WORK IN PROGRESS: Three Witches #1: Magnus and Magnolia

Chapter 30 (Magnus): Misery Loves Company

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

The three little bastards looked confused when I said I wanted to say good bye to Magnolia, but they didn't tell me I couldn't. They just mumbled shit in their language, looking oddly uncomfortable, and then disappeared.

The fairies were fucking weird.

I got up and showered, liking that the M brand was still on my right pec and the heart of scars was on my left. Even if I couldn't have Magnolia, I'd have these as reminders that at one point, I had something good.

For one perfect moment, I'd had something good.

My phone rang just as I pulled on my shirt, and my mood went even more south.

"Hey, Mom."

"So you do remember me."

"Do you need something?" I asked, my tone not friendly.

I'd quit trying to pretend with her years ago. I got the occasional call for money and that was the extent of our relationship. No need to try to make it into anything more than it was.

"Got some friends of yours from the MC over here."

That straightened me up.

"They want to talk to you, Magnus," she continued. "And they're going to wait for you until you get here."

"Let me talk to Treat," I snapped.

I heard a faint he wants to talk to you, and then Treat's voice came on the line.

"You've been ignoring me, brother."

I had been. Texts and calls had gone unanswered since I'd had to fight my way free of the MC.

"I'm no longer your brother. Why the fuck are you at my mother's house?"

"We sent Lamia to deliver a message. Apparently, you ignored her diplomatic efforts on our behalf, and we haven't heard from her since."

She was probably living under a bridge like the troll she now looked like.

"Got nothing to say to you, so you're going to want to leave my mother's house and forget I exist."

"No can do. Drastic times, drastic measures and all that, brother. This doesn't have to get ugly."

It already was.

"I'll meet you but not there."

"You'll meet me here at your mommy's house, and we'll talk here."

I'd known Treat a long time and knew he'd just delivered another, more imminent, threat to my mother. The first one had been delivered when he'd shown up at her house.

"I'll be there in twenty."

"Thought you might see it my way," he said, all pleasant bonhomie now that he thought he was getting his way. "Looking forward to talking with you."

After hanging up on him, I added two more guns and two knives to my outfit, pissed that Treat wanted to draw me back into the MC. I'd left, fair and square, and now he wanted to change the rules. Guess the lesson of the day was don't fuck with the money man because everything might come tumbling down without him keeping shit tight. Putting on my leather jacket, I went out to my Harley and headed for my mother's house, trying to think through various scenarios that could go down.

Not how I'd planned to spend my day, but whatever was about to happen would be less painful than saying good bye to Noli, so at least that could be put off for a bit. That would be the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life, and I pictured myself on the floor, arms wrapped around her ankles, begging her to change her mind. If it would make a difference, I'd do it, too.

Don't think about Noli yet, I counseled myself. Focus on getting your mother out of this alive.

When I pulled into my mother's driveway, I counted six bikes. I hadn't seen any on the street when I'd done a drive by but six still seemed excessive for a simple chat.

I had no one to call for backup, and I mentally shrugged. I'd either walk out alive or I wouldn't. At this point, I wasn't going to worry too much about either outcome. The door was open and I walked in. My mother was sitting in her chair, looking a little concerned with six big bikers in the room with her.

"Warlock," Treat said jovially.

"Get to it," I said.

"Fine. Need you back, brother. Things haven't been going well since you left."

"Not my problem. I fought to get out, and I'm out. Not coming back, covered my club tattoo, I'm done. You got problems, you need to figure them out without me."

Treat took a step toward me, all puffed up and trying to be intimidating. Talk to me after three vicious fairies have been fucking with you for a while.

"That's not going to work for me, brother. I'm telling you, we are on the verge of bankruptcy. All of the businesses, and I mean all of them, are fucked up and nobody can figure out the books. You're the only one who can bring us back."

"Don't care. You made sure of that when you backed Lamia. You really made sure of that when I had to fight all of the brothers to get out the fucking door. So I suggest you get the hell out of here and stop thinking I'm going to bail you out."

"Warlock, you don't want to fuck with me on this. Can't bring an outsider in considering some of our income streams. You have to come back."

"No."

He inclined his head. "Maybe your mother staying with us until you help will be incentive for you to come back.

An involuntary laugh burst out of me. "You'd bring her back after a day."

He pulled a gun and aimed it at my mother while looking at me.

"Now see, I can tell by the look on your face that you're not happy I'm holding a gun on her right now."

He waited for me to protest, to beg him to put the gun away, but I said nothing.

"Or maybe if mommy isn't enough incentive, we go to talk to Magnolia. Bring her to stay with us for a few days. We've been keeping tabs on you and you've been spending a lot of time at that little store of hers."

That made my blood boil, but I tried not to let anything show on my face. I also had the fleeting thought that watching Noli fuck with him would be almost as satisfying as what she'd done to Lamia. There was no way the fairies would let him touch their witch or let anything happen to her store.

"She spent all that time pulling her little shop together. Be a shame if it burned down. Be an even worse shame if it burned down with her in it."

"Threats aren't really incentives to get me to come back."

Taking a step toward me, his face was unfriendly and his gun was pointed at me now. "Then what is incentive to get you back? Because you're coming back, Warlock. Things have fallen to shit so fast that I'd think you set us up to fail without you."

"Nothing. Nothing could convince me to come back. You showed me the brotherhood meant shit when you didn't back me up. And when I decided to leave, we were all agreed if I fought every brother standing between me and the fucking door, I'd be out, free and clear. You going back on your word?"

"I got an entire MC of people depending on the businesses doing well."

"How unfortunate that you don't have someone to handle those businesses. But once again, we're back to it being your problem, not mine. You can point that gun in my face, you can make all the threats you want, but what you won't achieve is me coming back."

"You fucked with the wrong man, brother. If you won't come back, then you can die."

In one move, I reached into my jacket, pulled my gun and pointed it at his head. "Well, you can die with me. Misery loves company or some such shit."

The other five brothers suddenly all had their guns pointed at me, too. This wasn't going to end well for me -- I was resigned to that -- but I'd take Treat out with me.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!