Storm by Aria Ray

Chapter Ten

Storm

Icould have sensed Zoe’s discomfort from miles away. Sitting right beside me at her mother’s dining table, I was blasted by it.

Mrs. Leigh was having a rough night, and even though she hadn’t mentioned the situation with Alison, I knew that was what was at the heart of this. She wanted her daughter back to safety. The one silver lining in the dark cloud was that she was too distracted to ask me questions about my life and work. I wasn’t sure how I would have answered them without giving anything away.

“Anyway, I think I’ve bored you both enough with all my complaining,” Mrs. Leigh remarked.

“It’s been great getting to know you. Zoe hasn’t told me much about the family.” I smiled at her, and she smiled back.

“Yeah, I’m sure she didn’t.”

“Mom, I was just taking my time,” Zoe interjected.

Mrs. Leigh reached for her daughter’s hand and patted it.

“Yes, honey, I know. Don’t worry. I don’t mind.”

The two of them smiled sadly at each other. I suspected they were both thinking about Alison and how much they wished she was here with us.

Despite Mrs. Leigh’s obvious sadness and anger towards her husband, this had turned out to be a good evening. I wasn’t expecting an enjoyable dinner. I thought I was going to hate every minute of it.

Zoe turned to me and bit down on her lip. She looked relieved, too.

“Maybe we should call it a night?” she suggested.

“We don’t have to go right away.” I said, surprising myself.

I wouldn’t have admitted it to myself, but there was something nice about enjoying a family meal around an actual family.

Zoe’s large eyes became even wider.

“Really?” she murmured.

“Aren’t you two just the sweetest couple!” Mrs. Leigh said from across the table. She clasped her hands together and held them tightly to her chest.

While Zoe and I stared at each other in one silent moment of unasked questions, we heard the front door bang shut.

Mrs. Leigh was about to stand up when a man strode into the dining room. He had his hands thrust in the pockets of his pants, and his brows were furrowed. I had no doubt in my mind that this was Zoe’s father. I was just surprised he still thought it was appropriate to waltz into the house where he wasn’t welcome.

“What’s all this?” he grumbled, looking around the room.

It didn’t take him long to figure out what was going on. There was food everywhere, open bottles of wine. Zoe and I were sitting remarkably close together.

“What are you doing here, Larry? Have you come with more terrible news?” Mrs. Leigh snarled at him.

“I’m sorry. Am I interrupting a celebration?” There was venom in his voice. From his narrowed bloodshot eyes, I could see he’d been drinking, too.

“It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. You’re not a part of it, Larry. You’re not a part of this family anymore.”

He faced off with his wife, swaying a little where he stood.

“This is still my house, Sheila.”

“Dad! Stop!” Zoe stood up. “You shouldn’t be here. You don’t live here anymore.”

“Maybe I’m the only one still interested in finding my other daughter, while the two of you seem to have forgotten about her.”

“How could you even say that? How could you, Larry?” Mrs. Leigh stood, too, while her face turned very red. “We’re just having dinner. How could you say I’ve forgotten about my baby?”

By now, they had all forgotten about my presence in the room or the need to hide Alison’s disappearance from me.

Mr. Leigh rolled his eyes like a teenager. “Well then you’ll be interested to know that I haven’t been able to raise the funds we need for her release.”

“We haven’t agreed to do it anyway,” Zoe said. Her father chose to ignore her and stepped closer to Mrs. Leigh.

“Do you hear what I’m saying, Sheila? If I’m not able to raise the money, what do you think the next letter from them is going to say?”

Mrs. Leigh let out a shrill cry and stumbled backwards. I leapt out of my chair and grabbed her before she fell to the floor. Steadying her, I patted her shoulder.

Zoe came over and took her mother into her arms.

“Don’t let him get to you, Mom. We can’t lose hope. We can’t give up,” she murmured. Then she set her sights on her father again. “Just go. Just leave us alone, Dad. The only reason you come over here is to harass us.”

“Harass you? I’m making you face the truth. That’s all!”

Everyone was shouting, and nobody was making any progress. I stepped up to the man before he caused any more damage. Something told me he was letting things get out of hand because of the alcohol in his system.

“Why don’t we take it easy? Why don’t we just back it up here?” I spoke to him calmly, but he was ready for a fight. It was almost funny—the idea that he thought he could take me on.

“Who are you? Is my daughter sleeping with you? Is that what this is?”

Mrs. Leigh sobbed louder. I didn’t have to look at Zoe to know she was about ready to murder him.

I grabbed him by his arm. He tried to take one tipsy swing at me and missed. If I didn’t have a hold on him, he would have hit the floor and probably injured himself.

“Okay tough guy, maybe it’s time to take a little nap,” I said and started leading him out of the room.

He realized I was bigger, stronger, and more sober. There was no way he was winning this fight. He had no other option but to submit to my suggestion and stumble along with me.

It didn’t take a lot of coaxing to get Mr. Leigh into bed. By the time I’d led him out of the dining room into the darkened hallway, he was already half asleep. If I hadn’t been holding him up, he would have been sprawled on the floor.

It was a miracle that he’d even managed to drive himself to the house without crashing. I kicked the door open with my foot and led him into the room. He wasn’t doing much walking, leaning on me mostly.

The room looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a while, so I figured it was a guest room. I assumed it would be okay to dump him right there.

He collapsed on the bed, and I left immediately. The man didn’t inspire any sympathy in me to make me want to worry about his welfare. When I returned to the dining room, Zoe was encouraging her mother to drink water from a tall tumbler.

“You going to be okay, Mrs. Leigh?” I asked as they both turned to me.

She gulped and nodded. “He needs to sleep it off. Tomorrow, he’s going to be embarrassed by his behavior. We’ve been through this before. Numerous times. I know the drill by now.”

Zoe was staring at me like she’d never seen me before. Maybe this was a version of me she hadn’t expected to see. I didn’t expect to show it to her, either.

“If you’d like, I could take him out of here, drop him back off at his place or somewhere,” I offered. Mrs. Leigh sniffled loudly and rubbed a hand over her nose.

“It’s fine. I mean it’s not ideal. It’s not like I actually want him here in this house, but I’d rather keep an eye on him when he’s in this state.”

Zoe came towards me, still staring me down like there were things on the tip of her tongue just waiting to spill out.

Mrs. Leigh sighed and put the tumbler down.

“Despite everything, and despite how this may look to you, Killian, I’m really glad the two of you came to dinner. I’m really happy to have met you. Zoe should have introduced us a long time ago.”

We exchanged smiles, and Zoe took up her position beside me. Like she belonged there.

“You two should get out of here, spend the rest of the night by yourselves. And don’t worry about me.” Mrs. Leigh smiled at her daughter.

She walked us to the door and exchanged hugs with Zoe. She was still watching us, as we made our way to the car.

Once Zoe knew for sure that she was out of her mother’s earshot, she turned to me. Her hands fluttered through the air. Her fingers were trembling.

“Thank you, Storm. Thank you for tonight and for everything.”

I wanted to kiss her right then. I wanted to tell her that I joined their dinner for her, and that I would do it all over again. I’d sit through as many awkward family dinners as she wanted, if that helped her in any way. But I didn’t have the words to express myself. I didn’t even know what those feelings meant. They were completely foreign to me.

Instead, I replied, “It wasn’t a problem.”

Then, I headed toward her apartment.

When I stopped outside Zoe’s apartment building, neither of us made a move to get out of the car. I wondered if there was a chance that she didn’t want this night to end, just like I didn’t.

Why not?

Tonight’s dinner was all part of the story. I started off this charade in an attempt to find Daniel. I was supposed to be doing it for Breaker, but somehow, it had become as much about seeing Zoe and finding Alison, too.

“I really did mean it when I thanked you for what you did tonight,” she said abruptly, breaking the silence in the car.

“You’re making me out to be some kind of hero.”

“Well, it was pretty heroic to be able to handle my mother and father.”

We smiled at each other.

“They’re really not so bad. You wouldn’t be saying this to me if you ever met my father.”

I didn’t know why I said that. I didn’t talk about my father with anyone. It was never a part of my conversation. With Zoe, it somehow seemed okay.

Her eyes grew wider.

“What was he like?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“And what if I do?” she insisted.

I stared at her squarely, hoping she would back off. The last thing I wanted to do right now was talk about my father. I didn’t need my mind going there tonight.

Instead, I unlocked my car; her cue to leave.

Zoe’s cheeks colored. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. Your past is your business.”

“It’s late. You should go home.”

She nodded and opened her door.

I was already regretting it. I should have said something more, like something to make her stay. Instead, I was pushing her away, the same way I had done to everyone else before her.

Before she stepped out of the car, she leaned into me. Our lips met before I knew she was going to kiss me. She meant for it to be a quick peck, but I grabbed her chin and pulled her in before she could get away.

Zoe gasped when my tongue slid into her mouth. I tasted her, threaded my fingers through her soft hair, and she tasted me.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I kissed her fiercely. It was almost like we planned to never let each other go. I let her control the kiss. She’d started it and her tongue was doing a damn fine job all by itself. If I took control, she’d be in the backseat screaming my name while cradling my head between her thighs. Just the thought had me groaning and nipping her plump bottom lip between my teeth.

She opened her eyes. One look at the heavy lust in them almost did me in. I didn’t mean to close my fist around her hair. Hell, I didn’t even realize my hand was still tangled in it.

She slowly pulled away. I had to release her. I never push myself onto women. I don’t have to. Besides, I was the one who’d told her to go.

I watched as she slipped out of the car without another word. I waited, shamelessly checking her out until she was inside the building. I waited a few more minutes.

And then, I just had to accept that the night was over.

I went back to my place, but I needed to blow off some steam. There was no way I could climb into bed and just go to sleep after the night I’d had.

Not only was this the first time I’d met a chick’s parents—even though this was supposed to be nothing more than a pretend relationship—it had also turned into a fuckin’ mess.

I couldn’t be alone tonight.

So, I changed out of the clown clothes I was wearing and went to the clubhouse.

Everyone was there; my brothers and other members, some of the old ladies, and other chicks, too. It was a regular night at the club and some of the guys had a pool game going. I was hoping that the deafening music and alcohol would help me forget about Zoe. At least for a few hours.

Everyone became more aware when I walked in. Maybe they were hoping I wasn’t going to turn up tonight. Seeing me in the flesh always forced them to behave themselves.

Breaker was sitting by himself at the bar. I walked up to him. He always looked dazed these days, and I figured he could use a distraction, too.

“Play a round with me,” I suggested, slapping his back but hoping to slap him out of his misery, too. I knew that wouldn’t be possible. Not until we found Daniel.

“I’ll join you guys,” Grit said, coming up behind me.

I tipped my head at Amethyst who was watching us from behind the counter. It meant she would have to get our drinks to the pool table immediately.

The guys who were already in the middle of a game started scattering away when they saw the three of us approaching. There were no questions asked. We were the three senior-most members of the club.

One of the girls followed us shortly after with a tray of our drinks and a bowl of peanuts.

“Let’s just try and relax tonight,” Grit said as he prepared the table. His comment was directed at Breaker. We all knew that wasn’t going to happen. Inevitably, we were going to fall into a conversation about Daniel. It was the only thing on all our minds.

“There’s this chick, her name is Cara Vega. She is one of Daniel’s classmates,” Breaker said after I’d taken the first shot.

“Were they friends?” I asked.

Breaker shrugged. “I don’t know much about her. I spoke to a few guys from his class. They all said Daniel used to hover around her, so maybe she knows something. Maybe she saw something.”

“You should talk to her,” Grit added.

“She’s a pretty hard little bird to pin down for some reason. It’s almost like she doesn’t want me talking to her.”

“What did his other friends have to say? Did they see him much in the days leading up to the disappearance?”

“Nobody spoke to him much. Apparently, he was keeping to himself because he was busy with some bullshit assignment.” Breaker took his frustration out on the balls, hitting them so hard that two flew off the table and crashed into an abandoned beer bottle on a table nearby.

One of the mamas came running to clean up the mess and everyone returned to their drinking.

Grit thumped Breaker’s shoulder encouragingly.

“I don’t think Daniel’s disappearance has anything to do with the Alison girl anyway,” Breaker continued.

“What are you talking about?” I grunted. He was the one who wanted us to start working with Zoe because he believed there was a connection.

Breaker shrugged. “Why did the kidnappers contact her family with a ransom note and not us?”

I hoped he wasn’t about to blow Zoe’s cover. Nobody else at the MC knew who she really was, that she was still pretending to be my girlfriend. I wanted it to stay that way. I wasn’t yet sure how it was going to help, but I had a strong feeling that having her around for a while longer was going to come in handy.

“We don’t know why they’re doing the things they’re doing, but we can’t rule it out yet,” I replied.

Breaker looked unconvinced but he didn’t pursue it further. Instead, he rubbed a hand over his face in frustration.

“Man, I should have tried harder to get him involved.”

“You didn’t know,” Grit said.

“Yeah, by the time he came into my life it was too late. He’s already a grown man now. Maybe he doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

“You need to put your self-pity to the side and focus on finding him first. You can work on your relationship once he’s back here, where he belongs,” I said.

Breaker eyed me with bleary eyes.

“Does he really belong here? He doesn’t even know how our MC works. He doesn’t know anything about this world. He doesn’t deserve to get involved in our bullshit.”

“But we don’t know if it’s our bullshit. Lots of kids from the college disappeared. None of them are connected to us,” Grit argued.

Breaker was not in the mood to listen to any of our arguments. His mind was already made up—he was going to blame himself.

I wanted to be able to help him, but I didn’t believe I could convince him. Not with my words at least. The only thing I could do for him was find Daniel.

He followed me with his eyes as I went up to him. He stood up a little straighter, like he suddenly remembered the line of authority. He was grieving for his son, but I was still the one who had to hold this club together, make sure some of these misfits didn’t land themselves in prison. Make sure Breakerdidn’t land himself in something worse than a keg of beer. I didn’t come down with a heavy hand, but that hand still came down hard.

“Pull yourself together, brother.” I landed an open-handed hit to his back that knocked him forward a step or two and caught most of the room’s attention. “You’ll have to sit this one out if you can’t handle it,” I growled, the steel in my tone saying what my words didn’t. This was the only way to get through to him.

His pent-up frustration stared back at me, and he slowly shook his head. “No, I can handle it. I need to be involved.”

“Don’t make me regret letting you stick around.” I turned back to the pool table and calmly took a shot at the balls. The noise level rose as everyone started talking again.

Maybe that little strike did knock some sense back into Breaker. If there was any way he was going to get through this, he needed to keep it together for his son. At least for tonight, he seemed to dig deep and looked prepared to focus on the things that were within his control.

We resumed our game and started talking about things that didn’t revolve around Daniel. The business couldn’t be ignored; it was still a vital part of our everyday life.

Then Amber appeared. She wasn’t the distraction I had in mind for the night.

I didn’t even see her coming. She crept up behind me and put her bony fingers on my shoulders, making them lightly dance on my biceps. She wanted to feel me up.

I whipped around to face her. Damn, she was irritating.

“Why don’t I get to see you around as much, Mr. President?” she asked in a whispery voice. Apparently, she had forgotten the scene from the concert the other night.

We both knew she hadn’t. She was choosing to ignore reality, better known as Zoe, being in my life.

“I’ve been busy,” I told her, stepping away from her. “And I hope you’ve been behaving yourself.”

Even her touch felt wrong. I knew it wasn’t real—this thing between Zoe and I—so why the hell did I feel this way? Maybe I was just being an idiot.

“Are you wondering what’s happening with Teeny and me?” she asked, biting her lower lip.

“No, I don’t give a fuck.”

“Well, I haven’t fucked him. Not yet.”

“You don’t have to hold out on my account.”

I turned back to the table, preparing to take my next shot, but Amber followed me. The strong, cheap perfume she wore was making my head throb.

I couldn’t get Zoe off my mind. I’d welcome Zoe making my head throb, and now was certainly not the time to imagine her doing that.

“You know, five minutes with me is all it takes. Ask anyone,” she continued, leaning on the edge of the pool table, so her tits spilled out of her low-cut bikini top.

I cursed under my breath and straightened again.

“You need to get out of my sight,” I growled, but she didn’t take me seriously.

“Five minutes,” she insisted and held up five fingers. “And I can make sure you’re out of your sour mood.”

I took a few steps towards her and stopped within reach. Amber smiled as she looked up at me. Maybe she thought she’d changed my mind. She didn’t have the first fuckin’ clue what was on my mind.

Only Zoe.

I reached out, grabbed a bunch of Amber’s hair, and yanked her away from me. She squealed like she thought I planned to drag her off to fuck her. I released her and shoved her away from me. She stumbled a few steps, caught herself, and her hand went to her hair. I knew I hadn’t hurt her.

With Amber, any attention was foreplay. She wanted to make a scene and she got it. Everyone was watching us now.

I didn’t give a fuck.

“This is the last time I’m going to tell you to leave me the fuck alone.”

Amber’s nostrils flared. Her you know you want me look turned into something nasty and mean. She backed several steps away from me.

“I hope her pussy is worth it!” she shrieked, turned on her high heel, and stomped off.