Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books

by Kathryn C. Kelly

  Before the blow-up with his father, he’d had a family. Before Cowboy, he’d had hope.

  “Uncle Chris has a lot to say about you and Cash.”

  It figured. Outlaw was all man. As accepting as he tried to be, Stretch could only imagine what he said when they weren’t around. Something he’d never considered. “Is that so?”

  Diesel glanced at the hand now in his lap. “My dad always said gays…people like…um…” His voice trailed off and he stopped, flushing. “He said you choose to be that way.”

  That was the exact same thing his mother had said. The words hurt then and they hurt now.

  “Ever since I started hearing the rumors about you, I’ve watched you a lot. Then I heard Aunt Meggie, Bailey and Bunny talking about a dude named Arrow.”

  “Don’t talk about that motherfucker,” Stretch growled, blaming that asshole for Dinah’s death. He’d used that poor woman’s fragile mental state, playing upon her resentment of Outlaw.

  “No shit, dude. He was the one who went around saying stuff about you.”

  “Arrow?” The man had befriended Cash and always smiled in Stretch’s face. What kind of a motherfucker did that? Then again, he probably thought him and Sharper would be in fucking control of the club by now. “What did Arrow say?”

  “The dude named Arrow told Slipper a lot of shit.” Diesel glanced in Slipper’s direction. “I didn’t mean to blurt out like I did earlier. That was stupid. I was just so happy to know what was going on. And, well, be careful. I don’t think…seeing you I mean…I don’t think you chose to like dudes any more than I chose to like chicks. It’s how we’re born.”

  “What are some of the things Outlaw says?” He still wouldn’t confirm or deny Diesel’s assumptions, unable to trust he wasn’t using this opportunity to scout information for some of the younger brothers in the club he’d befriended. Or, even, Slipper.

  “He always talks about what a genius you are. How you help him to keep tabs on CJ. He says you’re quiet but still somehow fit into his circle. He admires and respects you.”

  “Then why all the drama with your statement? He says a lot about me and Cash. You made it sound like it was a lot of shit.”

  “I got your attention, right?”

  Stretch smiled. “You did.”

  “What the fuck you doin’ here, Diesel?” Outlaw asked from behind them, making both Stretch and Diesel jump.

  “Passing time, Uncle Chris.”

  Outlaw glared at Diesel, who seemed like a boy as he squirmed.

  “Okay. I’m here for Daphne,” he admitted.

  “Get the fuck outta here,” Outlaw growled. “I woulda fuckin’ thought after Megan got through with you you’d stay the fuck away from Daphne.”

  “Yeah, but CJ isn’t here and neither is Aunt Meggie. She’ll never know.”

  “My ass’ll fuckin’ know. Megan actin’ like she fine, but inside I’m fuckin’ miserable cuz I know she ain’t thinkin’ right about shit.”

  “Because of Daphne?” Stretch asked, guilt eating at him. He’d gone along with Cash’s plan to throw Daphne at Outlaw. They had chosen to fuck around with Fee. They needed to face the music, instead of hurting other people to save their own asses. “Daphne isn’t a threat to her.”

  “Tell my girl that.” Outlaw went around the bar and got a bottle of tequila. “We talkin’ and laughin’ and jokin’, but she been guarded. So fuckin’ sad.”

  “Just kick Daphne out,” Stretch suggested, surprised he hadn’t done it anyway, if Meggie was that upset.

  Outlaw drank, then leaned forward. “Megan said I can keep the bitch here. We both know the brothers like Daphne. It’s fuckin’ easier on every-fuckin-body if we keep the fuckin’ girls we got, Stretch. Think about this. We let Daphne go. We get another bitch to replace her. Cash in charge of them bitches.”

  So he’d have to train her, have his cock sucked to make sure she gave head right. Stretch would have to watch Cash have more pointless flings.

  “I see what the fuck I’m gettin’ at dawned on you.”

  “Yes, it did.” Cash was hard enough to pin down. Stretch didn’t need any more competition.

  “This morning, Cash sent Daphne to me for money. The second time in a few weeks. He seem into this bitch. Now, I ain’t sayin’ Cash shouldn’t fuck whoever he want to and I’m tryin’ to be fuckin’ fair and open-minded.” Outlaw leaned closer and glanced over his shoulder at the dark monitors. “But you ain’t thinkin’ about much other than your fucked up leg and Cash’s fucked up behavior. When he around, you try your fuckin’ best to be close by. You ain’t doin’ gate duty no more too much. I offered to take you off, but you insisted on stayin’. You a good, loyal brother, Stretch. You just ain’t you no more.”

  Something Stretch was well aware of and something everyone, including himself, pretended otherwise. But Outlaw didn’t pull any punches. He never had. That’s why Stretch respected him so much.

  “Before I ask you to turn in your patch, I’m askin’ you to get your shit together.” He drank more tequila then cocked his head to the side. “Unless you wanna patch out?”

  “This is home to me. There’s loyalty and freedom and brotherhood.”

  “Nothing ever fuckin’ free, brother,” Outlaw countered. “Not even fuckin’ freedom. That come at the cost of something, too. Some brothers’ loyalties come with stipulations.” He gave him a meaningful look. “You know what the fuck I’m sayin’. You gotta pull your shit together.”

  “I keep seeing his face, Outlaw. I keep thinking about their faces. I put you in a bad position. My stupidity led you to kill good brothers. I’m so sorry.”

  “If they was fuckin’ good, I wouldna blown them the fuck away. Ain’t no reason to apologize. There especially ain’t no reason to feel fuckin’ guilty on my behalf. Other than the night I fucked them up, I ain’t thought about them. They needed to be fuckin’ dead and I obliged them. Case fuckin’ closed.” He fished in the pocket of his cut, pulling out a roll. Once he lit it, he handed it to Stretch. “I can count on one or two fuckin’ hands the deaths that fuck with me the most, with that motherfuckin’ Traveler being at the top of the list.”

  Because of Meggie. After realizing Outlaw was sharing a lot with her, Stretch often wondered how Outlaw had broken the news to her that she’d killed Traveler.

  “But, Stretch, brother, you live your life lost in the past, you might as well lay the fuck down and die cuz you sure the fuck ain’t got a fuckin’ future. Live life for now. In the present. We don’t know what the fuck happenin’ the next goddamn minute.” Outlaw grabbed the roll back from Stretch. “Think about this shit, then find my ass and tell me how the fuck you want me to help you.”

  Stretch swallowed. Instead of feeling better, Outlaw’s encouragement made him feel worse. He was screwing the man’s sister, knowing how Outlaw felt about that. He wasn’t even sure why he was doing it. Was it his feelings for her? Or because Cash wanted it?

  “Fuck me.” Outlaw released the smoke he’d been holding in, then straightened.

  “Stretch,” Kendall greeted, squeezing next to him and smiling at Outlaw. “Hello.”

  Outlaw’s glower matched Stretch’s. She offered Stretch a superior grin, then lifted a brow at Outlaw.

  “You can’t ignore me forever.”

  “Hey, you,” Meggie’s voice interrupted Kendall’s crusade to have Outlaw speak to her. She went behind the bar to kiss her husband. “I’m here to start dinner.” Catching sight of Diesel, she raised her brows. “You’re out of school early.”

  “Yeah, Aunt Meggie,” Diesel answered as Kendall sent a text. “In-service.”

  Meggie nodded, then focused on Kendall. “What’s up?”

  “Not much.” Stuffing her phone in her handbag, she nodded to the briefcase she’d laid on the bar. “Interviewing with a few firms.”

  “That’s so awesome,” Meggie gushed. “You’ll be hired in no time.” Coming from around the bar, she hugged Kendall. “I’m so happy for yo
u.”

  “I’m sure you are,” Kendall said with a smile, just as the kitchen door opened and Daphne appeared, wearing only a thong and heels, holding a card in her hand.

  “Oh my god, Outlaw,” she squealed, running behind the bar and throwing her arms around him, shocking the fuck out of not only him, but everyone. “You gave me a thousand dollars for my birthday. How can I ever repay you?” She giggled. “I can think of a few ways that I know you’ll enjoy.”

  “Get the fuck away from me.” Outlaw shoved Daphne so hard she crashed into the bottles, rattling them but not knocking any of them over. He looked at the disbelief on Megan’s face. “Megan, baby, I ain’t gave this bitch nothing for her fuckin’ birthday.”

  “You did.” Daphne turned to Meggie. “He did. Ask him.”

  Meggie stared at her before looking at Outlaw. “Did you give her money today?”

  “She came to me this mornin’. You fuckin’ know I give club girls money when they need it. Read the fuckin’ card before her blood all splattered with it, cuz, baby I’m fuckin’ her up. This shit stoppin’ now.”

  “Show us the card,” Kendall demanded as if she had a right, holding her hand out.

  Scampering around the bar, not bothered that she was almost naked, Daphne handed Kendall the card.

  “Oh my god, asshole, this is your handwriting,” she cried, bringing it to Meggie and fanning it in her face. “Isn’t it?”

  Meggie snatched the card from Kendall’s hands and froze.

  “Isn’t it his handwriting?” Kendall demanded.

  Sucking in a breath, Meggie nodded. “It could be. But is it?”

  “No the fuck it ain’t!” Outlaw grabbed the card from her. “Fuck me. Megan, baby, I don’t even give you fuckin’ cards but once a year on romantic motherfucker day, for our anniversary. What the fuck going on around this motherfucker?”

  “Why is it in your handwriting?” Meggie asked in a thick voice, making it hard for Stretch to witness this travesty, all Kendall’s doing. “Why does it talk about the other morning and say you’re looking forward to more days like that? I know, I know you wouldn’t cheat on me. But then there’s all this evidence that makes it hard not to believe.”

  She sucked in a noisy sob that seemed to break Outlaw. The commotion awakened Slipper and drew the brothers who’d been out in the yard, inside.

  “Megan, baby, I ain’t too sure why the fuck this bitch playin’ these fuckin’ games. I ain’t usually takin’ bitches into the meatshack, but I’ma change that rule this one fuckin’ time.”

  Daphne paled, then looked at Kendall, seeking guidance. Kendall gave the barest shakes of her head, almost unnoticeable. Then, a gleam entered her eyes, and she smiled.

  “Meggie, if the evidence is there, then you can’t ignore it. He’s fucking Daphne.”

  Growling in fury, Outlaw rushed toward Kendall, who wrapped her hands around her head. Stretch didn’t realize he still had it in him to move so fast, but he didn’t want his president doing something he’d regret.

  “I’m fuckin’ killin’ you, Kendall,” he yelled, almost purple with rage.

  “It isn’t my fault you can’t keep your dick in your pants.”

  Stretch lost hold of Outlaw. In a flash, he reached Kendall and went for her throat.

  “Stop!” Meggie grabbed her husband’s arm. “Leave her alone, Christopher. Okay? Leave Daphne alone. Leave her to me. She will not flirt with you right in front of my face. I don’t care what you two did when I wasn’t around.”

  He kicked a chair over. “I ain’t doin’ fuck-all. I fuckin’ swear on our son grave I ain’t give this bitch nothin’.”

  Meggie hesitated. Despite all the evidence, she wanted to believe her husband. Outlaw never lied to her. Everyone knew it, especially Meggie.

  “You little fool! The evidence is right there. Of course, you didn’t want to side with me where the law firm was concerned. Why would you believe he’d fuck over you?”

  Outlaw narrowed his eyes, his look even frightening Stretch.

  “What does your job have to do with Christopher and Daphne, Kendall?” Meggie asked, her voice bringing Outlaw back from the depths of hell. Stretch was sure he’d been commiserating with Satan. No fucking body could look like Outlaw had and not have serious torture in mind.

  Kendall rolled her eyes. “Nothing, Meggie. Don’t try to turn this on me because of him. Oh, what the fuck am I saying? Talk to Daphne. But that might be hard to swallow, since we all know she walks around here as if she owns the place. As if she has the right to do so. The way she talks to you? The way she ignores you when you ask her to do something?”

  Meggie bristled. “How do you know all that?”

  Pulling his nine, Outlaw aimed it at Daphne’s head and she screamed.

  “Don’t shoot her!” Meggie cried. “You can’t kill her to keep her from talking to me.”

  “You got two fuckin’ seconds to tell her the fuckin’ truth, bitch. You lie, you die. If you keep your fuckin’ head, I wanna fuckin’ know how the fuck you got my fuckin’ handwritin’. Then I’m escortin’ your motherfuckin’ ass the fuck off the property.”

  “What the hell’s going on in here?” Johnnie’s surprised voice rose from the other side of the room.

  “Fuck, man,” Mort said with disgust.

  “He’s cheating and wants to kill the whore he’s sleeping with to keep her from talking to Meggie,” Kendall explained.

  Mort chortled with laughter. “Girl, Prez’ll cut his cock off before he cheat.”

  Kendall snatched the card from Meggie. “Then what’s that?”

  “Fuck, man,” Mort said after reading it, handing it to Johnnie as if he were in a trance.

  Johnnie choked, then looked at Meggie, the worry and concern in his eyes hard to miss. Kendall saw it, too. She threw an ugly look in Meggie’s direction.

  “Why the fuck ain’t you motherfuckers believin’ me?”

  “The evidence say…” Mort’s voice trailed off. “It say you fucked over Meggie.” He paused. “But then you straight up. If you fucked this chick, you would say it but you not messing over Meggie, so what’s going on, Prez?”

  “Don’t kill anybody, Christopher.” Meggie turned to the door. “Call me when you sort this out. I want to know how your handwriting ended up on something you didn’t write.”

  “Megan, fuck! Don’t do this shit. Please.”

  “So it’s true?” Kendall said quietly. “What goes around comes around. I recall pleading for a few things myself and you always ignored it, Outlaw. How does it feel?”

  “Kendall, please, shut the fuck up,” Johnnie gritted.

  Ignoring Kendall and Johnnie, Outlaw looked at Meggie, desperation in his eyes. “You know I ain’t cheatin’ on you. Don’t leave. Just gimme a few fuckin’ days to get to the bottom of this.”

  She halted at the door and tipped her head back, staring at the ceiling and sniffling. “Okay.” She faced Kendall. “I don’t know what to think, Kendall. Despite the evidence, my husband wouldn’t do this.” She lowered her lashes. “Not many people have access to his office, but, as the club’s co-counsel, you had a lot of documents with his signature, forms where he filled out stuff, and…”

  Narrowing his eyes, Johnnie looked between Megan and Kendall’s face-off. “What are you implying?”

  “That I’m a fucking forger,” Kendall snarled. “Anything other than seeing her husband for the cheater he is. Isn’t that what you’re suggesting?”

  Swiping at her tears, Meggie glared at Kendall. “I’m not implying anything. I’m telling you this seems convenient for you and out-of-character for Christopher. It’s strange that after I declined to help you get your job back, Daphne started in on me. Now, you’re determined to make me believe Christopher’s having an affair.”

  “He is!”

  Outlaw growled.

  “I don’t think so,” Meggie insisted. “There’s an explanation for everything. Christopher doesn’t lie to me.” She drew in
a deep breath. “Christopher knows why I’m even entertaining this stupidity. We talked about it, so this has nothing to do with what you’re insisting. Let me be clear about that, Kendall. Just so no one can accuse me of something I didn’t say, I want you all to hear this. If you’re creating unnecessary drama for your own gain, I’ll see to it that you never set foot in this clubhouse again. If you’re interfering in my marriage, you’re going too far, and I’ll never, ever forgive you.”

  Giving them all a teary glance, Meggie started outside.

  “I love you, baby,” Outlaw called, a little less panicked at her words.

  Turning, she stared at her husband. He seemed to beg her to respond. She nodded. “I know,” she replied, and walked away. From the look in Outlaw’s eyes, her answer was worse than a non-response.

  It was the first time Stretch ever remembered Meggie not telling Outlaw she loved him in return.

  The moment she left, Outlaw scooped up the card that had been placed on one of the tables. “Check the fuckin’ footage, Stretch. See who the fuck been in here to leave this.” He looked at Daphne, who backed away. “Get the fuck off the property. Your ass ever come back, I’m fuckin’ killin’ you, no fuckin’ matter how guilty that make me look. Mort, Johnnie, come in my office.”

  “I’m going check on Aunt Meggie,” Diesel said.

  “Do you think he’s capable of this?” Kendall asked coolly. “Or are you as blind as Meggie?”

  “She’s not blind, Aunt Kendall,” Diesel said, quick to defend both Outlaw and Meggie. “She just has an innate belief in her husband. That’s how much she loves him.”

  Kendall sniffed. “And he loves her. So much so that he’ll forget his club to focus on her.”

  Diesel didn’t deny her claim. “And?”

  “And he should be careful. His distraction might allow his enemies to get the best of him.”

  “That almost sounds like a threat,” Diesel said, then loped off, head hanging down.

  “Little fucking street urchin,” Kendall snarled as the other brothers also left, including Slipper.