Copper Heart (Coco Cruz x OC Fanfic)

Chapter 1

The distant rumble of motorcycle engines was heard easily in the isolation of the wide open plains well outside of Santo Padre. Penelope lifted her eyes from the work she was doing on her car for what felt like the first time in hours. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach at the sight of the mass speeding towards her home. Cursing under her breath, she placed the ratchet down on the small bench against the wall of her makeshift garage before wiping her hands and face on the cloth nearby. This couldn't be good. The bikes slowed as they got nearer, until they were right at her doorstep. Only one of the 8 riders got off their bike before removing their helmet and walking the few steps to reach the young woman. "Hey Bish. To what do I owe this unexpected and unwelcome visit?" Bishop grimaced at the harshness of the woman's words but understood where they came from. The last time he asked for her help it didn't exactly go to plan. In fact, it nearly ended Penelope's life. Something she would never not remind Bishop of, and rightfully so.

"Hey Pea," Penelope's eyebrow quirked at the sound of the familiar nickname. "Look I'm sorry for the short notice but we really need somewhere to store some stuff," Bishop said. If Penelope wasn't so agitated by the man and his brothers' presence, she would have nearly laughed at the sight of el Presidente almost pleading with her. Unfortunately, she was feeling her turmoil subside, a mixture of exhaustion from a long day in the sun and slight happiness in seeing an old friend in god knows how long. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and muttered a "come inside and we will talk about it." Bishop motioned to the two behind him that he knew would help him convince her – Taza and Tranq – before they all walked up the stairs to the porch of the little cream coloured house and entered through the front screen door.

Creeper, Angel, Gilly, EZ and Coco all looked on. None of them had any idea of the girl's existence until the moment they had pulled up. Her obvious annoyance with Bishop and the club left them with even more questions than they started with. And who the hell named their kid Pea? Angel lit up a cigarette, throwing a look EZs way. "You reckon she and Bishop fucked?" EZ groaned and rolled his eyes at his brothers' question. "What?" Angel asked incredulously. "Like you didn't think the same thing. She's hot though." EZ once again ignored his brother and instead drew his eyes to Coco, who hadn't stopped staring at the door since the party of 4 disappeared through it. "Coco you good?" Gilly questioned, clearly catching on to the same behaviour EZ had. Coco visibly jumped before turning to his brothers. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Tired from the ride," he answered before turning around on his bike so that his face was shielded, and he was no longer looking at the door to the house. Angel shrugged and the group fell silent.

Inside, Taza approached the young woman, who softly smiled at him. He seemed to be the only one she didn't hold any sense of coldness towards. He embraced her, kissing her on the head before murmuring "we're so sorry for the intrusion mija." Pea only nodded before directing the three men to take a seat on the two-seater sofa in her lounge room as she made herself comfortable on the recliner. The sight of three burly bikers sitting on her small floral couch nearly made her laugh. "Okay what am I going to be storing for you?" she asked bluntly. Bishop quickly glanced at Taza before meeting Peas eyes. "Coke." He answered, hoping his returned bluntness would somehow ease her hesitance. "So, like last time?" she questioned. Bishops stomach tightened and he looked to the floor. He knew this would be brought up, but the guilt still hit him just the same. While Bishop struggled to find the words, Taza stepped in easily. "Not quite mija. We don't want – or need – you to sell. We are happy for you to only have us keep it here. We will pick up from here and give to the buyers. Your identity and location will never come into play. Not like last time."

Pea closed her eyes momentarily, silently weighing up the pros and cons in her head. Just because they wouldn't be actively divulging her information to clients doesn't mean she wouldn't be found out. She knew they had dealings with the Galindo cartel and alike, what was to stop an organisation as dangerous as that from digging deep enough and finding out about her. However, she had missed having the MC around. Even if they did usually only contact her when they needed something and treated her house like a loading dock most of the time, she considered them family. Bishop and Taza had been in her life since she was a child. And she trusted them with her life, even if that was literally tested at times. She let a small smile grace her face before nodding slowly. She visibly saw Bishops stature loosen as a weight seemed to be lifted off his shoulders at her answer. "But Obispo... I would like some protection this time," she asserted. Bishop chuckled before nodding. "Of course, Pea. I can have the Prospect here during the day. And someone extra at night if you require," he advised. Pea pulled a face before shaking her head. "I was actually thinking of something more handheld," she countered. It was Bishops turn to shake his head. "Absolutely not. No way that's happening." She rolled her eyes and before she could open her mouth to argue Bishop spoke again. "Just accept my offer please. It's already hard enough asking this of you. It would put my mind at ease as well knowing there's someone out here with you," he sighed. Pea gave in, shrugging a shoulder and nodding before allowing Bishop to sweep her into a hug.

The door to the house screeched open, alerting the others outside that the meeting was over. The slight smile on Pea's face led them to believe that the talk had gone somewhat well. For the first time since their arrival, Pea looked over the crowd assessing each of the faces she had never seen before. One of them, rather tall with dark swept back hair and a beard gave her a smirk before turning to the man beside him. Pea followed his gaze, her eyes landing on a slightly shorter member of the MC. Initially she wasn't sure what to think, what with his curly black shoulder length hair, wide eyes and hawkish slightly crooked nose. But there was one thing she couldn't deny, she was intrigued. She wanted to know who this person was, and she had only laid eyes on him for five seconds. And then he turned, and his dark eyes met hers. She quickly glanced away, trying to make it obvious she wasn't staring. She knew she failed though, not just to him but to Taza too, who had been watching unbeknownst to her the whole time. "We will bring the stocks by tomorrow," Tranq informed, before he set off towards his bike. As Pea watched as the backs of the MC disappeared into the distance, she couldn't help wondering if she had just made one of the biggest mistakes of her life.