Bailey 'The Bullet' Teller

.29.

The soft light of sunrise poured through the crack in the curtains into Bailey's face. She tried to turn her head away from it, but it didn't work. She was facing the window, curled up on her side with Juice wrapped around her. His chest pressed firm to her back, one arm under her pillow and the other wrapped around her, keeping her as close as possible. His soft snores made a small smile spread out on her face.

She lay there for a little while until she really needed to get up and pee. Carefully, she unfolded herself from Juice's arms and scooped up her pyjamas, along with Juice's zip-up hoodie, from the night before that were littered across the thick grey carpet. She picked up the Walkie-Talkie and her phones and made her way into the bathroom. The whole time she was brushing her teeth she felt lightheaded, she put it down to fainting after donating blood the other day and picked up a slice of pizza to munch on whilst she made herself a drink.

Usually, Bailey would be all about coffee first thing in the morning. She'd been that way since she was about fourteen. But this morning, when she opened the cupboard, Juice's Ginger Tea practically screamed out to her. As she nibbled on the pizza crust, she settled herself on the bench in the garden. Lighting herself a cigarette, she pulled out her prepay and typed a message.

Call me when you can - Bullet xx

That ginger tea went down far too easily, and she was still dying of thirst. By the time she had grabbed a water bottle and moved back outside, this time with her sunglasses on her face to keep the sun out of her eyes, her phone was ringing. The annoying tune sounded the moment her butt came back into contact with the bench.

"Hey, Darlin." Bailey hummed.

"Hi." The woman on the other line sighed.

"How y'holdin' up? Kids awake yet?" The biker asked softly.

"Kids are still in bed. They had a late night. I couldn't sleep." Donna explained.

"Gonna tell me what what's got y'runnin' back t' Mama's retirement paradise in Groveland?" Bailey questioned.

"It's six a.m." Donna pointed out.

"Well, you ain't slept, so it ain't like I gotta wait f'you to wake up." Bailey quipped.

"Jesus Christ, you're as relentless as your mother." Donna mutter to herself. "He got fired from the Mil f'not goin' in. He promised me he wouldn't go back t'the Club. Then where did I find him, Bails? At the Clubhouse, he was there all night and didn't even call." She ranted.

"D'you wanna know why he was there?" Bailey offered.

"Kinda." The woman said angrily. "No." She sighed after a moment. "No, I don't."

"Why?" The biker challenged.

"Because." Donna auibly shrugged. "Because I know it was bad f'him not t'call."

"And why does that change anythin'?" Bailey smirked.

"Because that's why I hate him goin' back." Donna sighed. "Because I already lost 'im for five years, and I know I could lose 'im f'good."

"You're scared he's gonna get killed?"

"Are you not?" Donna asked quickly.

"M'not scared'a Opie getting hurt from bein' in the Club, I'm scared of 'im gettin' hurt bein' half in and half out." Bailey said honestly. "I know it's hard for you, Doll. I can't imagine how hard these last six years have been on you. But I can not express this enough, Opie bein' on the fence will get him killed."

"How? How would him workin' an actual job get him hurt?"

"Because it makes him look weak, Donna." Bailey said seriously. "You know what we do, right? You've heard enough over the years, so picture this: One day a crew have got a problem with us, or want what we have, and decide t'start tailin' us. Y'got Clay, Jax an' Tig who live and breathe Sam Crow. The older guys like Bobby, Chibs, and Piney, who are tough as nails and lived through some god-awful shit. Then y'got me, Juice and Ope. Me and Juice? We spend almost every day at TM. We see our guys all the time. Opie looks like the weak link." She spelt it out to her. "Doesn't see his brothers much, exhausted from workin' so much, knows everythin' but don't have the same protection as the rest'a us. That goes for you and y'kids, too. Anythin' goes wrong, Ope is the first member that someone would try t'break."