She let out a groan as a right foot connected with her ribcage and then another was delivered. She screamed as she was pulled up to her feet by her hair. She tried throwing punches but it was useless, he was too strong and too determined.

“Do you like running with them? Do you think because you got transferred to a different unit that you could run from me? Do you like that Trace fellow who dropped you off? Is he as good as me?” The guy screamed in her face as she crawled on the floor to where her cell had been dropped.

She grabbed it before he could stop her and got the number dialed. He tried to take it from her but she clung to it with her life.

“Hello? T-Teak? Is this you? T-Teak, are you okay? Teak!” Shift shouted on the other end of the line.

“H-Help!” Teak managed to scream out as her attacker knocked the cell out of her hand.

“I’m on the way! Okay Teak! We’re coming!” She heard Shift yell from her cell that now on her kitchen floor.

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Shift called the clubhouse, knowing the guys there would get there before her and Justin. They were closer and Trace knew exactly where Teak lived. Shift just didn’t know why someone would be hurting Teak!

She shook Justin as hard as she could to wake him up, rolling her eyes when he just rolled over. She climbed out of bed and pulled on some jeans and one of Justin’s t-shirts. She tried waking him up again as she pulled on her boots.

“Where the fuck are you going?” He mumbled as he watched her pull on her boots.

“Teak’s in trouble! We’ve got to take Kale with us. We don’t have time to get a sitter!” Shift yelled as Justin jumped out of bed.

“Go get Kale dressed. I’ll finish up here.” Justin told her as he grabbed a tire bar from their closet and started getting dressed.

“KT, honey wake up for Mommy. Come on…we have to go.” Shift told Kale as she woke him up and helped him put on some socks and shoes leaving him in his Pjs.

“Where are we going Mommy?” He asked as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“To go check on Teak. I’m going to need you to hold on tight to daddy, okay?” Shift told him as she walked out of the house and put Kale behind Justin on his bike.

“Okay Mommy.” Kale told her as she helped him put on his helmet.

He did what he was told and held on tight to his daddy as Shift got on her bike and they took off to Teak’s house.

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Teak sat on the curb of the sidewalk smoking a cigarette as Justin and Shift showed up. She doesn’t know why but when Shift showed up, Teak felt relived. She stood up as Shift made her way to her and shocked her by pulling her into a hug.

“Are you okay?” Shift whispered into her ear as Teak nodded her head and started to cry, “Don’t. Don’t let them see you cry,” Shift told her as Teak stopped.

“I-I got home from the bar and he was waiting for me.” Teak told Shift as she buried her head on Shift’s shoulder.

“Tell me who he is.” Shift told her as she let go of Teak and sat down on the curb pulling out her own cigarette.

“He is Shane Fagan. My ex-boyfriend and ex-part…” Teak started to say as she sat beside Shift.

She almost outed herself and she could tell Shift was waiting for her to say something. She turned her attention and gaze away from Shift to her house in the back. The Pack members were going through her house for any signs of Shane. He had taken off when he heard the guys pulling up.

“Teak, your ex-partner? We know you’re ATF.” Shift told her with a sigh as Teak looked at her shocked.

“B-but why…I-I mean…why haven’t…w-why haven’t ya’ll done anything?” Teak asked.

She thought she was being so careful. She thought they did suspect anything. However knowing that they knew she was ATF and still accepted her made her feel grateful. They took her as she was, other clubs wouldn’t have done that.

“To be honest,” Shift said as Kale made his way over to them and sat in her lap, “We need you and any inside information you can give us. It’s getting harder and harder to evade the ATF and Justin,” She said as they both turned to look at Justin, who was talking to Trace, “well the longer he’s out the more in charge of the club he’ll become. I’ve got to know that I can get him out if he ever goes back to lock up.”

“So, you want to use me?” Teak asked confused as to how that made her feel.

“In a sense, we all get used. Justin can fix anything with wheels, Trace can drive anything with wheels, Fig is an expert in homemade explosives, I can handle any gun known to man and I like knives too, Irish has got IRA connections and you’ve got the ATF connections. We’re still family and we’ve still got your back. Now tell me about Shane.” Shift told her as the boys let them be.

“Shane was my boyfriend in California, when we broke up I had to get a restraining order against him. I thought if I came to Tennessee that I could escape him and start over. When I got home he was waiting for me and saw Trace dropping me off. He knows all about ya’ll and he hates that I’m running with ya’ll.” Teak told her as they continued to smoke on the curb.

“He’ll hurt ya’ll if he can,” Teak told her after a few minutes of silence, she stared at Kale who was now asleep against his mommy, “All of ya’ll…just to get me back.”

“Don’t worry…we’ll find him first. Nobody threatens family.” Shift told her as she stood up with Kale, “You should stay at the clubhouse tonight.” She said as Teak nodded her approval.

“Did you get everything settled?” Justin asked Shift as she handed Kale over to him.

“Yeah. She’s goin’ stay at the clubhouse. You still got that friend on the inside?” Shift asked him as he nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Good. I need a Shane Fagan looked up. Son of a bitch is ATF too.” She muttered as Justin woke Kale up and helped him with his helmet.

“Should we be doing this right before we leave?” Justin asked her as she looked at him.

“Daddy, what do you want me to do? Wait? She’s our only ATF connection!” Shift hissed at him.

“Mama, I know. But this isn’t a good time to go after a Fed. Not before a run.” Justin said as he tried to reason with her.

“I’m not talking about going after him. That can wait. I want to find out who he is first.” Shift told him as she got on her bike.

“Okay baby. I’ll see what I can find out. Let’s go home.” He told her before he kissed her and got on his bike with Kale.

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*Tuesday Morning 6:00am*

Justin woke up to Shift straddling his naked body and running her small hands up and down his bare chest. He smiled at her as she leaned down and sucked on his Adam’s apple.

“What are you doing?” He asked her as his hands gripped her hips.

“Waking you up before Kale does. He won’t wake up for another hour.” She told him with a sly smile as she lifted up her tank top, revealing her breasts for him.

“Baby girl,” Justin groaned as he ripped her underwear off as she laughed, “When did you start wearing clothes to bed? I don’t like being the only naked person in our bed.”

“When you got locked up our son started sleeping in our bed.” She told him with a sigh as he slightly picked her up, ready to slide her down onto him.

*Knock, Knock*

“Mommy! Daddy!” Kale yelled as he knocked on the door again.

“Shit! Our kid has great timing!” Justin muttered as Shift climbed off of him and pulled on one of his old shirts that she practically swam in.

“Shut up and put some fucking clothes on.” Shift told them with a laugh as she tossed him a pair of boxers.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Kale yelled as he pounded on the door harder this time.

Shift shook her head as Justin’s naked body rose from their bed so he could pull on his boxers. She let out a frustrated sigh before she swung open their bedroom door.

“KT, what’s wrong?” She asked as his little hand grabbed hers.

“Grandma and Grandpa are here but I can’t reach the top lock!” Kale told her as he dragged her to their front door.

“Okay, okay Kale. I’m getting it.” She told him as she opened the door to let Paul and Lynn in.

“Where’s my grandson?” Lynn asked as she walked into the hallway and Kale practically jumped into her open arms.

“I’m right here Grandma!” He shouted as she hugged him tight.

“Did you just wake up?” Paul asked as he took in the sight of her in Justin’s shirt.

Eighteen years and she was still wearing his son’s t-shirts to bed.

“Yeah, Kale woke us up! Ya’ll come to pick him up?” Justin asked as he walked into the hallway in a pair of pajama pants.

“Yep. I came to steal my grandson. Is it okay if Grandma steals you, Kale?” Lynn asked as Kale nodded his head excitedly.

“Let me get his bag. Buddy, you wanna stay in your pjs or change into clothes?” Justin asked Kale as Kale looked at Shift.

“In my pjs. Mommy, when are you coming back?” Kale asked as he reached out for Shift.

“Soon baby. You’ll see me in two days, okay?” Shift told him as she hugged him and kissed his forehead.

“Okay. Grandma, I want some breakfast.” Kale said, satisfied with Shift’s answer.

“Okay buddy. We’re goin’ head out and let your parents get ready.” Paul said as he took Kale from Lynn and headed outside as Justin got Kale’s little backpack.

“Bye Kale. Remember your Mommy loves you.” Shift shouted as she waved bye to him.

“Bye Buddy. We’ll see you soon. Be good for your grandparents.” Justin told him as he ruffled Kale’s curls and kissed his forehead.

That nagging feeling was gone now that Kale would be riding down with his grandparents but he knew Kale could still be in danger. He was going to do whatever it took to protect his son.

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They had been riding for awhile and Justin was enjoying Shift being close to him. For the first time since she got her own hog he was packing double with her. He had missed just being able to ride. It always made him feel free.

Even though he felt free though, riding let a lot of thoughts into his head. He thought about Kale and he thought about Teak and that Shane guy. He thought about his parents and taking over the club. He wondered if Shift really wanted this life with him. He thought about everything LJ said about him. It was a lot to be thinking about and a lot of shit being put on his shoulders but when Shift leaned in and kissed his AT tattoo all those thoughts drifted away. He was able to enjoy the sun shinin’ down on them and enjoy Shift’s arms wrapped around his waist.

He smiled to himself when he passed the “You’re now leaving Tennessee” sign and chuckled as a cage full of girls passed by him, honkin’ and hollerin’ at him. He felt Shift’s chin rest on his shoulder and hold onto him tighter. He sighed in contentment as he rubbed one of her hands with his before putting it back on his handlebar. They had needed this.

As he crossed over into Arkansas he decided to pull over for some gas and quite frankly a smoke. He pulled his bike up to the gas pump and waited for Shift to get off before he followed. He recognized the cage the girls had been in were parked at another spot beside him and Shift. This was going to be interesting.

He watched as Shift took off her helmet and shook out her hair. He swore his jeans got tighter just watching her.

“Baby, I need to buy a pack of cigarettes for us. Did you want something to drink or eat on?” Shift asked him as he dug in his wallet for cash.

“Um…get me a Pepsi and buy two packs. I’ll use the card for the gas,” He told her as he handed her a twenty from his wallet, laughing when she slapped him on the arm when she saw an unopened condom packet in his wallet, “What? I’m just being prepared baby.” he told her as she laughed then kissed his cheek.

“Whatever, you ain’t getting’ any.” She told him with a wink before walking to the convenience store.

Shift walked into the convenience store and took off her sunglasses, placing them on top of her head. As she made her way to the back where they bottles of soda are she was stopped by four girls.

“Is that your man out there?” One of them asked her as Shift rolled her eyes and sidestepped them.

She refused to answer them as she grabbed a Pepsi and Cream Soda from the cooler.

“My friend asked you a question?” One of the other girls said to Shift as she bit her lip to not say anything.

Shift headed pass them again as she made her way to the counter. She placed the sodas on the counter and waited her turn.

“What is your problem? Answer the damn question!” Another one of the girls told her as she stood in line.

Shift watched as everyone in the store turned their attention to the confrontation going on. She let out a sigh before facing the girls. She threw them a tight smile while choosing her words carefully.

“Listen little girls, obviously he’s my man. I rode here with him and I know ya’ll saw me on his bike when ya’ll passed us earlier. I’m tryin’ to enjoy a nice trip with my man so I don’t need ya’ll in my face. So back the hell off,” Shift said as she turned around and faced the counter, “Can I have two packs of Camel Menthols with these sodas?” She asked as she placed the twenty on the counter.

“Does he know he’s dating a bitch?” One of them asked as Shift pulled out her switchblade and held it to the girl’s throat.

“I’ve warned ya’ll once…consider this twice, the third time you won’t walk away alive.” Shift told them in her southern drawl as they backed off.

Shift grabbed the two packs of cigarettes and placed them in the pockets of her leather cut before grabbing the sodas and her change. She closed her switchblade and walked out of the convenience store pulling down her sunglasses to cover her eyes before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. How dare those whores call her a bitch! If they said anything else she would show them how much of a bitch she could be.

Justin watched as Shift made her way back to his Road King smoking a cigarette. She looked pissed. That meant something went down in the store. This was supposed to be a relaxin’ run. But she did look pretty hot all pissed off and possessive.

“Baby, what happened?” He asked as he noticed the girls walking out of the convenience store, making their way to their cage.

“Why couldn’t I have fallen in love with an ugly guy?” She asked more to herself than to him.

He just chuckled as he got on his bike and waited for Shift to get on behind him. He noticed those girls glaring at Aiden and it pissed him off. Nobody glared at his old lady. He revved up his bike as he pulled up to their cage.

“Fucking glare at my girl like that again and she won’t be the only one you’ll have to watch out for. Fucking whores!” Justin told them as he flipped them off and took off, ready to get the hell to Texas and the patch-over.