"Hey dad can I talk to you real quick?" Lilly asked as soon as she saw me.

I nodded and she led me away from the group. I could see a few of them give us curious glances as we passed by, but none of them voiced their thoughts.

We walked upstairs to my room and went in, shutting the door behind us. "What did you need to talk to me about?" I asked. She sighed and bit her lip, taking a moment to think. That was a bit concerning to me but I brushed it off, knowing that she'd tell me.

"What are you guys planning on doing about Ripper's mother? She's still out there and he hasn't been able to sleep properly. He doesn't think that I know about this, but he talks in his sleep. He has nightmares about her and I never know how to bring it up to him. I don't know what to do but I don't want him to suffer anymore," she told me.

"What does he say in his sleep?" I asked, curious. I was also concerned about how this is just now happening because of the fact that his mother is now making a reappearance. Ripper was one of my most trusted and loyal members; if he's suffering, so am I.

She sniffed. "He begs for her to stop. I know somewhat of what she did to him, and I know it was bad because he showed me the scars right after I found out about her. He will beg and plead for it to stop and then after that his body will shake and he'll start to sweat. After that he wakes up and I pretend to be sleeping because I don't know what to do. Every time I hear it, it brings me back to when I was with Bethany. I finally got my chance to rest at night, and I want him to get that chance too." She finished.

I stared at her in a few seconds in admiration. The girl before me had been through so much, and knows exactly how it feels, and yet instead of crumbling she stands and tries to help others.

"I have a plan in mind, but I need to talk about it with Ripper first before I take anything into serious consideration. Since it is his mother I have to know if any plan will be alright with him before I bring it up to anyone else, okay?"

She nodded and smiled. Stepping forward, she pulled me into a quick hug. "Thank you so much. I don't know where I would be without you dad." I smiled and pulled her close to me, squeezing her tightly.

After that short conversation we walked back downstairs to where everyone was. We took our seats, nobody questioning what just happened even though I could tell a few of them wanted to. And judging by the curious look on Ripper's face, he didn't know that Lilly talked to me about him.

He might not even know that she knows about his nightmares.

Smiles handed me beer and I gave him a look. Even though I had been doing well, it wasn't good enough to where I trusted myself to keep my alcohol cravings at bay.

"Figured you'd want one after everything that's went down," he shrugged with a smile.

I rolled my eyes but didn't argue, considering I really felt like I needed one. I sighed after the first sip, automatically feeling less stressed. Smiles gave me a wink as he walked away to hand someone else their drink and I rolled my eyes, tuning back into the conversation that the others were having.

"Do y'all wanna do something today?" Ace asked.

"Like what?" Miranda asked. Those who weren't paying attention in our little group now were, probably dying to get out of here and actually do something now that the threat had lessened.

"Like, do y'all wanna go out and do something fun? We've been cooped up for a long time and now that we have three of the ones who were the cause of it, why don't we celebrate? We don't have to go all out but just let's go out and have some fun," he explained.

Looking around at everyone I could tell that they were all for the idea, and they were looking at me for my approval.

I nodded. "Let's go."

_______________________

We were laughing hysterically as we were escorted out of Walmart.

So far we had not only been kicked out of a Applebee's, but also a Pet Smart, a gas station, and now a Walmart.

I thought we were supposed to be adults?

"Why would you do that?" Miranda asked while laughing.

"How was I supposed to know you'd get screamed at for touching the fish?!" Smiles exclaimed. The group burst into laughter again as we all walked towards the bikes.

I shook my head with a smile as I climbed onto my bike, Scarlett following suit. "We should probably head back y'all, we'll see you back at the compound," I announced. Everyone nodded and climbed onto their bikes, following us out of the parking lot.

The whole ride back to the compound my body and mind were at peace. I had Scarlett behind me gripping my waist, providing me with a silent comfort I didn't know that I had needed until now. Even though our work wasn't done yet, I knew that we would overcome anything else thrown our way.

My club was my life, and I would give up everything for the people within it. They meant everything to me, and I would do anything within my power to protect them.

____________________

Later that day I sat on my bed with Scarlett, petting Leo. The hyper pup was laying with his belly up, enjoying the attention that the both of us were giving him.

However my mind was occupied with all that was still going on. I just wanted to be able to relax and not worry about anything for once but why is it that the ones I care about the most are the ones in the most danger?

I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning back against my headboard.

"You okay?" Scarlett whispered softly.

I opened one eye and smiled at her and Leo. The two were cuddled up together beside me.

"I'm okay. Just stressed is all," I groaned as I laid down completely, feeling the relief from my body as all of my muscles relaxed at once.

"I'm sorry. Any idea about when this will all end?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Sadly no. Once we find Ripper's mother and find a way to get to her than I will be able to say an estimate but until then I'm in the dark. I would just leave her alone if I knew that she would do the same for us, but I know she won't. Her and Ripper have such a awful relationship because of what she had done to him, and I wish I could help him more but the only thing I can do is take her out," I sighed again.

She sat there for a few moments.

"Does he know that you plan on killing her?"

I laughed silently.

"I'm pretty sure he plans on being the one to kill her himself."

"Really?"

I rubbed my hands over hers and nodded.

"They both have a deep hatred for each other. One that I really have never seen before. His hatred towards his mother is like the hatred that I felt towards Adam, except under different circumstances and to different extremes. Ripper feels his anger more strongly because he was the only one who endured his mother's wrath, and who knows what exactly went down behind those walls. He's the only one who experiences that emotion around her, and he also deals with his anger differently than others in the club.

"Whereas some of us are silent, he is vocal. And a lot more violent. The first time I ever witnessed him torture someone I threw up because the scene was so gruesome. The scary part about it is that he won't even bat an eye at it. The extent of his torture doesn't bother him. He could be covered in blood and guts and not even care, and not even think twice about it. So yeah he will be the only to kill his mother, and it is not going to be a pretty sight to witness."