Havoc (Storm MC 7)

Resignation crossed his face, and he nodded.

Griff ended his phone call and joined back in on the conversation. “We good to go, brother?” he asked me.

“We are.”

“Thank fuck, because we have more shit that’s just come up and you’re needed on that.”

My happy levels spiked at the thought. Looked like my week was taking a turn for the better. If I had to be in Brisbane, at least I would be having some fun during my stay.

* * *

As I entered the bar of the clubhouse, I took in the familiar surroundings. It was still the same as it had been six months earlier, and wasn’t much different from two years ago when I walked away from it all for the peacefulness of the nomad life. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and most of the boys were at work, so the bar was fairly empty. Even the pool table in the back corner was empty. I liked the quiet and the lack of people.

“Havoc,” Nash grinned as he came towards me. Slapping me on the back, he said, “I heard you were in town. It’s been awhile, asshole. How the fuck you been?”

I’d been back for two weeks and had met with Marcus at a local bar where he’d detailed some jobs he had for me. This was the first time I’d seen anyone else. My preference was to take care of shit on my own and Marcus had no issues with that.

“Same old shit, different day,” I said, thinking that nothing much changed in my life anymore. I spent my days either dealing with assholes, or on my bike. Both were enjoyable, but lately it had started feeling a little empty. I didn’t want to think about what that meant so I did my best to avoid thinking. Easier said than fucking done.

“You ready to come home yet?” Nash asked the question that my father and sister kept pestering me with—the question that irritated the fuck out of me.

“No.”

Nash didn’t push it. “Fair enough, brother.” He paused for a moment, his gaze travelling to my shirt. “You been dealing with some shit today?”

I looked down at the blood on my shirt. “Yeah.” Looking back up at him, I said, “I hear you’ve got something else for me to sort out.”

“We do,” he started, but was interrupted.

“Fucking Havoc,” came a deep voice behind me.

I turned to find Jason Reilly walking towards me with a huge shit-eating grin on his face. Unable to stop myself, I grinned back. J had been like a true brother to me before I left, and although I’d pretty much cut ties with everyone, I still counted him as a friend. “How’s your sorry ass?” I asked.

He pulled me into a hug and slapped me on the back. Hugging was not something I did, not even with women, but J had a way of getting shit out of me that I didn’t want to give, and so I let him at it. When he let me go, he answered, “I’m fucking brilliant.”

Nash groaned. “Don’t get him started, brother. Madison finally got that ring on her finger and the fucker’s been walking around with a grin full of pussy ever since.”

I wasn’t surprised at this news; J and Madison married was something I’d always seen coming. “Happy for you, J. Surprised as fuck that you and Nash are in the same room though.” These two had never gotten on, so to see them under friendly circumstances was a shock.

“One word for you, Havoc: Madison,” Nash said. He jabbed his finger at J, and added, “She’s sorted him out.”

“Well she must be a fuckin’ miracle worker to get you two talking,” I said, shaking my head.

J scowled and muttered, “Let’s just say she has her ways of making me do what she wants.”

I had to laugh at that. “A woman finally grabbed you by the balls, huh?”

“Laugh all you want, dickhead. It happens to the best of us.”

Nash cut in, changing the subject. “As much as I’d like to stand around counting the ways that Madison has him by the balls, we need to hurry this along. Did Griff give you any info on what’s going on?”

I detected a change in his tone when he mentioned Griff. “No, but first, what’s going on with Griff? You pissed that he challenged Scott?” Scott Cole was the previous vice president, and from memory, he had Nash’s support so I had to wonder about how Griff’s challenge for the VP role had affected club dynamics.

Anger clouded his face. “Yes, I’m fuckin’ pissed. Griff played us all for fools when he betrayed Scott.”

That was a feeling I knew well. Betrayal by a friend was the worst kind. “Yeah, I get that,” I murmured, lost in my thoughts for a moment.

Nash moved back to the topic at hand. “We’ve got a problem with one of the strip club clients harassing one of the strippers at Indigo. Need you to deal with him so he leaves her alone. She’s one of our best, and we don’t want to lose her.”