As if that worked.
On cue, Mortician said, “Gold digger? What the fuck he talking about?”
“He’s just repeating what Duke said to me,” she blurted, turning to face Mortician, and shielding Knox with her body.
“No, my love! It was me. All me. I called you so many horrible names. I don’t deserve to live. I don’t want to live if you won’t forgive me.”
The intakes of breath and heated curses alarmed her.
“I forgive you, Knox.”
“NO! NO!” He pointed at her. “You listen to me, Roxanne,” he slurred. “You’re not a cougar who is trying to lead me around by my dick. You’re not trying to force these degenerates on me. I know you don’t think I’m Santa Claus.”
“Knox—” she started.
An arm wrapped around her waist. She struggled against the iron-hold, winning her freedom. On her feet again, she met Outlaw’s grim look.
“Time for us to take the fuck over, Roxanne,” he said.
Mortician yanked Knox to his feet. Roxy rushed to his other side and grabbed his hand, tugging with all her might.
“No!” Knox cried. “Let them kill me. I don’t deserve to live.”
“You sure the fuck don’t,” Mortician answered, yanking Knox toward him.
Roxy stumbled. Outlaw’s quick reflexes allowed him to steady her.
“This is personal shit, boys. This is between Knox and me. It’s not your business,” she added, because nothing she said seemed to matter. She rushed to Knox again as Mortician bent and started to toss Knox over his shoulder.
“Not our business?” Outlaw lifted her again, set her down, and then blocked her way. “What the fuck that mean?”
“Yeah, Rox,” Digger added, “me and Mort fucked up our own old man. The club helped us get him and that was fucking personal.”
“The fuck it was,” Outlaw said in a hard voice. Harder, since he’d been sounding pretty fucking cold for the last several minutes.
“Prez, for you it wasn’t,” Digger responded. “For me and Mort? Yeah. If Sharper didn’t come in our momma we wouldn’t been born. That make it personal as a motherfucker.”
Snickering at the discussion of cum and mothers, Mortician started down the steps, a limp Knox thrown over his shoulder. Roxy didn’t know if he’d passed out or if Mortician had knocked him out.
“John Boy,” Mortician called, the words floating over his shoulder, “stay with Roxanne, while we work on Knox in the meatshack.”
“No, no, no!” Roxy cried, starting down the steps to stop this death march.
Johnnie blocked her, allowing Mortician to continue on, with Outlaw, Digger and Val behind him. Only one way she could stop them.
Later, when Knox was safe, she’d send him away. Only a drastic reversal would sway her to marry him, so this was a temporary fix to save his life.
“Stop them, Johnnie. I love Knox. We just had a misunderstanding.” She heaved in air. “I still intend to marry him.”
Johnnie’s eyes widened. He studied her a moment, so she nodded, to reaffirm her statement.
“Fuck,” he growled, and turned on his heel. “Call Meggie,” he ordered, then took off running.
“This can’t be right,” Meggie mumbled, using the syringe to suck up pee from the cup, then squeezing drips out onto the stick. Sitting on the toilet, she put the timer on her FitBit, ignored the other pregnancy tests that told the tale, and waited.
Days ago, she’d told Doc Will that she needed to see her—the night of Meggie’s fight with Kendall—but she hadn’t gotten around to it. A visit was imperative now.
She kept putting off her visit to Doc Will, but she could no longer do so.
The urge to vomit had awakened her early this morning, so she’d rushed to the bathroom and gave into the nausea demon.
She hadn’t been feeling well for a few days. Since the fight, she’d been dragging.
On so many levels, that confrontation had just devastated Meggie. She’d taken up for Kendall, against her own beloved CJ, and that witch still put her hands on her child. Even when she said she wouldn’t, Meggie had given Kendall chance after chance. For every reaction Kendall had, Meggie had felt an action had precipitated it.
But Kendall would never change. She didn’t take her illness serious. She didn’t take her family into consideration. And she didn’t look toward the future. All in all, she was so poisoned with hatred that it would take drastic actions for Kendall to change.
That realization, too, had devastated Meggie. Then the news of Roxy and Knox’s break-up had taken precedence and Meggie had set her hurt over Kendall aside. On the days she hadn’t felt well, she’d chalked it up to stress and worry.
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 di
dn’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 instructed 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 agree
d 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.”
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