Nina Levine - Storm

My heart fluttered.  This was happiness to me and I was so glad to have another chance at it with J.

Dinner with my parents started out as a standard affair.  Mum was her usual self, fussing over everybody, making sure we were well fed and trying to stick her nose in everyone’s business.  Dad was in a pensive mood and was fairly quiet throughout the night.  J was his cocky self, doing all he could to hurry it along so he could get us home and satisfy his desire for me.

And then my mother asked me a question that changed the mood of the night.  “So, honey, have you decided if you will move in here with us until you get yourself sorted out?”

J’s head snapped up.  “No, she’s moving in with me,” he said.

Mum didn’t miss a beat, “Don’t you two want some time to settle back into your relationship before moving in together again?”  She was staring straight at J, not even glancing in my direction.  I didn’t know what was going on here, but it felt like some secret communication was taking place.

J scowled at her, “No, Sharon, we don’t want some time.  We’ve wasted enough time already.”

Normally, I would be jumping right in here to tell J to let me make my own damn decisions, but I wanted to see how this played out between him and mum.

“Has Madison agreed to this J, or are you back to making all the decisions in your relationship?”  Shit, now my mother was stepping into unsafe territory.

J’s nostrils flared, and he was about to say something when my father spoke, “That’s enough, Sharon.  This is between J and Madison.  It has nothing to do with us.”

My mother’s head spun to face my father and she snapped at him, “Well, it will have something to do with us if Madison isn’t ready for it yet.  I worry what will happen if she can’t handle it again.”

Oh, fuck me!  They were talking about my drinking, and it pissed me off that none of them could just come out and say that to start with.  I slammed my chair back and stood.  “Just an FYI for you all, you know, because you never actually asked me, my drinking is under control.  I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol in nearly two fucking years.  Mum, I am moving in with J,” I fixed my glare on him, “Even though he never took the time to ask me.  I do appreciate the concern, but I’m working through stuff in my head, and I think I’m going to be okay.  I think I’m finally getting my shit together.”

J’s anger had dissipated and he was calm as he said to my mother, “We’re working it out together, and no, I’m not making all the decisions. I know I’m a bossy asshole but I’ll do anything to make this work.”

Mum appraised him and then nodded, “I hope so, J, for both your sakes.  I love you like a son, and when I say I’m worried, it’s not just for Madison.  I saw what you went through last time too.”

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 of 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.

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.

* * *

Just over an hour later I was fumbling with the car keys trying to get them in the lock when my phone rang.  Yoga hadn’t smoothed any of the tension from my body, and as I struggled with everything in my arms in order to get to my phone, I threw a hissy fit and just let everything fall to the ground.

“Fuck!” I yelled, as I retrieved the phone from the ground and answered it.

“Madison,” it was Scott, “Where the fuck is J?”

Well, fuck me.  This day was quickly turning into one big ‘ole pile of shit.  Yes, where the fuck was J, if not with Scott?  “I’ve got no idea,” I snapped back at him, “I thought he was with you.”

Scott was fuming.  “Well he should be, but he’s not fuckin’ here.”

“I’ve left him two messages, but he hasn’t replied to either of them.”

“Yeah, not answering my calls either.  Okay, gotta go,” he said and hung up.

I was left staring at my phone.  God, I loved the way my brother spoke to me.  Not.  And again, my mind swung to J.  Where was he?  I dialed him again, hoping he might actually answer my call this time.  No fucking luck; it went to message bank yet again, and now I was really shitty.  I picked up the rest of my crap that was strewn across the ground and finally unlocked the car door.  Throwing everything on the passenger seat, I got in, started the car and threw it into reverse.  Screaming out of the parking lot I shoved my sunglasses on and turned the music up really fucking loud.  What better way to drown in one’s own shitty mood than with some Avenged Sevenfold.

I swung past his house hoping he might be there but he wasn’t, so I continued onto the clubhouse.  As I parked the car, I saw Scott walking out the front door and quickly got out of the car to catch him before he left.

It had been about twenty minutes since I had spoken to him and he was still pissed off so I guessed that he hadn’t found J yet.

“Any luck finding him?” I asked, as he approached me.

“Haven’t spoken to him yet, but got word as to where he might be so we’re heading out there now,” he answered me gruffly.

“What is going on?  Why has J gone off the grid today?” I asked Scott, even though it was highly unlikely he would give me an answer.  A girl can try though, right?

“Madison, I don’t have time for twenty fuckin’ questions right now,” he barked.

I threw my hands up.  “Fine!  But when you find him, tell him I expect a call.”

Scott shook his head, clearly exasperated, “I’m not getting involved in your drama with J.  That shit’s between the two of you.”

He walked past me towards his bike and I flipped him the bird.  Even though he didn’t see it, it still made me feel good.  “Fuck you, too!” I yelled and stormed off in the direction of the clubhouse.

A few minutes later the rumble of bikes sounded as he and a couple of the boys left.  I was now pissed at both J and Scott, and needed to vent so I pulled out my phone as I headed inside.  Dialing Serena, I noted how empty the clubhouse was and thanked the universe for some peace and quiet.

Serena answered on the first ring.  “Why haven’t I heard from you for days?”

I laughed.  “Well, why haven’t I heard from you?  And it hasn’t been days, you drama queen!”

“I’ve been busy screwing hot guys.  What’s your excuse, chica?”

“Oh, I bet you have,” I had no doubt that’s exactly what she had been doing, “I’ve been busy screwing one hot guy,” I answered her with a wicked grin on my face.

She squealed.  “Tell me it’s J!”

“Of course it’s J,” I chastised her.

“It’s about time you two did the dirty,” she teased, and I could hear the approval in her voice.  “So, how is the moody motherfucker?”

I groaned.  “I couldn’t tell you how he is today because the asshole left before I woke up and hasn’t returned any of my calls.”

“Oh...trouble in paradise so soon.  Doesn’t sound good,” she said.

“Well, I have some other news for you.  Nix is dead.  Don’t ask, it’s a long story.  But, his sister has made threats against us, so I think J is busy looking into that.  Still...he should call me back, so I am annoyed at him.”