Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books

by Kathryn C. Kelly

  This morning, after vomiting, she’d rinsed her mouth and washed her face, then stumbled back to the room and climbed into bed. Christopher was gone, and she’d been too sick and tired to inquire about his whereabouts.

  A few minutes later, he’d called her and asked if she wanted breakfast in bed or if she was coming downstairs. Not wanting to worry him, she said she’d be down in a few minutes and then hung up.

  As she laid in bed, trying to will the nausea away, she’d realized that this was the third time this week she’d thrown up in the morning.

  For her, that meant one thing. Yet, it was impossible. Christopher had his vasectomy reversal, a month ago, and they’d resumed making love two weeks lagter.

  Hysterical laughter escaped Meggie. That meant she’d gotten pregnant before.

  It was history repeating itself, only with a flipped script. When he’d gotten the vasectomy, she’d found out she was pregnant. Now…now…this.

  If it wasn’t so…so…frustrating, it would be hilarious.

  After forcing herself to dress and go downstairs, she’d put on a brave face, until Christopher went to the clubhouse. Then, she’d texted Bunny to go to the drugstore and buy pregnancy tests. Three or four different types. She’d returned with six.

  And every last one of them came back positive.

  She was pregnant. She loved babies and wouldn’t mind having ten or twelve or…or…however many she was blessed with. On the other hand, despite all the needless trouble Christopher had gone through, another pregnancy would only stress him out more. He’d have her to worry about, as well as the baby she carried.

  Her agreement to his plan had been given after much consideration. He was taking her kidnapping so hard, and all Meggie wanted to do was help him.

  It didn’t matter that she needed help herself. This was the closest she’d consciously come to dying. When she’d been shot in the chest, she’d been unaware the gravity of her injuries. This time, though, she’d felt her life draining from her and her soul slipping away.

  She’d known the end was near.

  A shiver went through her and her nostrils flared. She slid her gaze to the door that led to her closet. Her hands trembled and she clutched the material of her shirt. A small pocket-knife hid amongst her purses. All she had to do was get it, sink it into her flesh…and regain control.

  Meggie closed her eyes. She’d fail Christopher, though. One of his greatest fears was that something would tip Meggie over the edge and send her back to self-harm.

  Her kidnapping had definitely triggered her. She was doing everything possible to return to normalcy.

  Trying to go out on her own had been a major fail. Still, the goal had been so important to her. How would she ever feel normal, safe, if she feared her own shadow?

  Her fear didn’t help Christopher at all. Now, she had to tell him she was pregnant. She really, really, really didn’t think the news would ease his mind. Honestly, she didn’t think he was ready for her to be pregnant. Not yet. She was sure he’d believed they’d have six or eight weeks before she dropped the news on him.

  Seeing the same results on the last test, Meggie sighed. One more time, she’d sneak out, arrange her thoughts, then find a way to tell her Christopher. Her words would have to soothe her husband. Although she didn’t believe he was ready for her to be pregnant yet, neither would he be pleased at the timing. Because of his unnecessary pain and suffering, he might show his displeasure to his urologist. In the meatshack.

  She’d find the right…The pealing of Roxy’s ringtone broke into Meggie’s thoughts, and she grabbed her cellphone.

  “Hey—”

  “Meggie, baby, they are going to kill Knox. You have to stop them!”

  “What—”

  “Go now. They should be nearing the walkway in front of your house soon. I want to marry Knox. Tell them!”

  “Okay, bye,” Meggie breathed, hanging up the phone without a goodbye, and racing down the hall, then three flights of stairs.

  “MegAnn?” CJ called in confusion.

  “Not now, potato,” Meggie yelled, reaching the front door and yanking it open.

  “Meggie?” Bunny cried.

  Meggie didn’t have time to stop and explain. The little parade was reaching the walkway beyond the gates of her house just then.

  Mortician, with Knox thrown over his shoulder, paused as Johnnie stepped in front of him.

  “Move your ass, John Boy. You constantly stopping me just delaying the inevitable.”

  Sliding to a halt so fast she stumbled against the iron gate, Meggie met Christopher’s gaze.

  “Fuck,” he growled. “Don’t say a fuckin’ thing, baby. This motherfucker hurt Roxanne.”

  “That may be, but she still intends to marry him,” Meggie told him.

  Mortician frowned. “No, the fuck she don’t.”

  “She does, Mort,” Meggie countered.

  “I do.” Roxy screeched to a halt on the curb in her purple Navigator. “You boys got this all wrong. I was going to tell all of you that Knox and me been working things out.”

  Meggie sent Christopher a pleading gaze and he glared at her. She had sway in this matter because it involved their family. He knew it. She knew it.

  They all knew it.

  “Fine, fuck.” Mortician dropped Knox to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

  Her hands flying to her mouth, Meggie squeaked.

  “This motherfucker still living at the club.” Mortician pointed to Knox, then rounded on Roxy. “And I fucking swear if I see one more fucking tear in your eye because of him, I’m cutting his fucking head off.”

  Without waiting for a response, he started to stomp away.

  “Wait!” Roxy called in outrage. “You can’t just leave him there.”

  “Motherfucker heavy.” Mortician’s tone indicated the blatant lie, as he marched on.

  “We too fuckin’ outta shape to fuckin’ deal with him,” Christopher announced with a snicker, winked at Meggie, then signaled the guys to head to the club.

  Leaving Knox on the ground. Alive.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Rushing to where Knox lay sprawled on the ground, Roxy checked for injuries by laying her hand on Knox’s forehead and cheek, touching his chest, threading her fingers through his hair.

  Meggie knelt at Knox’s side. “Is anything broken?”

  “I don’t know,” Roxy responded, relieved to feel the strong beat of his heart.

  “Oh my god!” Zoann said around puffs of breath. It was obvious she’d run there, carrying a medical bag. She switched places with Meggie.

  “Mama!” Bailey cried, hurrying over and throwing her arms around Roxy’s shoulders. “I came as fast as I could. I was home. I can’t believe I didn’t hear or see anything.”

  Bailey and Mortician’s house sat in front of Roxy’s quarters, so it didn’t surprise her that Bailey hadn’t heard anything. Her front door faced the back of the main house, connected by a covered walkway, and bordered by the natural beauty of the forest.

  Roxy nodded. “Where are Harley and Lou? You can’t leave those babies alone.”

  “They’re with Cash and Stretch,” Fee commented, as she arrived on the scene.

  “Yeah, and Meggie’s and my kids are with Diesel,” Bunny announced, walking out of the gate.

  “I not,” CJ announced, squeezing next to Meggie and frowning at Knox. “Why Uncle Knox sleeping on the ground?”

  “He fell,” Meggie answered. “Stay close to Mommie so Aunt Zoann can check him out.”

  All the girls gathered around Knox as Zoann listened to his heartbeat, checked him for broken bones, and felt his head. Even though Kendall had more than fucked up, Roxy missed her being there amongst the rest of the women.

  Knox moaned, and Zoann assisted Roxy in lifting him to a sitting position. His head lulled back, but they caught him in time before he fell back again.

  Zoann shone a small light in his eyes. “Follow the light,” she instru
cted with a bedside manner that contradicted her general no-nonsense attitude. Completed with that test, she pressed her fingers in various spots on Knox’s head. One particular spot she touched made him moan again.

  “I want Roxanne,” he mumbled.

  “She’s here, baby,” Zoann soothed.

  “She left me.” Knox sounded pitiful. “I love her.”

  Unable to hear those words from Knox without being affected by them, Roxy stood. Maybe, he did love her. Just not enough.

  “ROXANNE!”

  “Roxy is right here, Knox,” Fee said. “She hasn’t gone anywhere. She merely stepped back.”

  “Tell her to take me back,” Knox begged. “I didn’t mean anything I said.”

  Meggie glanced in Roxy’s direction. “Oh no. That’s why they were taking him to the meatshack.” She frowned. “But…but what did he say to you for Christopher and the rest of them to have such a reaction?”

  “I called her a gold digger.” Knox sounded close to tears. “I told her she just wanted my money. I told her to live the rest of her life in wretched loneliness without me or my money.”

  Humiliation returned, lurking just beneath the surface of Roxy’s emotions since the argument. “Shut up, Knox!”

  “He said those things to you?” Zoann asked, aghast.

  “Yeah, baby, but—”

  Zoann released Knox’s head, allowing it to hit the ground.

  Squat!

  “Oh, shit,” Bunny blurted as Knox’s eyes rolled back in his head and he lost consciousness all over again.

  “Oh, Mama.” Bailey hugged Roxy again. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  Because she hadn’t known how to say the words to the girls. Knox’s accusations strengthened Duke’s claims about her.

  No! She wouldn’t address those thoughts now. There were more urgent matters at hand.

  Standing, Zoann snapped her medical bag closed and dusted off her legs.

  “We can’t leave Knox unattended,” Roxy protested.

  “The fuck we can’t,” Zoann snapped.

  “Nope, we can’t,” Meggie insisted. “He needs attention.”

  Offering Meggie the stink eye, Zoann knelt again. “He has a concussion,” she grouched.

  “We need to get him inside,” Roxy said.

  Knox. was a big man, tall and well-built, with well-defined abs that she loved touching. She couldn’t see much of his toned body now because he was dressed in trousers and a button-down. That didn’t matter, though. His muscles were imprinted in her mind.

  “Get ‘Law, MegAnn,” CJ instructed. “Him can get Uncle Knox inside.” He tipped his head back to see if his mother agreed.

  Meggie grinned at him and ruffled his hair. “We don’t want Daddy or any of your other uncles near Uncle Knox,” she said.

  CJ nodded, then thought for a second. “Aunt Kenda…Kendall,” he corrected. “Aunt KenDall?”

  “You know how to say her name, potato.”

  “I like Aunt Kenda better,” CJ informed Meggie. “Aunt Zo let me call her Aunt Zo and don’t get mad and try to beat me, Mommie. Why Aunt KenDall gotta be so mean?”

  Meggie stared off into the distance and her chin wobbled. “She doesn’t mean to be, CJ. Aunt Kendall has a lot of problems.”

  “Yeah,” Zoann agreed as Knox moaned again. “Bitch crazy.”

  “A psycho cunt like ‘Law say?” CJ asked.

  “Christoppphhheeerrr,” Meggie moaned, then gave her son a sharp stare. “Do not call Aunt Kendall those names. It isn’t nice.”

  “Why, MegAnn? ‘Law say those names and he nice.”

  “Daddy is very nice,” Meggie agreed. “He’s also a grown man. You aren’t. You’re a little boy and you have to respect adults.”

  “What were you going to say about Kendall, bud?” Bunny asked after a moment of silence while CJ considered Meggie’s words.

  “’Law say herlike a big, strong man tree.” He ignored their collective gasps. “Don’t that mean Aunt KenDall coulda pick up Uncle Knox and bring him inside?”

  “No, of course not!” Meggie said in annoyance. “Kendall is as delicate as the rest of the women.”

  CJ grinned at her. “Mommie beat that bitch ass!” he said with glee. “’Law say that. Him talk about it a lot.”

  “Let’s see to Uncle Knox,” Meggie ordered on a sniff. “Later, you, me and Daddy are sitting down and talking.”

  “Mama, what happened?” Bailey asked as CJ turned to Meggie, buried his face against her stomach and sniffled. “When you called, the only thing I got from you was that Lucas was going to kill Knox.”

  “I want to be dead,” Knox whined. “If I can’t have Roxanne, I don’t want to live. Outlaw is an ignorant idiot and I fucking hate that you drive around in that ugly purple Navigator, but I don’t care. If you want a stupid asshole in our family, I don’t care.”

  “Shut up, mudna fucka!” CJ yelled, struggling to get out of Meggie’s hold. “’Law not stupid. ‘Law smart!” He strained, grunting in his efforts. “Let me go, Mommie! Ima make this mudna fucka bleed.”

  “Oh, shut up, Baby Thug,” Knox slurred. “You’re lucky Roxanne loves you, or I’d take a belt to your little ass.”

  “You think?” Meggie glared at the back of Knox’s head. “You touch my son and I’ll take a belt to you.”

  “Somebody needs to get control of that fucking kid and it isn’t you, Blondie.”

  “Knox, that’s enough!” Roxy demanded. “You can’t want my fucking ass if you’re still being an insulting motherfucker.”

  “Roxanne?” Knox breathed, attempting to stand. Between the alcohol and the hits, he fell flat on his ass each time he tried to get to his feet. “I love you. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean anything I said. I’m just so frustrated and that’s the way I handle it.”

  He wasn’t sober or coherent enough for an in-depth conversation, but she needed to get through to him, so he’d stay out of the meatshack.

  Roxy knelt in front of him and took his hand. Though he looked haggard and drawn, in her eyes, he was still beautiful. She brought his hand to her face and rubbed her cheek against his palm, her eyes filling with tears again. “Knox,” she whispered, gliding her fingers through his silky hair. “I didn’t question why you proposed to me. I just thought it was because you loved me. That’s what I wanted to believe. I saw no problem with Mortician separating us until after the wedding because…” Her voice trailed off. They’d had this conversation too many times.

  He got to his knees. If she hadn’t grabbed him and wrapped her arms around his waist, he would’ve toppled over again.

  “The truth is you never wanted to marry me.” Her voice caught.

  “Oh, Mama,” Bailey said again.

  Knox pulled Roxy closer. “Roxanne, please believe me. Please. I do want to marry you. Please. Take my ring back.”

  The ring. Right. She’d felt it was bad luck from the moment he’d put it on her finger.

  “Please. I’ll give you my fortune. I’ll do anything you ask of me.”

  “Knox, there are some things you just don’t recover from,” she told him. “And the things you said to me…Hurt.”

  Knox bowed down and wrapped his arms around her thighs. “Please, baby. Please. Forgive me. I tried to drink the horrible words away. I tried to drink away the memory of you giving me my ring back. I tried to drink away my loneliness. I don’t even know how I got home. I might’ve walked. But I don’t care!” He tightened his hold on her. “Please!”

  “Knox, stop! You’re embarrassing yourself.”

  “I embarrassed you. I deserve to have the same happen to me.”

  Roxy tugged at his shoulder. “What happens when you get frustrated again? I’m not going to live my life listening to your putdowns and insults because you’re fucking frustrated. I’m not going to live my life wondering if you married me because you really loved me or because you were afraid to die.”

  Getting to his knees again, he took her face between his hands.
“You don’t want us to end. I can see it. I know you’ve been crying. I know how you look after Duke hurts you.”

  Roxy yanked her face away and guided him to a sitting position and then stood. “You also know what he says to crush my soul. It was unworthy of you to imply the same things. He sees me as garbage, and so do you.”

  Knox laid on the ground. “That isn’t true. I see you as a beautiful, smart, witty, strong woman. Just tell me what I have to do?”

  “Nothing,” she reiterated. “What can you do? We have nothing in common, even though I tried to believe otherwise. These boys are all tatted up. They wear leather. They ride Harleys. They—”

  “They have nothing to do with us, Roxanne,” he interrupted, sounding so pathetic Roxy almost felt sorry for him.

  “They do, sugar,” she said sadly. “They are the main problem you have with me. You put yourself above them. They are my family. Kendall is my family. You think I don’t know how much you dislike her? Outlaw is like a son to me. Mortician protects me just the way he protects my baby girl. It might not strictly be for my ass, but that doesn’t matter. He still watches out for me. I’m part of this club, this world, and you don’t want to be.”

  A burst of male laughter and amused voices carried on the wind. Roxy went on alert. The Fearsome Five were returning. To finish Knox off?

  “Do you have the ring with you?” she demanded.

  “In my pocket,” he told her. “I’ll keep it with me until the day you put it back on your finger.”

  “That day is today,” she rushed out, as Mortician, Outlaw, Johnnie, Digger and Val appeared on the pathway, carrying bottles of alcohol and talking amongst themselves as if they hadn’t been planning a gruesome murder. She patted Knox’s shirt pocket.

  “It’s in my left trouser pocket,” he told her.

  She leaned over him, shoved her hand in and retrieved the diamond engagement ring.

  Knox groaned. “You feel so good leaning against my cock. I need to fuck you so bad.”