Christopher swigged from his bottle again. “At the fuckin’ moment, I ain’t fuckin’ up Cash over Fee. That ain’t my priority. Once this shit with Daphne settled, yeah. Not fuckin’ now, though.”
Yelling at the top of his lungs, CJ ran into the room, and weaved through the tables, leading a line of children, including Rule and Rebel, Rory, Devon, Ryan, and Harley. She and Rebel had already bonded. Together, they maneuvered around the boys, halting CJ.
“After this shit over, I’ma make him bleed if I find out he goin’ against my rules,” Christopher added as the girls reached CJ.
He grabbed their hands and took off running back out of the room, screaming for his cousins to follow.
“If Johnnie gave a girl a card, I wouldn’t fuck him,” Kendall persisted. “Yet, you’re still dressing for Outlaw and sleeping with him, Meggie. That’s why I say you’re long suffering.”
“Kendall, please drop it,” Johnnie growled.
“Meggie didn’t say she dressed for Christopher,” Zoann said in exasperation, grabbing cans of hot pineapple juice.
“What was that crap she was talking about then?” Kendall asked “Being married and keeping yourself up and all that she said. You directed your comments to me and the baby weight I’m still carrying. You have the genes to bounce back after your pregnancies. Most of us don’t.”
“This is making my head hurt,” Fee complained. “Is it any wonder watching this might scare off other people from marriage and commitment?”
Fee alluded to motherfucking Cash again. “If a motherfucker ain’t built for relationships, he ain’t built for relationships. No fuckin’ body changin’ that, Fee.”
Her shoulders slumping, she pursed her mouth.
A gleam entered Kendall’s eyes. “Is that right? Didn’t you change for your wife?”
Determined to ignore her as much as possible, Christopher didn’t respond.
“I wasn’t talking about your baby weight,” Megan said with a tired sigh. “You’re gorgeous. If you have extra pounds, we don’t see it.”
Folding her arms, Kendall sniffed. “Then what did you mean?”
“It was just girl talk,” Megan said.
“No.” Kendall staggered to her feet and went to the table where Megan sat.
Christopher pondered how far that bitch intended to go to provoke him. No fucking wonder John Boy had asked about enjoying Daphne’s flirtations. His bitch was too focused on getting Christopher’s attention. Bitch being drunk aside, she fucking knew going to where Megan sat would get his goddamn focus.
“You started talking your girl talk after I asked you why didn’t you leave the other day?” Kendall said. “Instead of answering me, you started saying that you want to keep yourself up. Keep his attention.”
“You’re taking her words out of context,” Bailey protested. “We were talking about sex. Remember? And how we needed to keep our priorities straight.”
Mort cocked his head to the side. “What that mean, Bailey?”
At Zoann’s dirty glance, Val flushed and looked away.
“It means we’re wondering if this has blown up between Christopher and Meggie because we’ve all been married for several years now,” Zoann said. “Maybe, that girl appealed to you.”
“No, it means you, Meggie, and Bailey think you’re walking vaginas for your husbands,” Kendall retorted. “That slut would only appeal to their dicks. Me and Johnnie love each other on a deeper level.”
“Which is where the fuck he’s going to have to dig,” Zoann snarled. “Deep below the surface of the earth where I bury you if you don’t shut up.”
“Red, c’mon,” Mortician said before Kendall answered. “You know we don’t see them that way.”
It seemed as if Cash’s shit had affected more than just Christopher and Megan.
Bailey grabbed the pineapple juice and vodka Zoann handed her. “Lucas,” she said after she’d tasted the drink, “what did you really think of Daphne?”
Fuck, where the fuck was Roxanne when they needed her? A wrong answer had the potential to disintegrate into a big argument. If Roxanne was there, she’d know what to say to lighten the mood.
A guilty look on his face, Mort tasted more vodka. “We love the fuck out of each other, Bailey. You keep shit interesting in and out of bed. I wouldn’t fucking break my vows and fuck another bitch. But, fuck, man…I read about famous motherfuckers giving each other a pass to notice other people. Observing how pretty she was don’t mean I’m bored with you.”
Who the fuck were these assfucks? Christopher felt as if he’d stepped into an alternate universe. “What the fuck a bunch of fuckheads I ain’t ever meetin’ gotta do with me and Megan? Me and any of you motherfuckers and your girls?”
“A lot,” Kendall chose to answer.
Fee scowled at her. “Do you have to keep harping on this? We get the point, okay? They do, too.”
“I don’t think so.” Kendall smoothed her hands over her pants. “Every time I bring Daphne up, Meggie steers the conversation in a different direction.”
“You’ve been bringing her up all evening,” Fee whined, almost a plea. “Enough, already. Jesus.”
Kendall twisted her fingers around her hair. “It hasn’t done any good. Except to remind all of them of their husbands’ pasts.”
“You do know Johnnie had a past, right?” Megan asked, finally getting enough of Kendall’s bullshit. Or, maybe, she fucking realized Christopher was reaching the end of his rope. “He was always right in with them. So unless he’s grown a vagina, he noticed Daphne just as much.”
“You would bring up Johnnie to deflect attention away from Christopher,” Kendall sneered, her anger getting the best of her. That was the only fucking reason she forgot his long-ago order and called him by name.
“Before this gets ugly, drop it, Kendall,” Johnnie warned her. “It’s time to collect our son and head home.”
“No! Tell her, Johnnie. Tell her that you’d never look at another girl.”
“Yeah, tell her, John Boy,” Val said sarcastically. “Tell her your dick is dead if she’s not around.”
Kendall lifted her chin. “That just proves my point.”
“What point?” Johnnie snapped. “That we’re all men? If I had said to you what Mortician said to Bailey, you’d be fucking furious. She understands what he means. Aren’t there men you look at?”
“Of course not! You’re all I need. I can’t remember the last time I noticed another man.”
If Christopher was fucking talking to her, he’d call her a lying fucking bitch. Most motherfuckers noticed the opposite sex, no matter how happily married they were.
“What about if some girl claimed I’d given her a card and money?” Johnnie continued. “Would you still be at my side?”
“I have more pride in myself,” Kendall sniffed.
“Megan has pride.” Johnnie glowered at his bitch’s narrowing eyes. “She just has faith in Christopher.”
“Fuck, enough!” Cash bit out. Standing, he made his way to Megan. “I’m sorry, sweetness. Fee, me, and Stretch ran into each other at the party last week. I didn’t want Outlaw to get the wrong idea, so I had Daphne come to the park with me. Diversionary tactics to get the heat away from me. I never intended to cause all this bullshit where the fucking meaning of the universe was called into question.” He shoved a hand through his hair.
Christopher jumped to his feet and Megan got to hers, barreling to him to block his advance to Cash. “Why did you have her pretend Christopher gave her that card?” she asked. “Everything was over by then.”
“Meggie, that wasn’t me. I’m going to get to the bottom of her bullshit. Have her personally apologize.”
“She ain’t gettin’ near Megan ever a-fuckin-gain,” Christopher vowed. “If she do, I’m killin’ that bitch.”
Kendall snorted. “Oh, please. You could’ve killed Johnnie and Brooks, but didn’t.”
Mouth falling open, Johnnie stared at Kendall, as Mort ch
oked.
“What the fuck?” Val said, as stupefied as the rest of them at her words.
“Oh. My. God.” Megan returned to the table where she’d been sitting with Kendall. “Did you want Christopher to shoot Johnnie and Brooks?”
“Of course not, you little idiot. All I’m saying is he loves to make fucking threats. He’s not carrying through on any of them.”
Holding onto his temper by a thread, Christopher reminded himself that this bitch was pushing him to provoke a response. He couldn’t let her win. Maybe, she had made Daphne fuck with him for this very reason.
“Leave Christopher alone,” Megan demanded. “Everything is right where he wants it to be. The club’s running smoothly again. We’re all safe and happy. He doesn’t need to kill people.”
“In your head, he’s a veritable saint,” Kendall said with disgust.
Fee rushed to the table and laid her hand on Kendall’s shoulder. “Please, stop. Meggie hasn’t done you anything. Neither has my brother. You’ve had too much to drink and you’re saying a lot that you’ll regret tomorrow. Johnnie is looking angrier by the minute. Don’t do this.”
Kendall shrugged Fee’s hold off. “Who are you to tell me what to do?”
“Your friend,” Fee answered. “You love Meggie like a sister, so stop being so mean and hurtful. You need to let this all go tonight. Cash has apologized, so let’s go back in the other room and talk about the christenings.”
“You’re right, Fee,” Kendall said softly. “I adore Meggie. That’s why I’m trying to get her to see reason about Daphne. I’m sticking up for her the way she never did for me and my job.”
“Fuck, here we go,” Zoann said on a groan. “How about you join our healthcare company? You already have a small percentage, Kendall. I’ll put aside my need to fuck you up for putting both Val and Christopher’s lives in danger. We can all work together. You’ll be using your legal expertise and we’ll get to have Fee working for us as we’d intended.”
Fee started in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“We were talking about hiring you,” Megan explained. “Kendall beat us to it, though.”
Flushing, Kendall looked away, not wanting anyone to guess the real reason she’d offered Fee the job.
“I like Zoann’s idea,” Megan said. “What do you say?”
“No,” Kendall gritted.
A buzzing noise resounded in the room and Cash sighed, pulling his phone from his pocket. He glanced at his screen. “Fuck, motherfuckers need to keep their cock in their pants.”
“That can’t be you talking,” Stretch said.
“It sure the fuck is,” Cash responded. “When I have to find fucking pills to take care of unwanted pregnancies.”
“You peddle abortion pills, asshole?” Kendall snapped. “You can get into all kinds of trouble. You need to tell whoever to just go to a fucking clinic before you’re sued.”
Cash shoved his phone back into his pocket. “It sounds as if you need a case, Kendall. You’ll be the first attorney I call.”
“I’d tell you to go and fuck yourself.”
“Enough, Kendall!” Johnnie shouted. “We’re going home and you’re sleeping the vodka off.”
She grinned at Johnnie, her mood flipping yet again. “I’d prefer to go home and fuck you.”
Cash turned to Christopher.
Before the motherfucker said fuck-all, Christopher shook his head. “Don’t, assfuck. You fuckin’ lucky you still fuckin’ walkin’. Let this be a fuckin’ lesson learned and call it a fuckin’ day.”
“Thank you, Outlaw. I promise I’m getting to the bottom of what’s going on with Daphne.”
“We’ll see, fuckhead,” Christopher responded, ready for the evening to end so he could get into Megan.
Let’s meet at my house. 9:00PM.
Caught off-guard by Cash’s text as she drove Kendall to a meeting, Fee contemplated the message. One hand on the wheel and the other on the phone, she wondered what prompted the text after five days of radio silence.
Kendall had made it a point to call Fee over the weekend to apologize for her behavior at the get-together at Christopher’s house. Yesterday, she’d accompanied Fee to another naked yoga session. According to Kendall, she’d cancelled a dinner date with Johnnie to spend the evening with Fee, all with Johnnie’s blessings.
Stretch sent Fee a quick hello that she’d responded to in the same manner. Their exchange had been brief. Yet, it let her know he’d forgiven her for trusting their secret to Kendall and it showed he’d been thinking about her. Beyond hello, she hadn’t known what else to say, serving as a painful reminded that she hadn’t bothered to discover a lot about him.
Her phone beeped again, the roar of the motorcycles from their escorts almost drowning out the text alert.
The three of us. To clear the air.
At the second text, Kendall reached for Fee’s phone. Instead of relinquishing it, she threw it in her lap, gripping the steering wheel with both hands.
“Eyes on the road,” Kendall commanded. “Stop being so fucking stupid. Texting and driving is beyond dangerous. If we get into an accident, you’ll be at fault.”
“Sorry. However, don’t call me stupid. I may be careless but I’m far from stupid.”
“Whatever.” Kendall drummed her fingers on her thigh. “We both know how sincere your apology is. Who is that anyway?”
No chance in hell would she give Kendall more ammunition to use against her when the time had run out for her Daphne games.
“What do you mean?”
“Who are you texting? Is that more understandable?”
“Just a friend. He wants me to meet up with him later tonight.”
“Really? Do tell. Does Outlaw know them? Oops! I mean him.”
“No,” Fee said without missing a beat, not surprised that Kendall detected her deceit. “That’s all you’ll get from me.”
“Stop acting like a fucking brat.”
“A brat?” Fee couldn’t believe Kendall’s self-righteous indignation. “Excuse me if I protect myself from blackmail.”
“I’m your friend and I’ve apologized.”
“You apologized for Thursday’s behavior, not for blackmailing me.”
“Wrong. I apologized for blackmailing you the day I did it. I did what I had to do for me. I won’t ever do it again. Just trust me.”
“You used my secret against me and broke my trust. Your apology doesn’t mean shit. Surely, you understand that.”
“You’re not very trusting if one minor injustice causes these problems. Besides, your brother needs to come off his high horses. He expects to be instantly obeyed and has everyone, except me, intimidated.”
“Christopher runs the club. If he didn’t demand respect, there’d be mayhem. For all of that, he’s really fair-minded. Everyone knows that. You’re alone in your grievance against him.”
“He’s your brother, so I understand your defense. I even understand his protection of you. I didn’t have anyone to look out for me, so cherish his interference.”
How did Kendall make even a compliment sound like an insult? She was such an enigma. A good friend one moment and a mortal enemy the next. “I appreciate Christopher, but I’d like to be able to make my own mistakes.”
“That’s the stupidest fucking sentiment. Why go through heartache if someone who’s already been there can save you from experiencing it?”
“Is stupid the only word you know? Being my boss doesn’t give you the right to insult me. If that’s the only comment you’ve got, keep it.”
“I’m sorry, but sometimes people learn about life by listening to others’ experiences.”
“Listening and experiencing don’t have the same effect,” she insisted. “I can listen for days about your heartbreak. Unless I go through it, I don’t know how it feels. How can I grow, gain any wisdom, know that I can pick myself back up during adversity, if I only live based on what you’ve gone through? Or all the bullshit you crea
te?”
“You can’t, so I won’t waste my breath and tell you anything other than to be careful.”
“I’ve already learned a valuable lesson with you, so I’d say my way is effective.”
“I’m done talking to you, so fuck off.”
Fee hadn’t meant to be so sharp or harp on Kendall’s actions. Everyone had a right to their opinion, something Kendall seemed unaware of, especially if that opinion didn’t match hers.
Other than Kendall offering directions about where to enter the interstate or Fee asking for the right exit once on the 205, they rode the rest of the way in silence, with only the muffler of the bikes cutting through the SUV.
Forty minutes later, she put the Navigator into park in front of the door to a bricked mansion with huge columns and a wide balcony. Mount Hood rose in the distance and stately trees surrounded the property. Topiary shrubs sat in the middle of the circular driveway. It was beautiful and peaceful, the land around the home offering an isolated feel.
The roar of the three bikers gliding to a stop, their actions synced with each other, was almost criminal in the tranquility.
“I’ll wait here,” she announced, intending to use the time to answer Cash.
“No.”
Kendall was being so difficult today!
“Yes,” Fee insisted. “I’ll just hang with Slipper and his sons.”
“You don’t hang with people like them.”
“Kendall—”
“Fuck, but you’re so fucking difficult, Fee!”
“You stole the words right out of my mouth,” Fee retorted.
Kendall glared at her. “Remember I told you I’d make it up to you for not sitting with me and Meggie over brunch?”
“You insisted I keep the camera. That covers it.” Fee couldn’t say she’d ever use the thing, so Kendall had wasted her money. Not that she’d listen and take the gift back. She seemed to think that made up for her bad behavior. “You two do fine without me, anyway.” Thank God! There’d be no sign of Kendall’s stupid quest to get back to the law firm, ruin Meggie’s marriage, or accuse Meggie of sleeping with Johnnie. That was amazing progress. “Yesterday you sounded as if you two had more fun than you’ve had in a while.”
Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books Page 319
