*Raelynn has been away from the babies for 4 months, not 7*

After work, instead of going to the park, she went in search of the biker. It was a hard job, given that she didn't know where to start looking.

It was around seven PM when she heard a bikerumble, so she ran to the edge of the sidewalk and flagged the driver down.

The biker pulled over, and she saw confusion when he pulled his helmet off. That was no surprise. He was probably used to women that looked as plain as her running away from him, not toward.

"I'm looking for someone," she explained.

"Name?"

She cringed. "Uh. I only have a description. Tall, strong, he had a cut on his jaw, a strong nose, white..."

The biker shrugged. "Sounds like most of us. You're gonna have to be more specific here."

"Tattoo of a dagger on his right hand?"

He nodded. "Knives."

"Right... well, can you tell him to stop by? Tell him I'm..." she snorted when she remembered the rude man waking her at the dead of night. "Tell him I'm sleeping beauty. He'll know who I am."

He raised an eyebrow. "Right."

She watched him take off, and then made her way home. To her shock, Knives was already leaning against the wall, his boot against her door.

"Get your boot off my door," she frowned. The door was already chipped and discolored, but she did her best to keep the place looking tidy.

Knives looked annoyed, but didn't remove his foot. "What did you want from me?"

"For you to take your foot off my goddamn door." She palmed her hips and waited.

He looked down at her, unimpressed, and crossed his arms over his chest. She did the same. He was huge, but nothing compared to Maksim. She was used to big men, and wouldn't be bullied by one.

Knives dropped his boot, caving in. "Well? Get to it."

She got right to it. "I want to help take him down."

Knifes shook his head. "No. I doubt you can shoot a fucking gun. We don't do business with women."

She rolled her eyes. "Really? Because it looks like you're being a little bitch yourself."

Knifes smiled. It took her off guard, because she was used to his grumbling.

"There ain't nothing you can do that we can't. We don't need you."

She opened her door, not wanting to have this conversation in the hallway.

"Letting a stranger in? Not a good idea," he warned.

I've dealt with men more dangerous than you.

Knives walked in and slumped his heavy frame on her poor loveseat. She stood in the middle of the room with the door unlocked, ready to run out if she felt unsafe.

"I can extract compromising information from him."

"Oh, yeah?" Knives mocked. "How do you plan to do that?"

She reached into her pocket and tossed a lipstick at him.

Knives connected the dots and smirked.

"If something demeaning comes out of your mouth, I'll shove that lipstick so far up your ass that they'll need to tear you apart to extract it."

She understood that she wasn't big and scary like Knives, but she was one hell of a determined woman.

Knives frowned. "Why can't you be flirty like the sweet butts we have at the MC?"

She shrugged. "Not in my nature. So? What do you say? Are we doing this?"

"What's your objective, and what do I have to do with this?"

"The objective is to expose the asshole. We will hand the evidence to the public, so some movement can be started against him. Your job is to protect me as I get close to him."

"Not interested." He stood up, headed for the floor.

"Will you go to her funeral?"

Knives stopped. "What?"

"The girl. Will you go to the funeral when her dad beats her to death while no one bothered to intervene?"

– • –

"Phew, you look hot. That mouth of yours may not be sweet, but I may overlook it if you dress like this every day."

Raelynn ignored Knives' comment and tugged her skirt lower. She felt ridiculous, unnatural.

"Stop hitting on me, Knives. I'm not interested."

"Why? You into bosses and not followers? I will fight my president for his title if that means I win you."

That comment made her stiffen, because he hit a soft spot by reminding her of Maksim. He had always been a boss.

"Focus."

"Alright. Remember the plan. You chat the bastard up, distract him, and insert the USB into his laptop. The MC will be nearby, hacking into the shit. If anything goes wrong, get out of there. We will be nearby to protect you."

She nodded. "That sounds good."

"Alright. Let's get this show on the road."

After guilt-tripping Knives into this job, they devised a plan, and she went shopping for her latest costume. Browsing through the rows of clothes tore her up. It reminded her of the old days, where she hid the bump under layers.

She looked brighter in his costume; like a party girl that knew all about glitter but nothing about darkness. This girl knew joy, not tragedy. This girl was not her.

Her hair was curled and her makeup bold. She wore a red lipstick that matched her red sundress that was tight at her chest but flared at the bottom.

The USB was secured in her clutch. She was ready.

The target was Robert Hugh, chief of police and daughter-beater. A man with so many connections and money that he was a force to be reckoned with.

He frequented bars at night and a coffee shop on early weekends. That's where she would try to nail him.

"Time to go."

They left and headed for the coffee shop, going separate ways to attract less attention. Raelynn got many glances and tried to display an air of confidence. She would need it soon.

A little bell dinged above as she entered the shop. The target was in the middle, away from the windows. That was good. The chances of spotting the bikers outside were lower.

He didn't look up from his laptop as she passed by to make her order. She bought an iced coffee and passed him again to take a seat. When she got close enough, she tipped over the cup and sent coffee to his lap.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Fucking–" he looked up, and the anger on his face faded.

"Sorry," she took a step closer. "Can I get you some tissues?"

"It's fine, sweetheart. I'll just go to the bathroom."

She intertwined her fingers. "Oh, okay. Let me get you a new drink when you return."

He seemed to like that idea very much. His eyes flickered to her chest in such a subtle manner that if she didn't know how much of a worm he was, then she wouldn't have noticed.

He left for the bathroom, and she got to work. She slipped the USB into the computer and gave Knives the signal. She had to wait for one solid minute. It felt like an hour. Her blood pumped hard, her eyes frantically looked toward the bathroom, and sweat threatened to melt her makeup.

When it was time, she gladly yanked the USB out of the slot. There. It was done.

She walked to the counter and got the asshole a new, hot cup of coffee, hoping he burned his lip.

He came out of the bathroom smiling, since he suspected he would get to brag about his credentials, flirt with her, and bring her home.

Raelynn handed the cup over. "Sorry again."

"It's alright. Why don't you join me?"

"I would love to, but my boyfriend is waiting outside."

His face fell, and she got to see a hint of true evil in his dark blue eyes.

"Take care."

She got the hell out of there, walking a few blocks to meet up with Knives. The exchange had been so quick that she ran through it repeatedly in search of anything she did wrong.

"So?" she fidgeted. "How did it go? Did your guy find anything in his computer yet?"

"We need time to dig through his files. For now, all we can do is hope to find some dirt in his system. I'm sure we will. There's only so many bones that can be shoved in a closet."

She ran her hands up her arms. "Yeah. I should get home."

She wanted to wash the makeup and hairspray off. She wanted to look like herself again.

"You did good today. I'll take you home. From a distance, of course."

"Thanks, Knives."

He nodded. "If I ever want an old lady, I'll be sure to chase you down. You're a keeper."

She laughed. "You've been chasing me down all week. Hush."

She went home and danced in her room. She felt elevated; like a spy on her first day of work. She did something great. She possibly saved that girl's life.

Every day after that, she called Knives in hopes of news. He gave her nothing, but she kept trying.

On day three, she finally got a call.

"We got him," Knives said. "We finally got him. You did it."

Warmth rushed through Raelynn. It was something she hadn't felt in a while. Pride.