Storm (Storm MC 1)

We arrived back home around five o’clock. Storm clouds had rolled in, and the wind had picked up. Our plans for the night had been to go out for dinner and a movie, but with this change in the weather we decided to order in and watch a movie at home. J had some calls to return before dinner so I jumped in the shower while he did that.

As I walked into the living room after my shower, I realised we had company. Scott was sitting with J on the couch, their heads together while they talked quietly. They stopped talking when they realised I had entered the room.

“Babe, I need to go out for awhile. There’s been some trouble at Indigo that we need to sort out,” J said.

Indigo was one of the strip clubs that Storm owned, so I could only imagine the kind of trouble they had to go and sort out. I sighed. “Okay,” I agreed, disappointed that our evening had been wrecked.

They both stood and Scott headed outside, answering his ringing phone as he went. J came to me, and held my face with both his hands. He looked genuinely sorry, so I decided to cut him some slack. “I’m sorry. I’ll try and hurry things along so I can get back here soon,” he promised, as he laid a quick kiss on my forehead.

And then he was gone. And I was alone on a Saturday night.

Chapter 21

Madison

J and I settled into a routine over the next couple of months. He dropped me off at work and picked me up when I was finished each day, while he took care of

Storm business. Some days we also managed to get lunch together. Our nights were filled with time together, rebuilding our relationship. Some nights he got called out for club business, but thankfully, those nights weren’t too often.

It was the weekends that I lived for. J was around for most of them, and along with spending time with our family and friends, we devoted a lot of time to just the two of us. When he said he would do the work to make our relationship work, he had been telling the truth, and I was the happiest I had ever been.

I was also trying hard to be a better girlfriend. This was hard sometimes, because J still refused to tell me much about club business. And it still pissed me off. Mostly though, I managed to keep my mouth shut and not argue with him about it. I was still hopeful that over time, he would come around.

Crystal was doing okay. J and I spent a lot of time with her and Brooke, and I was surprised at how well we were all getting along. We helped Brooke out, often looking after Crystal so that she could have some time to herself. I think we were all still in shock that Bec was gone, and navigating our way through the grief tied us all together.

It was a Tuesday afternoon, about two months after I returned to Brisbane, that my bubble burst. I was at work, at O’s, the little boutique dress shop that I loved coming to every day, when another fucking blast from my past waltzed in and blew shit all over my life.

“Mandy.” I sucked in a breath, and fear sliced through me. The crazy look in her eyes scared the shit out of me, and my hand automatically reached for the phone to ring J.

As far as I knew, Mandy had disappeared and the club no longer considered her a threat. How fucking wrong they had been about that.

“Don’t!” she screamed. I dropped my hand. My heart rate picked up, and my legs felt shaky. The room began to close in on me as I waited for her next move.

She stalked to where I was, not stopping until she was in my personal space. Her nostrils flared and I could see the veins popping in her neck. She jabbed a finger at my chest, and the force of it made me momentarily lose my balance. “Nix’s death is fucking on you, bitch! The day he met you, his death warrant was signed, and I’m going to FUCKING make you pay!” She screeched her warning.

It’s not often in life that I am left speechless. This, however, was one of those times. My immediate reaction was to fight her, but I quickly moved through scenarios of how that could play out, and decided against it. Assessing her, I thought that she was probably high, and that was not a good thing to go up against. Mandy was erratic at the best of times, so I hated to think what she was capable of when she was on drugs.

I didn’t have to wait long to see what she would do next, because as quick as she came in, she left. She glared at me for awhile, daggers in her look. Then she shoved me backwards, and turned and strode to the door.

Before she closed the door, she shot one last threat at me, “You better watch your back, cunt. You’ve got no fucking idea!” And then she left.

I almost collapsed, my legs were so weak. My breathing was all over the place, and I struggled to get that under control while I rummaged under the counter for the front door keys. My agenda only had two things on it now; lock the door and call J.

“Babe, I’m kinda busy right now,” he answered with that impatient tone he sometimes used on me. And that just served to piss me off.

“Yeah, well, babe, I think you might want to fucking stop what you’re doing and listen the fuck up.”

Yeah, fear had left and anger had walked right on in, and settled itself in.

“What the fuck, Madison?” Now it was J’s turn to get shitty. Well, weren’t we a happy fucking couple today.

“I’ve just had a visit from Mandy,” I threw it out there, and waited for it to wrap itself around his head.

“FUCK!” he bellowed, and I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a moment. “Are you okay?” Even though his voice was still angry, I could hear the softness for me in there, and that melted some of my anger away.

“Yeah, honey, but I need you. Can you come now?”

“I’m already on my way,” he said, and the relief hit me like a gush of wind.