“Yeah, baby,” he said on a sigh. “What the fuck my ass suppose to do about Emily?”
“Have Riley pay her off. He had to have paid her when he found her.”
“Riley ain’t found her, baby. Kendall tracked Emily down. I just gave Knox the fuckin’ info I overheard and he contacted her for me.”
“Knox is involved too?” Megan gasped. “No! You’re joking.”
“Nope. This shit was top secret.” He explained his reasons why to her.
“I understand your point but, if Roxy finds out, she’ll never forgive Knox…I-I mean d-did he know what you intended?”
“Yeah. He can’t stand Kendall neither. His reason more fucked up, though. He hatin’ on her cuz she took Johnnie side over his when he came in to fuck over us.”
“See what I mean? She can’t win! You hate her because she’s disloyal and Knox hates her because she is loyal.”
“Nope. I hate that bitch cuz she a psycho cunt. Ain’t no other reason.”
“Make Knox send Emily away,” Megan ordered, not responding to his comment.
“Fuck, fine, baby. The bitch gone, and I swear I ain’t gonna do nothin’ to fuck Kendall up.”
He’d just have to go to Plan-fucking-B and force Johnnie to choose between staying in the club or divorcing Kendall. He’d make divorce sound quite beneficial to her. Then, once Johnnie was free of that bitch, she wouldn’t be fucking family so Christopher could shoot the fuck out of her himself.
Satisfied, he smiled.
“What are you thinking?”
Christopher cleared his throat. “Uh, how I ain’t riggin’ Kendall fuckin’ ride. I ain’t stuffin’ her in a cannon-fuckin-ball and shootin’ her the fuck outta it. I ain’t attachin’ her to a fuckin’ fishin’ rod and usin’ her for shark bait. I ain’t droppin’ her ass from a airplane over the North fuckin’ Pole for polar bears to feed off her. I ain’t boxin’ her and sendin’ her to the Nile for crocodiles to fuck her up. I ain’t throwin’ her in a snake pit or a lion’s den or a tank of piranhas.”
“Christopher!”
“Fuck, fine. I ain’t lookin’ for no bitch, nothin’, that’ll make her go fuckin’ psycho-er and fuck herself up. Happy?”
“You’re the psycho,” she grouched.
He brushed her lips over his own. “What the fuck I always say. My ass your psycho. You just gotta fuckin’ deal with it.”
“Forever and always,” she whispered.
Encouraged, he tugged her into the crook of his arm. She snuggled close to him and he smiled. At the brush of her swollen belly, his good mood fled.
“How you feelin’, baby?”
“Fine,” she said quietly, as if she was anything but.
“You ain’t been goin’ to checkups every-fuckin-week like fuckin’ usual? You ain’t goin’ to no high’risk doctor?” After she lost Patrick, Megan had to be closely monitored with each new pregnancy.
“Huh?”
She’d just forgiven him, so he managed to hold onto his temper. “You not in no danger?”
She went silent.
“When the next time you go for a fuckin’ checkup?” he pressed.
She tensed. To keep her from moving away, he tightened his hold on her.
“What would you have said if I found out I was sixteen or twenty weeks pregnant?” she asked after a moment of silence.
Christopher glowered at the ceiling.
“There’s such as thing as cryptic pregnancy,” Megan explained. “In so many words, the baby hides himself from his mother because she’s under so much stress.”
Growing angrier by the minute, Christopher studied the top of her head. “Just what the fuck you tryna tell me, Megan?” he’d demanded.
She cleared her throat. “Nothing. It’s just a scenario.”
“Okay, baby. Then think of my motherfuckin’ scenario. If you woulda be that fuckin’ far along that would meant all that bullshit Kendall and Mystic and those motherfuckers put you through was affectin’ you a-fuckin-lot. That also woulda meant that I put my kid in you be-fuckin-fore my dick snip flip. All my fuckin’ pain and sufferin’ woulda been for fuckin’ nothin’, so I woulda fucked that motherfucker up. Ain’t no way you woulda stopped my ass neither, Megan, cuz he ain’t a fuckin’ family member.”
“Yeah, so you’ve said before,” Megan mumbled with misery.
“Wait a fuckin’ minute. You tellin’ my ass you five fuckin’ months?”
She sniffled.
He should just tell her the motherfucker she was trying to protect was already fucked. The news would only upset her more. In the interest of her health and peace-of-mind, Christopher dropped the subject and decided he’d follow her lead.
He didn’t want anybody stressing her out—himself included.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Sitting in the same restaurant she’d met Kendall at so many weeks ago, Emily waved her hand when she saw the redhead walk in and stop at the hostess stand. Kendall nodded at Emily, then spoke to the hostess and pointed to the table. A moment later, she was gliding in Emily’s direction. She was confident and stunning. Though she was separated from Johnnie, she still had his devotion. And, maybe, even his love.
Emily loathed her.
Kendall slid into the opposite side of booth. “Receiving a call from you was quite the surprise. I’m on my way to a fitting for a wedding I’m in, so I left a little earlier to give you the courtesy of hearing you out.”
Emily offered a thin smile. “When I heard from you, you could’ve knocked me over with a feather. You’re the last person I ever thought would want to talk to me.”
“What can I do for you today, Emily? You said you had important news for me, and you refused to tell me over the telephone.”
At first, Emily’s important news was going to be Outlaw’s plans for Kendall. She decided against that. He was ghosting her, not answering her calls. She’d had Knox Harrington deliver a final check to her with a note that said her services were no longer needed. Between Johnnie backing away from her and Outlaw dismissing her, Emily’s fury ran deep. She couldn’t let their slights go unanswered. It would be easy to tell Kendall Outlaw’s secret. Then, she’d go to Johnnie, and the two bikers would kill each other over the betrayal. However, if by some chance Johnnie survived, it would only bring him and Kendall back together. In essence, Kendall would still come out the winner.
That was the last thing Emily wanted to happen. She came up with a new plan. She didn’t need to go after the men. Their women would serve her purposes just as well. Two, in particular.
Bowing her head, Emily pulled out her phone, opened the messages it seemed as if Johnnie sent, and handed them to Kendall.
She frowned. “I’m not interested in seeing your phone, Emily.”
The cool tone and superior expression irked Emily. “These are from Johnnie.”
Surprise slid across Kendall’s face. “Johnnie?”
“Yes, hon,” Emily answered with false regret. “John Donovan. Your husband. See his phone number at the top?”
Kendall gasped, stared at the phone, then snatched it. The shock transformed into anger and, finally, despair.
Stifling laughter, Emily flipped her hair, imagining Kendall reading the text that said Johnnie didn’t care that Emily had been Kendall’s childhood nemesis because her pussy was so good. Better than Kendall’s.
Tears rushed to Kendall’s eyes and her face flushed.
Maybe, Kendall had gotten to the message that said she was ten times the woman Kendall could ever hope to be.
She sniffled. “He’s started divorce proceedings?”
“You didn’t know?” Emily tsked. “He won’t break his marriage vows and sleep with me before you can go your separate ways legally. He’s such an honorable man. I’m so lucky to have found him.”
Throwing the phone down, Kendall got to her feet, tears streaking her face.
Emily sipped from her glass of water and smiled at Kendall. “Seems I’m the better woman aft
er all.”
Kendall sucked in a breath, released a sob, and then fled the restaurant.
Proud of her accomplishment, Emily lifted the water in salute to herself, and laughed with delight. She was starving, so she’d order food before putting the next part of her plan in motion.
Kendall had always been so easy to manipulate. With her life in shambles, she wouldn’t believe she had a reason to live. Megan Caldwell, on the other hand, would be handled differently.
Kendall would take care of herself, but Emily intended to personally deal with Outlaw’s wife.
Sitting under a tree, near the creek she and Johnnie had talked by a few weeks ago, Meggie skimmed a rock across the water.
She wouldn’t be able to hide from Christopher how far along she was in her pregnancy for much longer. She’d awakened this morning, looking swollen. More swollen than she had been the past couple of days. Between blurry vision and a severe headache, she’d wanted to stay in bed today. Then, she remembered she needed to get to the Whittlestones’ shop for a fitting. Christopher was still working on a deal with a man named Amfinger. Knowing it was the stress of her deception getting to her, Meggie decided to keep how bad she felt to herself and go on about her day.
As she’d left Hortensia, she’d been overcome with dizziness and an awful pain in her back. Both had passed. Since she’d been much closer to the park than to the clubhouse, she’d headed there. After parking she’d sat in her car and realized she wouldn’t be able to make it to the fitting. By then, she’d been sure, all the girls had left. She didn’t want to dampen their day, so she’d sent Roxy and Bailey a text, stating she couldn’t make it to the shop.
The thought to call Krag, Webster, Pete, or Talbot crossed her mind, but one was as bad as the other. They’d just fuss at her and berate her.
Sighing, Meggie rested against the tree trunk, her eyes sliding close. She was suddenly so tired. Maybe, a short nap would rejuvenate her and allow her to get home before Christopher ever realized she hadn’t shown up to the fitting.
Stumbling into her bathroom, Kendall set her note down on the counter, then stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was limp and her eyes were red-rimmed. Her face looked pale and washed-out.
She looked completely broken. And she was. She couldn’t do this anymore. Life was just too hard. Too heartbreaking.
Too lonely.
Roxy and Bailey had been calling her. She’d been due to meet them at the Whittlestones. Instead, after leaving Emily, Kendall had come home, ignoring her ringing telephone and the numerous texts.
On her way up the stairs, she made a monumental decision, so she’d gone to her bedroom and written a note. One day, someone would find her. By then, she probably would’ve decomposed beyond recognition. Roxy called her every day, but she had yet to visit.
Maybe, after a week or two of Kendall not answering, Roxy would decide it was time to see about her in person. Of course, there was Charlotte, but she wanted Kendall to be a certain way, act a certain way. Charlotte pressured Kendall to make decisions she didn’t want to make.
She was all alone.
Tears streaming down her face, Kendall opened the first prescription bottle and poured the contents into her hands. Grabbing the glass she kept near her toothpaste, she filled it with water, shoved the pills into her mouth and washed them down.
She gagged, spitting a few out.
But she was determined. Johnnie and Emily as a couple was just too much for Kendall to bear. Of all the women in the world, he’d chosen the one who hated Kendall the most.
A sob escaped her. She opened the next prescription bottle. Bypassing her hand, she upended the contents into her mouth.
Heat rose around her and nausea churned in her belly. The room spun around her and she fell to her knees, her stomach heaving.
Grabbing the third bottle, Kendall’s hand trembled. Somehow, she managed to swallow most of the pills. Once she swallowed the last of her pills, she grabbed her phone.
The screen and keypad were so blurry. Her heart pounded in her chest, its beat rising in her ears. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, but knew she’d never finish the text, so she wrote one, simple word, and pressed send.
Bye
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
“Baby, thank you for riding with me to Kendall’s,” Roxy said, making the turn-off onto the street that led to Kendall’s house.
“No problem, Momma,” Bailey responded.
The other girls were so fed-up with Kendall, they’d decided to head back to the clubhouse rather than roll with Roxy to see why she hadn’t shown up to the fitting and why she wasn’t answering her phone. Something didn’t seem right to Roxy. Kendall had been very excited to be a part of the wedding. Roxy didn’t believe she’d stay away if not for a drastic reason.
Of course, maybe, because Meggie hadn’t sounded herself when she’d called and said she wouldn’t make it to the fitting, Roxy was panicking for no reason. Hopefully, that was the case.
Roxy pulled behind Kendall’s Navigator. “I won’t be long,” she promised.
“Take your time,” Bailey answered, pulling her cell phone from her purse. “I’ll call Lucas.”
Smiling, Roxy got out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She walked up the steps, then rang the doorbell. Noting the attached camera, she waved.
“It’s me, baby,” she said just in case Kendall was looking at the monitor and wishing she had a key. The same unease that Roxy had been feeling for most of the day slid into her again.
Just as she rang the bell a second time, her phone rang. She’d already given Grant a special ring, so she knew it was him calling.
“Hey, sugar,” she answered. The little boy had made a lot of strides since he’d moved to Hortensia.
“Hi, Roxy,” he answered. “Can I have some ice cream? I asked Dad but he told me to call you.”
Roxy hadn’t wanted to push him, and she hadn’t wanted to get in the way of him and Knox’s time together. Father and son needed each other, now more than ever. Or so she thought. Knox was determined to put her in the role of Grant’s maternal figure. As long as the boy didn’t mind it, Roxy loved it, and she’d told Knox that. Grant had one mother. Just because Callie was gone didn’t change that fact.
“Can I, Roxy?”
“Sure, sugar. But just one scoop and in a bowl. Don’t add sugar with a fucking cone.” she answered.
He laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m not going to be much longer, baby,” she promised.
“Okay, I’ll be here. Dad has a big surprise for you, too, so hurry up.”
“I can’t wait to see what it is,” she said honestly, her mind running away with all types of possibilities.
Maybe, they’d make love? Now that Roxy and Knox had made up, not only was he sticking to learning how to ride and getting a tattoo but he was also adhering to Mortician’s dictate that they live separately until the wedding. Roxy suspected it had a lot to do with the camaraderie he was finding with the guys. The riding lessons were one big party.
“Um, Roxy, what size is your ring finger?” Grant blurted.
Roxy went on alert. “A size seven. Why?”
He gasped. “Oh! Uh, no reason. Gotta go! Bye, Roxy.”
Chuckling as she disconnected, Roxy wondered if that meant what she thought it did. Had Knox really replaced her engagement ring? She knew the sentimental value his great-great grandmother’s ring held for the Harrington family.
“Momma, is everything okay?” Bailey called.
Roxy turned and waved to her daughter, who stood on the running board to look over the SUV.
“Kendall still hasn’t answered the door,” she responded.
A moment of guilt hit Roxy. If she hadn’t been so wrapped up in her wedding plans, then her breakup, then wedding plans again, she would’ve been giving Kendall more time. She hadn’t visited the girl at her new house once. Her behavior toward Kendall was a crying shame.
“Have yo
u tried knocking?” Bailey asked as she bounded up the steps and onto the porch. She went to the door and turned the knob.
Finding it unlocked, they gained entry. Shocked, Roxy and Bailey frowned at each other.
“Wait, baby.” Marching back to her Navigator, Roxy grabbed her purse and pulled out her pink gun. Maybe, Kendall hadn’t been answering because she couldn’t.
“Oh my God, Momma!” Bailey cried, when Roxy joined her on the porch again, gun in hand. “Put that away. Let me call Lucas.”
“You call Mortician, while I find Kendall.”
“Mama!”
Ignoring Bailey, Roxy went into the house. She barely saw the décor in her worry.
“Kendall?” she called, her gun cocked, loaded, and raised. “Where are you, sugar?”
No answer.
An eerie feeling rushed over Roxy at the silence.
“Kendall!”
Holding her gun with both hands to make sure her grip was good, Roxy went from room-to-room, but found no one or nothing that looked out of the ordinary.
Except something was. She felt it in her bones, in the hairs standing up on her skin, and the goosebumps traveling along her spine.
She reached the entrance hall again and stopped at the bottom of the staircase. “KENDALL!”
“Momma, Lucas is on his way,” Bailey said, a touch of fear in her voice.
They looked at each other, then up the staircase. It seemed a long, lonely trek to the second floor, when it was no bigger than any other staircases Roxy had seen.
“Stay here and wait for Mortician,” Roxy instructed, starting up the stairs.
Bailey’s hand on her forearm halted her. “Momma, wait. It might not be safe.”
“Trust me. I’m going to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Before Bailey could protest any further, Roxy barreled upstairs, ready to keep her promise.
Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books Page 507
