Worlds Collide

Hell Hath No Fury: Part 1

Karli's POV:

Over the past month, things have picked up around the shop. Mostly because someone had leaked a photo of Brantley and I to the press and rabid fans of his kept stopping by hoping to get a glimpse of him. Just thinking about the way the press had showed up at my door, the way that they stalked my job and even my friends' homes was enough to piss me off. But the anger I had felt at them in the beginning was nothing to the anger I felt -and still felt if I'm being honest- when I found out just who it was that had leaked that picture.

Gemma Teller-Morrow had done some pretty shady shit in her day but never at the expense of her children... until she got strung out and the temptation of a massive payout was too much for her drug addicted brain to refuse. I have to give her credit though. It would have been easy for her to deny what she'd done but in true Gemma fashion, she had called to gloat, bragging about the money that she had made off the little intimate moment outside of the diner Brantley and I had eaten dinner at the day he had showed up at the shop. There had been no regretfulness in her tone as she had gloated, only pride that she had cashed in on a major payday for her and her pimp. Word around town was that that little payday had scored my mom and her pimp enough for him to make her his number one lady; a title that I'm sure that she was prouder of than she should be.

But I wish I could say that the shop being busy, my new relationship with Brantley -that was going really well by the way-, and the anger I felt at my mother were the only things that had been going on in my life. Over the past month, the home invasions that had been going on had only picked up in frequency and in violence, forcing Sherriff Roosevelt to practically set up shop outside of the garage in hopes that he would catch one of the guys red-handed. Jax told me of his suspicions about Clay being behind the home invasions -only because I threw a fit about Phil camping out in front of my house or at my job every day. Part of me didn't want to believe that Clay was behind it but deep down I knew that he was more than capable.

"Hey Kar! Have you seen the spare highchair anywhere around?" said Jax as he walked into the office from the garage, forcing me to look up from the spreadsheet I had been working on for more than two hours. Got to love quarterly reports...

"Last time I saw it, it was at mom's." I replied, leaning back in the chair and stretching my arms over my head. "What do you need it for?"

"Lyla and Opie are coming to the clubhouse tonight with the kids. Since Thomas is still using the highchair that we have here, Ace needs one." Said Jax, referring to Opie's youngest son who was the same age as Thomas.

"Oh yeah, I totally forget about that." I replied. "Let me finish up this spreadsheet and I'll run by mom's and grab it. Are you sure Tara doesn't want my help with anything?"

"She and a few of the hang-a-rounds have it under control according to her." said Jax, leaning against the file cabinet and crossing his arms across his chest. "You know how Tara is, she wants to do things on her on terms and since mom's not around, she's finally getting the chance to settle into her role as first lady of Redwood."

"Ugh, don't get me started on her." I said, rolling my eyes at his mention of our mother. "Thinking about her makes my head hurt and these spreadsheets have given me enough of a headache as it is without bringing her into the mix."

"Sorry about the headache but you know that you are the only one that can work those docs like they need to be worked." Said Jax. "Well, aside from Bobby and his gib Jew brain. But the last time he was asked to go over anything for the office, he flat out refused."

"Yeah, but he didn't when it came to working the books at Cara Cara." I chimed in, thinking about how quickly Bobby had jumped at that opportunity. "Guess the appeal of seeing unlimited tits and ass was more appealing that figuring up the monthly bills for the garage."

"Tits and Ass? Greasy men with their ass-cracks hangout?" said Jax, pretending to weigh his options. "Think I have to agree with Bobby on this one. I'd have chosen Cara Cara too."

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes but couldn't fight the threatening smile.

"Anyway, finish up what your working on and grab that chair for me. Don't forget to take Phil with you." Said Jax as he walked out of the office door.

"Aye, Aye captain." I said saluting his retreating back, earning me a playfully tossed middle finger. I laughed as I picked up the spreadsheet and got back to work on it.

*****

Finishing up the spreadsheet I'd been working on took longer than I'd thought, resulting in it being almost dark by the time I walked out to my car. I scanned the parking lot as I walked, noticing that more than a few bikes were gone, Phil's being one of the ones that were missing. Guess that means I get to go out on my own for the first time in a month... WHOOO HOOO! Not wanting to bother one of the other guys with the task of babysitting me while I ran an errand and needing the few minutes I would be gone to myself, I climbed into my GMC Terrain and began to make my way out of the lot. Before I knew it, I was pulling into the driveway of my childhood home. As I parked the car, thoughts of all the memories -both good and bad- that this place held popped into my mind. Some of the best times of my life had happened right here in this house. But some of the worst ones had too. Not wanting to put myself in a funk with my sad memories, I forced myself to climb out of the car and began walking towards the house, fumbling with my keys as I walked.

Once inside the house, I gathered up the mail that had been slid though the mail door and placed it on the counter before walking to the back bedroom where mom kept the highchair when it wasn't in use. I was halfway down the hallway when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Before I could react, a blow landed on the back of my head, causing me to fall face first into the small table that sat in the hallway. Pictures crashed to the floor, shards of glass scattering onto the hardwood as they broke.

A fist roughly grabbed a handful of my hair, forcing me to roll over.

"You're going to fucking regret this you piece of shit." I seethed, tasting blood on my tongue from my fall.

Instead of responding, the attacker drew back before letting his fist fly. The big fist connected with my jaw causing white-hot pain to shoot through my system. Another blow landed on my cheek, making my head snap in the opposite direction. My hands fought to get the man off me, clawing at every inch of him that my nails could find. The hand that had landed on my check only seconds before landed on my throat, the tips of his fingers digging into my skin. Again, my nails dug into him.

Stars were beginning to cloud my vison from the lack of oxygen getting to my brain when my nails caught into the knit material of the mask covering the mans face. Only one thought popped into my mind then... if this is going to be the day that I die, then I'm sure as hell going to see who it was that took me out. Maneuvering my fingers into the eye openings of the knit mask, I yanked as hard as I could. The sound of the material ripping was like music to my ears. But that music soon became something out of nightmare as recognition of the man attempting to kill me came to me.

Seems Jax had been right on his theory of who was behind the home invasions.

"You really shouldn't have done that. I was going to let you live but because you know who I am, you know how this works. I hope you are in good standing with Lord because you are about to meet him." Said the man that Clay had brought in a few months ago when the club needed members.

"Jax will fucking murder you for this Gogo." I seethed.

"He'll have to find me first." He said. The menacing smile that spread across his face in that moment was the last thing I remember before everything turned black.