Nora sat at the bar for another hour. Nothing seemed to sit right with her. She was scared. Any person in their right mind would be scared! Seeing how quick everyone here was to respond to the situation and handle it with an eery calmness despite the chaos was mind blowing. How many times had that happened before? How many times had that happened to Kozik alone that Harley seemed to know exactly what to do to keep him calm while she worked her way quickly tending to his wounds before Tara was even in the door. How Gemma had so openly threatened her about calling the cops. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was in danger. Clearly two bullet holes were not the result of falling off of a bike. Clearly someone was targeting them. Nora sighed after having a few drinks, she knew her mind was going crazy. Herman Kozik would never bring her to a place that could put her in harms way… then again she didn’t really ask to be brought.. she just made the decision for him. “Ugh” she grunted at her thoughts, she had no idea what she’d gotten herself into but sleep seemed to be in her favor for now.
 
Harley had gone to the dorm room and called Luanne. Isabelle had spent the entire day with her and she missed her daughter terribly but her mother guaranteed her the little lady was more than happy spending the day with her nana and she had such an exciting day she was passed out in Harley’s old bedroom. Harley couldn’t help but smile hearing the little girl’s sleepy breathing as Luanne put the phone to the baby’s ear for Harley to whisper a good night and I love you.
 
After she got off the phone with her mother, she jumped in the shower washing the day away. She was still covered in Kozik’s blood. She cringed at the image of how he looked. He was so hurt, all she wanted to do was take all of his pain away. Knowing that he was in the room across from her with Nora, she couldn’t help herself from feeling a little jealous. She hadn’t felt like this in years and now that they were in the next room and she couldn’t seem to shake it off. “Stop it Delaney” she spoke to herself in the mirror. “Pull yourself together. Kozik is not your old man. Kozik is with Nora. Sweet innocent Nora.” She sighed shaking her head. As frustrated as she had been with Nora earlier, she couldn’t be mad at the girl for not knowing what to do and losing it again at the sight of him. Kozik did need to let her know what was going on though. There was no way she could be kept in the dark after seeing him like that.
 
After drying off and pulling on a pair of boy shorts and a loose fitting tank top, she slipped on some flip flops and made her way to the main room. It was 2am on a weekday and the clubhouse would be abandoned. As she went to reach for the light switch, she saw Nora out of the corner of her eye.  
She laughed softly and walked over to the couch to see the poor girl passed out with a half empty bottle of vodka next to her. She wanted to check on Kozik though, before she helped Nora to bed. If he was in too much pain Nora would have to bunk in a different room.
 
Quietly, she passed the hallway again stopping at his door. She just stared at the handle for a few moments before putting her hand on it to open it. “This isn’t supposed to be my responsibility anymore.” she mumbled under her breath.  

Still, she couldn’t stop herself from going in and seeing if he was okay. Turning the knob slowly, she opened the door just enough for her to slide in before shutting it behind her. As she turned around to face the bed, she saw Kozik looking up at her with a slight smile on his face. “Please tell me you’re here for a ‘get well soon’ striptease”
 
Harley let out a small laugh, making her way over to the bed, sitting on the edge on the opposite side of him. “Didn’t mean to wake you, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Nora fell asleep on the couch and I didn’t know if I needed to prep another room for her or if it would be okay if she slept here” She looked down for a minute before bringing her eyes back to his. “Well..? How you feeling?”
 
He laughed but quickly winced from the pain in his side. “Like I shot and almost died crashing my bike”
 
Harley smiled as her body relaxed more. “Ahh.. see there you have it. Can’t be feeling to great” She laughed lowly and bit the side of her lip. “I’ll grab you another pill and bring over Nora” she nodded making her way to stand only to feel his hand grasp hers.
 
“Thank you Harls, for everything. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t there tonight” He whispered as his eyes locked with hers.
 
Smiling softly, she looked at the ground. “Hey, Baby Belle just met her daddy. I’m not having you ripped from her that easily.” as she looked up at him, his face was lit up by his smile. “I’m sorry you couldn’t say goodnight. She was already asleep by the time I called Luanne.”
 
His face hurt from how much he was smiling, all he could do was nod. She walked over to the dresser grabbing a pill out of the bottle along with the glass of water next to it before bringing it over to Kozik, handing them to him. She leaned over kissing his temple softly. “You have a goodnight, Koz” she whispered before making her way out of the door to the main room.
 
She shut the lights off in the kitchen and behind the bar before lightly nudging Nora. “Hey sweetheart, time to get you to bed” Nora was wobbly as she got up. Harley threw the taller woman’s arm over her shoulder, holding her waist tightly. Nora’s body leaned hard on Harley’s as she walked her down the hallway to into Kozik’s room. He shifted slightly as Harley let Nora fall back onto the bed as she instantly fell asleep again. Kozik sighed as he realized she had been drinking. As far as he knew, Nora was not making the best impression, especially in front of Harley.
 

 
Harley was up by 7am. She’d checked on Kozik a couple of times throughout the night but both Nora and him were fast asleep. She got dressed in yesterday’s clothes before leaving to go home. After another shower and a hot cup of coffee, she slipped on a pair of black skinny jeans ripped at the knees, a white tank top and her black jacket before pulling on her ankle booties, her hair was down in soft waves and she quickly did her makeup. Once she looked presentable, she hopped in the car, making her way over to her mothers to get Isabelle.
 
Luanne was making breakfast with Belle when she entered the house. She kissed her mother and the baby on the cheek before pouring herself another pot of coffee. Luanne noticed her daughter taking in the coffee like it was god’s gift to earth and took a seat across from her at the table.
 
“Everything alright Harley?” She asked, placing a hand on  
Harley’s forearm, gently rubbing it with her thumb.
Staring into her coffee cup, Harley sighed. “Last night. Kozik was shot twice and crashed his bike. The boys brought him in and like it was second nature I ran to him mom. That’s not my place anymore. Nora freaked out. I had her sit with him. Talk to him. But she was the one who needed to be comforted. I managed to calm him down but something about how routine the situation was… it made me think of things I shouldn’t be.”
 
Her mother gave a sad smile. “Baby, you and Koz have always had this amazing chemistry. It’s almost like your souls are connected. I remember how hard your father tried to keep you two apart but you shared a love that even made me jealous. Sure, when you fought, people got hurt and things would get broken, but that’s how you know you two were meant to be. Nobody else would put up with that yet you guys always came out on top.” Giving her daughters arm a gently squeeze, Luanne nodded. “It’s normal to have feelings for him. I doubt they’ll ever go away. He was the love of your life, and now he’s the father of your child. If you want your man – go get him, honey”
 
Harley shook her head. “I’m not going to do that mom. We’ve changed. We’ve grown into different people. He’s got a great girl now. Nora may not know the first thing about the club, but she loves Kozik. She’s good for him.”
 
Luanna shook her head taking a deep breath. “I’m sure you’ll make the right move baby. Only time will tell.”
 
The younger woman turned her attention to Isabelle who was on the couch watching her morning cartoons. “Come on baby,” She said lifting the toddler up in her arms “We’ve got a busy day today!” As Isabelle clapped in excitement, Harley kissed her mother goodbye before heading out to the car, buckling Isabelle in before taking off.
 

 
Kozik woke up feeling like he got hit by a truck. He saw another pain pill on the counter with a full glass of water and smiled to himself knowing it was Harley’s doing. He sat up carefully, wincing in pain for breathing in too deep. As he ran a hand over his face, he looked over to see a still passed out Nora. He had no idea what she must have been going through. He assumed seeing him yesterday must have made her drink herself to sleep. It couldn’t of been too easy but yet Harley could always handle it. He remembered the first time he came home after a run went wrong. She didn’t even stop to get a full look at him before immediately rushing to patch him up. He laughed lowly remembering a young Harley scurrying around the clubhouse to gather the items she needed for him before her father came back and flipped out. Once again, looking at Nora, he didn’t think she’d ever be able to handle that.
 
Getting out of bed slowly, he cleaned off his face in the sink before throwing on a shirt and making his way out to the main room. The smell of bacon and pancakes immediately hit his nose as well as the sound of music and singing. He inched closer to the doorway, seeing Harley and Belle singing in the kitchen while dancing some adorable choreography. Belle had pancake batter on the tip of her nose while Harley had flour on her cheek. Half Sack was sitting at the bar, eating a plate of bacon. Kozik just leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, watching the girls, his face broke out in a smile. He felt his heart beat faster watching Isabelle copy her mother as she moved around the kitchen.
 
His eyes caught sight of Harley’s crow tattoo as she lifted her shirt slightly to wipe something off of the baby’s face. His eyes once again dark with desire before Isabelle ran up to him hugging his good leg tightly. “Daddy!” her sweet voice rang out to him.
 
“There’s my girl!” He bent over as much as he could, giving her a hug and kissing her head before she went back to her mother.
 
Harley looked up at him and smiled making him a plate of bacon and pancakes. She laid the plate on the bar next to Half Sack and helped him sit up on the bar stool. “What’s the special occasion Harls?”
 
She laughed lightly and nodded her head over at Belle who was making a mess mixing the pancake batter. “ I told her daddy got in an accident and she wanted to make you breakfast”
 
His face broke out into another smile as Harley walked over to the toddler, cleaning more mix off of her face. He could get used to this. Being with his two girls felt so natural. He didn’t want to let the thought cross his mind that Harley wasn’t his girl. As long as his name was inked on her, she was his.
 
Nora made her way to the kitchen and Kozik held his breath. The last time he saw these two in a room together, things went from bad to worse extremely quickly. Then he saw Harley bring her over a plate of food as well and greet her with that beautiful warm smile of hers. He gave them a confused look as Nora made her way over to sit next to him.
 
Harley was the first to speak up, noticing his confusion, but then again she could read him like a book. “Oh, Nora and I had a little chat while you were away.” she nodded as Nora stuffed her mouth with more food. “It seems she was worried I was trying to steal you away but we cleared that up” She smiled over at him, her eyes constantly scanning the room around her to see what Belle was doing.
 
Nora nodded and smiled up at him. “Yeah, I apologized to everyone for how I was acting. Gemma even welcomed me to the family” Kozik’s eyebrows flew up. Gemma welcomed her? He knew how Gemma felt about outsiders. How was the even possible? “She said if I was going to make a good Old Lady, I have a lot to learn but I’ll get there” she smiled seemingly proud of herself. Kozik could only smile back, they had never discussed her becoming his old lady. In fact, he couldn’t even fathom the thought of his crow being on anyone but Harley.
 

 
Harley decided to run a few errands with Belle & Gemma with Half Sack following behind. There was another party going on tonight and they had to stock up on liquor for the bar. As they roamed around the liquor store, Gemma spotted Zobelle’s daughter. She remembered her face so vividly as the woman who tricked her into thinking her baby was having trouble breathing before she got knocked out and raped. Gemma locked eyes with the young blonde girl and started chasing her out of the store.
 
“Gemma!” Harley yelled out after her. She had a sleeping Belle in the stroller so she couldn’t run after her herself. “Sack go follow her!!” She yelled at him as he immediately ran out the door. As Harley stood by the window looking out for them, a tall white guy walked up to her. Something about him gave her the creeps. He had his hair shaved into a buzz cut and a bunch of tattoos. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw a swastika on him. She narrowed her eyes and stood up straighter looking at him. Her hands gripping the stroller tightly.
 
“You the blonde that hangs out with with that motorcycle club?” He asked in a deep intimidating voice. Harley just gripped her stroller tighter and lowered his eyebrows. Her eyes locking into his. He put his hand under her chin to lift it slightly. “If you don’t want the same thing that happened to that old hag to happen to you, you better tell them we’re serious”
 
Harley slapped his hand away and leaned up closer to him whispering lowly, her eyes still locked with his. “You just signed your death warrant by coming over here to threaten me while I’m with my daughter, I hope you understand that. I’ll make sure they rip every limb from you before they finish you off. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to after what you did to her.” She smirked stepping back from him. You could practically see the steam rising from his head in anger as he looked like he was about to slap her when Sack and Gemma came back up to them.
 
“There a problem here?” Sack asked stepping in between Harley and the man. The man just smirked. His eyes still on Harley’s as she smirked back at him. As brave a face as she put on, inside she felt a shiver go through her from the mans cold glaze.
 

Nora and Kozik got some time alone finally. Since he couldn’t ride yet, the guys let him have some time off. After breakfast, Nora drove them to see the house she wanted from the other day. As they walked around, she pointed out where the furniture would go, how she pictured her and and their baby running around in the yard with a dog. Kozik followed her around, everything she’d point out he could only picture himself sharing those things with Harley. She pointed out a baby in their future yet he could only see Harley and Belle like he’d seen them earlier, dancing and singing in the kitchen. He bit his lip nervously. Harley had been great since he’d been back. She’d even taken Nora under her wing. He’d been getting to know their daughter little by little. He couldn’t just keep stringing Nora along but he knew Harley would never take him back. Maybe he was just feeling this way because he hadn’t had Nora in some time.

 
Once they got back to the clubhouse, Koz led Nora back to the dorm. Going up behind Nora, he placed his hands on her hips and kissed along her neck softly. His warm breath sending shivers down her body. He turned her around and lifted her up by the back of her thighs sitting her up on the dresser. Nora immediately reacted to his touch, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his passionately. He kissed her harder, his hands traveling up her thighs, lifting her dress up slightly. She unbuttoned his jeans and let them drop to the floor with his boxers. He pulled her lacy thong off, pulling her hips closer to his and with one swift motion slid inside of her.
 
Nora moaned into his kiss as he slowly began to move in and out of her. It’d been so long since he gave her any attention, she was loving the feeling. She pulled away from the kiss and buried her face into his neck as she wrapped her legs around his waist pulling him deeper inside of her, wanting all of him all at once.
 
Kozik moved his body with hers. She was so wet and tight for him but he couldn’t get into it. Every time he closed his eyes he’d picture his intimate moments with Harley. He opened his eyes and feel himself losing the moment. His eyes wandered down to her hip, naked of any markings that he loved to look at. He pulled out of her and turned her around bending her over onto the bed. Lifting her hips he thrust back inside her hard, hearing her moan loud made him only go faster. He felt her body tighten as he released inside of her.
 
Breathing heavily, he pulled out and kissed the back of her head. Nora let out a satisfied sigh and laid back on the bed, watching him walk to the bathroom to shower. Something about that made him feel like he just cheated on Harley yet again. He leaned his arms on the wall, letting his head sink down as the water hit.
 
Nora cleaned herself off and got dressed. She felt like a new woman. Kozik seemed to be back to his normal self. She had gotten to be close with Harley, which she had quickly realized was a great friend to have, and they were going to put down an offer on the house. Finally, things were falling in line.