Claimed by the Biker Giant (Maxine and Tank) novel Chapter 290

Storm POV

Tempest woke me with a powerful elbow to my ribs, god that hurt. I tried to wrap my arms around her, but she bit and dug her nails in so hard that it brought tears to my eyes. This nightmare was expected, but how hard she was fighting told me it was’ really bad; she was no longer that weak girl, having gained strength and put on a little weight. All this was good news, but not right now, as I fight to keep her from hurting herself. A few scratches and bruises meant little to me compared to having Tempest hurt. I wrapped my legs over her thighs to keep her in place, fearing she would try to leave the bed. In her state, she might forget she can’t walk, her need to flee outweighing everything else. I have not struggled to contain a person so much as I am tonight; maybe it was because I don’t want to harm her. My need to protect her overrides everything else. I wish I could get through to her; she was not responding to my words or kisses.

Sometimes, as the sky started its dawn approach, Tempest stopped fighting me, her eyes must have opened to see my bloody arms, and sobbed. It took ages to calm her down. Even in the shower, Tempest complained about her self-worth. It was heartbreaking. I have years of negative to beat, I know it won’t be an overnight success, that it will take time and patience, and love to show her. In the meantime, I need to keep her safe and near me.”I am not dumb enough not to see she was a flight risk; her ingrained mental state for staying invisible was strong. The guys in the lounge helped a lot; they didn’t treat Tempest any differently and kept asking her opinion on what they were planning. It was good to see them all engaging. While they were doing that, I was texting Dad, updating him on what Tempest wants, and if he could organise it. We are getting Dirk to come and live here with us. She likes him and would be at ease knowing he was in charge. Also, getting all the staff checked out and a deeper security check. They have lived an easy life for a long time. Complacency or a higher opinion of their position here might lead them to be careless. A whole set of new workplace agreements is being drawn up, and with Gramps’ help and the results of the security check, we will sit with each one we want to keep and sack the rest. We have far more working at our home than we need; Mum has at least half this amount of staff at their house. Mum said she could come and help weed out those we don’t need and handle general cleanup and staff issues. She agreed with Tempest that they need to get out of the house, and only friends, and those we want, live with us. Dirk will definitely help remove dead wood from the security teams. The timing of this might not be ideal, but it has to be done; sadly, our move and cleaning house coincide with the news announcements.

The lads went to the clubhouse to meet up with Screwloose, Scruffy, and Bullet. Materials were already on their way, and a shed was going to be cleared out for the building materials. Jip had arrived to oversee the plans and keep him in the loop. Tempest was in the gym when the therapist arrived, happy to do her job here, and brought along a trainee who was around our age, whom I hope Tempest will take a shine to; she appeared to be a nice girl, shy, but keen, in her second year, and first year of hands-on, she started at seventeen. She should complete the first stage next year and take another few years to get the higher doctorate, but she can start full-time, unassisted work after next year. It all sounded interesting, not something I know a lot about, and it was not uncommon for smaller towns to have their students finish early.

“Jip, what happened to the Prez misses? She wasn’t with him, was told they had a big fight, and he left in a rage, got drunk and hit a tree.” I was confused; the stories were conflicting.

“She left, fled the town, went back to her family. She tried to say he beat her up, but there were no bruises on her to back up her claim; we would all give evidence against that claim if she pursued it.”

“The police can drag her back and face charges of theft. No way did she not know where all the money was coming from; her assets would have been frozen, too. When we put in a claim for his estate, it included her as well, but we will double-check that.” Will get hold of our lawyers later and confirm that we can take hers too, from what our records show, she got a lot of our club money to spend.

“Is Tempest handling this news report okay?” Jip asked, looking towards the door to make sure no ears were near.

“No, she’s concerned, the people will judge her by her father’s and sisters’ actions, that they will turn their backs on her, or throw insults at her. Tempest is worried they will find the town she lives in, and they swarm in to hunt her down, and bring trouble to the town.” I was sad that she would think that, but it’s true, many might see Tempest as a scapegoat, to vent their anger on, maybe a child got hold of drugs or a gun, can’t get the day so way not the kid.

“We will back Tempest, she’s a lovely girl, and I am not saying that just because she’s your wife, but because she is, just seeing her in action the other day, had the club members raising their respect for her.” I was glad that Jip said that. I was a little concerned for her if the members turned their backs on her.

“What did you think of the plans? Those refurbished train carriages are a great idea, something that can be continually used. I can see some fun party days for the kids coming soon.”

“I like where Tempest had situated them; the plumbing and electric would be easily accessible from there. The children’s play area, I like. We often have family days, but nothing for the kids to do but run about and get into trouble. Giving them a designated area was a good idea. We definitely needed Tempest and you, our club has suffered far too long.”

“Why hadn’t any of this been raised with the Tank or Fixer? They would have been on it in a jiffy.” I didn’t understand that this was worse than some of the estates that Mum talked about when she first took over them, in town.

“No one was game to go against the Prez, he said no money, do a fundraiser, and not all the funds got spent on the club. But he would deny it all, and his word was law. One guy tried to raise the issue, and he was kicked out.”

“Got his name, bring him back into the fold.”

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