She nodded enthusiastically. “Hell yes, the more the merrier.”
I made us both a coffee and then settled back in across from her. “Long story as to why I’m working at Indigo, but basically just what I told you last week; I need the money to help Mum with her bills. One of her fridges died on Tuesday and we couldn’t afford to replace it so I asked Scott for the job. And, he also organised a fridge for us. Oh, and this was after I turned up at his club drunk and abused him for losing me my job at the vet’s.”
“Wait. How did you know Indigo was his club?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t. My friend and I were out drowning my sorrows about losing my job and we saw Indigo and wondered what a strip club looked like on the inside. So, we went in. The rest is history.”
She was laughing. “You’d never been inside a strip club before?”
“No! I’m a good, country girl. We don’t do strip clubs.”
“And what do you think of it now?”
“Actually, it’s kinda hot. But that could just be because of all the hot biker boys roaming around in there.” I winked at her as I said that.
“Shame on you, Miss Country.”
“Seriously though, Storm has some hot guys. Don’t you think?” I was loving this girly chat with her.
She almost spat her coffee at me. “Shit, no!” She shrugged and then added, “Okay, well Nash is pretty fucking hot and has a dirty mouth to go along with it. Don’t you ever tell J I said that or I will kill you. Right after he kills Nash. And Griff... Mmm, there’s something about him that scares the fuck out of me but at the same time, he does it for me. I don’t find any of the other Storm boys hot but remember, I grew up with them so I pretty much just look at them like brothers.”
“I met Griff the other night. I know exactly what you’re saying about him; he scared the shit out of me too. You wouldn’t want to get on his bad side, that’s for sure. Nash has hit on me a few times but I can tell that he’s the type to do that to anything in a skirt, right?”
“Yeah, Nash doesn’t discriminate. He’s all about the ladies. Told me once that he’s got no interest in ever settling down which is pretty much the same as Scott. I’m just waiting for the day these guys meet a woman who brings them to their knees. It’s going to be fun to watch.”
I processed what she’d said about Scott. He’d also told me that he didn’t do relationships and. “Have they ever been in a relationship?”
“I don’t know about Nash before he came to the club but definitely not since. And Scott hasn’t had a girlfriend since just after high school.”
“How old is Scott?”
“He’s thirty-four. Why?”
“Well, I’m just wondering how someone gets to be thirty-four and not had a relationship since high school. And let’s face it, a high school fling is hardly a real relationship.”
“Scott’s been pretty focused on Storm his whole life. And, he’s screwed some real nasty bitches. As in, bitches who tried to trap him by getting pregnant from the one time they slept together. That’s happened to him twice now, and then there’s been the stalkers who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Those club whores who are desperate to become an old lady will stop at nothing to get their claws into one of the Storm boys. So, I think Scott’s been burnt by women to tell you the truth.”
“Scott’s got kids?” I was surprised; even though I thought he’d make a good father, I had gotten the impression he didn’t have any.
“No. One of them was pregnant but miscarried; thank God. The other bitch was lying but Scott didn’t work that out for a couple of months, so she put him through it for awhile.”
We sat in silence for a moment, drinking our coffee. I was thinking about Scott; he’d been screwed over like I had. Sure, it was in a different way but still, he’d been screwed because when someone takes your trust like that and stomps all over it, it marks your soul.
“So, what’s the deal with you, Scott and Blade?”
“Oh, God! Where to start? Okay, long story short, my Dad screwed around on my Mum and had a child with another woman. That’s Blade. But we only found out a couple of months ago. Dad’s been hiding his other family all this time. I’ve gotten to know Blade and like him. I mean, it’s not his fault how he came into this world. But Scott’s got it in for him and won’t give him the time of day. I just stay out of it and have my own relationship with Blade. You’ve met him; he’s okay, right?”
“Holy crap, your family could have its own soap show. Bloody hell. How did your Mum cope when she found out about your Dad? And yes, Blade seems okay from what I’ve seen.”
“I used to think my mother was a strong woman but I’m not so sure anymore. She’s still with Dad. I couldn’t tell you why though because we’ve grown apart since all this went down. She’s kind of pulled away from me and Scott. I think it’s because we’ve made it clear we want nothing to do with Dad and that we think she should leave him.”
“Women do strange things for their men, don’t they? My ex cheated on me with my best friend. I left him straight away; would’ve cut his balls off if I thought the jail time was worth it. But I know lots of women who have stayed under similar circumstances. I don’t get it.”
“Exactly. If J ever cheated on me, I wouldn’t hesitate to cut his balls off; the jail time would so be worth it.”
I loved Madison’s passion that was so clear in everything she said and did. So different to me; I was more of a laid back, think about it before I do it kind of woman.
She checked her watch. “Shit! I’ve got to get to work,” she exclaimed and jumped up. “Thanks for the coffee and chat; I love hanging out with you.”
I stood up too and followed her to the door. “Thanks for waking me up. Have a good day at work; I’m going to be here struggling to get through it.”
She grabbed me for a hug. “Drink lots of coffee. It’ll get you through, and I’ve got it under good authority that the chick who works here makes shit hot coffee.”
I hugged her back. “Thanks, and I’ll let you know about next Friday night as soon as I know my roster.”
“If Scott won’t give you the night off, I’ll sort him out for you,” she said with another wink.
I had that warm, squishy happy feeling in my stomach as I watched her go and sensed the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
S
cott
J walked into the office and dumped a cat cage with Monty on the desk. I looked up at him with a quizzical look.
“I’ve had enough of the fucking cat. It’s yours now.”
I threw my pen down and leaned back in my chair, stretching my back and neck as I did it. Chuckling, I said, “Was wondering how long you’d put up with it for.”
He placed his hands on the table and leant forward. “You’re a lucky motherfucker in so much as I have a hard on for your sister. If I didn’t, that cat would’ve never made its way into my house. Never again, and I don’t even care if Madison closes up shop, I’m not fucking budging on this.”
“I hate to tell you this, J, but you are so fucking whipped where Madison is concerned that even a cat couldn’t unwhip you, brother. The day I see you say no to her is a day I don’t believe will ever come.”
He shook his head and gave me a hard glare. Pointing at me, he said, “Mark my fucking words, if a cat shows up at my house, I’ll get unwhipped faster than you can say tight pussy.”
I highly doubted this but didn’t say anything more. Instead, I stood up and said, “Griff’s given us the okay to hire that new manager. Can I leave that with you while I take the cat home?” I checked the time; it was just after six pm so I could make sure Lisa had eaten some dinner too.
“Yeah. How’s that kid going? Has her mother cleaned herself up yet?”
“Michelle still hasn’t gotten her shit together so I check on Lisa every day. If I was sure foster care would be better than what she’s got, I’d report it but I refuse to throw Lisa to the wolves when I can watch over her.”
I picked up the cat cage and left; Lisa had been waiting long enough for her cat to come home.
***
I
knocked on the door and waited. It only took her a minute to answer, and when she saw me, her face lit up.
“Monty!”
I handed him to her and said, “Can I come in?”
Lisa was so excited and didn’t seem fazed by the ugly wound on his face. That was good because she was going to have to look after him now. She let me in and I headed towards the kitchen, in search of her mother. She wasn’t in there, nor was she in the living room.
“She’s asleep,” Lisa half whispered when she realised what I was doing.
“How long’s she been asleep?”
Lisa hesitated, but then replied, “Since just after I got home from school.”
Fuck.
“You had dinner?”
She didn’t say anything; just shook her head, no, and then stared at the ground.
I reached out and lifted her chin with my finger. We stood staring at each other for a long moment. That fucking mother of hers had a lot to answer for. Finally, I said, “Come on; let’s go get you some dinner. I haven’t had any either.”
We secured Monty in the house and then headed out to a Chinese restaurant because I knew that Lisa liked Chinese.
We’d ordered, and chatted a bit about school, and were eating when she suddenly stood up and said she had to visit the bathroom. When she returned five minutes later, she seemed a little more highly strung than usual.
I tried to catch her eye. “What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well or something?”
“I’m okay. It’s nothing,” she answered, but it wasn’t convincing.
“Lisa, you
were
okay but now you’re not. I can tell something’s wrong so spit it out.”
She shook her head vigorously. “I’m fine.”
Christ, I was not equipped to deal with twelve year old girls. I tried to maintain my calm but when she started crying two minutes later, I was out. Grabbing my phone, I tried to call Madison. No answer. Shit. I tried her again, and then I tried J. Neither were answering. Who the fuck else could help me with this? As I was racking my brain trying to figure out who to call, Lisa started really sobbing.
“Hey, darlin’, it can’t be that bad.” I was pretty fucking sure that wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was all that came to me.
She didn’t say anything; just kept sobbing.
Fuck
.
In my desperation, I dialed Harlow’s number.
She answered almost straight away. “Scott?”
“Thank Christ. I need your help.”
“What’s up?”
“I’ve got a twelve year old girl here who won’t stop crying and won’t talk to me and tell me what’s wrong. Don’t suppose you could come here and talk to her. You know, girl to girl type shit.”
“Umm, okay. Where are you?”
I gave her the directions and she arrived ten minutes later. Lisa was still crying and not talking. Her body was wracked with sobs now and I felt completely fucking helpless.
Harlow took one look at her and moved to sit next to her, wrapping her arms around her and patting her hair. “Shhh, shhh,” she repeated over and over.
Eventually, Lisa started to calm down, at which point, Harlow looked at me and suggested, “Perhaps you could give us a moment?”
Shit, I was more than fucking happy to do that. “Sure, just text me when you’re done,” I replied, giving her my number and then left them to it.
I spent the next fifteen minutes outside the restaurant, wondering what the hell was wrong with Lisa. If Michelle had fucked up somehow, she’d be answering to me. When I finally got a text from Harlow to come back, I was apprehensive about what I was going to find. But they were standing waiting for me and appeared to be okay.
“We need to go to the shop,” Harlow announced, giving me a strange look that reminded me of the look that Madison used to give me when she was telling Dad something that she didn’t want me to question.
“Okay -” I was cut off.
“Good, we’ll be back soon,” Harlow said, confusing me.
“What -” she cut me off again. Now I was getting irritated.
“Just wait here. We won’t be long,” she asserted, eyes boring into me. It was like she was trying to send me the message to sit down and shut the fuck up.
What the hell
?
I noted Lisa’s apparent discomfort with this situation and decided to let it go for now, but Harlow would be telling me what the fuck was going on; I would make sure of that. “Fine, go. I’ll wait here,” I grumbled and let them go.
While they were gone, I organised for our food to be bagged up to take home. I paid the bill and had just settled the food in my car when I got a call from Griff. “Scott, need you at the clubhouse now; got some trouble here between Marcus and Blade.”
“Fuck. I’ll be there soon.”
I hung up from him and called Harlow. “You going to be long?” I asked when she answered.
“About five minutes, we’re just at the convenience store down the road.”
“Did you walk there?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Shit, Harlow, it’s not fucking safe to be out walking at night by yourself.” I knew that Stoney was tailing her tonight but shit could have still gone down.
“Bloody hell, we’re fine. Don’t get your panties in a knot,” she said, and had the hide to sound pissed at me.
“Wait there. I’m coming to get you,” I muttered, and hung up my phone without waiting for a reply.
A couple of minutes later, I was really fucking annoyed when I met them half way between the restaurant and the convenience store. “I told you to wait there for me,” I almost yelled at her.
“And I told you that we were fine,” she said calmly, but she was glaring at me, challenging me to argue back.
I stewed on that for a minute before blowing out a long breath. “Christ, woman, why do you have to argue with nearly everything I say?”
“I don’t. I only argue with the things you boss me around about,” she stated firmly.
“Seems like you argue with everything, babe.”
“Seems like you boss me around a lot.”
Fuck.
She had her hand around my dick and she didn’t even know it. Hell, I hardly knew it, but I could damn well feel it.