Flaws

Chapter 5 - Trying Something New

"I am tired of trying to fill up my empty spaces with things I don't need and people I don't love." - Beau Taplin

Chibs dropped Hazel off that afternoon after a longer than usual ride and didn't see Jax again until that evening. He needed time, a good amount of it, and even when they met back up he still had yet to process and accept what Hazel had told them.

"Tig," he said with such chagrin. He was disenchanted, to say the least, with his club and his brothers. "Which means it was Clay's call."

"Aye," Chibs sighed as he fiddled with the ends of his facial hair. "They wanted Ope."

"Because of Stahl," Jax added.

"Opie was good with us," Chibs said sadly. "He came to the table, explained it all, so why?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Jax growled. "He went behind our backs, tried to take out a brother but shot his wife instead."

They shared a long look. The fact that Clay and Tig immediately and rather forcefully mentioned mistaken identity was important. They didn't need the added strife of worrying about women and children while they were trying to cover themselves.

"What do we do about this?" Chibs asked somberly.

"I don't know," Jax admitted. "They made his call behind the club's back and I don't care what they think they know, Ope isn't a rat."

"Aye," he nodded confidently. "And the sisters?"

"He's already threatened them," Jax hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm the throbbing headache that clouded his mind. "Would he really hurt two innocent women?"

"He tried to kill a brother, without a vote and behind the club's back, but shot an old lady instead," Chibs said darkly. "I don't know what else he'd do."

"Go find em'," Jax sighed. "I'll sit down with Clay."

--

Hazel stepped out of the shop with a cigarette held tight between her lips. She flicked open her lighter, catching the figure stalking toward her, and smiled to herself as she lit her cigarette.

"You're like a bad penny, aren't you?" Exhaling a large puff over smoke over his head Hazel couldn't help the crooked smile that played on her lips. "Oh shit, if you're here I'm probably in trouble."

"Not yet," he peered behind her and into the tattoo shop. "Where's your sister?"

"With Trevor," Hazel rolled her eyes. "She worked this afternoon, I think, she said they were going out."

"Can you call him?" Chibs' gloved fingers reached up and plucked the cigarette from her lips. "I need to have a word."

Hazel had never met a man like Chibs, despite his danger she didn't feel unsafe or threatened and it was invigorating. "Why?" She sneered. "If you have shit with him do not involve us."

Chuckling darkly he shook his head as he took a long drag of her cigarette. "If I had shit with that boy he'd know by now. Call him."

"What's the magic word?"

He smirked devilishly, holding her cigarette out, his fingers brushing her lips, and shot her a wink as her lips wrapped around the filter. "Please."

Hazel rolled her eyes, hard, and pulled her phone from her jeans. "So really, what's the big deal?" Pressing the phone to her ear she listened to it ring as Chibs hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans.

"Just let me talk to the smug little prick." He said, rudely yanking the phone from her face just as Trevor answered.

"I can only deal with one Yetton at a time," he said, his smile audible in his voice. "Everything alright?"