I sat back down and put my hand on J’s arm, gently rubbing it. We held each other’s gaze for a moment and then I turned to look at Mum. “Thanks, Mum. It means a lot to me that you feel that way about J.” J just grunted in response; if it had been anyone other than my mother bringing this up, he would have told them to fuck off and mind their own business. I loved that, for me, he showed her respect and answered her questions.
We were all saved from this conversation when Dad’s phone started ringing. He stood and took the call in another room and Mum started clearing the table.
I murmured to J, “You are a bossy motherfucker. When were you going to have that discussion with me? The one about me moving in?”
He grinned. “I wasn’t, babe. It was a fucking given.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course it was.”
Dad came back, hard eyes fixed on J. “You and me. Now.” He indicated with his head that they were to leave and J was straight up, concern visible on his face.
He leant down, took my face with both his hands and kissed my forehead. “You stay with your Mum till we’re back.”
I fought the need to ask what was going on and simply nodded in agreement. “Okay, baby,” I replied.
Mum and I watched in silence as they left, neither of us sure what was happening, both o
f us being guided by faith and trust. I had come a long way in the last few days.
Jason
Marcus and I entered the bar, scanning the room for Scott. He was keeping an eye out and saw us straight away. Seated next to him was Nash, and across from them were Bullet and one of his boys. They made room for us to sit as we approached; I was nervous about what this meeting meant and sat with some trepidation.
Marcus spoke first, “What the fuck’s so important to drag me away from a family dinner?” He glared at Bullet; there wasn’t much love lost between these two. They had come to blows over club dealings in the past and Marcus didn’t trust him at all.
Bullet’s jaw clenched. “Got word that Nix’s crazy sister is out for blood. Thought you should know.”
“What are we talking here?” Marcus asked.
“She’s threatened your family. Madison especially.”
“Fuck!” I roared, and slammed my hand down on the table. “When the fuck does all this shit end?”
Bullet threw his hands up in a defensive stance. “Got nothing to do with me. I’m just showing some courtesy by letting you know what I’ve heard. I figure it’s the least I can do after what Nix put your club through.”
Scott leaned forward, a menacing tone to his voice, “Where the fuck is this bitch?”
“We’ve lost her. After we heard she’d made threats I sent some of the boys around to see her. Seems they scared her off and she’s done a runner, but I’ve still got concerns she means business.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and slid it across the table to Marcus. “This is a list of places to try first. We’ll be out of town on a run the next few days but when we get back I’ll contact you, see if you’ve located her. Trust me; I want this shit dealt with once and for all too.” He pushed his chair back and stood to leave.
“Once this is dealt with, we need a sit down. Nix fucked our club’s relations and I want us to fix that, Bullet,” Marcus said.
Bullet stopped mid-stride, and contemplated Marcus for a moment before replying, “Yeah, seems he did.”
After they left, I looked at Marcus and ranted, “This is fucked up. I want to find that bitch and deal with her. No fucking loose ends this time, no fucking holding back.”
“We find her first and see what she’s playing at, J. No need to start a war where one’s not needed,” Marcus countered, and then continued, “Tomorrow, first thing, you, Scott and Nash follow these leads up.”
I nodded, but I had no fucking intention of leaving that bitch to carry out her vendetta. This time, I would make sure Madison was safe and do whatever the fuck it took to make that happen.
Chapter 17
Madison
The next morning I woke at seven, alone in J’s bed. He and Dad had come back from meeting with Bullet and told us about Nix’s sister, Mandy. J appeared quite pissed off about it all, but Dad was pretty calm so I wasn’t going to worry about it too much at this point. Although, I had met Mandy once and she was a crazy bitch, so perhaps I should be worried about it. J was going out with Scott and Nash today to find her, but I hadn’t expected him to leave so early, without waking me first.
I got up, made coffee and then tried to phone J. My call went straight to message bank so I left him a message to call me back. Fifteen minutes later he still hadn’t called so I tried him again. Now I was beginning to feel like a nagging wife but I just wanted to say good morning. The call went to message bank again, so I left another message. I hung up and put my phone down. That was it; no more calls to him until he rang me back.
Right. It was time to get ready for the day; I had a yoga class booked for eight o’clock and then a hair appointment at one. After finishing my coffee, I had a shower, got dressed and was out the door. J had left me the keys to his Jeep, which I was grateful for. I arrived at the yoga studio ten minutes later and checked my phone; still nothing from J. It was starting to piss me off, but I tried to remind myself that he was technically at work so perhaps he was occupied with stuff. I shoved my phone in my bag and headed inside; I was more than ready for a session and hopefully the knot of tension I felt in my gut at the moment would be eased by the yoga.