed like whatever she had to talk about was important. I decide to kill the rest of the half hour, by snacking on a sandwich Candice packed for me this morning. After my break, I get ready to head back up front when I feel my phone buzz in the pocket of my apron wrapped around my waist. I open it and am met with a text from Austin that makes me want to do a happy dance on the table naked.

Austin: He's out

I smile and head back to work, vowing now that I will tell him everything. I hate that when he gets home for the first time that I won't be there but after what we've been through in the last few days, I think it's time for the both of us to talk. Candice was right when she mentioned that he may need to know, even if it does hurt him.

Another hour passes by quickly as I walk around serving drunken men. I am pleasantly surprised that none of them make a pass at me nor grab. I look around and notice it's like that all over with the servers and dancers. A giggle erupts from my mouth when I realize it's because of the Warriors standing guard every fifteen feet or so.

I'm in the middle of telling the bartender a new order for one of my tables when Inette pops up from behind me with her side satchel hanging from her shoulder. Her hair is a mess, her glasses are halfway hanging off her nose, and her face is makeup free. She looks dishelmed. I've never seen her without makeup on. Whatever she needs to tell must be serious.

"Tell me you have time." She says sounding like she ran all the way here.

"What? No, don't you see how busy it is in here?"

"C'mon Shawna, this is important. At least I think so. That Torky didn't think so."

"Torque."

"Don't care." I grab the drink that the bartenders were handing to me and place them individually on my tray, trying to remember who ordered what while walking over to my table to distribute the drinks. Inette follows behind me and continues talking.

"So, what was so important that you are now following me around the bar? By the way, does Torque know you're missing?"

"I don't know. If he followed me here I didn't see him. Anyways, after we caught up the other day I realized something."

"What's that?" I walk over to a now empty table collect my tips and begin grabbing the empty bottles and glasses.

"Timmons has kids."

"Wow, I think he's the only human in the world that does." She ignores my sarcasm and continues walking with me to check on my next table.

"You guys want a refill?" I ask and after the nod I receive I head back up to the front to grab a pitcher of beer.

The song suddenly changed and the lights begin twirling around in bright pinks and pale blues. I know the dancers are beginning to come on so I will have a few minutes until all the people in here want their refills.

"Look, I followed Timmons one day, and he went to the elementary school that his son goes to."

"So?"

"So, it was after hours and he was meeting that guy that I have in my pictures."

This time I turn around mid-stride nearly colliding into her. Inette's smile grows and I can tell she has been doing nothing but thinking about this article.

"Inette, you can't do stuff like that anymore. The guys are on this now but if you get hurt I would never forgive myself. Promise me you won't do anymore."

"I'm close Shawna. I can't give up now. Trust me, there is something there. Why else meet in a place where there are no doubt tons of cameras and surveillance? It makes no sense. Why meet at an elementary school in the first place? Especially the one your kid goes to?"

"It does sound strange, but you have to leave it up to the guys."

"I can't. I tried going that route, even showed them what I had as evidence and they simply danced around it."

"Did you ever think that they just didn't want you to know what they were up to? The less eyes and ears or whatever that saying is."

"I thought about that but I know I can find out more. I don't want those guys taking my own case from me, I'm the one that brought them this. It should be me to finish it."

Normally I would agree with Inette. It's only fair, but we're not talking about a game here, she could get hurt. "Inette, this is dangerous. If this guy is the one that hurt me and Candice, and is responsible for everything that has been happening to the MC, then he is not someone to take lightly."

I grab the pitcher and begin walking back to the table. After dropping it off, I notice the dancers are finishing up their show, so I drag Inette to the side with me. "Tell me you will be safe. And that you will still bring everything to the MC."

"I promise." She say sticking her hand up in the boy scout salute. I shake my head at her and giggle when she begins laughing. "I miss you Shawna."

"I miss you too. How's Ivan?"

"He's good. Still trying to get used to having men around the house, but work keeps him busy."

"Around the house? I thought Max told them to keep a low profile?" At this my best friend has the decency of blushing, something I don't think I've ever seen her do.

"He did, but I sort of invited Torque to come in and have dinner one night. I was having a bad day at work and you know how I am when I have bad days. Recipes come out of my butt and I have to make all this food. So I made too much and invited him in."

"You're rambling." I smirk then look up when I notice the dancers are now exiting the stage. "Look I've got to get back to work but please be careful with this whole Timmons spy thing. I mean it Inette. I won't forgive myself is something happens to you or Ivan."

Inette nods her head and hugs me goodbye. I've loved my time with Austin, Candice and the rest of the guys but I also miss my small life. Having dinner with Inette and Ivan and going to my studio. I'm really hoping by the end of all this, I can get back to my studio.

The rest of my shift goes by fast, and before I know it, it's closing time and Shane is walking over to me to give me a ride back to Austin's house. He looks somber as if he had received bad news while working tonight. I tip toe around him while cleaning the last of my section and collecting my tips. Shane tends to be an asshole on a good day and after a long tiring shift on my feet, I doubt either of us are in the mood for a talk.

Walking out to his car, Shane opens my door as I utter a thanks and then hops in the driver's side. We're half way on our way back to Austin's when I can't take the grinding of his teeth anymore.

"Okay big guy. Either you tell me what the hell crawled up your ass and died, or I will slap you."

"You won't slap me." He's got me there. A fool would slap Shane seeing how his tall six foot four frame is so domineering. Shane has been through quite a bit in his lifetime and anyone with eyeballs could tell he won't think twice about killing with his bare hands.

"Fine, but I will make the most annoying noise known to man." I take a deep breath, indicating that I'm about to start but blow it back out when Shane looks over to me with sympathy.

"Shane?"

"It's Max, Shawna. You know that this shit is club business so I can't tell you in details but he ain't right in the head right now. When he got out, he got a ride from Onyx, but had him take him somewhere else. Onyx said it looked like a volunteer community for veterans but when we went to check it out he wasn't there and no one confirmed him checking in."

"He's missing?" My heart hurts for Max. Just when I thought he was turning everything around.

"We'll find him Shawna."

"I know you will." I lay my hand atop of Shane's and feel him squeeze my fingers. I hate this, but I know I can't do anything right now. The feeling of being helpless is not one I like.

"In the meantime, we think it's best you still stay with Candice and Austin."

"Figured. Now let's talk about something else. Tell me about Lyla." I smirk and laugh when he rolls his eyes. Shane has never been one for sharing but I am pleasantly surprised by his next words.

"Thought she could be my everything."

"She still can Shane."

"Nah, your forever isn't supposed to lie to you or betray you. Lyla did both."

"Shane, I have no room to talk but that isn't fair. You can't ignore the feelings you have for her and treat her badly just because of something she did once. I've met Lyla and liked her. And you know my spider senses are on point. She's a good woman, and a damn good mother, but you have to give her time to explain everything. You never know why people aren't always honest."

Shane is quiet for the remainder of the trip and I hope the silence means he is thinking about what I said. I know this is a bad time for Max, but I don't have second feelings about me telling him everything. His heart is good and he no longer hates me. In fact, it seems like he wants to try again, so for now, that's all I need to know he can handle the truth.

"By the way Shane, Inette came in to talk to me tonight."

"Heard about that. Torque says she's still stalking Timmons. She ain't attached to us, so we can't tell her shit, but she needs to know she can get seriously hurt if this fucker is who's been messing with our club lately. Her being close to you is all he may need."

Dread fills my body and a heavy weight begins pulling me down. I didn't want to admit it, but the facts are lining up perfectly that this mystery guy is the same one that not only threatened me at the diner, but the one who hurt Candice and I the other day.

I can only hope Inette heads my warning.

I've got a bad feeling about this.