Page 9 of Havoc

I reached out my hand to shake hers, and realized the woman looked familiar. “It’s nice to meet you. Do we know each other? I feel like we’ve met before.”

Before she could answer, Storm did. “She was at Neon Vibes the night of the raid.”

Memories of that asshole cop pestering her floated to the front of my mind. I jerked my chin at her. “Yeah, that’s exactly where I remember you from, now that Storm’s jogged my memory.”

When she pulled her hand from mine, I realized I had held onto it too long. For some reason I couldn’t fathom at the moment, I wiped the palm of my hand against my shirt and then lowered my hands to my sides. I was awkward as fuck and didn’t know what to do with my hands sometimes.

She told me, “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m sorry you and your friends caught charges for the distraction you pulled. None of us wanted to end up getting hassled by the cops that night.”

“Yeah, that place was packed, and they were talking about searching everyone individually.”

Storm cleared his throat. “Riley gave me some information that might be helpful to your case, but that’s not the reason I wanted the two of you to meet.”

My head snapped up to look into his eyes. Storm’s expression was guarded. He motioned to the empty chair and told me, “You might want to sit down for this.”

Shit. Was my club president throwing my ass out with a couple of witnesses? At least he was saving me the embarrassment of doing it in front of my club brothers. I sat in the fucking chair and schooled my face into a blank expression.

Storm started the little speech he had clearly prepared for the occasion. “I already talked to you about the long string of fuckups you’ve made since you joined our club. At first, it was no big deal. We accepted you in spite of those moments of really messing up. However, the last few fuckups have been too serious to take lightly.”

“Yes, Prez. I plan to be more mindful and to be better.” There was a knot in my stomach that wouldn’t let up.

Storm responded, “Well, that’s great to hear because I’ve arranged for Ms. Dalton to help you with that goal. She’s a life coach.”

I immediately told him, “I don’t need any help. I can do this on my own.”

“No, Havoc, you can’t do it on your own. Want to know how I know that?” Without giving me an opportunity to speak, he continued, “I know you can’t do it on your own because you’ve tried and failed. You need help. If I were you, I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“I don’t want this woman’s help.” I didn’t say that it was emasculating to have my own private life coach following me around, trying to help me keep my shit straight. This was one step away from those mentors for mentally disabled kids. No. Just no.

Zoe spoke up, “I don’t know what you think is going on here, but Riley is the best life coach in Griffinsford. She’s just going to give you some pointers on how to get rid of this problem that’s been weighing you down your whole life. I honestly thought you would jump at the chance.”

I tried my best to explain my reluctance. “Look, I get why you’re trying to bait me into counseling with a beautiful redhead, but I want to do this on my own.”

Suddenly, Riley leaned forward and looked past Zoe at me. “I’m not a therapist. I’m a life coach. And being pretty has nothing to do with it.”

“I don’t need you in my life, Ms. Dalton,” I told her through gritted teeth.

“Don’t you at least want to know the nuts and bolts of what I have to offer before you turn me down? I mean, that would be polite, right? No one wants to be dismissed out of hand.”

I gave her side-eye because she clearly thought I was easy to manipulate.

“Fine, tell me what you do,” I said testily.

She began explaining, “I let you tell me what’s not working in your life, and we brainstorm solutions together. Your club president is offering you the services of a paid professional with expertise in listening when you need to logic your way through a difficult situation. When things go wrong in your life, you can call me up, day or night, and I’ll talk to you over the phone or meet with you in person. I’ll teach you how to stop making the same mistakes over and over again. I can even show you some life hacks to get you from where you are to where you want to be in life. Even you have to be able to see the value in that.”

‘Even me.’ That was a way of saying I was stupid without coming out and saying it. I told her, “You seem like a nice lady, and your heart is in the right place, but I don’t want a stranger rooting around in my personal life and digging up all the shit I most want to put behind me.”

Glancing at Storm, I said politely, “Thanks for the suggestion, Prez. This just isn’t what I need.”

Storm responded casually, “You might not want to think of it as a suggestion.”

Shock and anger battled for the top spot in my emotions. I asked him bluntly, “Are you saying I have to do this?”

“You’re a grown-ass man. I can’t make you do shit, even if it’s for your own good. What I can do is ask you to do this one thing for your club, so your club brothers don’t get caught up in your mistakes again. Do it for your club, me, and most importantly, for yourself. You need this, Havoc.”

Fuck, when he put it like that, it was impossible to refuse. “Alright. If you insist, I’ll go through with it.”

Storm’s blank expression melted away, replaced by a pleased one. “Thanks, Havoc. Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

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