Chapter Two

Compass

The hits just fucking kept coming. We thought we had a few days of peace before the circus of filming started back up. Instead, we got this joker barging into the clubhouse like he had a deed to the place. And the icing on the shit cake? He looked to be Fallon’s ex.

Fuck me running .

Yarder dropped into his chair at the head of the table with all the grace of a pissed-off bear. I took my spot to his right in the seat that practically had my name engraved on it by now. The rest of the guys shuffled in one by one and filled the room with chairs scraping against the concrete floor.

Before anyone could settle, Fallon hovered in the doorway to church and looked hesitant and nosy. “Uh, is there somewhere you’d like me to sit?” She pointed over her shoulder. “Or, I could just head back to hang out with the ol’ ladies if you want.”

Yarder grunted and waved a hand like she was an annoying fly. “Compass can pull up a chair next to him.”

Apparently, I wasn’t just her designated babysitter, but also now her little bitch to get her chair. Yarder gave me a look that could’ve cut glass, silently ordering me to make it happen.

“Jesus,” I muttered under my breath. As if dealing with Fallon’s sass wasn’t enough, now I had to fetch her a chair like she didn’t have two working legs. But orders were orders. I stood, grabbed a chair from against the wall, and plopped it down between Cue Ball and me. “Sit.”

Fallon crossed the room with an exaggerated sway and dropped into the chair like royalty, gracing us with her presence. For once, she didn’t argue or make some snarky comment. That was progress. Or maybe she was saving it for later.

“This is cozy,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. She swept a hand around the room. “It’s just like that biker TV show. I was trying to place it before the first time I was here.”

Yarder pinched the bridge of his nose, probably already regretting letting her into the room.

“Please don’t say it,” I whispered, though I knew it was hopeless.

“Sons of Alchemy!” Fallon declared and snapped her fingers like she’d just solved a murder.

I dropped my chin to my chest and let out a chuckle I couldn’t suppress. Cue Ball smirked while Dice groaned.

“Anarchy,” Dice corrected. “It’s Sons of Anarchy.”

Fallon leaned forward and winked at Dice. “See? I knew you’d know what I was talking about.”

Dice rolled his eyes, and Yarder slapped the table. “All right, enough of this shit. Let’s fucking focus, shall we? Fallon, you wanna clue us in on how the hell you know that yappy bitch? Not only are you connected to Gibbs and Boone, you’re also now connected to the damn TV show production.”

Fallon squirmed in her chair and tucked her light brown hair behind her ear. “Yes, well, I didn’t really see this coming either. I was just as shocked as you guys were when Clay walked in,” she paused for a beat. “And he was my fiancé a few years ago. That’s my connection to him. I haven’t seen him in over four years, though.”

Jesus Christ.

“You were going to marry that douche canoe?” Aero asked, his brow furrowed in disbelief.

Fallon shrugged and offered a weak smile. “We all make bad choices sometimes, right?”

“Why did it end between you two?” Yarder asked. His voice was softer, but his eyes stayed fixed on Fallon.

Fallon’s lips quirked in a bitter twist to the smile she gave. “Well, I took his threats of hurting me seriously before he could actually follow through on them.”

“See?” Aero spat, and his hand slammed against the table. “I knew the guy was a douche canoe.”

The tension in the room thickened. Every guy in the room shifted, and irritation flickered in their expressions. Threatening and hitting a woman was a fucking no-go for the Iron Fiends.

Clay Towne dropped fifty notches in my book right then and there. Hell, make it a hundred.

“He beats women?” Yarder asked. His voice was low and gravelly, with anger just beneath the surface.

Fallon shrugged again, but this time, it looked like she was trying to shake off what she’d just admitted. “He threatened to throw me down the stairs. I didn’t stick around to see if he meant it or not.”

It took everything in me not to get up from the table and find Clay to beat the shit out of him.

Yarder scrubbed a hand down his face, his jaw tight. “This is fucking great. The guy who’s in charge of filming us is a goddamn piece of shit.”

“Why don’t we just tell Don we want another producer?” Cue Ball suggested and leaned forward with his arms braced on the table.

Fade shook his head before Cue Ball could even finish. “Because we’re already on Don’s shit list,” he replied. “Before Adalee got fired, he told her we weren’t giving them enough footage. If we go back now and say we don’t like the guy he sent, they’ll probably pull the whole deal. Then we’ll be stuck paying back every damn cent of the advance.”

“Fucking hell,” I muttered under my breath. It was like we were in a vice getting the shit squeezed out of us.

Fallon leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. “Clay may be an ass with women, but he’s pretty professional when it comes to his job,” she said, her voice carrying a note of reluctance. “At least he was when we were together. He was gunning to be a big news anchor but apparently shifted gears to production. Said he was too handsome to be behind the camera, but that obviously changed.”

Yarder leaned back and eyed Fallon.

“What is that look for?” Fallon asked. “I’m just telling you how the guy is.”

Yarder nodded. “Which is why I think I just figured out how you are going to repay us for letting you stay at the clubhouse until the whole Boone and Gibbs shit blows over.”

“Uh, I didn’t know I was in debt to you guys,” Fallon said.

Yarder shrugged. “You gotta know nothing is free in life, doll.”

Fallon sighed. “I am probably going to hate asking, but what do you want me to do?”

“You’re going to handle Clay,” Yarder said simply.

Fallon reared back. “I sure as hell hope you’re not saying that I need to get with Clay to distract him.”

Yarder shook his head. “Hell no.”

I glanced at Fallon. “You got any clue how Clay is going to play being the new gun in town? Think we can steer him away from what we’re really doing?”

She tilted her head and considered it for a moment. “I mean, probably,” she said finally. “As long as what you’re distracting him with is entertaining.”

“Anyone else looking to run off and get married?” Pirate joked with a half-smirk on his face.

“No,” Yarder, Throttle, Cue Ball, and Fade all said in unison, their voices overlapping in dry denial.

Aero held up his hands defensively. “Hey, Sloane and I did our thing. You guys need to come up with the next distraction.”

The room fell silent, with everyone either looking at each other or staring at the table. No one seemed eager to volunteer.

“The Cakery!” Fallon exclaimed.

“What?” Yarder asked.

Fallon pointed at Fade. “Adalee wants to open a cake place.”

Fade looked around. “Um, yeah.”

Fallon looked at Yarder expectantly as if he could read her mind.

“The cameras want the club,” Yarder answered.

“Then make the club a part of it. Fade said there were a few places that might work. The cameras could follow along as the club decides to venture into a new cash flow. Then, once we find a place, you guys can help set it up,” she explained.

“You and Adalee wanted to do all of that,” Fade pointed out.

“We still can, but we can have the club be a part of it.” Fallon waved her hand. “Spin some story about Adalee and me working together before, and now I’m here to help her.”

Fade shook his head. “That isn’t going to fly. Don is Adalee’s dad, remember? Pretty sure he’s going to dig into shit if he thinks there is a connection between you and Adalee.”

“Whatever story we spin is what we’ll have to tell the cameras of how you just showed up, also,” I pointed out. No way we could tell the truth of how Fallon was here.

“I’m an old friend of...” she trailed off.

Yarder pointed at me. “Compass.”

All eyes turned to me.

I sat up straight. “Um, what?”

Yarder shrugged. “We can’t use Adalee. You’re the one keeping an eye on Fallon, so it makes sense that it’s you she has a connection to.”

“That might help you, too, from keeping Clay off your ass,” Pirate added and smirked slightly. “The guy seemed surprised to see you here. You’re here because you and Compass are together. Makes the most sense.”

Hold the hell on. “It doesn’t make sense because the whole time the cameras were here before, I wasn’t with anyone,” I protested.

Yarder shrugged like this was just another problem for me to figure out. “She’s a blast from your past that came back suddenly. I don’t fucking know. You two can figure that out on your own.”

“You two can get married,” Smoke joked, and a grin tugged at his lips.

“No, no,” Yarder said, cutting Smoke off before the joke could snowball. “Use the cake shop to distract. We’ll also put them on the building of the new garage. They can go pick out fucking roof shingles or something with me. Between those two things, they should be able to get all the footage they need.”

“So, you get to go shopping with the camera crew while Fallon and I are suddenly a couple?” I asked, pissed the hell off.

Yarder gave a lazy shrug. “I think you’re up to take one for the team.”

“This is insane,” Fallon blurted and shook her head.

“No, this is you also taking one for the team,” Yarder shot back. “Because I seem to remember you telling us when you got here that you were the one who set Boone and Gibbs’ sights on us. So, from where I’m sitting, that means you really do owe us a fuck ton. Start with distracting your ex and the camera crew with Compass and the cake shop.”

Fallon bristled and folded her arms tightly over her chest. “I’m here to help find Russ,” she said, her voice firm.

Yarder stood, towering over her as he leaned forward slightly. “You’re here in our clubhouse because your ass is on the line, so you’re going to do whatever I tell you to do. That is unless you’d like to leave, which you are more than welcome to do. I’m sure it won’t take long for Boone and Gibbs’ goons to find you.”

She glared at him, her jaw set tightly, but after a beat, she exhaled sharply. “Fine.”

Yarder nodded, satisfied. “Figured you’d come around to seeing things my way.”

I wanted to point out that I didn’t owe the club anything and didn’t deserve this nonsense either, but I kept my mouth shut. Everyone here did what needed to be done for the club—no exceptions.

“What if they don’t believe that I knew Compass from the past?” Fallon asked, her tone challenging.

A smirk spread across Yarder’s face. “Make them believe. You don’t have another choice.”

With that, Yarder turned on his heel and strode out of church, leaving the rest of us sitting in tense silence.

“Well,” Fade drawled and leaned back in his chair, “Adalee is going to be mighty happy when she hears this turn of events. We both didn’t think The Cakery was going to happen until we figured out the Boone and Gibbs shit.”

Fallon grunted and rolled her eyes. “I guess at least one person will be happy with this turn of events.”

One by one, the rest of the crew filed out and left Fallon and me alone at the table. She stared at me, and I could see the wheels turning in her head.

“This isn’t going to work,” she said flatly.

I shrugged. “It will.”

“It’s crazy.”

“Most of the shit we do is.”

“I should be focusing on finding Russ,” she muttered, more to herself than to me.

She wasn’t wrong, but Yarder had made his decision. “You can do two things at once, right?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “I still think we could have run with Adalee and me being old friends.”

“Between Clay knowing your past and Don being Adalee’s father, I don’t think you could have sold it. No one’s going to go digging in my past. Yarder’s right about connecting us. Unless you’d rather it be Smoke or Pirate.”

She stood and let out a long sigh. “I’d rather it be none of you, but I guess you’ll do.”

“Don’t start sweet-talking me already, babe. The cameras aren’t rolling yet,” I teased, a small chuckle slipping out.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes again as she moved toward the door. “I need a drink.”

She walked out without another word, leaving me alone in the quiet room. I leaned back in my chair and let out a slow breath.

“Same,” I muttered to no one in particular. “Fucking same.”