Battle Hearts (Storm MC Reloaded 3)

Today is not going at all how I envisioned it. I don’t know why, but I imagined a fun time with him. Instead, he’s withdrawn and broody. I guess I should have planned for that; he is a teenage boy after all.

If there’s one thing IVF taught me, it’s to roll with life even when it doesn’t give you what you expected. So I say, “Okay then, let’s go.”

We check our books out and head back to the car. Once we’re strapped in, I look at him. “You wanna get some junk food? I feel like a burger.”

That gets his attention. “The queen eats burgers?”

I grin. “Oh, you’d be surprised what this queen eats.”

“Fuck yeah I want a burger.”

I’m glad he said yes. I really am craving a burger today and also, I want more time with him before Memphis takes him home.

We drive to the closest McDonalds and I follow him inside. We’re almost to the register to order when two kids approach us.

“Maddox,” the tall, lanky one says with a chin lift.

Maddox looks at them and swears under his breath before saying, “Jay.”

The other kid, the shorter one, says, “Did DoCS finally take you away from your mama?” He eyes me. “This your new one? Wonder if she’ll do nasty shit to score, too?” What the hell does that mean?

Maddox’s face explodes with thunder and he grabs the second kid’s shirt and barrels him backwards into the wall. Before I realise what’s happening, he punches the kid hard in the face and roars, “Shut the fuck up, Brad. You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

I watch as Jay moves to Maddox and grabs his shirt to pull him off his friend. When his other hand lifts, presumably to punch Maddox, my instincts kick in and I quickly close the distance between us, and step into the fray.

Not my smartest move, but I’m running on pure instinct, and everything inside me is screaming to protect Maddox.

“Stop!” I yell, trying to push Jay away from Maddox, and trying to get Maddox to stop fighting the other boy.

Jay’s angry eyes come to me. “Bitch, you wanna—”

I see red. The little shit. Squaring my shoulders, I snap, “I don’t wanna anything, mate, but you might wanna never call me bitch again. And you and your friend might wanna walk the fuck outta here and leave us alone.”

Those angry eyes of Jay’s glitter with interest. “We’ve got a wild mama bear here.”

“No, what you’ve got is a woman you don’t wanna mess with.”

He looms over me. “Is that so?”

“Fuck, Birdie,” Maddox says, shoving Brad out of the way so he can get to me. “You do not wanna do this.”

I stand my ground, my eyes glued to Jay. “Maddox, you seen the man I live with? And the men I call family? Trust me when I tell you, I can look after myself.”

Brad joins Jay and tries to stare me down, too. “You got any idea who you’re fucking dealing with here, lady?”

I look at him. “No, but have you?”

Before he can reply, Memphis’s deep voice cuts in. “You got a problem here, Birdie?”

I watch as Brad and Jay both take Memphis in and realise who they’re actually dealing with.

“Fuck, man,” Brad says, taking a step back and holding his hands up defensively. “We don’t want any problems.”

Memphis moves closer to them, his body like stone, his eyes hard. “That’s exactly what you’re going to have if I ever see you near Birdie or Maddox again.”

Brad nods and looks like he can’t get out of here fast enough. Jay is a little slower; he seems to think he could take Memphis on. However, Brad grips his arm and says, “Don’t be a fucking idiot. You don’t wanna mess with Storm.”

As we watch them leave, I say to Memphis, “Thanks. Although I’m pretty sure I could have taken them both on and come out the winner.”