Storm by Aria Ray

Chapter Twelve

Zoe

Once I had managed to calm Mom, I sent a text to Storm. He had said he wanted me to attend one of his clubhouse meetings. Even though it would be about the disappearances, I wasn’t sure about what I could contribute to the conversation. He was the only one who had found any information on Alison anyway.

He arrived to pick me up from my Mom’s place and helped me up on his bike. Just two hours ago, I was on the verge of going down on my knees and taking our relationship a step further. A step I hadn’t been prepared to go. Putting my arms around him now felt strange.

Now that I’d had a first-hand tour of what his body had to offer, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be satisfied with nothing more than my nighttime fantasies.

“I just want you to give them your side of the story, about Alison’s disappearance.” He’d parked his bike outside the clubhouse, and we walked to the door together. I barely registered his words, though. I could only stare at the way his lips moved and recall how his mouth had felt on mine.

A throb started between my legs at just the thought.

But Storm barely looked at me. His attitude towards me seemed to have changed from when we sat in my apartment watching the footage. The charge between us hadn’t dulled, but judging by Storm’s response, it had no effect on him.

“Okay, I’ll try my best. I’m just not sure how helpful I will be,” I said, trying not to sound as useless to the MC as I felt while we stood outside the door.

The clubhouse could be best described as a dive bar with an army of muscle cars and bikes parked outside. The kind of place my mom would have rolled up the window against if we ever drove past. Now I was standing in front of one, about to walk in with a man who could lift me up with his pinky finger if he wanted to. A man I had fallen to my knees for and found myself wanting to do the same again.

He cleared his throat, pulling me from the fantasy, and caught me staring at him. With my mouth open.

“If you want our MC’s help, you’ll have to be around these guys, whether you want to or not,” he said, his focus shifting smoothly away from me.

“I didn’t say I don’t want to be around…” I tried to interject but Storm was already pushing through the door.

“This situation is fucked up and I’m just trying to help my friend find his kid,” he said before he disappeared inside. He left me to make my own way.

I didn’t know what had changed in the past two hours, but it seemed like it was because of what had happened between us.

Maybe we shouldn’t have crossed that line.

I was headed toward a room where I would be surrounded by men who Storm had briefly introduced me to the first night at the concert. Men he had referred to as ‘his officers’. They were the senior members of the MC, that much I could sense, especially by the speech Storm had given me about his trust in them.

Breaker gave me a nod when I caught his eye.

“You’re bringing your sweetie to the meeting?” One of the guys asked when I stepped into the room behind Storm. I was nervous and out of place. These men intimidated me. I was also realizing now that I was the only female there. These men could rip me apart and leave me for scraps if they wanted.

I kept my head down and followed Storm to the middle of the room.

“I’ve brought Zoe here because she has something to share with you guys. Details that could help our search for Daniel.”

The other men glared at me suspiciously. I was uncomfortable under their scrutiny, scared that they’d find out who I really was. If they knew I was Zoe Leigh—the journalist who had written those articles about them—I imagined they wouldn’t be happy.

Storm was staring at me, too, waiting for me to explain.

“Alison, the missing girl, is my sister.”

The men exchanged looks and Breaker looked away. Maybe he understood the sadness in my eyes for my sister too well.

They all had questions.

What was my sister like in the days leading up to her disappearance?

Did she have anybody in her life who was threatening her?

Did she have any close friends?

What about the ransom notes?

Did she leave any clues?

Was she acting suspicious in any way?

My answer to all those questions was variations of one answer: “Nothing out of the ordinary. Alison was not involved in anything that would put her in danger.”

“And if you’re implying that my sister did drugs, you’re wrong,” I added, “She didn’t. I would have known about it. Alison and I were—are—very close. She is also very close to our mother. Neither of us know anything.”

“And right now, we have video footage of her being dragged into a car,” Storm added.

“I’m working on identifying a registration number for the car,” Hacker said.

“And we have her phone but it’s not any use to us,” Storm continued.

“And the ransom notes, which don’t make sense because none of the other families received them,” Breaker spoke up.

It seemed like my job here was done. The men had all fallen into talking to each other and ignoring me. I was thankful they hadn’t asked any questions about my real identity or how Storm and I had ‘gotten together’.

I stepped back and nobody seemed to notice. I inched closer to the door, and they didn’t notice that, either. So, I just decided to leave. I needed to catch my breath. It was clear by the questions being tossed around that these men knew what they were doing.

To me, it was like stepping into a completely different world. Maybe a lion’s den. I just wanted to make it out of there alive.

I headed straight for the bar where it looked like alcohol was served all through the day. I figured the doors to this place never shut.

When I sat down on a stool and ordered a beer, women all around the place glared at me. Even the stripper who tried to pick a fight with me the other night was there, literally baring her teeth at me like a wild animal.

I turned my back to them and came face to face with an older woman. She looked like she was in charge.

“So how come you got to go in there to a meeting with the officers?” the woman asked.

It made sense then; why all these women looked like they wanted to scratch my eyeballs out. Because none of them had ever attended a meeting like that.

“Storm wanted me in there,” I replied.

The woman was wiping down the counter with an old rag but then she stopped. She hooked a hand on her hip and fixed her narrowed eyes on me.

“Let me give you some advice, sweetheart, you’ll be better off knowing your place around here. You may be Storm’s new piece of meat, but you’re going to start stinking pretty soon if you don’t keep your head down.”

I heard the stripper’s chuckle near me. At some point, she’d crept up to eavesdrop on our conversation.

I stood up from the stool, feeling anger bubbling under my skin.

Just then, the doors to the meeting room burst open. The men stepped out. The women returned to work, fixing sugary-sweet smiles on their faces, including the woman at the bar.

Storm headed in my direction, but it didn’t look like he had even noticed me.

“I…I just thought I’d get myself a drink. It didn’t look like you needed me in there anymore,” I said when he sat down on the stool I’d just abandoned.

“Amethyst, drink, now,” he growled at the woman behind the counter.

I waited for him to even acknowledge me while he scrolled through his phone. Finally, he put it away and looked up to meet my eyes.

“Yeah, we were done with you. We need to work on a new plan with the limited information we have.” He grumbled like he was complaining. Like this was all my fault somehow.

Between the way Storm was acting and how unwelcome the women at this clubhouse made me feel, I couldn’t spend another moment here.

“Well, then I’m going to go.”

“Fine,” Storm growled and grabbed the drink Amethyst had placed before him.

He didn’t give me another look. I couldn’t just stand there anymore. With my heart thudding out of my chest and trying hard to keep my hands from quivering, I tried to maintain an even pace as I left the clubhouse, feeling every females’ eyes on me.

I didn’t even know how I was supposed to get back to my apartment from here. Could I just call a cab? Was that even allowed?

I had no idea what the rules were for the women who were supposed to be with Storm. How did they respond to such rudeness?

My phone rang before I could look for a number for a cab. It was Dad.

What does he want?

I could already predict this phone call not going well. The calls never go well between us anymore. I still answered. Maybe I was looking for a fight tonight.

“What do you want, Dad? Why are you calling me?”

“I’m calling to tell you that your mother is losing hope.”

“Like you ever cared about her.”

I heard Dad sigh while I paced around the front entrance of the clubhouse. Heavy metal poured out, but my ears had almost gotten accustomed to it by now.

“You know, Zoe, you can hate me as much as you want. Blame me as much as you want. That still doesn’t change the facts. And the facts are that your little sister is out there somewhere, being held against her will by men who are going to harm her.”

“Is this why you called me? To remind me of my misery?” I hissed. “You don’t think I’m lying awake at night imagining what they’re doing to Alison? Dying a little with every passing second that I don’t get to have her in my arms?”

An ache at the back of my head was spreading all over my body, slowly taking over. A few moments of silence passed between us before Dad spoke again.

“We got another note. Looks like the photo they sent was just a teaser.”

“What did the note say?”

“That the next thing we receive in the mail from them will be a little piece of Ali,” he said gruffly.

A whimper escaped. I closed my eyes. Tears rolled down my cheeks, as I tried to stifle the fact that I was crying. I didn’t want him to hear me crying.

“So, if we don’t give them the funds they want, they’re going to start hurting her. Hurting her much worse than they’ve already hurt her.”

I couldn’t speak. All my words were stuck in my throat.

“While you go around with your new thug boyfriend and convince your mother to not agree to the ransom, remember that you’re wasting time.”

I ended the call. I didn’t need to hear any more from him. He’d said enough already.

I knew about the risks I was taking. I knew how much time had passed.

I slipped the phone back in my pocket and turned to gaze up at the clubhouse again.

I should have called a cab to take me back to my apartment, but I couldn’t make myself leave. Not when I was so close to Storm. I just needed to see him again, even though it didn’t seem like he wanted to see me.

I entered the clubhouse, and through the smoky haze of cigarette smoke, I was surprised to find that Storm was exactly where I had left him. He was sitting on the stool at the bar nursing a drink. Alone.

Wasn’t he The President? Didn’t he always have an entourage crowding around him?

Maybe that was exactly the reason why he was alone. Because he’d ordered them to stay away.

I was taking a big chance by walking up to him and disturbing his peace. Only, he didn’t look very peaceful at the moment.

I stood beside him in silence for a while. He didn’t even notice. It was like he was in a completely different world. My stomach twisted as I stared. I traced the line of the scar on his face with my eyes.

How did he get that scar? What stories does he have? Will he ever share them with me? Am I worth sharing his stories with?

“Storm?” I whispered his name, not intending for him to even hear me. But he did.

His thick dark brows furrowed, and he looked over at me. There was a moment of confusion in his eyes, almost like he didn’t recognize me. Then he parted his lips but said nothing.

I wanted to take his face in both my hands and kiss him. I wanted to feel the warmth of his arms around me. The strength of his body. I wanted him to remind me it was going to be okay.

He said he trusted his brothers in the MC.

I trusted him.

“I was about to leave but I… I couldn’t go,” I whispered again.

Storm looked me over, studying my eyes, my neck, my breasts, the spot between my legs. He was undressing me in silence. I knew what he wanted, and I was willing to give it to him. Even if he didn’t want to say a word to me.

“I’m glad you didn’t leave,” he said gruffly.

My dry throat ached but at least now I could breathe again.

“They threatened Alison’s life again.” I spoke in a rush, the words just tumbled out of me. “They said they’ll chop her up into pieces and send the parts to us next. They said…”

I barely saw him move. Stand up. Put his arms around me. Pull me into him so I was resting my head on his chest. He did that without giving a crap who saw us embrace.

“It doesn’t matter what they say, Zoe. They’re holding out because they want something from you, and you’re not going to give it to them. Your sister wouldn’t want that,” he said.

Through my tears, I looked up at him.

“No, she wouldn’t. Alison would never want me to roll over and give up. She would want me to fight.”

“Then that is exactly what you’re going to do.”