Page 2 of Storm the Night

She smiled and said, “Junk. Why do we even have a mailbox? It’s always junk. Send me something good for once!” She shrugged her shoulders, and it was really cute.

We laughed and then I visibly saw her shoulders tense when the screen door shut behind her. Hopping off my bike, I took a few steps toward her and in a lowered voice asked, “Are you ok?”

She dropped her head and then looked up and said, “Um...I have to go.”

“Give me a piece of mail. Tell him my shit landed in your box.” She looked at me hopeful and chewed her bottom lip before nodding. It broke my heart. I grabbed the piece and said, “Thank you,” loud enough for Mr. Dickhead to hear. I looked at him and said, “Hey man. My mail landed in your box. The postal workers gotta figure this shit out.”

He stood there with his dick hands in his dick pockets and a dick fake smile on his face and nodded his head. “Callie, we need to get going.”

She blinked several times and then turned to go inside without looking back. I rubbed my thumb along the bottom of my lip as I watched her head to the door. Mr. Dickhead grabbed her...hard, by her arm and basically shoved her inside. It had taken everything within me not to go running up to that door and grab him the way he grabbed her. I knew in that moment that something was not right about that guy, and I would figureout everything I could about him. I looked down at the piece of mail and it read,Calliope Richards.Calliope. He called her Callie though. Fuck that guy.

*

Everyone was sitting around the table for a meeting. Our club is different than others. We mostly stay on the straight and narrow, but we aren’t afraid to handle shit if it ever comes to that.

Our meetings take place weekly on Friday nights unless there are emergency meetings called, but we liked to have our Saturday and Sunday’s free for club activities or just personal shit.

Those meetings, when called, are always mandatory. You had better have one hell of an excuse if you can’t attend. Aside from being laid up in the hospital, most excuses will get you fucked up.

Being a part of the Iron Guardians means to be a part of a family, for life. Iron is hard to bend or break, just like this family. It can be demanding being a part of the club, but the reward is knowing you’re never alone, someone always has your back.

Doc gets everyone’s attention. “Alright assholes, listen up. We have a couple of things on the agenda.” Doc is our president and a veteran. I’ve got a great deal of respect for him and he’s definitely the glue that keeps everything with the club held together, him along with his old lady, JoElla. “Who is doing the Veteran ride this weekend to the cemetery for the fallen without family? I want at least six of us.” Several of the guys raised their hands, including myself.

Every now and then we will learn that a veteran has passed, and they weren’t claimed by any known family. It was important to us that someone stood for those men and women. “Alright. Me, Smoke, Griller, Country, Kid, and Romeo, let’s meet here at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Ryder, you’re off the hook. It’s all good.I know you have shit this weekend, which brings me to our next thing. Ryder...” Doc nodded my way giving me the room to speak.

Leaning forward on the table, I laced my fingers together. “Yeah, I uh, have noticed some shit with my neighbor that I just want to keep my eyes on and may come to you guys if something pops off.”

“What’s up, man?” Smoke asks. Smoke’s real name is Jedrek and he’s our VP.

“I don’t know. I get a real bad feeling that she...Calliope...her name is Calliope, although that dickhead calls her Callie, so maybe that’s what she prefers.” I shake my head. “Anyway, I’m pretty certain Callie is in an abusive relationship. I just want to keep my eye on it. If she needs help, I want to be there for her.” I stared down the table at everyone.

“Whatever you need, man. When you have a minute though, I’d like to talk a little more about it.” Smoke jutted his chin at me.

“Yeah, sure. Thanks everyone.”

Doc grabbed the gavel and finished up. “Alright. Enjoy your weekend. Let’s go eat. Jo made a feast for us and she’ll cut your balls off if you don’t grab something.” Everyone laughed. The gavel slammed and everyone filed out.

Smoke stopped me. “Hey. What’s the importance with this woman?”

“I don’t know. Something just isn’t sitting right with me. I was sitting on my bike today and it was like she was trying to find a reason to talk to me. Her husband or whatever he is, he’s a real fucking dick. You know how you can just tell. I don’t trust him.”

“Be careful. Keep your head on a swivel. You want D to look into him? He’s in charge of security and shit. You know he can find out anything and everything.” D was Diablo, but his real name was Alden. He got his nickname because he’s a real son ofa bitch if you cross him. The man has a good heart, but no one would know it.

The club was in one of the local parades in support of the Veterans in our area. We each attached a flag to our bikes. D never smiles and a couple of kids ran out into the street to get a little closer and D stopped, looked down at them and growled. I know it was to get them out of the street, but it freaked the kids out. One of them whispered to the other,Diablo,and well, it just stuck. I guess he liked the name. I laugh every time I think about him growling at those kids.

“Yeah, good call. Ok, I’ll talk to him. Thanks.” He grabbed my shoulder and then headed out the door to the food.

I wasn't' sure what it was about Callie, but I felt a need to protect her, make sure she was ok. She was too sweet to act the way I saw her when she was getting the mail. I knew it was gonna bug me until I figured out what was happening.

Chapter 3

Calliope

Staring at myself in the mirror as I applied a powder foundation to try and cover up the bruise on my cheek, I kept asking myself how I got to that place in my life. Talking to the biker neighbor wasn’t the best idea. I didn't even know his name, but Colin was pissed.

Applying the final layer on my cheek as best as possible, I left the bathroom and went downstairs. Colin was sitting at the kitchen island. Making my way to the fridge for some water, I didn’t say anything to him.

“Let me see your face.” I paused and turned around to show him. He gripped my chin forcefully, turning my cheek to the light to get a better view of his work. “That’s not going to work. You can’t very well come with me to Boston looking like that.” He let go of my chin and looked back down at his phone.

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