Raven wakes up suddenly, with sweat running down her face. The covers drop and pool around her waist. She tries to get her breathing under control as she looks across the bed room at the huge mirror mounted on the dresser that was directly in front of her bed. She closes her eyes and tries to center herself like she was taught whenever she has these attacks/flash backs.

She slows her breathing and manages to get her body and mind under control. She slowly opens her eyes and tosses the covers aside and get out of bed. She had gone to bed wearing just her panties and one of her oversized t-shirts.

She shivers from the cool air in the house hitting her bare warm skin. She walks out of the bed room towards the kitchen. She stops in front of the liquor cabinet that her father kept stock and thought about grabbing the bottle of Jack Daniels in it. She wanted to grab the bottle and take a few drinks to help her forget what happened to her and her team. She knew alcohol wasn’t the answer to her problem.

She walks into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She looks at her choices and reaches for the pitcher of cold sweet tea instead. She pulls it out and get a glass form the cabinet and pour herself some cold sweet tea. She downs half the glass, before she refills it again. She puts the pitcher back in the refrigerator and walks over to the kitchen table and sits down with her glass of tea.

She takes another sip from the glass and looks at the time on the microwave sitting on the counter. No one ever warns you about the after effects of killing someone or being nearly killed yourself. She shivers from the thought of what had been done to her that day.

Her finger traces the scar on her right arm where a piece of fragment from a grenade had torn through her forearm, leaving a scar that would never heal properly. All over her body were reminders of the cost she paid to protect the innocent and the service she did for her country. She turns and looks back towards the liquor cabinet where the bottle of Jack Daniels sat.

She wanted to forget the things that were done to her and the ghosts that still linger around. How many of her unit died during that ambushed and how it had made her finally realize she wasn’t the person she was pretending to be?

She empties the glass of sweet tea and stands up from the kitchen table. She walks over to the sink and rinse the glass out and put it in the drying rack to dry. She looks at the time on the microwave again and notices it was four in the morning. She had only gotten five hours of sleep, since returning from the diner.

She was still feeling to awake to lie back down in bed. She walks back into her bedroom and grabs a pair of jeans out of the dresser to put on. She puts on one of her comfortable bras and put on her Marine Corp. PT t-shirt and boots. She quickly braids her hair and covers it up with a leather keeper. She grabs her old male wallet and slips it into her back pocket. She thinks about taking her handgun with her, but leaves it right where it was. She was just going for a ride to clear her head.

She grabs the keys to her motorcycle and lock the back door as she heads towards the garage to get her motorcycle. She opens the garage and back her motorcycle out. She lowers the garage door and put her helmet on, as she walks her motorcycle down the driveway. She doesn’t want to wake her neighbors when she starts her motorcycle. She walks down the street pushing her motorcycle, before mounting it and starting it. The noise from her motorcycle echoes off the houses on her street. She heads down the main street and loses herself in the ride.

Instead of grabbing her normal helmet that she has owned since she first learned how to ride. She grabbed her hi-tech helmet that had a hud system that told her in what direction she was going and how fast she was going. It had a three hundred sixty degree rear camera system built into it. It also came equipped with night vision and thermal capabilities. If that wasn’t enough, it had Bluetooth capabilities, which allowed her to answer her calls while driving.

The helmet had been a gift from a CIA friend she worked with while overseas. She had been a rider and the two of them had become close, like sisters. The last she heard from her, she was working undercover near the Pakistan/India border.

Raven increases her speed and just let the wind take her where it wanted to. The only time she felt free was when she was riding. She knew she couldn’t out race her ghosts, but at least she didn’t have to confront them while she was riding.

The fuel gauge indicator built into her helmet informs her that her fuel was getting low. It was linked to the fuel gauge built onto her instrument cluster on motorcycle. She had to change it out when she came home and wanted to uses her new helmet with her motorcycle. She still had the old one, it was still useful.

Raven pulls into a Philips 66 gas station that was opened and refilled her tank. As she stands there and watches the dollar amount clicks. She watches the sun as it begins to rise. How many times did she watch the sun come up while she was overseas and missed being home? How many times did she have to take the life of enemy soldiers? She knew her kill count was high, but what did it matter? Tears start to leak from her eyes as her ghosts finally catches up with her. She hears the pump click, letting her know it was done filling her tank.

Raven wipes the tears away and put the handle back in place on the pump. She mounts her motorcycle and grabs the receipt for the gas she purchased from the pump. She starts her motorcycle and head back towards her house. As much as she would love to spend all day riding her motorcycle, she had things she needed to do today.

One of those unpleasant things was seeing her psychiatrist for her PTSD. By the time Raven arrives back home, the sun had risen. She parks her motorcycle in the driveway and takes her helmet inside with her. She turns it off as she heads towards her bed to put on some light makeup. She double checks how she looks and wonders if she should show up wearing her PT shirt.

She takes it off and put a different shirt on and her leather vest over it. She checks her appearance one more time, before grabbing something to drink and a granola bar. She checks her watch and notices she has another hour before she has to be there.

Raven paces back and forth while she waits. There was nothing for her to do inside the house. She already cleaned four times already. The floors, carpet, and the rest of the house was so cleaned and organized, that you wonder if anyone lived there. She couldn’t wait any longer and head back outside and mount her motorcycle. She puts her old helmet on and drives towards the doctor’s office, taking the long way to kill time.

By the time she arrives, she still had twenty minutes before her appointment. She parks her motorcycle and head into the building. Instead of taking the elevator like a normal person, she takes the stairs up to the fourth floor. She takes a breath, before exiting from the stair well and into the hallway. She turns right and head down to the office and check in with the receptionist. There was another person in the waiting room, waiting to see the other doctor that shared the space with her doctor. The man gives her a glance and notices the tattoos on her arms. He spots the playing car on her inner forearm.

He looks at her and then back to the playing card and the grim reaper on her left shoulder. He shakes his head, because he knew no woman would have something like that. The military didn’t allow women to go into combat, especially with a special op’s group.

Doctor Moore walks into the waiting room and looks towards Raven. A smile appears on his face “are you ready, Raven?”

Raven stands up “yes sir.”

Doctor Moore leads Raven down to his office. He knew Raven was totally aware of everything around her. It was the first thing he noticed about her when she started seeing him. He waits until she sits down on the sofa in his office before sitting across from her.

“So, Raven how have you been doing since our last session?” Dr. Moore takes his legal pad out and prepares to write down his observation.

Raven looks at Dr. Moore “I’m doing okay, I guess. I had another nightmare last night about what happened to me and my unit.”

“Was it like the last one you had or was this one different?” Dr. Moore knew Raven has been suffering from nightmares from the ambush that took her units lives and almost killed her.

“No, it was the same. I keep asking myself, why I was given a second chance and the others weren’t.” Raven knew the only reason she survived
was because she had been found by an Afghan man and his son. They had hid her in their cave, while they tended to her wounds.

Her command didn’t know she had survived until three weeks later. They had presumed she had been taken prisoner or had her body desecrated like the Taliban did her companions. Even the Taliban who tried to kill her thought she had died from the RPG attack that hit her over watch position.

Raven continues talking to her doctor and by the time her time is up, she felt a little better. She knew there was no easy fix to her problem. That was the day she decided that she couldn’t hid who she was any more. Her father knew about her secret and he never made her feel bad about it.
The only reason she joined the military and pushed herself like she did, was to bury how she truly felt. She knew she wasn’t a man, but a girl. Everything inside her had fought with her ignoring how she felt.

After leaving the doctor’s office she heads towards Bully’s for lunch. She loved their steaks and home style meals. She pulls into the parking lot and parks her motorcycle in a parking space near the front of the restaurant.

When she walks into the restaurant she is greeted by the hostess.

“How many in your party, ma’am?” Debbie looks at the biker woman as she stood before her.

“Just one.” Raven looks at the young woman standing before her.

“If you’ll follow me, please. Would you prefer a table or a booth, ma’am.”

“Either would be fine.” Raven follows behind the young woman.

Debbie escorts the biker woman over to a booth near the window. She motions to the woman.

Raven sits down and accepts the menu as the hands it to her.

“Your waitress will be with you in a minute.”

“Thank you.” Raven opens the menu to look at what she wanted.

A few minutes later her waitress appears. Raven tells her waitress what she wants to drink and what she wanted to eat. She hands the waitress the menu before she walks off.

Raven watches as the woman walks off. She was totally aware of everyone around her. It was a habit she hasn’t been able to break since she came back from Thailand. She thought about getting her tattoos removed before she came home, but they meant to much to her. The playing card with the Grim Reaper head and Marine Corp. Bull Dog had been done by a member of her unit.

The raven on her back, was done by a member of the MC her father belonged to. It was her first tattoo and it represented her nickname. Plus, it was a rave of ravens that lead the MC to find her. She had been abandoned by her stepfather after her mother died from cancer.

According to what her adopted father and the MC found out about her abandonment. She wasn’t of her stepfather’s blood and he felt no obligation to raise her. Plus, he was hoping to cash in on the insurance policy he had taken out on her, like he did her mother.

Raven just stares out of the tinted window of the restaurant towards the parking lot. She has no idea what she wants to do with her life now. She wasn’t like most women who could blend into society easily. She didn’t have to worry about money, because of her disability check she gets from the military for her injuries and PTSD. Plus, she had her investments she started back when she had a paper route and the money she saved before entering the military.

Her motorcycle had been built from parts she collected while in the military. She would come home on the holidays and work on it with her father and other members from the MC. The frame had been built by a member of the MC. She was considered a member by default. They have been her family since she was rescued and adopted by her adopted father. She wasn’t a patch wearing member, but she was considered family.

Raven is brought out of her thoughts by the waitress setting her meal down in front of her. She looks at the waitress “thank you.”

“My pleasure, ma’am. Let me know if you need anything else.” Tammy smiles and walk away.

“Let’s see if the rumors are true about your steaks, Bully.” Raven cuts into her steak and take a bite.

“Mmmm!” Raven enjoys the buttery taste of the piece she was eating.

Raven is woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of running water coming from the main bathroom. She grabs her handgun and makes her way toward the main hall, and spots the light from the bathroom shining into the hallway. She could hear the water still running as she got closer and peeks into the bathroom.

She spots her younger sister naked in the bathroom. She looked like she had been seriously shot and beaten up.

“Eddie, are you okay?” Raven rushes into the bathroom once she realizes who is in the house. She starts helping her younger sister.

Eddie looks towards her older sister, “I’m okay, but you should see the other guy.” Eddie winces as she cleans a cut.

“Here, let me help you, sis.” Raven walks back into her father’s old bedroom and grabs the paramedic bag she bought when she came back.

She goes back into the bathroom and uses the contents to help her younger sister. Her sister, Eddie, had been recruited right out of high school to join the Marshal service. She had helped them while in high school on a child trafficking case. She was also the one who knew how she really felt and why she joined the military.

“So, who did you go after?” Raven cleans the wounds and pulls a few bullets out of her little sister’s body.

“My partner, the local SWAT team, and I got ambushed by members of the Scorpion gang. They set a trap for us and the SWAT team. As we approached the stash house they were using to operate out of. They triggered the explosives outside the stash house and started shooting armor-piercing rounds at us. The SWAT team and my partner were killed, and I barely made it out of there.”

“Someone must have tipped them off that you guys were about to crash their party.” Raven figures that Eddie and the other law enforcement officers were set up.

Eddie looked like a mummy after Raven had finished bandaging her. She looks at her older sister, “What happened to you?”

“I’ll tell you later. You need to rest.” Raven helps her sister off the toilet and to her bedroom.

Eddie winces with every step she takes to her old bedroom. She hasn’t been back to the house since their father died. She walks into the bedroom and notices that their father kept it the way she left it when she went to Washington, D.C., to become a US Marshal.

“Easy does it, sis.” Raven moves the covers aside and lowers her sister down onto the bed.

Raven lifts her sister’s feet and removes her bloody shoes. This wasn’t the first time she had to help her sister to bed. When they had been younger, they had gotten drunk and high as a kite with some friends.

Raven tucks the blanket around her sister, “rest and we’ll talk when you’re feeling better. Do I need to contact anyone?”

“Not right now.” Eddie’s eyes slowly close as she passes out from the pain medicine.

Raven tucks the blanket around her little sister and heads back to the bathroom to clean it up. She carefully put the bullets she pulled out of her sister's body into a sandwich bag. She takes her sister’s bloody clothes, which were beyond cleaning and repairing, out to the burn barrel in the backyard.

Most of her clothes will fit her sister, except her bras. She wore a D-cup bra, but her sister wore an F-cup bra. Her sister was also a natural redhead like her birth mother.

Raven looks at the clothes she was wearing and changes into something else. She takes them out to the burn barrel and tosses them into it. She looks outside and notices her sister has stolen someone’s futuristic-looking motorcycle. She steps outside, puts the motorcycle in the garage, and locks the garage door.

Raven heads back inside and brews some coffee. She was going to keep an eye on her little sister and make sure she didn’t die. Most of the bullets she pulled out of her sister had hit non-threatening areas. But she knew from experience that sometimes, those wounds could become infected. She was also concerned that maybe someone might have followed her sister.

Raven makes herself comfortable on the sofa and watches the front door. The back door had an alarm that would go off if someone opened it or forced their way in. She enjoys her coffee and sits in the dark, watching and listening.

Throughout the early morning, Raven checks on her sister. She takes her sister’s temperature, and sees it's slightly elevated. She puts a cold, wet rag on her sister’s forehead. Her blood pressure was low, but within normal range.

Raven was glad she took medic training when she was in the Marines. Not only did it come in handy when she was badly injured, but it also came in handy when the villager found her and removed the fragments and bullets from her. Hopefully, what she did to help her sister will be okay.

When the sun starts to rise, she checks on her sister again and notices she is still the same. She places another cold washcloth on her sister’s forehead. Her blood pressure was still the same. She goes about fixing herself some breakfast and more coffee. She knew she needed to explain to her sister why she went ahead and had the surgery to become a woman.

Raven eats her breakfast and afterwards checks on her little sister. Everything was still the same with her sister. She logs onto her laptop to see if anything about what happened last night made the news. There was no way any of this could be swept under the rug.

US Marshal Van B. Duncan’s House, Phoenix Arizona:
Marshal Van B. Duncan was woken up in the middle of the night by his cell phone ringing. When he looks at the caller id, he saw it was Commander Hicks from Phoenix Police Department. He reaches over and picks up his cellphone and presses accept on it.

“Hello, Hicks. What’s the problem?” Duncan knew Hicks would only call him if there is a problem.

“We have a situation, Duncan. Your assault team was ambushed and killed.” Hicks couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The carnage was nothing he has ever seen in his twenty-five years of being on the force.

Duncan grabs his glasses and puts them on “what happened, Hicks?”

“The Scorpion gang ambushed the assault team and took out everyone, except for one person.” None of the officers on site haven’t been able to locate Deputy Marshal Eddie Morrison’s body.

“Who’s missing, Hicks?” Duncan couldn’t believe the assault force had been killed.

“Deputy Marshal Morrison. We haven’t been able to find her body.” Commander fears that Eddie Morrison might be in trouble.

“Let me make some calls, because if the Scorpion gang has her body, and The Iron Vagabonds find out. We’ll be looking at a gang war.” Marshal Duncan knew Eddie and her older brother were children of one of the founding members of the MC and were under their protection.

“Sit!” Hicks knew what The Iron Vagabonds were capable of.

Their MC were made up of former military personnel, police officers, construction experts, lawyers, medical personnel, and tech experts that were well known in their fields. Eddie’s father was an army gulf veteran and her older brother is a highly trained special forces operator. Not only was their MC made up of highly trained people, but they had connections with other MC’s that had chapters across the US and overseas.

“I’ll make my own calls and see if some of her father’s people have heard from her. I have a few contacts in their MC.” Hicks had a few people he could trust in their MC.

“I’ll do the same.” Duncan ends the call and was about to dial a few contacts of his when he notices a text form an unlisted number.

“Seriously injured, going to a safe place to get patched up. Will call later.” Ed.

Duncan looks at the message and tries to figure out where Ed would head. She knew this city better then anyone in the Marshal or Federal service. Duncan gets out of bed and heads towards the kitchen to brew some coffee, while thinking about where she could be.

The Morrison resident:
Raven had dozed off for a few minutes, but when she hears movement. She gets up with her gun in her hand and head towards the front door. When it opens slightly, she pulls on the door handle as quickly as she can and caused the person on the other side to stumble inward. She brings her gun up and points it at the person.

Amber had heard that Eddie was in town and that she had been involved in the firefight over on Hedge Grow Street. According to what she heard, the Scorpion gang had ambushed a federal task force and killed everyone. She had managed to get close to the site and overhead the SWAT Commander talking to someone on his cellphone. When she heard that Eddie hadn’t been found yet. She knew of three places Eddie would go. She was the only one, other than Raven who knew of these places.

She hopes Eddie will be at one of these places. She makes her way back to her motorcycle and mounts it. Amber knew if Eddie could find a motorcycle, she would head to these places.

She checks the first two places, but doesn’t find her. That left Eddie’s father’s house. No one was living there currently and Mr. Morrison always kept it stocked for whatever the MC needed. She heads there next.

Raven looks at the young woman and notices it was her and Eddie’s old friend Amber. She knew Amber was one of Hammer’s daughters.
“Amber, what are you doing here?”

Amber looks at the woman who had a gun pointed at her. She didn’t recognize the woman at all, but this woman knew her. “Do I know you?”

“We grew up together, Amber.” Raven lowers her gun and shuts the front door.

Amber looks closely at the woman and notices several of her arm tattoos. She looks at her eyes and all of suddenly it clicked. “Raven?”

“Yes, it’s me. Amber.” Raven walks forward and hug her childhood friend.

Amber returns Raven’s hug. She had heard that Raven was dead. “I thought you were dead.” Tears were leaking from her eyes.

“I would have been, if it hadn’t been for a kind Afghan father and son.” Raven hugs her childhood friend close.

“Your father died thinking you were dead. The MC even had a burial for you.” Amber lets the tears come out.

“Didn’t Wire tell you guys I was still alive?”

“No!” Amber knew her uncle Wire was the only one who could find out about anyone, but he was too broken up over the death of his best friend. He left after the burial of Mr. Morrison.

“I wonder why?” Raven looks down at Amber.

“He said he needed some time to himself. He left the care of his house to my aunt Elizabeth and left on his motorcycle.” Amber wipes her eyes and step back to look up at Raven.

“My father and Wire were more then best friends. They were blood brothers. Now, what brings you to the house?”

“I’m looking for Eddie. The SWAT Commander said her body was missing and I didn’t believe the Scorpions would be dumb enough to take her. The Vagabonds would tear this city apart looking for one of us.”

Of all the children of the motorcycle clubs member, the Vagabonds would tear the town up looking for the daughters of the founding members. Each of them had a history with the club that went back to its founding members.

Raven had been found by the club when they just had twenty members. She had been abandoned during a severe dust storm by her stepfather. Eddie and Amber had been born on the same night, twenty minutes apart during one of the worst electrical storms in Arizona’s history in the club house.

The power had been knocked out and the backup generator wouldn’t start. Doc Holiday had delivered them by candle light and had to give Eddie’s mom a blood transfusion afterwards, because she had lost a lot of blood during delivery.

The only two members in the club who had Ginger’s blood type were Pauline and Samson. Both of them had volunteered to donate blood to Ginger. Kitty and Ox had acted as nurses when they were born afterwards.

“Eddie’s in her bedroom recovering from her wounds. I patched her up last night when she broke into the house.” Raven had guided Amber towards the kitchen.

“Sit, while I make us some coffee.” Raven knew Amber drunk coffee, instead of tea.

“I bet she used the spare key your father kept hidden outside in the flower bed. So, what happened to you and why are you a woman now?” Amber looks at her friend. She was happy that Raven wasn’t dead.

“After my team was ambushed and killed. I crawled away from my over watched position after being hit by an RPG that hit near my position. I crawled down the side of a rocky mountain. My legs and shooting hand had been injured and I had fragments from the RPG embedded in them and my body. Halfway down, I started to tumble down the side like a sack of potatoes and waited for death to claim me. I woke days later and discovered that a kind Afghan father and son had taken me back to the cave they lived in and patched me up as best as they could. They patched me up enough that I could talk them through removing fragments from my body.”

“Ouch! That must had been hell.” Amber knew several bikers that went through the same thing.

“It was. After I recovered enough to be moved. I made my way back to where I was stationed and gave the father and son some money for saving me. I’m still in their debt and will always honor that debt. After I was discharged because of my injuries and mental problems. I went to Thailand and had the surgery to be turned into how I really felt inside.” Raven pours two cups of coffee.

“I knew you always liked dressing up, but I never knew you wanted to give up your manhood to be a woman. Everyone thought you were just a cross dresser or gay since you never had a girlfriend.”

“Only dad, Eddie, Ox, Wire, Teddy, Pam, and Kitty knew how I felt. I made the decision while I was recovering from my injuries that I wasn’t going to lie to myself any longer. Life is to short, not to live it like you should” Raven takes a sip from her coffee mug.

“Trust me, I know how you feel. Dad and mom were disappointed when they learned what I truly do. But they have accepted the fact that I’m going to do what I feel is right.” Amber knew how the motorcycle family worked. They had unspoken rules that you didn’t cross.

“Well, the three of us have always been the oddballs in the club. So, how did you learn that Eddie had been injured?”

“I managed to sneak past the police officers and the police tape at the scene and I overheard the SWAT Commander at the crime talking to someone on his cellphone that they didn’t find Eddie’s body and was worried about the MC taking revenge. You know how they would react if a member of the family has gone missing.” Amber knew what Big Tony would do.

“So, they don’t know Eddie is here?” Raven takes another sip from her mug.

“No one knows this house is occupied. As far as the club is concerned, its empty.”

“Who is supposed to be watching it?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve been out of town doing a job. After we buried your father and you, I was given an assignment and have been gone until I learned Eddie was coming home. I wanted to see my best friend. As far as the club is concerned, you’re dead. No one other then Wire believed you were still alive.”

“Okay. What type of job do you do?” Raven was curious about Amber’s job.

“I can’t go into detail, but I work for a private organization that works outside of government regulations. It’s something that is needed and I enjoy doing it.”

“Don’t tell me you have become an assassin.” Raven looks at her best friend and couldn’t believe she would do that type of work.

“Of course not, what type of person do you think I am?”

Raven notices there was a hurt and shocked look on Amber’s face. She felt bad saying those words now.

“Then what do you do, with the people who you go after?” Raven was curious.

“My job is to locate them and report their location back to the people I work for. Then, and only then do they send a hit team or a capture team to either take them out or imprison them at several black sites. These people we go after are the scum of the earth that have used the legal system or their money, connections, and power to escape justice. Sometimes these type of people slip through the cracks like we have seen growing up nothing ever happens to them. This organization I work for make sure they answer for their crimes.” Amber finishes off her coffee.

“Who monitors the people of the organization?” Raven knew Amber was right about certain people falling through the cracks and not answering for their crimes. They saw a bunch of that when the MC would help children, abused women, foster kids, and some men because of the system.

“There’s a board that monitor’s this organization. Each member on the board is handpicked and don’t know each other’s name. Like that Charlie’s Angels movie we saw when we were little. The board answers to the international courts at The Hague.”

“How did they recruit you?” Raven wonders why they recruited Amber as one of their agents.

“That my dear friend is my secret. However, I will tell you this. Old man Dutton shouldn’t have shot one of those agents or at me.” Amber still has the scar of the bullet that hit her.

Both women hear the familiar sound of motorcycles they knew by heart approaching the house. Amber looks at Raven. “I guess we are about to have company.” A smile appears on her face.

Raven wakes up early the next day and checks on her sister. She was sound asleep and still had an IV hooked up to her. Since the Scorpion gang was still active in their town, she knew her sister would still be in danger. She wasn’t being moved from the house. Two bike members were guarding the house, and Amber said she would be back. She had something to do but would be back.

Amber had left with her father on his motorcycle, leaving her motorcycle in the garage. After checking on Eddie, Raven walks into the kitchen and starts a fresh pot of coffee. The two members who stayed to protect them were people she didn’t know, but Jacob said she could trust them.

“Are you guys hungry? Because I’m going to make some breakfast for myself.” Raven looks at the two huge men in her living room.

“If it’s no problem.” Grinder looks at the black-haired woman wearing shorts and a Marine PT shirt.

The other guy nods. Vapor didn’t speak much and had a healed jagged scar that went across his throat. Raven figured the injury must have damaged his vocal cords. She had noticed his slight nod.

She steps back into the kitchen and takes a can of biscuits out of the refrigerator, ground sausage, and a container of flour from the cabinet. She sets the oven temperature and prepares a cookie sheet. Before long, she starts making sausage and gravy. She makes plenty for all of them.

“Thanks.” Grinder accepts the plate of food from Raven.

“Any time.”

Raven hands the other plate to Vapor and notices him nodding his thanks. After serving the guys, Raven sits down at the table to eat. The three of them eat in silence, and afterward, Raven cleans up the kitchen.

She refills Grinder’s and Vapor’s coffee mugs and joins them in the living room. She looks at both men, “So, how long have you guys been with the club?”

Grinder looked at Raven and knew she had been gone when he joined. He had come from another branch of the club in another state.

“For a while. I knew your father and Jacob. You know, your father was very proud of both of you.” Grinder looks at Raven and sees the pictures of her as a male.

From what he noticed in the pictures and how she looked now. She must have had extensive facial surgery to make her look more feminine so that no one would recognize her. He had to admit she looked cute and would turn some heads. He wonders if she had implants to make her chest look so big.

“I know that. I wish I could have been here when he passed away. I feel guilty that he had thought I had died.” Raven was feeling guilty that her father and sister had thought she was dead. She might have been if Qais and his son hadn’t rescued her. But it still weighed on her conscience.

“If you don’t mind me asking. Why did you change your gender, and why didn’t you remove that tattoo on your forearm?” Grinder was curious why someone like Raven would do something like that.

Raven takes a deep breath before speaking. “It’s something that has been inside of me for a long time, Grinder. Off and on, I gave in to it, but felt guilty about how I felt. Boys/males aren’t supposed to feel like that, and how some of the guys in MC felt about people like that. So, I joined the military to help me overcome these feelings.

“Did it help you?” Grinder watches Raven’s body language.

“At first, yes. Boot camp, and then my specialized training afterward, helped me not feel the way I did. Sure, there were times when I went out with my fellow recruits to enjoy ourselves. I just wasn’t into the spirit of the enjoyment. It just didn’t feel right to me at all. Some of the feelings I buried surfaced, making me question myself. It wasn’t until I was near death that I finally decided to change my life and accept how I felt. As for my tattoo, it reminds me of the men that I served with, bled for, and killed for. I don’t want to forget who they were or what we did.”

“You know people are going to ask you about that tat and your Grim Reaper tat as well.”

“I know, and I’ll be honest with them. If they accept me, that is fine. If they don’t, so be it. I really don’t care. All I know is I’m being honest to myself and the hell with how others feel about it.”

Vapor gives Raven a thumbs-up in response to her statement. He had been listening to her story and could understand how being close to death could make things clearer. He didn’t care because he had a niece who was a female-to-male, and a nephew who was a femboy who enjoyed wearing leather. Not leather for a male, but made for a woman.

“What are your plans now that you’re out of the service and back home?” Grinder wonders what Raven’s plans are.

“I don’t know. I’m still suffering from PTSD and nerve damage to my gun hand. I can still work, but I don’t need to. For now, I’ll help protect my sister and members of the MC.” Raven knew she would never turn her back on her little sister.

“There’s always the open road.” Grinder knew some vets had wandered from place to place.

“I’ve done enough travel for a lifetime, Grinder. I’m going to stick around and try to rebuild my life.”

When Eddie wakes up, Raven tends to her. She makes sure Eddie moves around and steps outside. Crazy Horse and Beater replaced Grinder and Vapor. Crazy Horse was an old Native American cowboy, and Beater was a middle-aged body shop guy. He could take a wreck and return it to its original shape.

Around noon time, Amber returns to the house with four extra-large pizzas, several cases of beer, and specialty drinks. Instead of coming back on her motorcycle, she arrived in a satin black, tricked-out SUV that looked like it could have come off the Count Kustom show.

“Where did you get the fancy SUV?” Raven had seen it pull up in the driveway.

“Oh, that thing?” Amber puts the drinks and pizzas down on the table.

“Yes, that thing.” Raven looks at Amber with a puzzled look on her face.

“That’s a donation from the Scorpion gang. Don’t worry, I’ve already cleared it of the hidden trackers it had inside. They also donated some nice weapons as well.” Amber took a drink and opened it.

“When did you run into them?” Crazy Horse looks at Amber. He knew she was Hammer’s youngest daughter.

“I ran into them on my way to my hotel room.” Amber takes a slice of pizza and starts eating it.

“How did they even know where to look for you?” Beater gives Amber a strange look.

“Oh, I let it be known I was hunting them. You see, my boss said I can take as much time as I need off to help protect Eddie. Now, if for some
reason the Scorpion gang learned that a certain agency was out looking for them. I have permission to use whatever method I wish against them. In other words, I have permission to hunt them down and eliminate them.”

“But, doesn’t that put your family in the crosshairs?” Raven was concerned about her uncle and aunt.

“Nay! If the Scorpion gang moves against my family. They will encounter a major problem. The person that I’m employed by has sent people to watch over them, who I don’t even want to cross.” Amber shivers just thinking about who was coming to protect her family.

“Does your father know?” Raven knew Hammer would want to know.

“No, and I’m keeping it that way. Dad doesn’t need to know that the family is being protected or by whom.” Amber knew her father was proud.

Amber takes another sip from her drink. She looks at Raven, Eddie, and the two MC club members. An evil smile appears on her face. “I told you I work for a dangerous person.”

“But you said your job was just to find people.” Raven couldn’t believe what her friend/sister was now.

“I do. But it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to defend myself or protect someone. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I know it's necessary.” Amber takes another slice of pizza from the box.

Raven jut shakes her head as she retrieves a stack of paper plates and set them on the table. She takes a few slices of pizza and a drink. She takes them over to her sister.

“Eat, sis.”

Eddie accepts the plate and drink. She looks back at her sister “sorry for bring this mess to your doorstep.”

“You didn’t know I was here, so it’s not a problem. Your family and my baby sister. My job is to protect you.” Raven made a promise to always protect her little sister.

Everyone grabs pizza and a drink or two and enjoy lunch.

Dr. Stevenson’s Medical Office:
Raven looked at Dr. Steveson as she sat across from him on the sofa. She knew she couldn’t battle the PTSD trauma alone, and it was best that she talked to someone about the nightmares and uneasiness she was feeling. She was paying for the counseling out of her own pocket.

“How have you been doing lately, Raven?” Dr. Steveson looked at Raven as she sat across from him on the sofa. He noticed she was wearing a blouse and dress pants today, instead of her normal leather.

“The nightmares aren’t coming as often as they used to, but when they do show up, they seem so real. It takes me falling out of my bed for me to wake up and realize that I’m not back on that mountain.” Raven rubs her arm where her unit's tattoo was.

Dr. Steveson has noticed that when Raven does that, it is one of her nervous habits. He had observed several nervous tics she had during some of their sessions.

“Has anything changed in your life recently?” Dr. Stevenson has dealt with ex-service members.

He knew Raven was unique in the fact that she had undergone gender reassignment surgery after she was discharged from the service. They had talked about that when she first came to see him.

“Yes, but I can’t go into details about it.” Raven wanted to tell Dr. Stevenson about what was going on right now in her life, but she knew she couldn’t.

“Okay, has anything new happened that you can talk about, or what might be triggering your nightmares?”

“You could say that, Doctor.” Raven starts talking about her twin sisters.

The session with Dr. Stevenson lasted for an hour. Raven was emotionally drained by the time their session was done. She makes an appointment for next month before she leaves.

Dr. Steveson has renewed her prescriptions for her PTSD. She doesn’t like taking medication, but since she has to take estrogen for the rest of
her life. She can make an exception for the medication her doctor prescribed her.

Today, instead of traveling on her motorcycle, like she normally does. She borrowed her uncle Hammer’s beat-up, rusty old pickup truck. The truck might look ugly with its different-colored body parts, but it ran like a dream. She once asked her uncle why he did that, and asked her if she would steal something like his Frankenstein truck?

She carefully backs the big truck out of the parking spot and starts heading towards Fry's Food Store. She could do some shopping while waiting for her prescriptions to be filled. It doesn’t take her long to arrive at the store, as she parks the big, ugly pickup truck.

Most women carry a purse, but she doesn’t like having her hands occupied. She likes to keep her hands free so she can defend herself. She carries a leather wallet instead. She knows it isn’t ladylike, but she didn’t care. She would rather be safe than sorry.

She puts a quarter in the change device to unlock the shopping cart. Once she has the cart, she walks into the store and heads to the pharmacy to drop off her prescriptions for filling. Once that was done, she started her shopping. Since the guys have been coming over to protect her and her sister. She was going to stock up on beer and maybe some hard liquor. She also planned to cook on the grill, since it was easier to make big meals there. She goes up and down the aisles selecting ingredients for side dishes and other items she’ll need.

Her sister was doing better and was busy going over the forensic reports and photos from the site. It turned out some of the men who got shot might survive. Not all of them had been murdered, but if they do survive, they are going to be disabled for life.

When Raven hears her last name being announced over the store speaker, she heads to the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions. When she paid for them, she couldn’t believe how much they cost. She finishes up her shopping and checks out. She bought more food than she planned on buying.

Raven stops by the ABC store and picks up a couple of bottles of booze and mixers. She needed to replenish what had been drunk at her father’s place. She knew that when members of the MC came by the house, they expected booze. Her father was famous for having a fully stocked bar and several jars of moonshine.

She knew her father didn’t make the moonshine, but he bought it from a supplier. She knew the supplier’s number and had placed orders for her father before. She sends a coded text to the supplier and places an order for ten gallons of moonshine.

As Raven is driving home, her cellphone beeps. She is given the price and where she can pick up the order. She acknowledges the text and receives the delivery time for the order.

She heads home after picking Amber up at her father’s place. She was sporting a black eye.

“What happened to you?” Raven watches as Amber gets into the truck.

“A snitch I knew, and got into it. The bastard thought he could extort more money from me. He even pulled a gun on me.” Amber couldn’t believe Eddie was so stupid as to extort her for more money.

“Let me guess, you gave him a beating he won’t ever forget?” Raven drives towards her father’s place.

“Let’s just say he isn’t going to be speaking any time soon. I broke his freaking jaw with one punch.” Amber rubs her knuckles on her right hand.

“You always did have a mean right cross,” Raven remembers the two of them playing around and Amber punching her.

The ride from Hammer’s house to her father’s house didn’t take long. She went the back way to the house. Only a few people knew it. Raven backs the truck up into the driveway so it will be easier to unload. She remembers doing the same thing with her mother when they went shopping.

The side door opens, and Eddie comes walking outside. She was wearing a sundress her sister had in her closet.

“What did you bring back, sis?” Eddie looked like she could use some sun.

“This one.” Amber points towards Raven.

A smirk appears on Eddie’s face, “She is like a bad penny you can’t get rid of.”

“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be working around right now.” Raven looks towards her little sister.

“Maybe, but I am glad you were here when I broke in.” Amber grabs two bags and carries them into the house.

The three of them managed to unload the truck and put everything away. Eddie spotted her favorite ice cream among the groceries, along with fudge brownie mixes.

“Oh, this should be fun. Brownies and ice cream.” Eddie loved brownies with ice cream on top, especially when the brownies were still warm.

After all the groceries are put away, and what beer can be stored inside the house refrigerator. It is taken out to the garage and placed in there. Normally, Eddie and Raven’s father kept beer out in the garage. When he and other members of the MC were working, they would have something cold to drink.

Eddie looks at Raven, “I need to go by the hotel I was staying at and get my things.”

“No problem, sis. We can stop at El Taco Loco and pick up some tacos.” Amber liked the tacos from that place.

“Sounds good to me.” Raven grabs the keys to the truck, and all three ladies head out to the truck.

Raven was scanning the road, making sure there was no danger, and she noticed Amber doing the same thing. Eddie was between the two of them. The three of them got into the truck, with Eddie in the back seat.

The first place they stop is El Taco Loco, where they order a twelve-pack of tacos, chips, and two different types of dip. When they went into the restaurant, they took a corner table. They wanted to protect their backs and see everyone coming and going.

The three ladies enjoyed their lunch and made small talk. Raven contributed to the conversation every so often, but listened to her sisters.