Misrule

by Kelly, Kathryn C.

  “I’m not that easy to bring down, Roxanne,” Mortician said flatly.

  Roxanne jerked herself out of Mortician’s hold. “I was just greeting my man before I talked to him, motherfucker.”

  Knox pulled her behind him and straightened to his full height, staring at Mortician with cool authority. “I resent your interference and it ends now.”

  Mortician looked him up and down, then back up again before laughing in his face. “Not. Your bitch of a momma insulted Meggie, Bunny, Zoann, Roxanne, and most of fucking all, Bailey.”

  Knox flushed in anger, his blood boiling with the need to call the enforcer out.

  “Enough, Mortician. You will not disrespect my mother by calling her out of her name. You will keep your nose out of my relationship with Roxanne.” Glaring at him, Knox hoped his expression conveyed his rage. “You can’t get away with your dictatorial attitude. I take it from Outlaw because I like living, but I don’t have to take a goddamn thing from you.”

  “Knox, Mortician, stop this,” Roxanne demanded, trying to scoot around Knox, but was unable to because he’d boxed her in. She stood between him and the corner of a wall.

  “If I don’t stand up for my momma-in-law, who the fuck else going to do it? I’m the only goddamn man in her family, so it’s my fucking job to protect her.”

  “Mortician!” Roxanne said in exasperation. “This is the 21st Century. I can take care of my own damn self.”

  “After you walk down the aisle,” Mortician insisted. “He real close to his momma, Roxanne. What if she put a bug in his ear about not marrying you and he end up listening to her?”

  “Knox wouldn’t do that,” Roxanne said with a certainty that filled Knox with pride. “He loves me and I love him. He proved it by asking me to marry him without even mentioning a prenup like most wealthy men would have. He knows I’m his ride or die chick.”

  Folding his arms, Mortician smirked at Knox, who stood unable to move at Roxanne’s words. Did she really expect him to marry her with no legal protection in place?

  “Some things not as they seem, Roxanne,” Mortician said quietly. “His momma insulted the whole fucking bunch of you, with the exception of Kendall. That type of shit go deep. Knox not just changing overnight. No matter what the fuck he say. Your ass might be dickmitized but I’m sure the fuck not.”

  “Move, Knox,” Roxanne ordered, shoving his shoulder.

  Sighing, Knox stepped aside and allowed her space to look at each of them, first left, and then right. Her light brown eyes lingered on Knox.

  He saw her tenderness, her trust, and her love. In her eyes, on her face, he saw that Roxanne truly did believe in the fairytale. That marriages lasted. They survived any and everything, even despite her previous failures.

  “Mortician, sugar,” she started, breaking her intense gaze with Knox to look at her son-in-law. “What you’re doing is so old-fashioned and chivalrous. You’re trying to protect my honor and I will appreciate that to my dying day. But this is my choice to make and I want Knox beside me, in our bed.”

  Mortician squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I might be a fucking hypocrite for keeping you from him, but there’s too much shit going on. Who knows what disagreement you’ll have before the wedding? He might want something that you don’t and decide to breakup with you if he don’t get it.” His face remained blank, not giving away the truth, gotten from Knox himself, behind those words. “Same with you.”

  “There’s nothing that Knox would ask that he knows I wouldn’t be willing to give him,” Roxanne insisted, which not only annoyed Knox but sent guilt through him.

  Mortician shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Knox waited for the interfering asshole to tell Roxanne about the prenup.

  “You from two different worlds, Roxanne,” Mortician said instead, sounding weary. “You from our world and he’s from the other. One percenters, on different ends of the spectrum. We, this side of the one percent, accept you for who you are. His doesn’t.”

  Roxanne studied Mortician a moment. “If you have something to tell me, spit it out. I’m not reading between the lines, Mortician.”

  He shrugged. “I’m saying exactly what I need to say. If there’s more, it’s up to Knox to talk.”

  She glanced at Knox. “Is there more?”

  “No.” The lie fell from his mouth in a rush. Her emotions were running high. He didn’t want to risk her wrath by bringing up the prenup.

  Mortician glared at him, but since Roxanne’s head was turned, she didn’t see the flare of anger.

  Knox refused to budge. When he got her to sign the legal document, he intended to take her to dinner and discuss his reasoning. He wasn’t just going to spring it on her in front of a man who didn’t know how to mind his own business.

  “I’m ready to leave, Roxanne,” Mortician announced.

  “Good for you, boy,” she retorted. “I’m not.”

  “We can do this easily,” Mortician started, “or I can knock Knox the fuck out and then carry you out. Your choice.”

  Knox narrowed his eyes. “I’m sick of the threats around here.”

  “You need another punch or something? You already on my bad fucking side. Don’t fucking push it.”

  “Get over him wanting me with him,” Roxanne said, misunderstanding Mortician’s meaning.

  “And, you right, Knox. I’m not Outlaw. But I will kill you. As a matter of fact, I’ve lost fucking count of how many motherfuckers I fucked up. Enforcer. Remember? When I go to enforce club law, if death warranted, that’s what the fuck you get.”

  “This is getting the fuck out of hand,” Roxanne shouted, planting her hands on her hips. “Knox is on the No-Kill list.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Knox blurted, appalled. “There’s a No-Kill list?”

  “Yeah, sugar,” she said matter-of-factly, frowning in his direction. “It’s a short list and mainly for Outlaw. Meggie made him put Kendall, Val and Johnnie on it.”

  “Roxanne, I don’t want your heart broken,” Mortician said. “That’s it. Once he put the ring on your finger, your relationship yours to handle. I swear I won’t interfere.”

  Lifting her chin, she folded her arms. “I’ll agree as long as you put him on the No-Kill list.”

  “The list belong to Prez,” Mortician reminded her. “Talk to him.”

  “So everyone is fine that that psychopath has a No-Kill list like we’re a bunch of animals?” Knox demanded.

  “We the only ones that know,” Mortician informed him.

  “Yeah, just Outlaw’s inner circle,” Roxanne added.

  Knox glared at her. “What? I’m not part of his group where this is concerned? You didn’t think this was information I needed to know?”

  “I thought I mentioned it to you, sugar,” Roxanne said, waving her hand as if having a No-Kill list wasn’t a big deal. “If I didn’t, it was just an oversight.” She leaned in to give him a kiss. He wrapped her in his arms, reveling in her nearness and the feel of her so close to him.

  Mortician allowed the kiss to go on, until Roxanne pulled back, and thumbed Knox’s lips.

  “You got my lipstick on you,” she said with a grin.

  “I don’t mind, sweetheart,” he said gruffly. “It marks your territory. Allows everyone to see I’m taken.”

  “Damn straight,” she said, a little breathless. She backed out of Knox’s embrace and looked at Mortician.

  The disgusted look on the man’s face almost made Knox laugh.

  “I need to talk to Knox.”

  Mortician opened his mouth to speak, but Roxanne raised her hand.

  “Five minutes.”

  “Fine,” Mortician conceded. “I’ll be in the hallway. Leave the door open.”

  Rolling her eyes, Roxanne sniffed and stomped into the room Knox slept in. The enforcer’s interference hadn’t allowed Knox a chance to invite Roxanne in.

  “I could knock him out and have my wicked way with you,” Knox offered.

&n
bsp; Roxanne laughed, a musical sound that lit his soul. “Don’t bother. The boy’ll come to and be madder than a motherfucker. Besides, he’s just looking out for me.”

  Knox nodded. “I admire his determination and resolve.” As the words fell from his mouth, he realized he spoke the truth. Mortician took his duties as head of the family seriously.

  She stepped closer to him and placed her arms around his neck. “I lied, sugar. I don’t have anything to discuss with you. I just wanted to get in here so we can make out.”

  Chuckling, Knox wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve been dying to hear how the meeting with my mother went,” he said, interested to know her side. “From what Mortician said, it didn’t go well.”

  “It’s all good, Knox,” she said with an enigmatic look on her face. “Joan is just worried about you. She doesn’t want you to make the wrong choice. Mortician is just fired up because of the way Bailey must’ve explained the situation to him.”

  Knox settled his hands on Roxanne’s ass, and he patted one of her round cheeks. “If Bailey thought it was that bad, then my mother must’ve have been acting without any decorum.”

  Roxanne plastered a smile on her face. “Don’t worry, Knox. Joan and me are going to work things out. As a matter of fact, she’s planning the entire rehearsal dinner. No interference from me.”

  “And no interference from her as you and Bailey plan the ceremonies.”

  “My man has a big brain that he knows how to use,” Roxanne said, brushing her lips over his.

  Knox nipped her chin. “That’s not the only big thing that I have that I know how to use.”

  “We just have to find a way for you to use it again,” she whispered.

  “You could tell him to go and fuck himself.”

  “Maybe, I like what he’s doing,” she confessed. “I think a small part of me is a little overwhelmed, knowing I’m marrying a Harrington. As I keep saying, I don’t want to wake up and find this is a dream. Or, worse, have you decided that you really don’t want to spend your life with me.”

  “Hey, hey.” He took her face between his hands, hating the hint of sadness. “Don’t ever think I doubt my feelings for you. I’ll be at your side through thick and thin.”

  “I believe that you will. It’s just a little overwhelming sometimes. I wonder how your friends and family will mix with mine.”

  Not good or not at all, but Knox kept that to himself.

  “I want our wedding day to be perfect.”

  “It will be,” he said with certainty. “Whatever you want, however you want it, is yours. I’ll never, ever leave you.”

  The sadness on her face tore at Knox.

  “Johnnie said something similar to Kendall.” Moving his arms away from her, Roxanne stepped back. “But she called me, Knox. I could barely understand her, she was crying so much. She’s heartbroken because she thinks her marriage is over. I don’t know how to comfort her.”

  “Whatever is going on, she brought on herself,” Knox reminded her, knowing full well what happened. He’d watched it in real time. “I know you love her, but, you have to admit Kendall is a handful. You can’t fault Johnnie for getting tired of her bullshit.”

  “Kendall is as important to me as the rest of the girls. I want to fix this for her.”

  “You can’t. Only she can. If Johnnie is still available to her.”

  “Johnnie has a lot to do with how she is. He said shit to her, did shit, that made her act out. Between him and her illness, the child didn’t have a chance. Outlaw forces deference to Meggie. Kendall got into shit because she wanted to show her husband, Outlaw, and the club, that she was as good or better than that little girl.”

  “None of those women are little girls,” Knox pointed out.

  “I know. Not even my Bailey. I’m just so angry with Johnnie for the way he hurt Kendall. I want to deball that bitch.”

  “Er, Johnnie, right?”

  “Yes. That’s the bitch I’m talking about. Kendall’s been hurt enough in her life. I have no use for motherfuckers who hurt her just because she exists.”

  “Then you must have a use for everyone since their retaliation is justified. She’s done something to almost all the people at the club.”

  “With the exception of you and me.”

  Knox begged to differ. She’d pretended she was on his side during his investigation of Outlaw, then had secretly recorded Knox admitting to wanting to take the club down. After she’d played Knox, she’d threatened to expose him to Johnnie and Outlaw. He’d hated her ever since.

  She sighed and covered her face. “This is such a clusterfuck, Knox. On the one hand you’re right, but on the other hand, I feel so sorry for her.”

  “She’s a big girl, sweetheart. She can fend for herself.”

  “Kendall is fragile and vulnerable.”

  “Time way up,” Mortician called from the hallway.

  “Kendall has made her bed, so she has to lie in it,” Knox replied to Roxanne, ignoring Mortician.

  “I know you don’t care for her because of how she protected Johnnie, but she was only doing what any good woman would do for her man. You need to get over that incident, because Kendall is very important to me.”

  Knox didn’t comment, since there wasn’t much to say. The argument could go round and round all night, and neither of them would change their minds.

  “I’m going to call you in a little while,” Roxanne said, stealing another kiss, then walking into the hallway and closing the door behind her.

  She called it a clusterfuck. Times ten.

  Roxanne thought he wouldn’t ask her to sign a prenup, while he was still determined to do so. Meanwhile, Kendall was falling apart and Roxanne wanted to comfort and protect her, while Knox intended to do everything in his power to see the woman gone forever.

  Dead.

  Shit! It just proved how worthless Outlaw’s ridiculous No-Kill list really was.

  Knox hated the precarious position he found himself in, one in which nothing good could come out of his dilemma.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Taking care with her appearance, Roxy dressed in a hot pink, ruched wrap, body-con dress that she paired with black thigh-high boots. She kept her hair simple, her jewelry non-existent, and her make-up pared down to lipstick.

  She opened her front door, slow and careful, not wanting to make the smallest sound. The cold air hit her, but she ignored it. Hopefully, Knox would warm her up soon enough. Morning fog hung low and swirled through the trees, giving it a scary-movie-evil-psychopath aura. The same scenery that said you will be fucked up also hid her from the guards Mortician had posted. Motherfucker didn’t know that Roxy had caught on he allowed the guards to grab shut-eye in the garage during the hours they thought she was asleep.

  Wrapping her arms around herself, Roxy hurried along the path, cursing herself for not taking a coat. It was the second week in March, so she figured she’d be fine. Her dress had three-quarter sleeves but the material was thin, and underneath her pussy was out.

  If Mortician ruined her plan, she’d kill him. Focusing on the reward instead of the cold, Roxy rushed along the pathway, happy that she didn’t run into any of the guys. It was just slightly earlier than her normal time she went to the club, but sometimes she’d find Val or Digger, even Outlaw, already heading out.

  This morning, all was quiet and clear. Leaving the fog behind also allowed her to enjoy the peacefulness. She finally cleared the pathway, reaching the edge of the parking lot. A couple of minutes more and she made it to the door. Inside, she found the main room dark, but the warmth quite welcoming. Instead of flipping on the lights, then heading to kitchen as usual, she darted to the hallway and turned left, colliding with a hard, male body.

  “You made it,” Knox whispered, wrapping her in his arms.

  It was dark so she could barely see him, but she felt his muscles and his warmth, smelled the scent of the soap he used, and pressed against his rock-hard cock.

  �
�I…you’re really here.” He threaded his fingers through her hair.

  “Did you fucking doubt me?” she asked with a grin.

  Knox didn’t respond, and instead, covered her mouth with his.

  “You’re so fucking delicious,” he said between kisses.

  “Some parts more than others.”

  “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go to my room.”

  That was safer and more logical, but Roxy had something else in mind, something she’d always wanted to do. “No, Knox. We don’t have time for that. Besides, we couldn’t hear if Mortician came in.”

  “What--?”

  “Follow me.” The words were rhetorical because she took his hand into hers and pulled him into the main room. “I’ve always wanted to fuck in the clubhouse.”

  “You have?” He sounded confused.

  “Yeah, sugar. I never have. It just seems so freeing.”

  She stopped at one of the stools in front of the bar.

  “This is so public.”

  Jumping up on the stool, she spread her thighs. “Neither me nor my pussy cares.” She grabbed his hand and pressed it against her mound.

  “Fuck, you’re actually wet.”

  She snapped her brows together. “Don’t sound like me having a juicy pussy is the eighth goddamn wonder of the world.”

  Thumbing her clit, he slipped two fingers inside of her. She groaned.

  “Never, sweetheart,” he whispered, running his tongue along the shell of her ear, igniting her senses. Goosebumps rose on her skin. “I know you have some lubrication. But…you just…we just—”

  “Need help,” she finished for him, throwing her neck back. “But the last time and this time my pussy has been suffering a cock drought.” She didn’t know why her pussy suddenly decided to moisten and refused to get into a discussion about this. She sucked his neck. “Who gives a fuck, Knox? Just fuck me. Me and your dick wondering why we’re still talking.”

  He chuckled. “Whatever my lady commands, I’m obliged to do.”