Scott
I killed the engine of my bike and removed my helmet while I surveyed the argument that was currently occurring between Madison and our father. They both appeared to be past the point of angry and Madison was jabbing her finger at his chest. It was probably time for me to step in so I left my bike and walked towards the front of the clubhouse where they were. Madison had her back to me so she didn’t see me coming but Dad did and lifted his chin at me.
“Scott.” He greeted me, minus a smile.
Madison stopped mid sentence and whipped her head around, her angry eyes narrowing as they landed on me. “Where’s J? I thought he was with you,” she said.
“He’s at Indigo sorting out some problems. What’s going on with you two?”
She scowled and went to answer me but Dad cut in. “I’ve asked Madison to come over for dinner tonight but she has refused. With J getting back yesterday, I thought it would be a good time for us all to get together and start to work through this bullshit mess we are in. You should come too.” Rather than sounding angry, he just appeared resigned.
“You created this bullshit mess,” I reminded him, “The day you decided not to keep your dick in your pants. And the day you decided to hit your wife. Don’t fuckin’ expect us to forget either of those anytime soon.” I could feel my anger levels rising but fought to remain calm. He wasn’t worth it.
Madison visibly relaxed and the scowl was wiped off her face. She turned back to Dad. “We won’t be there tonight,” she said, quieter now, less angry. And then she said to me, “Can we talk when you get some time?”
I nodded. “Sure, I’ve just got some information to share with Dad and then I’ll come find you. You’re waiting here for J?”
“Yeah. Thanks,” she replied and with one last look at Dad, she pushed through the front door and left us alone outside.
Dad stared after her for a moment, lost in thought, before addressing me, “I’ve made some bad decisions in my life and I’m fucking paying for them, but this shit with our family needs to be sorted. Your mother wants it dealt with.”
I shook my head. “Not gonna happen. And don’t play the Mum card. Jesus.” I ran my fingers through my hair and felt the beginning of a headache. Fuck, I needed a drink, or better yet, some pussy to ease it. Yeah, pussy always helped.
He contemplated what I’d said and then nodded tightly. “What do you need to tell me?”
I was over-fucking-joyed that he was moving on and not starting an argument. “Darrell quit so we need a new manager for Indigo. J’s there now sorting out staff for the next few days but until we find someone new, J and I will keep it running.” This strip club was giving us no end of problems lately.
“Good. Find someone soon though because we need you both for other stuff.”
“Yeah, I heard. Bullet’s giving you some grief over Blade’s crew?” I’d heard this from Griff who kept me in the loop these days because I’d been distancing myself from Dad.
“Christ, it’s never fucking ending. Blade’s ramped up his supply business, stepping on Bullet’s territory. Black Deeds want me to get Blade to back off. Coke is their main game and he’s taking from them. Just cause he’s my son doesn’t mean he’s going to listen to me. It’s another thing I don’t need to be dealing with at the moment. So, yeah, I need you around in case shit goes down.”
“I’m not getting involved with Blade. But if it blows back on Storm, I’m on it.”
“Well stick close cause I reckon shit’s gonna go down at some point. And think on what I said about our family. It’s not just your mother who wants it healed,” he muttered before walking away.
I watched him as he got on his bike and took off, and wondered where he was spending his time these days. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and I doubted he was heading home. Neither Madison nor I knew if he was still carrying on with Blade’s mother because neither of us had spent any time with him in the last four months.
My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. I reached into my pocket and grabbed it out to see who it was. Lisa. My neighbour’s kid. “Darlin’, what’s wrong?” I answered her without hesitation because she only ever called me when she had a problem. For a twelve year old, she was surprisingly drama free, so I knew if she called, something was going down.
“Scott, Monty’s sick,” she said, voice trembling.
“What’s wrong with him?” Monty was her cat; her faithful companion in her shitty life.
“His face is all puffy, like a chipmunk, and he isn’t eating. He’s pretty much just sleeping all the time and he looks so sad.”
“How long’s he been like that, darlin’?”
“For a few days,” she admitted quietly.
Christ. “You should have told me straight away. I’ll be there soon, okay.” Her mother wasn’t equipped to deal with shit like this and I thought I’d made it clear to her to always call on me, but she was the kind of kid who hated asking for help.
“Okay. Thanks, Scott,” she said and then hung up.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and entered the clubhouse, searching for Madison. I’d see what she wanted and then head over to pick up the cat and take him to the vet.
Nash ran into me as I rounded the corner to go into the kitchen. “Did you sort Darrell’s shit out?” he asked.
“Nope. The fucker quit instead,” I answered him.
“He’s an asshole so we’re better off without him.”
He was right but it’d left me screwed because now on top of everything else I had to do for Storm, I also had to run Indigo. “The girls are pleased that he’s gone, especially Velvet.” She was Indigo’s favourite stripper so keeping her happy was on my agenda. Darrell was too fucking handsy with the girls and had put the hard word on most of them. Just because they took their clothes off for a living didn’t give him the right to expect a quick fuck out of them whenever he needed his dick wet.
“Good,” Nash said.
Something in his tone grabbed my attention. “Why are you so interested in this? Indigo’s not your gig.” Unless of course you counted him visiting the joint for personal pleasure which he did often.
He shrugged. “Velvet’s told me some of the shit that he said and did to her. I didn’t like the way he treated them.”
I continued to study him. There was something there, something he was keeping close to his chest. “Yeah, we’re better off without him but we need a new manager soon, and fucked if I know of one. If you have any ideas let me know.”
“Will do,” he agreed.
“Okay, I’ll catch you later, man. I’ve got to get a cat to the vet before they close.”
“What the fuck? You don’t have a cat do you?” he asked.
I shook my head, “Neighbour’s cat.”
“Michelle’s?”
“Yeah. Lisa sounded stressed about it.”
“I don’t know why you rented your house to that crazy bitch, and sure as hell don’t know why you look out for her so much. Not after what she did at Indigo.”
“It’s not Michelle I care about, brother. She’s still a junkie so someone needs to be there for her kid. And she hasn’t worked much since we fired her so Lisa goes without a lot.”
“And people think you’re an asshole,” he muttered, and then checked his watch, “Shit, I’ve gotta go. I’ll catch you later.”
He headed out of the clubhouse and I went looking for Madison. It didn’t take me long to find her; I followed her laughter to the kitchen. It was bloody good to hear her laughing again.
She was chatting with Stoney and grinned at me like an idiot when she saw me. “Stoney was just telling me how you got drunk last night and - ”
I cut her off and glared at Stoney. “Thanks, asshole. You wait your fuckin’ turn. Payback’s a bitch.”
Madison was pissing herself laughing now. “Seriously good shit, Scott. I can’t believe you did that!”
“You’d better believe he did that. Our Scotty doesn’t discriminate,” Stoney threw out there.
“What doesn’t he discriminate against?” J asked, entering the room.
I threw up my arms. “Fuck me! I almost went to town on some dick last night. How the fuck was I supposed to know she was a he?”
J, the asshole, started laughing too. “Fuck, man, I feel your pain. I often crave a little cock too, brother. If you feel you need that shit, we won’t judge.”
I punched him hard in the arm. “Good one, dickhead,” I retorted, and then directed at Madison, “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I just wanted to invite you to a get together at our house on Sunday afternoon,” she answered.
J had made his way to Madison and put his arm around her. “Although, there’ll be no boys there for you to hook up with so maybe -”
“I’ll be there,” I muttered and turned to leave. “Everyone’s a fuckin’ comedian,” I threw over my shoulder as I left. I could hear them all laughing as I walked towards the front door. I’d never fucking live it down.
***
I pulled up outside my house and saw Lisa looking out for me behind the front curtain next door. It was my house that I rented to her mother and it needed some work. Yesterday I’d noticed that the yard needed mowing, and fuck if I’d ever seen Michelle behind a mower. That was something I always either did or got one of the boys to do. Today I noticed that the windows were caked in a layer of dirt. Another job for the boys.
She let the curtain go and I presumed was on her way outside with Monty. A minute later, I met her at her front gate. She passed me her cat and I noted how bad his face looked. Shit, I wished she’d come to me sooner because he didn’t look well. And looking at Lisa, I decided that she didn’t look too flash either. Christ, what the fuck was her mother feeding her because, damn, that kid was all skin and bones.
“Thanks, Scott. Mum wouldn’t take him to the vet,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Yeah, I bet,” I said, stopping myself from saying anymore. This kid knew deep in her soul what a crappy fucking hand she’d been dealt, with her mother; she didn’t need me pointing it out. “Okay, let’s go and get him fixed.”
The relief that washed over her face was clear but I didn’t acknowledge it. Lisa didn’t like attention and she didn’t like people stating the obvious. She was just trying to get through life with as little interruption from others as she could, and I for one, got that. So, I settled her and Monty in my car and we drove to the vet with little conversation passing between us. I think that’s why she and I had the kind of relationship that we did; she appreciated my lack of intrusion into her thoughts and I dug her lack of fucking melodramatics.
As we pushed through the door of the vets, she gave me a quick smile. Blink and I’d have missed it, but I didn’t. She needed reassurance so I gave it to her; I plastered a smile on my face that could have lit a fucking Christmas tree. And fuck me, she saw it and gave me one back. This kid never smiled. Jesus, someone needed to give her some love.
I took my attention off the kid and directed it to the vet’s front desk. My dick jerked when I took in the blonde behind it. Christ, she was a fucking knock out. Long, wavy blonde hair that covered her tits; and they were great tits from what I could tell. Problem was, they were covered up with a white tank top and a shitload of necklaces. And that tank wasn’t a low cut one like most of the chicks I met wore, so her assets weren’t completely on display. As she continued talking to her customer, I angled my head to try and get a better view. Oblivious to the world while I did this, I missed it when she finished up with him and sent her gaze my way.
“You want me to take it off?” she asked, mild irritation in her voice.
I smirked, “Sure. Go right ahead.”
She shook her head and sighed, looking at Lisa. “Because there are children around, I’ll refrain from saying what I want to say.” Then she turned her attention to the cat, “Oh, poor baby. Pass him here, honey,” she said to Lisa who was gripping onto Monty with all her might.
Lisa hesitated, so blondie walked around from behind the counter to come and stand next to her. She knelt down so they were eye to eye, and asked, “What’s happened to him?”
Jesus. This chick had my full attention now. Her legs were painted with the tightest jeans I think I’d ever seen someone wear. They rode low on her hips with her tank tucked in. She was rocking the country look with cowgirl boots and a cowgirl looking belt. Actually, she looked like she’d stepped straight out of fucking Nashville.
“Monty got in a fight the other day and now he’s sick,” Lisa said, in her soft little voice that I could hardly hear. She had her back to me so I couldn’t see her eyes, but I bet they were glued to the floor. She had no confidence and that shit me. How could her mother not see that? Not care enough to fucking fix it?
“His face doesn’t look too good, does it? If you give him to me I can take him out the back to the vet and we can get him better for you,” she said, coaxingly. Yeah, I bet Lisa would hand the cat over now; that voice could charm an alcoholic’s last drink from him.
Lisa gave up Monty, and blondie said, “I’ll be right back.” And with that, she stood and left us as she headed out the back where I guessed the vet was.
I moved to a seat to sit and wait; Lisa followed and sat quietly next to me. She seemed anxious, but then again, she was often like this. Our eyes were drawn to the front door as a guy and his kid came through with their dog. Up until that point we’d been the only ones in the surgery and it was fairly quiet. This guy was talking loudly on his phone, his kid was nagging him about something, trying to get his attention, and his dog was a bundle of energy; suddenly it felt crowded in the tiny waiting room.
He waited at the counter and rung the bell. Blondie didn’t come out and the guy was impatient; he hit the bell again. “Harlow!” he bellowed. His kid tugged his shirt repeatedly, muttering shit I didn’t understand, and the dog was traipsing around the fucking room because they’d let his leash go. I felt my temper fray at the edges; this guy was a deadset dickhead, and I was biting my tongue for once in my life. For Lisa’s sake.
He hit the bell again and then turned to me. “Where the fuck is Harlow?”
I stood up and was about to tell this asshole just what I thought of him when blondie made her way back to the counter.
She smiled at him. Fuck knows why, because he didn’t deserve it. “Rod, sorry to keep you waiting,” she said. Her voice was polite but I noticed that it was forced compared to the way she spoke to Lisa before. It was obvious that she knew him and that she didn’t really care for him.
“Yeah, well I’m in a fucking hurry, Harlow, so can we move this along? And just for the fucking record, I’m pissed that I had to bring my dog back. You idiots should have taken care of all this last time I was in.” he said.
My anger exploded out of me; I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Hey, asshole,” I snapped, “Why don’t you give her a break? She’s busy, and doesn’t need dickheads like you speaking to her that way.”
His head whipped around and furious eyes landed on me. “This is none of your business so I suggest you stay the fuck out of it.”
I stepped into his space, backed him up against the counter, and leant real close. “Now would be the right time for you and your family to leave. I don’t like any of the shit that’s just gone down, so unless you want trouble between the two of us, leave now,” I threatened. When I saw him hesitate, I grabbed a handful of his shirt and snarled, “Did you not understand what I just said, motherfucker?” We glared at each other for a couple of moments before I let him go, shoving him hard against the counter in the process. Keeping my eyes trained on his, I slowly stepped back. Planting my legs wide, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and scowled at him.
Harlow opened her mouth to say something but I caught the movement and flicked my gaze to her for a second, giving her a clear message to stay out of it. She shut her mouth and glared back at me, her eyes widening in a ‘what the fuck’ type gesture. That shocked the shit out of me, and my concentration was diverted from the asshole to her. I’d never been given that look by a chick before; usually it was J or Nash who challenged me like that. I raised my eyebrows at her, and fuck me if she didn’t raise hers right fucking back.
I was snapped out of my distraction when the dickhead decided to listen to me. “Fuck you,” he muttered at me, and then jabbed a finger in Harlow’s direction, “And your boss will be hearing from me.” He grabbed his kid by the arm and his dog by the leash, and made a hasty exit. Not fucking soon enough, as far as I was concerned.
After he left, I looked at Lisa to make sure she was alright. She was looking at me wide eyed but didn’t say a word. “You okay?” I asked her.
She nodded. “He wasn’t very nice but I feel sorry for his dog; he didn’t get to see the vet,” she said.
I crouched down in front of her. “No, he wasn’t a nice person. There are lots of other vets he can go to though so you don’t need to worry about his dog,” I said, and waited a moment before saying, “Okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed.
I stood back up and turned to Harlow. She was standing with her arms folded across her chest and I struggled not to stare at her tits that were now pushed up by her arms. She had one of the best racks I’d ever seen; a man could die happy after getting an eyeful of that. My dick was in agreement with that. Shit, time to rein this in; there was a kid in the room.
I moved my eyes to hers and was greeted with that irritated look again. “Thanks for that,” she said, but I wasn’t entirely sure she meant it.
“You’d rather I’d stayed out of it?”
She dropped her arms and slowly shook her head. “Not necessarily, but it was a bit over the top really. I’m used to dealing with assholes like him, so I didn’t need you to threaten him like that.”
“You shouldn’t have to put up with that shit.”
She sighed. “No, I shouldn’t have to, but that’s the general public for you.”
“Well, if you have any more trouble from that guy, you call me. I’d be only too fuckin’ happy to sort him out for you.”
She took me in, and I mean, her eyes raked over me, and assessed me, before she muttered, “I bet you would.”
At that moment, we were interrupted by a guy who came from the back room. He looked at me, and asked, “Is Monty your cat?”
Before I could reply, Lisa piped up, “Yes, is he okay?”
Directing his attention to Lisa, he replied, “Well, I need to keep him here overnight because I need to operate on him, but he will be okay. Would you like to come out the back and say goodbye to him?”
Lisa hesitated, looking to me for guidance. “Can I?” she asked me.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll wait here for you.”
She followed the vet, leaving Harlow and I alone. Harlow gave me a strange look and I waited to see what she was going to say. She opened her mouth but then shut it quickly, like she’d thought better of it. Instead, she reached under the counter and produced a sheet of paper. Sliding it, and a pen towards me, she said, “Please fill these details in for Monty. Just make sure you leave us the best number to contact you on in case of an emergency.”
“You think something’s going to happen to the cat?” I asked. Christ, Lisa would fucking lose it if that cat died.
“He should be okay, but just in case.”
“Good, because that kid doesn’t need to lose anything else in her life.”
Her eyebrows pinched together and she looked confused.
“What?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. If you’ve got something to say, say it.”
Her eyes flared with surprise, and then she replied, “Okay, why did you leave it so long to bring Monty in, especially when your daughter obviously loves - ”
And then the vet came out, interrupting us again. “Monty needs an operation on his face as he has a cat fight abscess and it’s been left too long to be able to treat it with just antibiotics,” he said, giving me the look I was sure he reserved for pet owners who didn’t look after their pets properly. “We’ll call you tomorrow when he’s ready to be collected.”
I didn’t have the time or the fucking inclination to check him on his attitude. “Fine,” I said, curtly, and picked up the pen Harlow had given me and filled out their paperwork.
Once I’d filled it out, I slid it back to her and asked, “What time tomorrow do you think it will be? I’ve got a lot on so it’d be good if you could give me a heads up.”
She appraised me, probably noting my shortness with her. I gave zero fucks about what she was thinking. A minute ago, I wanted to rip those jeans off her; now I had no interest in her judgmental ass. Stuck up pussy was my least favourite kind.
“You’ll probably be able to collect him anytime after lunch. I’ll call you to confirm that,” she replied, coolly.
I nodded once, and then said, “Thank you.” Turning to Lisa, I asked, “You ready to go, darlin’?”
“Yes.” She sounded anything but sure.
“Monty’s in the best place tonight. The vet will get him better and then tomorrow we’ll come and get him. Yeah?”
“Yeah.” That was better; she at least sounded like she believed me.
“Okay, let’s go, kiddo,” I said, and gently guided her to the front door, giving Harlow one last glance before leaving. It was a shame about her; my hands on her tits would have been a spectacular sight.
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