I sighed; content in the warmth of his love.

I loved this man with all my heart; he had shown me that even though life can be a bitch, love can get you through any storm.

Chapter 1

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.