The next morning, Juice gave Angela a ride back to TM to get her car. He helped her off of his bike before walking with her to the Mazda and opening the door for her. "Such a gentleman," she teased, leaning against the car.

He grinned back at her from where he stood, his arm draped over the open car door. "You really busy today?"

She checked her phone, scrolling through her texts. "Have a pick up at the hospital later once their done with the autopsy," she explained on a shrug. "Gotta cremate him and that's about it. Mondays are slow surprisingly."

"Cool," he said, nodding his head. "I'll see you tonight? My place?"

Angela's heart did a little flip at the invite. She knew what it meant for him to invite her to-what she affectionately called-"the Bat Cave" since it was a bachelor's pad filled with all his gadgets. "Yeah, definitely," she said with a smile. Her eyes were drawn over his shoulder to where a Prius was pulling in, one of its front axles bare. Opie went over to go deal with it. She watched as Lyla got out of the car, half her torso left bare by her top in true porn star fashion. "That's quite a flat," she commented, nodding towards the silver car.

"No shit," Juice said, on a chuckle.

Opie nodded at Angela, catching her attention. "Ang, you need to be somewhere soon?"

Angela shrugged a shoulder. "Nope. Got a few hours to kill before work. Why?"

"You mind givin' Lyla a lift to Luann's studio?"

" 'course not," she replied, smiling at the blonde girl who was looking at Opie like he was the hottest thing on Earth. She raised an eyebrow back at Juice who looked a little clueless as to the flirtation going on between Lyla and Opie. "I'll see you later, Juice."

"Yeah. Drive safe, Angel," Juice said, surprising her when he leant over to press a quick kiss to her lips.

She fought off the silly smile that was threatening to spread across her face. It was just a simple peck; they'd been fully making out in front of everyone at Bobby's party just a few days before...why should this kiss be any different? But it was to her. It was so sweet and so casually done in front of Opie and all the guys at the garage almost as if she was his girlfriend.  No. She stopped herself. She was not his girlfriend. They were just friends. Best friends. "Always do," she said on a quick breath, pushing a hair behind her ear.

She slid into the car, waiting for Lyla and her son to get in. "Hey Ang," Lyla greeted with a knowing smile. "This is my son Piper, Pipe, this is Angela, a friend of mine."

"Hi," Piper said shyly.

"Hey Piper," Angela replied, glancing at him in the rearview mirror as she started the car. She pulled out quickly, waving at Juice on her way out. "So where to?"

"Charming Elementary," Lyla answered. "Do you know where that is?"

Angela smiled and nodded, it was the same school Kenny and Ellie went to. "I do, actually! Ope's kids go there. I babysit them sometimes," she commented, slyly giving Lyla more information about the bearded man she'd just been ogling.

Lyla's eyebrows shot up, but she didn't ask more, just nodded. It was a quick ride to the school and Piper made it there just in time. Once they were alone in the car, Lyla turned to Angela with a grin. "That Mohawked guy your boyfriend?"

"Oh Juice? Nah, he's my best friend," she answered on a shrug.

"You sure about that, Ang? You two looked pretty cozy. That kiss was really sweet."

"So was your little flirtation with Ope," Angela pointed out, effectively changing the subject.

Lyla smiled almost shyly which was odd for a porn star to be getting shy about a little flirting. "He seems like a sweet guy. I got a good vibe from him."

"He is a sweet guy, Ly," she insisted, though she didn't really know Opie all that well. She could tell he was a good guy by the way his kids talked about him.

The blonde nodded, content with the other woman's answer. "So back to this Juice guy..."

Angela groaned, rolling her eyes. "Can we not?"

"Why not? I think it's cute! He really likes you, Ang," she insisted with a wide smile. "And you really like him too."

Angela felt like she was back in middle school where girls would share secrets and giggle over secret crushes. Then when someone would admit to a crush, the other girls would turn around and steal him. She was too old for games like that. "Whatever."

"Don't just brush it off. It's special. Rare," Lyla assured her.

"Whatever you say, Lyla," she replied, flippantly.

Lyla could almost see Angela visibly putting up walls to protect herself. She couldn't blame the girl; after seeing the way Ima went after Jax, Lyla thought Angela's cool exterior might have to do with downplaying her man so no one else went after him. "I'm not after your man, Ang."

She scowled at her, shaking her head though it did have something to do with it. "I know, Ly. It's just...complicated."

"Okay," she said on a shrug dropping the subject as they pulled into CaraCara. "You willing to come in and do my makeup?"

Angela grinned at her, she secretly loved doing make-up at the porn studio. It took her back to the days when she was younger and worked at the department store make-up counters doing make-up for random shoppers. "As much as I'd love to, I better go do my actual job."

"Bummer," Lyla said as she got out of the car. "Have fun with the dead people!"

"Have fun with the sex!" Angela shot back before pulling out of the parking lot with a squeal of her tires.

She pulled into the funeral home's large empty parking lot, pulling the emergency brake and skidding into her parking spot. Opening the door of her car, she laughed at her awful parking job. Luckily, she was the only car in the lot because her little drift had her parked across three parking spots.

"You keep drivin' like that, and I'll need a new mortician to embalm ya," Skeeter commented as her walked out of the crematorium.

"Whoops," she said with a bright smile. She closed the door and parked the Mazda the correct way before getting out. "Whatcha got for me, Skeet?"

He handed her the paperwork and the keys to the big van. "Hospital pick up. Direct cremation. Somethings wrong with the paperwork though. No doctor sign off."

"Awesome," Angela said sarcastically, tossing the keys in the air and catching them. There was always something wrong with the paperwork from St. Thomas. "I'll take care of it."

"Thanks," Skeeter said with an appreciative smile. He had no patience when it came to the hospital staff. "And please no, Fast and Furious driving in the van, Ang. Its already on it's last legs."

She grinned at him, spinning the keyring around her finger. "Wouldn't dream of it, boss."

Angela left her gurney in front of the morgue, grabbed a quick cup of coffee from the cafeteria, and then headed towards the main desk of the surgical floor. One surgeon had failed to sign off on the paperwork, which meant the decedent was technically still "alive", therefore she couldn't take him from the morgue. The nurse at the front desk gave her a friendly smile. "Hey Angela. Another paperwork snafu?"

"Yep. Dude's still alive technically," Angela explained handing over the paperwork. "Can you get someone to sign off on it, please?"

"It's the new interns. They don't know how to properly fill this stuff out yet," the nurse, Kayla, explained with a frown. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Kay."

"Hey Angie," Tara greeted, setting a file on the desk and scribbling something down.

Angela's eyes were drawn to the bandage across the young doctor's face. "Geez. What happened to your face?" she asked, her brows drawn together in concern.

"Just an accident. No big deal."

"Okay," she commented, unconvinced. The bruise on Tara's nose was almost as bad as the one Cherry had sported a few months back. "Shit, did Gemma do that?"

Tara raised an eyebrow, wondering how she could possible know that. "Not on purpose. I startled her and she took action."

Angela touched her own nose, hoping that she wasn't next. "Ouch. First Cherry, now you; that woman has good aim."

"No kidding."

Kayla came back with the paperwork and handed it over to Angela. "All signed and ready to go."

"Thank you, Kayla," she said, looking it over to make sure before signing the release form. "Gotta go do my job. I'll catch you later, T. Take care."

"You too, Ang."

Angela cursed as she tried to load the body into the back of the van. It usually wasn't so hard, but the decedent had to be at least three times her size and the task was proving to be quite difficult. "Just get in the van, you stupid dead person..."

"That work often?" a voice question from behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder to find Jax standing at his Dyna, Gemma beside him. Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment; swearing at a corpse was very unprofessional. "Um...no. Never actually."

"Need some help?" he asked, already hooking his helmet onto the handlebars of his bike.

Angela nodded. "That'd be great, thanks."

"Hey, you helped out Luann for us, figured I'd do somethin' in return," he said on a grunt as he helped her lift the body into the van.

She laughed lightly. "Thanks."

"You helped out Luann?" Gemma inquired from where she was standing just a few feet away, arms crossed over her chest. Angela figured she'd moved in closer when they were loading up the body. "What were you doin'?"

"Make-up," Angela answered quickly, before Gemma could jump to any other conclusions. She folded up the gurney, slipped it into the back, and closed the doors. "Juice asked me to help out so I did."

Gemma smirked as she nodded. She liked that the girl said she'd done it at Juice's request. No mention of the club or how it would help them. Maybe Angela wasn't the little croweater she had originally thought she was. "Good for you."

"Yeah," she replied awkwardly shifting from foot to foot. "Um...I should get going. It's hot out and a corpse in the heat is not fun to deal with."

Jax remembered the smell of the bodies they'd taken from Skeeter the first time they'd met Angela and nodded in agreement. He hoped he never had to smell that again. "Good luck with that."

"Yeah, thanks," she shot back as she hopped up into the van.

After finishing up the cremation, Angela took a long, hot shower, and got dressed in more casual clothes; a tight pair of jeans and a black beater with the Rolling Stones logo on it in silver that was a little too short for her and revealed more of her tattoo than she normally showed. Her phone rang just as she finished braiding her hair in a side braid that wrapped around her head.

Sighing, she picked it up off her bureau. "Angela Ruiz?"

"Angie, hi," a small voice replied. "It's Lyla. I got your number from Luann."

"Oh hey, Ly. What's going on?"

Lyla sighed. "I hate to bother you, but I was wondering if you could take me to go pick up my car."

"Sure. No problem," she replied, slipping on a pair of black leather riding boots. "You still at Cara Cara?"

"Yeah. I was going to ask Ima but...something tells me that wouldn't be wise."

Angela laughed, remembering the way Ima and Tara faced off at the porn wrap party. "Good call. I'll be right over."

"Thanks, Angie."

-------------

As Angela walked into CaraCara, she was intercepted by none other than Ima herself. "Back again? You want a job or somethin'?" the porn star asked, just inches away from Angela's face.

"I got one, and I don't have to suck cock for it. But thanks for the offer," she replied calmly, a small smile on her face that was anything but sweet. "I'm Angela by the way. Lyla's make-up artist."

"Luann hired a make-up artist for Lyla?" Ima repeated, a jealous look on her face.

"Oh yeah. If you're lucky, she'll ask me to help you out too. I can even out that Oompa Loompa look...unless your next movie is Willy Wonka and the Cum factory. Then you look great, no makeup needed."

"Angie!" Luann called, waving at her. "Good to see you sweetheart."

Angela smiled at the porn director. "Nice to meet you, Ima. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said, nodding to Ima before stepping around the taller woman, "Gotta go see your boss."

Instead of heading towards Luann, she went straight for Lyla's dressing room, leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb as she watched Lyla take down her hair. "Hey Ly. Ready to head out?"

Lyla raked her hands through her slightly curled hair and swiped at the eyeliner that had gathered under her eyes. "Yeah," she answered, standing from her chair. "Hey, you think if I give Opie my number, he'd use it?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Angela said with a wide smile. "It doesn't hurt to try, right?"

She smiled in return, taking out a scrap of paper and scribbling out her name and number in her bubbly handwriting. "My thoughts exactly. Let's go."

-------------

Lyla gripped the door handle as Angela sped though the back roads to get to TM. In no time, she pulled into a spot in the TM parking lot, smiling as Lyla nervously toyed with the little piece of paper in her hand. "Just do it. What do you have to lose?" Angela encouraged her before getting out of the car.

"Right," Lyla said on a breath.

Chibs approached them, clipboard in hand while Opie moved to go to the back lot, apparently to get the car. "Hey there, Angie girl. How you doin'?"

"Can't complain," she replied, looking over where some of the brothers were hanging out by their bikes. "Lyla's got the silver Prius."

"Ope'll be out with it in a second. Go on over there, I'll take care 'a her," he said nodding at the clubhouse.

Angela nodded, heading in the direction Chibs had nodded. Juice emerged as she made her way over, going to sit a top the picnic table, a cigarette dangling from his lips. She said a quick hello to Tara and Gemma, surprised when Gemma gave her a smirk in return rather than her usual cold glare. Angela smiled, at least it was some kind of progress.

Juice's dark eyes found hers, a small smile spreading across his face that in no way reached his eyes. It was clear something was bothering him. He reached out an arm, draping it over her shoulders when she was close enough. "Hey baby," he greeted, his voice rougher than usual from the cigarette smoke. "Surprised to see you here."

"Ly needed a ride over to pick up her car," Angela explained, leaning into him. As she watched Lyla slip the note into Opie's hand before driving away. "You all right?"

He turned his head to kiss her temple, a sweet gesture to show he was glad she was there. It'd been a hard vote for him. One he had been coerced into none too gently by Tig. "Yeah. Been a crazy day," he answered on a sigh. Her hand slipped under the back of his cut, rubbing smooth circles on the skin of his lower back. Sighing, he relaxed under her touch. "Nothing a good massage can't fix."

She gave him a naughty smirk in return. "Hope you know a good masseuse then."

"Nah, but I do know a girl with magic fingers that are wasted on dead people."

"Huh, fancy that," she replied, playing dumb. "Well, maybe that girl doesn't want to massage you."

Juice's arm dropped from her shoulders to her waist, his hand settling on the curve of her hip and squeezing. "And why would that be?"

"Maybe she wants to massage someone else," she shot back, glancing up at him with a teasing glint in her onyx eyes.

He leaned forward and caught her lips in a soft kiss. "That's not possible. She's m..."

Before he could finish, a loud boom filled the air as the van Chibs had been sitting in just second before was blown inches off the ground and engulfed in flames, throwing the Scottish man back onto the concrete.

"Chibs!" Juice exclaimed, pushing her gently behind him as if to shield her from the blast before running towards where Chibs was lying on the ground. It took her a minute to react, but soon she was following after him, her heart hammering against her chest.

"Oh shit, man," Juice swore, his eyes on the pool of blood that was quickly expanding under Chibs' head. He glanced over at her, seeking some kind of comfort and she was there; her hand on his cut just over his Reaper, her dark eyes wide with fear as she looked at the man on the ground.

Juice folded his hands behind his head, his mind racing. Someone had set off a bomb on their own turf, someone had hurt his brother...someone was going to pay. Before he had felt guilty about his vote for retaliation, but now as he watched the ambulance drive away with one of his brothers in the back, he knew he'd made the right choice. Those fuckers had hurt his family and they had to pay.