Disclaimer - I do not own The Red Road or Knockaround Guys characters or storylines. I only own my character Tempest and my plot.
Reviews are appreciated, please let me know what you think.
Small towns are a whole different world. They have their own aura. People who have never lived in one just don't understand. They are so much more simple, people look after one another, everybody knows everybody. Most of the time they are likened to the Three Musketeers motto, all for one and one for all. Once you step foot in a small town, it will change you. It will change your views on everything. At least it did for one woman.
Tempest Demaret sat in her father's office, the leather chair cool under her bare legs. She had given up on pulling the hem of her blood red dress down, it just kept riding back up her thighs. She had nothing to hide, she was proud of the body she had. It wasn't perfect, but she worked hard to keep it fit. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror on the wall behind her father's desk. Her long dark brown hair hung in waves around her face, the ends just brushing the top curve of her butt. Her cobalt blue eyes popped dramatically from the smoky eyeshadow and black eyeliner, and her lips were coated in a blood red lipstick that matched her dress. Her skin held a nice glow, now that summer had started, the sun brought out her Italian genes.
She sighed as she crossed her legs, her black ankle boots tapping the front of the desk impatiently. Looking at the watch on the inside of her left wrist she realized she had been waiting for her father and brother for over twenty minutes. Tempest was not a patient person, she hated waiting, and her family knew this.
Looking down at her right thigh she traced the outline of her garter tattoo. It was one of many that she had, but it was by far her favorite. It had been done by a former girlfriend of hers, now her best friend and coincidently now her brother's girlfriend, Charity. It was black and red lace, with a 9mm Beretta handgun on the outside of her thigh. It was placed exactly where her thigh holster that held her actual 9mm Beretta sat.
She realized it had been a few months since she had any ink done and she was in desperate need of some tattoo therapy. She made a mental note to call Charity tomorrow to set up an appointment.
Just as her patience was about to run out the door opened, her father and brother walking in. But just as she started to relax, he walked in behind them and her blood pressure skyrocketed. She bit her tongue as she clenched her fists, focusing her attention on her father as he sat down behind his desk.
Benny Chains as he was known in the state of New York, the biggest mob boss, looked older than his 61 years. The weight of this life they lived had taken its toll on him in the last five years. However things had gotten a lot easier when Tempest had come back into the fold. It hadn't been by her choice at first, but once she returned, she had chosen to stay.
"What's he doing here?" Tempest questioned her father, glancing to the right at the man standing beside her brother.
"He's here because I asked him to be." Her father replied coolly.
"This has nothing to do with him." She stated crossing her arms over her chest.
"We wouldn't be having this meeting, if you weren't so damn stubborn." The man in question replied gravely.
This time Tempest actually looked over him; Taylor Reese, her brother's best friend since childhood. A mountain of a man, built like a brick house with a shaved head. Standing just over 5 foot 9 inches tall, and weighing just over 200 pounds, he was an intimidating figure. And he had to be in their business. He was once Benny's enforcer, now he was her brother Mattie's personal bodyguard.
"No, we wouldn't be having this meeting, if you could keep your dick in your pants." Tempest snapped.
Did we mention that Tempest and Taylor used to be a couple? Well, they did. Up until a month ago when she came home from a business trip with her father, to find Taylor in bed with not one, but two trashy blonde women that worked at the club Tempest owned. Safe to say, that those two women were now unemployed and on Tempest's bad side, which is never a place you wanted to be. She wasn't named Tempest because it was pretty, her name was exactly what you would endure if you pissed her off.
"Tempest, Taylor, enough." Benny said, putting a halt to the fight that would have started with yelling and ended with the two swinging at one another.
Not that he didn't think his daughter could hold her own. He knew that Tempest was more than capable of protecting herself. She held a black belt in Jiu Jitsu, and had trained in Muay Thai and kickboxing. And if those skills failed her, she was an expert marksman and very skilled with a blade. Several times over the years when they were growing up, she had put Taylor Reese on his ass. He had no doubts that she could still do it now.
"Now, Tempest, we need to discuss your bodyguard situation. And before you start, yes you do need one. We still have families out there that want the lot of us dead. So, please don't argue."
"I won't argue, dad. After what happened the last time, I know I need someone to watch my back."
Benny was surprised at the fact that she didn't argue. When she had first come back to the family, she had been adamant that she didn't need protecting. She refused any of the men he offered as her bodyguard, and the only reason she had agreed to Taylor protecting her was of their relationship. However, he knew that after being kidnapped, tortured and nearly killed, she had changed her mind on the subject.
"Good. I'm very pleased to hear that, Tempest. Now, despite what your brother and Taylor think, I believe you are more than capable of deciding who you want by your side. So, with that being said, I am allowing you to choose the man to head up your security team."
Tempest saw the irritation on her brother and Taylor's faces, it gave her a sense of importance. Matty was not allowed to make his own decisions, their father called all of his shots. But when it came to Tempest, Benny usually left the decisions about her life, to her choosing. A fact that irked her brother to no end.
"Thank you, dad. And to let you know, I already have someone in mind."
"Would you mind discussing it with me?"
Tempest smiled, she was liking the fact that her father was treating her as a capable adult and not like his little girl. "Of course. However, I would prefer to keep it between the two of us for now."
"Yes, of course." Benny nodded. "Matty, Taylor, would you please excuse us."
The two men nodded, knowing better than to voice their displeasure, as they walked to the door and left the office.
Tempest picked up a file folder and handed it across the desk to her father, who opened it and looked at the photo inside as she explained. "His name is Phillip Kopus."
"An Indian?" Her father said surprised, normally they kept a strict "no outsiders" policy when it came to their family dealings. But he felt if Tempest was pitching this man to him, then she had a very good reason for doing so.
"Yes, Lenape, but only half Indian, he's also half Italian. His mother Marie, is currently interim chief of their tribe in Walpole, New Jersey. His father is Jack Kopus."
"Ah, Jack, yeah I've had a few run ins with him over the years. He still down in Atlantic City?"
"Nope." Tempest says popping the "p". "He's in jail down in Trenton, awaiting the death sentence for murder."
"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy." Benny jokes earning a smile from his daughter. "So, tell me, why this guy, Phillip?"
"I want someone who's outside of our purview. Someone who has no ties to any of the families in New York. Someone who can't be bought by the other side, so to speak."
"And you believe this man can't be bought?"
"By me, yes. By another family, no."
"Why do you think that? I mean, he is an ex-con."
"I've checked up on him. He went to prison for protecting his family. Now if you ask me, that shows a loyalty that is unmatched."
"And you believe he would be loyal to you?"
"Only one way to find out."