Page 33 of A New Rage

“Are you so sure?” I asked in a low, threatening tone. Amberlea’s eyes flew open, and she gaped at me as the waitress approached. We laughed at the horror on Amberlea’s face.

“Penny!” she exclaimed.

“You never know!” I warned before placing my food order.

???

“Nice,” I said dryly as I stared at the words scrawled over my car.

“I called the cops,” Demi growled out.

‘Go away, biker whores. Leave or die. You’re not wanted. Sluts. Cunts. Bitches get stitches,’ and various other slurs graced our six vehicles. Somebody had vandalised all of them, which meant we’d been watched when the guys dropped the cars back off. With our hands full of shopping bags, we stared in dismay at the mess someone had made.

“Oh my!” a woman exclaimed, and we turned around. “Who on earth would do such a thing?”

“Good question,” I snapped.

“Will it wash off?” she asked, coming closer.

“Yes. If not, our men will repaint them,” Aurora said, but there was sadness in her voice.

“I’m Mrs Maple, one of the book club members. I’ll get my group to put their ears to the ground. This is a disgraceful welcome,” Mrs Maple stated, folding her arms and glowering at the cars like they were a personal affront.

“Can’t say I disagree,” Grace replied.

“I’m going to call Pops, see if he can spare any of my uncles. Clearly, we need some help with this,” Demi decided.

“Wait to talk to Calamity first,” Nova said. “Those decisions need to be made by him.”

“Okay.” Demi put her phone down, but the scowl on her face meant if she caught the culprit, they’d get an ass-kicking.

“How could no one have seen this being committed?” I demanded and looked at Mrs Maple. “Do people usually turn a blind eye here?”

“No. Not at all.”

I saw a vehicle pull up, and Sheriff Cates climbed out.

“What happened?” she asked. We moved aside, and she saw our cars.

“Shit,” she muttered. “Did you just find them?”

“Yeah. We did some shopping this morning, and they were fine. Our husbands picked them up and dropped them back off. We went food shopping and came back to this. All six have been defaced,” Demi spat.

“I understand your anger. Let me take a statement, and then I’ll see if any cameras were pointing this way,” Cates said.

“You can make it known; we ain’t going anywhere,” I added, annoyed. “If somebody thinks they can bully us, they’re wrong.”

“I agree. And honestly, most of the town is happy or unbothered that you’re here. Some are wary that trouble might follow you, but on the whole, nobody seems to care much,” Cates replied.

“Well, someone does. Because that is vile,” Grace argued.

“I don’t disagree. Let me get a deputy down and see if we can wash this off so you don’t have to drive them through town. I imagine that would feel like you’ve been branded or something,” Cates offered.

“That would be great, thank you,” I murmured as I yanked my phone out and texted Texas.

Calamity

I watched the sun set and thanked God that today was over. We’d ridden out on hearing what had happened to the old ladies’ cars. A deputy had removed most of the insults. Luckily, someone had used water-based paint, so it washed off. If they’d applied oil-based paint, we’d have had problems. Whoever had done it had also crippled two cameras to protect their identity. Four witnesses came forward, describing a man in a hoodie, but they hadn’t seen his face or him defacing the cars.

The women weren’t scared but angry. Someone had issues and was taking them out on us. When I found out who it was, he’d experience Rage justice. This was our new home; we weren’t going anywhere. I didn’t give a shit if we’d stepped on someone’s toes; they should man up and talk to us. Not run around making half-assed threats or damaging property.

Not having prospects or candidates was testing us, as was our small number. If we’d had a full club, we’d be able to do a lot more than we could right now. I wouldn’t contact Drake for help. It was our first day as a club, and we couldn’t stand on our own two feet? No, I’d never live that down. I would make a rota for the brothers to take turns watching the gate and being on call for the businesses.

It would mean long days for us until we recruited, but our pride dictated no different. We were Rage MC. We might be anew chapter, but fuck if anyone would bully us. As brothers, we’d stand tall and proud because we knew who and what we were.

Our families and our businesses would be protected. If someone started a beef, they’d better be prepared to back it up because I’d not back down. A man whom I held in the greatest respect chose me to lead. And I’d not let him down.

My name is Calamity, and I’m the President of Rage MC, Ortonville, MN.