Nicole

 

Nicole drove as quickly as she could to Stella’s apartment complex, taking the back roads where the cops didn’t hang out so she could speed without worrying about anything. The cops usually stayed pretty quiet in the center of town, but over near the Haven they had a little bit more spine than they usually would. If Nicole got a ticket, she’d never hear the end of it from Ian, who was working hard to save up so they could get married and start a family soon.

 

She finally parked across the street from Stella’s apartment and rushed over, pounding on the door until it opened. “Okay, first of all, honey, don’t just send text messages saying ‘emergency 911,’ okay, you just about gave me a heart attack—” Nicole cut herself off, realizing that it wasn’t Stella that opened the door. Instead, it was a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed all in black, staring at her blankly. “Oh. Hello. I don’t know you. I’m Nicole.”

 

“Mark,” the guy said tersely before stepping aside to let Nicole into the apartment. Nicole felt very awkward, like she’d broken into a stranger’s place instead of visiting her best friend, but then the next second Stella appeared, holding out a beer bottle for Nicole to take.

 

“Here, drink this,” Stella said, gesturing for Nicole to follow her over to the couch against the wall. “Believe me, you’re going to need it.”

 

“Oh, Jesus, here we go,” Nicole said, settling down on the couch and staring expectantly at her best friend, even though through the corner of her eye she was still trying to catch a glimpse of the man who answered the door. So this was Mark, the guy Stella was screwing nowadays. The guy Ian kept pushing Nicole to talk about, clearly trying to get information on behalf of Cameron. Jesus, how did things get so complicated?

 

“Cameron showed up at the Haven today, with five or six guys from the MC,” Stella said before sipping at her drink, cringing a little at the taste.

 

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Fuck, already? What’s he playing at?”

 

“Clearly trying to get control of the place before anybody else steps up,” Stella said.

 

Mark spoke up, even though he remained standing against the wall opposite the couch. “He just showed up, in broad daylight? Really?”

 

“Yep,” Stella said. “Completely unafraid of any of the bouncers there or anything. Threatened Wesley without threatening him directly, if you know what I mean. He just told him that they should get in business together if Wesley knows what’s good for him, basically.”

 

Nicole sighed loudly and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like Cameron. So what’s your boss going to do?”

 

“I have no idea,” Stella said. “He seems scared as hell, though. Cameron kept talking about the other MCs in the area, acting like they’re all about to swarm on the Haven like locusts.”

 

“Aren’t they?” Mark asked. “You guys in this town act like the MCs are everything. So, what, is it all just talk?”

 

Nicole felt herself bristle a little bit. As much as Cameron annoyed her, Nicole had grown up around the Marauders. They were her family, and at the very least, after everything they’d done to protect this town from other clubs in the area, they deserved a little bit of respect.

 

“It’s not just talk,” Nicole said, trying to keep any defensiveness she felt out of her voice, if only out of respect for Stella. “Look, the other MCs are weaker. They always have been, at least for the past few years. But that doesn’t mean Cameron isn’t scared. He’s always trying to make the club bigger and stronger than it was yesterday, you know what I mean? And I’m sure he didn’t just show up today to see you, Stella. He means business.”

 

“Has he been gathering the troops at Stormwatch?” Stella asked, her eyes wide and scared. “Do you think he’s going to, like, storm the Haven and try to take it over?”

 

Nicole hesitated before answering. She felt like she was being torn in two directions at once. On one hand, Stella was her best friend, and she needed her help. But on the other, Nicole wasn’t sure how much she should divulge. Being in the inner circle of the Marauders was no joke. They took loyalty very seriously.

 

And besides, it was more than a matter of principle. Ian was deeply invested in the success of the MC. He couldn’t even walk away from it if he wanted to, but he was as devoted to Cameron as anyone else in the club. Nicole felt a little sick to her stomach, thinking that she might be plotting against her boyfriend and his best friend.

 

But still, for now, at least, she could afford to tell the truth. “No, I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. I think Cameron is keeping it small right now. If he wanted to take the bar over that way, he probably would have done so already. More likely he wants the owner to hand the keys over to him himself. That way it’d be peaceful and there wouldn’t be as much bad blood in the community.”

 

Stella nodded slowly before cupping her head in her hands, shutting her eyes tightly like she was trying to get her thoughts under control. “I don’t know what to do.”

 

Nicole wasn’t sure what to say to comfort her friend, but then Mark broke his silence. “I’ll switch my shifts around to match yours. I’m sure Wesley will let me.”

 

Stella bit down on her bottom lip. “I’m not sure if that will do any good. Cameron and his boys could come riding through at any time. You can’t be at the bar 24/7.”

 

“Don’t need to be,” Mark said confidently. “From what you’ve told me about this guy, there’s no way he’s not going to wait until you’re there to do his big move. It’s too personal for him. He’ll want you there to see his big triumph.”

 

Nicole smiled despite herself. The guy was smarter than he looked. “He’s right, you know. Cameron’s got a huge ego. He won’t be satisfied unless he feels like he really proved something to you. He wants to punish you for moving on. He’s not going to storm in there on a day when you aren’t working.”

 

“How does he even know my work schedule, though?” Stella wondered out loud.

 

Nicole felt her body go tense. She didn’t know if she should give voice to her suspicions that Ian was tailing Stella. Would she be betraying Ian if she said that to Stella and Mark? Or was she already betraying Stella by not telling her right away? Nicole felt like she was stuck in an impossible dilemma. There was no way to protect everybody and honor all of their wishes at the same time.

 

For now, she just shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s probably got someone watching you to monitor when you come home at night or something like that. Maybe you should keep your lights on all the time so they get thrown off.”

 

Stella shook her head. “I can’t afford that.”

 

“Fair enough,” Nicole said, sighing deeply as she finished her beer and then got to her feet. “I’ve got to be heading back. Ian might wonder where I am if I don’t show up at home or stop by Stormwatch sooner or later. The worst thing right now is to alert Cameron that he’s scared you. That’s what he wants. Don’t give him the satisfaction.” Nicole bent over to press a kiss on top of her best friend’s head before heading out into the cold again, nodding at Mark before whispering on her way out, “Take care of her.”

 

When she got home, Ian was already there, waiting for her with dinner ready. That was odd. Usually Ian was out at Stormwatch or somewhere else, doing club business until the wee hours of the morning at the very least.

 

“How was your day?” Ian asked before sliding a plate piled high with mashed potatoes and fried chicken in Nicole’s direction.

“Boring,” Nicole said. It was a lie, but she figured it was innocuous enough not to hurt him. “How was yours?”

 

Ian shrugged a little and began digging into his meal. “Cameron’s stressed, you know, which means we all suffer. I’m glad you’re staying out of it, though.”

 

Nicole felt all of the nerve endings on the back of her neck stand up in alarm at his words, her eyes bearing hard into Ian’s face as he ate, searching for any hidden meaning that could be lurking behind his casual statement.

 

Maybe he knows I’m not staying out of it, Nicole thought as she slowly began to eat. Maybe he doesn’t know, but he suspects that I’m helping Stella, giving her advice against the MC. Maybe he knows I know about Mark. Maybe he knows everything.

 

Her stomach churned, the food that she swallowed rolling around painfully inside of her like it was trying to escape. She hated lying to Ian, or even just being a little bit deceptive. She’d never felt this amount of uncertainty in their relationship before, and it wasn’t even about them. Fucking Cameron, getting in the way, ruining everything he touched.

 

Nicole burned with anger, feeling it burn her insides even though she was just sitting still and cutting into her chicken. She wished she could just reach across the table, grab Ian’s hand, and spill everything to him. She wanted him to help her, to help Stella, to help all of them out of this ridiculous situation. It didn’t have to be this way, but every time she opened her mouth, tempted to let the words fall out, Stella’s worried face flashed in Nicole’s mind, preventing her from speaking the truth. Her friend needed her silence, more than Ian needed the truth right now. Stella had to come first, at least for the moment. 

 

“Did you talk to Stella today?” Ian asked after another minute of weird, uncomfortable silence between them.

 

“Yes,” Nicole said reflexively, too concerned that a direct lie would be obvious to Ian’s well-trained ears. “Yeah, I chatted with her a little bit after she got off work.”

 

“How’s she doing?” Ian asked. For a moment, staring across at Ian’s normal, relaxed expression, she berated herself internally for thinking that he was trying to spy on Stella or interfere in her friendship. He was such a good guy, even with all of the MC business that he was involved in. Nicole’s insides felt like they were being consumed by guilt, eating themselves alive as a result of the dual pressure of her devotion to both Stella and Ian.

 

“She’s a little stressed out, too,” Nicole said, again opting to give a version of the truth rather than lying outright. “You know, she’s got that new job and everything. It can be tough, making a new life for yourself.”

 

Ian nodded and smiled sympathetically. “That makes sense. Well, we all miss her, you know. Not just Cameron. She was a good person to have around. You should invite her to come back to Stormwatch for a drink sometime when she gets some time off. Lots of people would love to see her.”

 

Nicole paused, her fork freezing in midair as she considered Ian’s words, watching him as he hurriedly shoved more and more food into his mouth. It was like he was trying to give himself an excuse not to talk, and Nicole couldn’t help but notice a little wrinkle pop up in between Ian’s eyebrows. It always showed up when he was under stress or worried about something, or even when he felt guilty. She wondered what was going on now to make it appear, but she felt like she already knew what the answer was.

 

“I’ll ask her,” she said casually, taking a big drink of water to wash down the food that she’d just swallowed. “But I think she wants to keep her space from the MC for a while. You understand.”

 

Ian stopped chewing, staring hard at Nicole for a long moment, making her feel like her skin was crawling, trying to climb its way off her body and escape his penetrating gaze. Nicole was just about to ask him what the hell was going on when he spoke up again. “I’m not sure I do understand…” he said before taking another bite of mashed potatoes.

 

“Well, she just went through a bad break up, honey,” Nicole said a little defensively, worried that Ian was about to accuse her of lying to him about Stella. God, she hated this so much, dancing around her words with her own goddamn boyfriend. “Look at it this way—if we broke up tomorrow, even if you dumped me, would you really want to see my face every day, constantly being reminded of me and everything that went wrong between us?”

 

“I guess that makes sense,” Ian said, but his eyebrows remained furrowed. “I don’t know, though. I guess I just think it’s such a shame that you two don’t get to hang out all the time anymore. I mean, you’ve barely seen her since last month, right?”

 

Nicole hesitated, unsure of how to answer the question without completely, directly lying to her boyfriend. “Here and there,” she finally said, taking another big gulp of water to cover up the fact that her face flushed as a consequence of her almost-lie.

 

“Well, just let me know how she’s doing,” Ian said. “I worry about her.”

 

Yeah, I bet you fucking do, Nicole thought, feeling anger replace her guilt and fear. If she had any doubts that Ian was keeping tabs on Stella, they went out the window now. It was clear that he was pumping her for information, trying to get into Stella’s headspace in any way he could. Nicole felt immediately protective over Stella, but at the same time she was offended that Ian didn’t just ask her for her help directly. They were supposed to trust each other, right? They were supposed to be each other’s number ones. What was going on in the MC that made Ian so secretive, so afraid to talk to her? All Nicole knew was that somehow, it had to be Cameron’s fault.

 

But at the same time, as she and Ian cleaned up the plates and headed off to bed, Nicole couldn’t help but think that Ian must have been getting ever closer to Cameron, maybe even becoming his number-one man. What was good for Ian was good for Nicole, too, right? She was practically a Marauder herself, after all, despite the club’s rules excluding women from official membership.

 

Maybe she should have been happy that Ian was climbing up the ranks, elevating both of their statuses.

 

But somehow, she couldn’t help but say a silent prayer for Stella before she fell asleep. Keep her safe, she whispered inside her mind. Protect her. Guide her to where she needs to go.

 

Nicole didn’t know if she could do those things for Stella anymore. Maybe someone else would have to step in.