“I’m so sorry, Johnnie,” Red said in a rush. “Please forgive me and give me another chance. I’ve gotten treatment and I-I’m better. I’m stronger.”
Her words put the smallest chink in Johnnie’s fury. But Mortician watched him wrestle it back.
“No.”
“I’m having our baby in six weeks.”
Johnnie gazed at her belly. “What are you having?”
“I-I don’t know. I couldn’t bring myself to find out without you.”
He glared at her.
“Just hear her out,” Mortician suggested and walked out of the room, hoping a little privacy went a long way.
Father Wilkins paced in front of Bailey, glaring between her, Meggie, and Zoann, as they waited for the guys. Only a few select people had been allowed in Outlaw’s and Meggie’s bedroom, the place where Bailey’s vows of renewal would be made, since Christopher wouldn’t allow Meggie to walk down the aisle. Standing for the amount of time it would take for the ceremony to be finished was also out of the question.
Lucas had jokingly suggested bringing the wedding to Meggie. Christopher had seriously said that would be the only fucking way she’d be in the wedding. Bailey thought about it and decided she liked her husband’s idea and there they were.
But Father Wilkins was there, too.
“Thank you for helping us out yet again, Father,” Meggie said gravely.
Zoann folded her arms and sniffed. Bailey elbowed her, not too hard, since she was only days away from delivering another son.
“Yes, thank you,” Bailey agreed with a bright smile. “You’re always so ready to step in for our religious and spiritual needs.”
The priest brushed off his black jacket and adjusted his glasses, but Bailey saw how much he ate up the attention.
Bailey nodded to Meggie, encouraging her to put the rest of their plan into action.
Meggie leaned against the pillows and rested her hands on the bulge of her belly. “I’m going to ask my husband to make you an honorary member of the club.”
Father Wilkins lowered his eyelids. “That isn’t necessary.”
“Oh. Right.” Meggie feigned disappointment. “You’re a priest. You couldn’t—”
“Not because of that, but because your husband detests me.”
“Detest is too strong a word,” Bailey protested. “I’ve been around Outlaw and I’ve listened to him praise you. As I’m sure Meggie will tell you, her husband just lacks patience.”
“Say I were to become an honorary member, what would my road name be?”
“Your road name? Really?” Zoann asked with sarcasm.
“Shhhh,” Meggie hissed.
Bailey licked her lips. “Um, your road name is rather personal and we wouldn’t want to offend you, so—”
“I listen to Jazz,” he offered with nonchalance.
“Welllllll,” Meggie drawled, biting her lip to hide her laughter.
“Jazzman,” Bailey said. “Do you like that?”
“If I were to become an honorary member, then that would be a perfect road name. Would I get my own chopper?”
Bailey and Meggie giggled, but Zoann just glowered at him. “What are you? A fucking thug-loving priest?” she snapped. “Father Gangsta.”
“Shut up, Zoann,” Meggie ordered, trying to control her amusement.
“Do you think Kendall will come?” Bailey asked. She’d been so happy to find out about Meggie’s invitation and even happier that she’d responded to one of their overtures.
Meggie nodded. “She promised me she would.”
“Ready, Bailey?” Uncle Arrow interrupted, walking into the room.
“Let me run and get Harley,” Zoann said with unconcealed excitement.
“You can’t run anywhere, babe,” Uncle Arrow pointed out. “You can barely waddle.”
“I owe you one,” Zoann grumbled.
“You sure you aren’t carrying triplets?” he called as she slammed the door.
“Leave Zoann alone, Arrow,” Meggie said, glaring at him.
“Only because it’s my niece’s wedding day. After that? All bets are off.”
Holding Bailey’s hand, Mortician slid the gold wedding band with diamond encrusted skulls encircling it onto her finger. Not many people were in the room. Everyone was downstairs waiting for them. Prez was his best man, and Meggie Bailey’s matron of honor. Chester was a bridesmaid as was Bunny, who held Harley. His daughter was dressed in a pretty, cream-colored dress, the same shade as Bailey’s gown.
Val was the only groomsmen there with Ryan and CJ carrying rings for him and Bailey. Arrow walked Bailey from the bathroom to the sofa Meggie sat on, throwing looks to Prez meant to maim, murder, and set on fire.
His other groomsman, John Boy, had left with Kendall. Prez had gone in search of them and found no sign, so they hadn’t told the girls Red had even shown up.
Mortician tightened his hold on Bailey’s hand and spoke. “Once upon a time, I was asked if I knew the verse in Revelations about Alpha and Omega.” He nodded. “I do. I did then and I do now. I grew up in the church. I’m all churched out from spending almost every day of my childhood in church.” This wasn’t coming out right at all. He already knew his words would seem almost blasphemous and he didn’t want any such thing marring this day for Bailey. That shit was funny as hell, considering he’d fucked up some stupid motherfucker just two fucking days ago. “I love you, Bailey. You’re it. My beginning and my ending.”
Alpha and Omega.
“You’re it for me, too,” she said breathlessly. “I love you, Lucas.”
For Mortician, that was all that mattered.
The End
Misalliance
By
Kathryn Kelly
Copyright © 2015 by Kathryn Kelly
Edited by TSRBR Promotions
Scene divider image obtained via DollarPhotoClub.com
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Manufactured in the United States of America
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to
Dedication
To all of Kendall’s fan. Thank you.
Angie, Kristin, CJ, Ana, Tamela, Mel, and Fran for cheering me on and urging me to give Johnnie and Kendall their happily-ever-after.
Danni, I appreciate all your care and concern. It means a lot.
Blurb
Kendall Miller walked away from the VP of the Death Dwellers to heal. She'd made mistake after mistake. Just weeks before she delivers Johnnie's baby, she wants to reclaim the sexy club VP.
Johnnie's angry and hurt that Kendall walked away from him on their wedding day. He swears it's over between them. But Kendall is determined to seal their love once and for all.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Baby Biker
Chapter 2: Just a Fraction of the Amount
Chapter 3: So Much More
Chapter 4: A Whiny Two-Year-Old
Chapter 5: Friends and Enemies
Chapter 6: A Mother’s Touch
Chapter 7: Three Months
Chapter 8: You Were Right
Chapter 9: Advice
Chapter 10: The Sex of the Baby Is
Chapter 11: You Can’t Kill
Chapter 12: For Me
Chapter 13: Not Like This
Chapter 14: Bloodbath
Chapter 15: Finally
Bonus Chapters
Dear Diary,
I left my Johnnie. Walked away as if he didn’t matter. He’d had this beautiful wedding planned for me, but, I let all my feelings overwhelm me.
What did I do? Why did I leave? I’ve locked myself in one of Charlotte and Brooks Redding’s guest rooms, an
d I can’t stop sobbing.
I didn’t know he’d purchased a white Navigator for me, and I didn’t know he’d had intentions of building me a mansion like Christopher did for Meggie.
I didn’t know he’d intended to marry me.
In the heat of the moment, I focused on the fact that he’d asked Meggie for help to plan my wedding. MEGGIE! Of all people. Meggie, who, even now, would welcome me back with open arms, and find a way to get me and Johnnie back together. I love that about her, but I despise her for it, too.
Maybe, I can never go back. I’ll always be faced with seeing her every day, knowing Johnnie would defer to her before he listened to me.
Driving to the outskirts of Portland, breathing in the new car scent, I came to a heartbreaking realization. Perhaps, I don’t know what love is.
I know what survival is. I learned to fight back with tit-for-tat spite. I learned to get ahead, be noticed, through sex. Most of all, I learned I could only rely on myself in the long-run.
Therein is the problem…! Johnnie wants me to trust him enough to handle every and all situations that might put me in danger. He wants me to be above board with him. How can I trust him with details, when he can’t even believe in me enough to plan my own wedding?
Is this it for us? I don’t want it to be, but, neither do I want to live in anyone’s shadow. I don’t want to be forced to like someone, if, deep down, I don’t know how I feel.
My thoughts are all twisted and jumbled for Meggie and Johnnie. Until I can unscramble them, I’ll stay away. In a day or two, I’ll be able to talk when she calls me. Meggie always calls, so I know she will this time.
I’ve got to make her understand that she can’t interfere in my relationship with Johnnie. She says she wants us happy together. Now’s the time to prove it. How would she have felt if another woman had planned her wedding?
That would never happen. The only person she has to listen to is Christopher.
God, Christopher. Meggie’s barbarian of a husband, who I propositioned.
Shit, shit, shit. How pathetic am I? I’m angry with Meggie for overseeing my wedding, but how would she find it in her heart to forgive me for propositioning her husband?
Most importantly, if Johnnie discovered I offered to fuck Christopher, would I finally have his undivided attention? Or would it matter at all?
Chapter 1: Baby Biker
Cold February air blasted through the bare trees, the frozen ground crunching beneath Johnnie “John Boy” Donovan’s feet. The anger settling into every cell in his body goaded him to tug his pregnant ex-girlfriend out of his president’s home and along the wooded trail that led to the clubhouse.
The gray, snow-clouded, early evening didn’t help his mood, which matched the frigid temperatures. He couldn’t believe it had been around this time last year that he and Kendall had met. A lifetime of heartache and pain, laughter and love, and blood and death had been crammed into twelve, short months.
She’d captured his attention from the moment Christopher shoved her away from him and Johnnie helped her to her feet. He’d been fascinated. But what had she seen? What had he been to her?
“Motherfucker,” he growled, irked by his inability to answer those questions. Yanking her harder, he ignored Kendall’s squeak of protest at his rough handling.
He didn’t give a fuck.
He wanted her gone. She’d walked away from the wedding he’d planned for her, never taking into account his feelings. Never stopping for a moment to consider how much he’d truly loved her.
“Johnnie,” Kendall cried, panting. She squeezed his hand and tugged. “Sl-slow d-down.”
He halted and turned, wincing at her red face and heaving shoulders. Her gaze begged for consideration.
Fuck. In a matter of weeks, she’d deliver their baby. He gritted his teeth and puffed out frustrated breaths. Their second baby. The first she’d lost thanks to her hard-headed determination and her inability to sit the fuck down and trust him to handle shit.
Her fingers trembled as she placed her hands on her stomach. Their gazes met, clashed, spoke fucking volumes. Unable to bear the turmoil he saw in her eyes, he focused on her stomach and remembered her happiness when she discovered she was pregnant again.
Regret assailed him and he waited until her breathing had calmed, before reclaiming her hand and starting forward again. A guilty conscience slowed his steps. The loss of Baby Biker wasn’t her fault. He didn’t need to continually blame her. But, fuck him, he did, a fact he hadn’t realized until she’d left. He resented the fuck out of her for so much shit, he wondered if she had married him, would they have worked out.
Fuck. What was he saying? He loved her…had loved her, he meant. When they’d been together, he hadn’t thought of anything but her peace-of-mind and well-being.
What the fuck had she given him in return?
Despite how much he got off on killing and bloodshed, he was fucking human, too, with feelings other than murderous ones.
Throwing open the door, he stepped inside and blinked to adjust his eyes to the dimmer interior. A crowd mulled around today, the members who hadn’t been invited to Mortician’s—the club enforcer’s—wedding there to toast him and Bailey, anyway. Almost as many women as men enjoyed the celebration. Rules had been relaxed for the day, although they had to keep vigil because Public Enemy #1, the Reverend Sharper Banks and his minions, was still on the loose.
But Christopher had the place swarming with “security,” or at least, his version of it. Megan safely inside their house, a five minute walk away, through the woods and buzzed-entry gates, then over a little moat-like creation with guard dogs at the ready, didn’t matter. The clubhouse remained close by, and with Sharper still a threat, everyone was on lockdown.
On the other hand, it was also Mort’s wedding day, so no fucking hit-listed motherfucker would prevent the celebration. It just boded ill for all stupid motherfuckers.
A threat wouldn’t be examined. Motherfuckers would be put to ground. Case closed.
“John Boy!” Cowboy yelled, from where he sat at the bar, rubbing the tits of a woman Johnnie had never seen before. She had brown hair, brown eyes, and a hard look, that fell to his zipper, as he approached them, still gripping Kendall’s hand.
He smirked at the whore. It pleased him to have his attention diverted from the woman he couldn’t seem to get over. Seeing Kendall, knowing she carried his baby, put the slightest chink in the hatred he’d built towards her.
No. No. Fuck no. He wouldn’t allow her to get under his skin again. He couldn’t.
Cowboy’s whore seemed ready for dirty fucking. This past month, all Johnnie had been doing was getting in pussy and having his dick sucked. No threesomes or orgies. No taking a woman’s ass. That needed to change. Once he got rid of Kendall, maybe, he’d join the party here, instead of meeting up with his date and joining the celebration of Mort and Bailey’s vow renewal at Christopher’s house. And get rid of Kendall he would.
They were done. Over! The first few weeks after she left had been some of the worse days of his life. He’d wanted her back. He would’ve done anything to win her over. He’d attempted to play her husband and keep tabs on her, but her fucking doctor had shot him down. Her doing, for sure. She was so fucking cutthroat when she wanted to be, even when she didn’t recognize her actions.
Her combination of ruthlessness and vulnerability had made him fall in love with her. Kendall wanted what she wanted and steamrolled anyone to get it.
Before, Johnnie, he reminded himself. Before, everything had happened to her.
Not so, he argued. The more she’d healed, the more she’d shown her bold, unflinching, opinionated approach.
Cowboy pressed something against his chest. “Have a drink.”
Glancing at the small bottle of whisky, Johnnie shook his head, frowning. The fucker hadn’t had the decency to offer him the imported stuff the club kept just for him.
“Johnnie?”
Kendall’s hus
ky voice sent a small tremor through him.
Fuck, no, she wouldn’t do this shit to him again. He swallowed, summoning his anger. She’d fucking deserted him, a betrayal he refused to overcome. She didn’t have the fucking right to cause the lust he felt growing inside of him for her. He recoiled at the memory of how soft her skin was and how she sounded when she had an orgasm.
Fuck her.
She definitely didn’t have the right to make him remember how lost he’d felt without her.
Tightening his jaw, Johnnie hardened his resolve, then tugged her toward the hallway that led to his room. “Later, Cowboy,” he threw over his shoulder, forcing thoughts of Kendall away.
Maybe, he’d put her in his room and go have fun in the clubhouse. Not at the fucking wedding, where motherfuckers were so fucking happy with their women and children, he wanted to beat someone’s ass.
Just so someone could be as fucking miserable, and in as much pain, as he was.
But Mort was his friend and his club brother. He wanted Johnnie there.
Fuck Mort, too.
Why should Johnnie go back to the wedding, when he’d missed the very beginning of it? It had started almost an hour ago. He’d given Kendall five minutes, at Mort’s urging, and demanded the man stay, since he seemed so determined to defend her. Instead, he’d walked away and Kendall’s allotted five minutes had turned into this.
Who’d suggested he and Kendall go to the clubhouse? Him or her? Johnnie didn’t remember, nor did he know what they’d said to one another, because he’d been determined to tune her out, determined to think of fucking Sherilyn—his date—later tonight. Although happy Mort had finally made peace with his demons and confessed his love for Bailey, it cut through Johnnie, so he’d invited one of the women he saw on a semi-regular basis. One of being the operative words. There were several. Along with the club ass he fucked regularly, he refused to be alone to wallow over losing Kendall.
Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books Page 208
