The familiar buzz of a tattoo gun revealed Happy working on her back
"Property of Matt"
Matt is being crossed out and "Nobody" is being inked in graffiti style; an old tattoo she is having fixed
"Ha finally getting rid of that piece of shit tattoo, ya Bonnie?"
She pulls a face, "Yeah, Tig decided he was sick of seeing his name so he called Hap to fix it.
I keep telling him I had no choice, but it's still bothering him," Bonnie shrugs a shoulder.
"Matt was a dick," I agreed.
"Yeah she still won't tell me how it happened...can you shed any light on it?" Tig frowned at me curiously,
"All you need to know is it was a drunk night," I warned him
"Yeah. Drunk night," Bonnie snorted,
"Why don't I believe you?" Tig narrowed his eyes at the pair of us and Bonnie caved,
"Ok fine," she sighed
I squared my shoulders and looked directly at Tig, "I made Bonnie a promise to never tell anyone and I won't" Bonnie smiled at me thinly and began to explain. I could see the pain on her face as she recounted the event,
"My ex was hugely possessive and he decided I was his to do with as he pleased. He got one of his asshole friends to ink his name on me so everyone knew that I belonged to him,"
Happy stopped the tattoo gun and jerked his head up as he wiped the new ink,
"He marked you against your will?"
Bonnie reached for my hand and I gave hers a reassuring squeeze,
"Yea Hap, he did a lot of things against my will. But with Lottie's help I got away from
Him. Enough about that, lets see you gimme something awesome in its place, Killer,"
I watched Tig and Happy exchange meaningful looks behind Bonnie's back. I had to tell her what I'd seen.
"When you are done with Bonnie, I need her for a quick minute,"
"OK little girl,"Happy rasped on cue, "time for a break,"
"Bonnie, I need to speak with you real quick, alone," I muttered into her ear. She grabbed my arm as she jumped down from the bar and dragged me into the chapel. She turned and closed the doors behind us,
"What's up baby?" a frown creased her forehead in concern at my urgency. I inhaled deeply and let out a steadying breath,
"On the way here I noticed something," I glanced down at the floor. I didn't want to tell her, didn't want to hurt her with the news. I knew she needed to know, though. She needed to be on her guard.
Bonnie tipped my head back to look at her,
"What did you notice?"
I coughed, still wanting to protect her from the truth,
"Matt,"
"Shit," Bonnie paled, "Shit, what? Are you sure it was him?"
"Shh, shh, don't panic but yes, I'd know that ugly mug anywhere"
"How the fuck did he find me? Shit! Shit! Shit! I gotta go, Lottie. I gotta-I can't stay!"
Bonnie bolted for the door and I grabbed her arm, pulling her back,
"Bonnie, wait. This time we have help"
"No, no, I can't ask the guys, just-gotta...shit, shit, shit!"
She collapsed into a chair and buried her face into my hip,
"Bonnie you need to breathe"
I ran my fingers through her hair as she started to cry, "It's ok, I'm here, it's ok," I reassured her in a low voice. When she calmed down a little I called through to the guys in the bar, "TIG!!!!! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!!!"
"I can't do this shit again Lottie, I just can't," she moaned into my side.
"I know, this time we have the guys with us though, we're not alone,"
Tig burst through the door, followed by Chibs,
"What's going on?" he dived straight to his knees at Bonnie's side and started to comfort her,
"Somethin up darlin'?" Chibs asked as he took my hand,
"We have a MASSIVE problem," I looked into his eyes with a serious expression as Happy came in,
"What problem?" Happy demanded. I bit my lip before I continued,
"You know that tattoo you were covering up, just a minute ago?"
"Yeah?" Happy said and I glanced at Tig,
"Well, please don't hate me Tig, but Matt is in town. I saw him on the way to the clubhouse a little while ago," I gulped as Tig glared at me and his mouth turned up in a sneer. I held my hands up quickly, letting go of Chibs's hand in the process "I didn't know he would follow us I swear"
"So what's tha issue sweetheart? He's no gonna be a problem here," Chibs shrugged, nonchalant.
"Can i tell them what he did Bee?" I asked softly,
"I guess you might as well-if he finds his way here you know how fond he is of telling everyone anyway," she sniffled in a small voice,
"He was knife happy with her, broke some bones too when he felt like it," My head dropped as tears began to roll down my cheeks, "I couldn't help her,"
"He's gotta die," Happy growled. Chibs laid a hand on my arm,
"Where were we when ye saw him sweetheart?"
I scratched my head before replying, "I don't remember, All I know is that is was 4 blocks away-wait-he was going into the drugstore, saw him while we were at the stop light,"
"I need to go for a walk," Bonnie stood up, looking a little nauseous as she shrugged out of Tig's hands,
"Bonnie, let me go with you, what if he's outside TM?"
"No Lottie, I need a moment alone. If I see him I'll be sure to come straight back,"
"Ok" I nodded, deciding to follow her anyway.
Bonnie grabbed her shirt from the bar and pulled it on as she headed out of the club,
"I promise guys I'll be ok,"
"Come straight back to me baby," Tig called at Bonnie's back
I allow the door to close behind her before turning to the guys,
"I am going to follow her,"
"Be careful," Chibs warned,
"I always am, Biker Boy" I smirked at him.
Bonnie strode out of the gate and down in the opposite direction to the drugstore. She managed to get two blocks away, I made sure to stay out of her line of sight as she kneeled to fix the lace on her boot that had snagged loose. I watched him approach her, leaning over and dragging the back of her shirt up to expose her back,
"SHIT!!" I whispered to myself as I watched him.
"I see you've made a change to my handiwork huh?" That voice never failed to make my skin crawl. I hated that guy with every fibre of my being for what he had done to my best friend.
"Hello Matthew," Bonnie's voice was low and even. I pulled my cell from my pocket and called Chibs,
"Aye lass?"
"He's found her. We're two blocks away. I gotta help her, please hurry,"
I snapped the phone closed as Bonnie dragged her top down, standing to face Matt. I walked up next to Bonnie and glared at Matt
"Hello Lotus, long time no see," he sneered.
Bonnie was getting nervous. She kept her voice steady but I could hear the slight waiver,
"What are you doing here Matthew?"
"Taking back what's mine." He ran a tongue over his teeth when Bonnie squared her shoulders,
"Yeah well, I'm not yours any more. I belong to no-one,"
He snorted and smacked Bonnie across the mouth with the back of his hand, splitting her lip. I couldn't help myself as I swung a punch at his face.
"Lottie no! Stop!"Bonnie dived in between both of us and pushed us apart with a cry. When we separated, she clarified,
"I have some questions," Questions? This girl would be the death of me I swear, I snapped at her
"That fucker just smacked you and cut your lip,"
Her tongue probed gently at the blood on her lip as she smiled,
"I've had worse. How did you find me here Matt?"
"Lotus' Myspace page; the bitch tags you in everything," he smirked. Bonnie's eyes flashed and she stepped towards him with her hand raised,
"Call her bitch one more time i swear,"
Matt swung his arm at Bonnie, I lunged in between them and took the hit in the nose, causing blood to run down my chin.
Bonnie launched herself at Matt, who gets a couple of good punches to her face and side. Bonnie crumpled at the impact. Matt grabbed a hold of Bonnie's throat and choked her as I recovered, hitting him in the face-I felt his cheekbone crack beneath my knuckles. He let go of Bonnie and threw her roughly to the ground .
Matt rans off as Chibs and Tig approached at full pelt, their boots thumping against the sidewalk as Matt threw a parting threat over his shoulder,
"I'll fucking get you back you little whore"
I made over to help Bonnie up from the floor,
"Bee you okay?" She crumpled again as she reached up to me,
"M'fin-arrgh! Shit I think I broke a rib," her voice was horribly hoarse.
"Oh that son of a bitch is gonna die," I turned in the direction he left in and Bonnie's hand grabbed at my leg,
"Lottie don't leave me, stay. Please," she pleaded. I wiped the back of my hand across my face,
"The fucker made me bleed,"
Chibs was scowling as he got to us,
"Jesus Christ, what the fuck happened here? Lass ye hurt?"
"Matt attacked both of us before running off," I explained as Tig threw himself to his knees next to Bonnie,
"Oh baby girl what he do to you huh?" He held Bonnie softly by the face, pushing her hair gently back as his eyes took in the damage, "What did he do to her Lotus?" he demanded,
"He backhanded her in the face, then punched her in the eye and I'm guessing he cracked her rib before choking her. Got a lucky shot in on me too,
"Bastard's goan tae pay fae that," Chibs growled murderously as he draped an arm over my shoulder, steering me back towards the club. Tig picked Bonnie up, wincing as she hissed in pain. Once she was on her feet, he placed an arm around her waist, pressing kisses to her head,
"C'mon let's get you both patched up, yeah?"
As the adrenaline started to ebb, a wave of pain emanated from my face,
"FUCK my nose hurts,"
"aye ye'll need some ice fae that, lass"
We got back to the clubhouse and I grabbed a wad of napkins to stem the flow of blood. I blinked away the tears
"Think he might have broke my nose," my complaint was somewhat muffled through the tissue,
"What the fuck did I miss?" Happy growled as he looked up at us. Chibs took hold of my face and inspected it carefully,
"Not broken love, lucky you, ye've just gotta let it bleed a little." Happy handed me a roll of paper towel from the bar.
"I'm going to kill him," I promised, walking over to Bonnie, "You doing okay Bee?"
"I reckon so, survived worse" she rasped, trying to laugh. Her face contorted in pain,
"Let me see your ribs, Bonnie" I ordered. She pulled her top up to reveal a deep red mark over three ribs, unnatural lumps betraying the extent of the breaks,
"He got me good I guess?" she cocked her head to the side
"THAT MOTHERFUCKER!!" Bonnie cowered at my exclamation. I took a breath and exhaled slowly, "I am going to have put your broken ribs back in place Bee,"
"Shit Lottie no it's fine, I..." Tig effectively cut her off as he lifted her up and laid her on the bar.
I took Tig's wallet out of his pocket, holding it by her mouth,
"You might want to bite down on this," I warned. She raised an eyebrow at me,
"I might want a drink first, please,"
Chibs retrieved a bottle of whiskey and handed it to her. She took a few large swigs before her throaty voice whined,
"This is gonna hurt, isn't it?"
I nodded as I lightly felt where the breaks were. She squirmed as I prodded gently,
"Ahh! Sorry! I can't," Bonnie whimpered. Tig looks at me and then Chibs. He knew what I needed him to do before I asked,
"Guys hold her down," I sighed.
"I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry know it hurts. I love you," Tig leaned on Bonnie's shoulders, cupping her head in his hands as he muttered a string of reassurances and apologies to her. Chibs placed his hands on her hips and Happy held her legs.
With a series of snapping, I pushed to re-align Bonnie's ribs. The scream that tore from her throat felt like a knife.
I dropped my hands and swiped away the tears that welled up in my eyes,
"I am so sorry," I whispered.
Tig kept a hold of Bonnie as she sobbed. Happy let go of her legs and wrapped me in a hug as Chibs got tape from the medi-kit and strapped up Bonnie's ribs to keep them in place.
"Ye did good there lass," Chibs muttered to me as he took me from Happy's embrace. I was the one to fix everyone of her broken bones and mended her cuts, I never thought I would have to do it all again. Bonnie gasped and interrupted my inner monologue,
"Lottie I love you, you bitch but that hurt. Thank you for taking care of it,"
"Love you too, jerk," I giggled back at her.
"Now get me down offa this bar before someone thinks I'm doing body shots,"
Bonnie must have been feeling better to be back to making demands. I smiled a little as we helped her down from the bar and handed her the bottle of whiskey. Bonnie took a deep slug of whiskey and her eyes widened as she saw my bloodstained face,
"Girl your pretty face! That asshole is dead!"
"I'm fine, but when i see him again imma kill him,"
"I'm so sorry..." she gasped as I slapped a towel full of ice onto her swelling eye,
"I told you to never go alone," I admonished her
"Ah shit! I didn't think he'd find me so quickly. At least he doesn't know where in Charming we are...does he...?" Bonnie dropped the ice pack as she stared at me, "Lottie, does he know where I am?"
"If he knows you're in Charming then he knows you're here," I was horrified at my mistake. I'd practically given Matt a map to find her.
"That asshole sets a foot on this property there won't be anything left for you to kill," Happy promised flatly.
I looked at Bonnie apologetically, "I didn't know he would stalk my page," I admitted and her gaze softened,
"Baby it's not your fault. If it wasn't for me he wouldn't even be here," she wrapped me in a hug, "you weren't to know. I didn't think he'd go to these lengths,"
"Shit, you think that shit who cheated on me stalks me as well?"
"Erik will be sorry if he did. Matt probably told him, but the tramp he's with is more likely to try something. She's definitely stupid enough,"
"She would wouldn't she, just to rub it in my fucking face," I groaned and rubbed my hand over my face,
"If she does, we'll be ready," Bonnie hardened. Her voice was icy cold. I think she hated my sister as much as I did.
"I can't hurt her, she's pregnant with his child," I sobbed, "that could've been me,"
"Yeah well she's not pregnant in the face. Lucky for you he never trapped you like that honey, the cheating piece of shit,"
I dropped my gaze as I walked out of the bar. I'd always wanted to be a mother. Loretta had to take that away from me as well. I sat down with a huff.
Chibs had followed me outside and sat next to me. He was silent as he slipped an arm around me. Moments later, I felt him stiffen against me as footsteps approached. I looked up to see Matt striding towards the clubhouse, his mouth twisted in a grimace as he yelled,
"BONNIE GET YOUR FAT ASS OUT HERE NOW YOU LITTLE SLUT!"
I moved to launch myself at him but Chibs held me in an iron grip.
"You have balls to just walk up in here you abusive asshole," Matt didn't register what I'd said to him. He was in a blind rage. I'd hoped Bonnie hadn't heard his demand, but no such luck. She walked out of the club slowly, head to the floor. It sickened me to see her like that, so subservient to him. Like he owned her all over again. I let out a dry sob of panic as she approached him, reaching out a hand. Chibs stood with me and I ran towards Bonnie, pulling her behind me,
"He isn't touching you again,"
Bonnie gave my arm a squeeze and moved around me.
"I got this," she whispered to me. Reluctantly I let her step forward again. The tension in my chest eased slightly at the familiar rumble of Harley engines trundled into the lot. Tig strode out and motioned for the prospect to close the gate. Once the chain link had been drawn across, he walked slowly towards Bonnie, sneering at the asshole across from her.
I smirked at Matt, who raised his eyebrows at me, "see here Matt, you don't get away with hurting women with these guys. They don't take kindly to abusers,"
"You shut your mouth you feral bitch. I'm here for what's mine and I intend to take it," he snarled at me before turning to Bonnie, "I see you're whoring yourself to a new set of guys Bonnie hmm?"
I lunged at Matt, my fist connecting with his lip in a satisfying way,
"Motherfucker call me bitch one more time,"Chibs grabbed me again, circling his arms around me as Matt ran his tongue over the fresh split,
"Awright lass, let's hear what he has to say ey?" his voice was soft in my ear, "look at your girl, she's in control,"
I looked as he suggested. Bonnie had a steely glint in her eye that I hadn't seen before. I leaned into Chibs' broad chest as he held me tight.
Bonnie took anot
her step forward, lifting her head suddenly, looking Matt in the eye,
"What is it you really want here Matt?" she demanded, her voice strong and clear. Matt's expression was murderous as his lip curled. Bonnie cocked her head to the side like a curious puppy,
"I can't hear you, do you want me crawling on my knees to you? You want me up against the fence? Want me back on a fucking leash?" her arms gestured violently as she fired the questions at him. "Come on sugar, you were pretty vocal before?"
"Please just let me beat him to a pulp." Bonnie looked at me with a warning glance,
"Lottie, I got this,"
"He doesn't get away with hurting you Bee," I glared at Matt, practically vibrating with hatred.
"Well? Go ahead Matthew, everyone is listening. Why don't you tell them the stories you like so much? You remember don't you? The ones you love to tell your friends?"
I didn't like where this was going. I tried to stop Bonnie before she could go any further. She didn't need to relive this shit again,
"Bonnie, you are my sister, I wasn't there for you before but believe me, I'm here for you now. You don't need to do this to yourself. This asshole is going to die," Bonnie turned to me with a sweet smile that sickened me. Her voice was all girlish and breathy, something wasn't right.
"No Lottie, I wanna hear him. I want him to tell everyone his favourite things he's done; The stories you used to tell the friends you used to 'share' me with as a taster of what they could get? You remember, don't you Matt?"
She strutted up to him and ran a finger down his chest. Matt seemed to be frozen to the spot. I'm sure he never banked on Bonnie standing up to him. He thrived on controlling her, keeping her weak and beaten down, but months of being free from his clutches had allowed Bonnie to find a strength she never had before. The Sons had begun to circle round and it seemed Bonnie was going to give them a show. Tig was rooted to the spot as he watched his girl lay everything bare,
"How about those films you used to make, honey? The ones you'd have them all round to watch while I served them food and beer?"
He was so lucky Chibs was holding me back.
"You got nothing, sugar? How about your pièce de résistance? The night you let each of them take a turn and when I couldn't move any more you got Frankie to tattoo your mark on me hmmm?"
My hand flew to my mouth as Bonnie laughed hysterically.
"Why so quiet now, big man? Oh, I'm sorry, did I steal your thunder? I forgot, you liked to humiliate me by telling people yourself, didn't you?"
"I think he's realised his mistake sweetie, look around," I wanted so badly to snap Bonnie out of this . It was beginning to scare me. She'd never told me all of the sordid details, I'd just patch her up and she'd crawl back like the obedient slave she was. Tig moved forward to grab hold of Bonnie but she twisted and unsheathed his knife, holding it to Matt's throat,
"Give me a reason not to do this right here and now," she snarled, her eyes ablaze; all trace of the sweet girl gone. Tig placed his hand over hers,
"Come on baby, he may deserve it but killing him now won't take back everything he has ever done to you," his voice was low and calming, "Come on baby give it up." A tear rolled down Bonnie's cheek as she started to tremble. Tig stroked her hair softly, his eyes fixed on her face as hers were fixed on Matt, "Give me the knife Bonnie, please,"
"I'm not letting him walk out of here, I can't," she whispered, shaking her head. I unwrapped Chibs' arms from around me and joined Tig at Bonnie's side, "I can't," she whispered as I un-clenched her fist to hold her hand,
"Let the guys take care of him," I pleaded, "You don't need to do this to yourself,"
Her hand began to shake and Tig eased the knife out of Bonnie's grip. I pulled her into a hug as she wilted,
"I am so proud of you," I mumbled in her ear, my eyes narrowed at Matt as he smirked. Happy gripped him swiftly by the throat and marched him away, Opie following with a roll of tape. At the sound of the scuffle, Bonnie jerked her head up,
"I gotta go with them,"
"No," I said simply, holding her around the waist as she tried to follow them,
"I need to see this end, please, just let me go," she pleaded, struggling against my grip. I flashed back to that night, the shock of those same words and I loosened my grip. She twisted out of my arms and ran after Happy and Opie, Tig in quick pursuit. He caught her and cuddled her close to him as I walked up to them,
"Let me come with you Bonnie, you aren't going alone," I jumped at the bang as Opie threw Matt, bound in tape, bodily into the back of the van.
"I gotta see this end," she repeated, almost dreamlike. Tig helped her into the back of the van where Matt had been thrown as I climbed into the passenger seat, followed by Opie. Tig jumped into the back and Happy took the wheel. Tig's sarcastic apology following an accidental kick made me snigger as Happy pulled out of the gate.