An Outlaw Valentine

by Kathryn Kelly

  “CJ, get to the playroom with Rory,” Kendall ordered briskly.

  “Baby, not now,” Roxy started, her voice thick.

  “Yes, now,” Kendall said through gritted teeth. “That’s why he’s so spoiled.”

  “Red,” Mortician began, grabbing her arm. “Meggie…”

  “Where’s Meggie?” she demanded. “I’ll talk to her myself. She always makes me look like a bad mother, when we all know she is.” She pointed to a teary-eyed CJ, hating him for looking like Christopher.

  “Hey, Ro,” CJ started, sniffling. “MegAnn gone.”

  “You idiotic little brat!” Kendall screeched. “My son’s name is Rory, not Ro.” Grabbing CJ’s arm, she yanked him off Roxy’s lap. He yelped and she smiled, until he burst into louder tears and held his shoulder. She shook him. “Are you too stupid or too ignorant to remember that?”

  “Get your fucking hands off him,” Zoann snarled, racing from her seat and attempting to pull CJ from her.

  Kendall held on tight.

  “Aunt Kenda, you a mean mudna fucka, psycho bitch,” CJ cried, struggling against her hold.

  “CJ!” Zoann barked.

  Kendall shook CJ. “How dare you talk to me like that? I’m going to slap your tongue out of your mouth!” Tightening one hand on his upper arm, she balled her other hand into a fist to punch him in the face.

  “Red, you lost your fucking mind,” Mortician bellowed, grabbing her fist.

  “Kendall!” Roxy yelled, prying the stupid little, sobbing bastard out of Kendall’s hold and shoving her back. “Leave this baby alone, before I fuck you up. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Did you hear what he said to me?” Kendall lunged for CJ but Mortician held her tight.

  “Aunt Zoann, Aunt Kenda fight-in me,” CJ blared.

  “Enough!” Mortician boomed in the now silent club, abruptly releasing her. “Kendall, sit the fuck down and keep still. Roxy, calm yourself. Chester, if Red do one more thing to CJ, you got my permission to beat her ass to the ground. Rory.” He crooked his finger at her son. “You can sit at the table with us.”

  “No!” Kendall said. “I’m his mother. He’s following my orders. I refuse to allow him to turn into a piece of garbage like CJ.”

  “Kendall, you working on my last goddamn nerve with your bullshit,” Mortician said coldly, his manner one she’d never seen from him before. He glared at her, and she shrank back. “Right now, everybody following my fucking orders. Rory staying here with CJ and you shutting the fuck up. Understand?”

  Before she could say anything, Potter brought a chair for Rory, placed it near the podium, then lifted her son and sat him down.

  “CJ,” Mortician began. “Outlaw’ll be here soon.”

  “With Mommie?” he croaked.

  At those words, Kendall forgot her anger and hatred.

  Where was Meggie?

  “I can’t tell you that,” Mortician responded gently to CJ. “If he don’t find her today, he’ll find her soon.”

  That started a fresh round of tears from the brat. Mortician picked CJ up and held him close. “Aww, lil dude, don’t cry. Meggie coming back.”

  “Wh-what’s going on?” Kendall squeaked.

  “About time you asked,” Roxy bit out. “The more I try with you, the more impossible you get. I still can’t believe you almost hit CJ.”

  Kendall sniffed.

  Glaring at her, Mortician set CJ on his feet, then crouched down. “You owe Red an apology. You know Meggie don’t want you disrespecting adults. None of us do. That’s not cool.”

  CJ sniffled, tugging one of Mortician’s dreads. “Aunt Kenda not a adult, Uncle Mort. She Aunt Kenda.”

  “I wonder where he got that from,” Kendall spat.

  Mortician scratched his chin. “You do everything your old man do. There’s nothing wrong with that, lil’ partner, except you not grown. Besides, when motherfuckers go low, it’s good when you go high. Understand me?”

  “Yes, Uncle Mort.” Frowning, CJ released Mortician’s hair and looked back at Kendall. “Aunt Kenda not low,” he said, facing Mortician again. “She’s high.”

  At least, someone had the good sense to recognize that she was above these cretins. It only shocked her that it was King Cretin’s little spawn.

  “High?” Mortician repeated with a frown. “What that mean? Tall?”

  “Uh huh,” CJ responded. “High, like a giant psycho bitch.”

  “CJ!” Zoann, Roxy, Bunny, and Mortician chorused.

  “Apologize this minute!” Zoann demanded.

  He tipped his head back to Kendall. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry what?” Zoann prompted.

  “Sorry Aunt Kenda a giant psycho bitch. Come on, Ro,” he blurted, taking off in a furious getaway, disappearing down the hallway.

  “Get back here, CJ,” Zoann called.

  “No!” a little voice echoed down the hallway. “I want my mommie!”

  “Rory, go with CJ,” Zoann instructed.

  Rory knew better than to move. He looked at Kendall, his eyes wide, and his face pale. She really didn’t want him around CJ, but right now, with everybody there, she didn’t have a choice.

  “You may leave, son,” she commanded, still so furious with CJ she could chew nails. She’d get him, though. Right now, she needed to know where Meggie was. “Now that the children are gone,” she said after Rory walked not ran away like an undisciplined little asshole, “would someone please tell me what the hell is wrong?”

  No one else answered her.

  Mortician sighed. “It’s Meggie, Red.”

  “I’ve figured that out already. What? Has she finally gotten some sense and left fuckhead?”

  Mortician scowled at her. “Comments like this is what make Outlaw want to cleave you in two. Behave, Kendall. I know you have a good side. This is the time to show it.”

  “What’s wrong with her?” Kendall muttered. “I heard CJ saying something about wanting her back. Where’d she go?”

  “She’s been…” Rubbing his eyes, Mortician drew in a deep breath. “Fuck, man…I can’t believe I’m about to say this shit.”

  “Just spit it out. You’ve never been one to mince words,” Kendall reminded him.

  Instead of speaking, Mortician made it to the chair and sat, covering his face with his hands before placing his elbows on his knees and bowing his head.

  “Oh, Lucas!” Bailey sniffled, running to Mortician and hugging him.

  “It could’ve been you, pretty girl.” His shoulders drooped. “Or Red. Or Chester…”

  Dread filled Kendall, and all her resentment and anger dissipated.

  “We came as fast as we could,” Brooks Redding said in a breathless rush.

  “Oh, my darling Kendall,” his wife, Charlotte, said, rushing up to Kendall and hugging her. “You must be devastated.”

  “I don’t have a clue what’s going on,” Kendall said with impatience. “All this drama is unnecessary. Why the lockdown? Where’s Meggie? Is she dead or something?”

  “It’s something,” Roxy started.

  “She been kidnapped by the Imperials,” Mortician announced.

  Kendall stumbled back, and her heart dropped to her knees. “What?”

  Bailey nodded. “It’s true. They left CJ all alone in an abandoned lot, on some dead-end street in Portland. Poor little guy.”

  “Are you…are you…are you sure it was the Imperials?”

  “Yeah, Red,” Mortician said gravely. “I guess they chose Meggie girl because they think they going to get Prez to listen to them. That’s the only thing I see. They just don’t realize Prez practice fairness about anything and anybody except Meggie. They dead men walking. Whether she alive or…” He blinked and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Or whatever.”

  At any moment, Kendall would faint. It might be because of club business or they might have taken Meggie because Kendall had decided against taking Randolph’s case.

  If something happened to Meggie,
she’d be immortalized, especially in Johnnie’s mind. She’d forever be a perfect little blonde specimen. The one he’d lost.

  Goddamn it. She’d suggested Meggie should be the one taken. She never thought the idiots would go through with it.

  “Outlaw…how is he?” she heard herself ask.

  “Insane with fear,” Mortician answered. “He’s sworn brutal retaliation on any motherfucker involved with taking Meggie girl.”

  Thinking of the times she’d pushed Christopher too far and he’d choked her made Kendall sway. If Meggie’s kidnapping really was because of her, he’d show her no mercy.

  Her vision blurred. She took a step forward before crumpling to the floor in a dead faint.

  Racing to his old bedroom in the clubhouse, Johnnie found Kendall curled on her side, facing away from him. Mortician had called him and said Kendall had fainted upon hearing the news of Megan’s kidnapping.

  Despite his anger toward her, he knew she’d take what had happened to Megan hard. That’s why he’d told Mortician to follow his lead and wait until Kendall reached the clubhouse to tell her about Megan. Whether Kendall wanted to admit it or not, she really liked Megan.

  Johnnie didn’t want his mind to stray to all the torture she might be going through right now, so he pretended they were tearing the area down looking for someone, anyone, else. He wasn’t sure where Christopher got the strength to go on.

  If Kendall had been taken, Johnnie would be out of his mind with worry. He couldn’t give orders. Or pull everyone back to regroup, as they were doing now.

  It was just after midnight. Soon, Christopher would go into details of his plan b. While he checked on his children, Johnnie took the opportunity to talk to his wife.

  He sat on the edge of the bed. “Kendall?”

  “Hi, Johnnie,” she whispered in a broken voice. “Tell me you’ve found her.”

  Hating her misery, he let go of the anger he’d carried around for the last few days, laid next to her and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her temple.

  “My God, Kendall, it could’ve been you. I’m sorry it was Megan, but so fucking thankful you, the kids, and the baby inside of you are safe.”

  “I can’t believe they took her,” she sobbed softly.

  “Shhhh, we’ll get her back.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, “but how? Dead? Maimed? Sexually assaulted? Oh my God, I can’t believe this!” she wailed. “She might be better off dead after they get through with her.”

  “No, gorgeous. Don’t say that. Megan has to be alive.”

  “Yes,” she agreed in watery tones, and shivered.

  Johnnie turned to his side, encouraging her to do the same, so they faced each other. “Don’t stress yourself, Kendall. It’s not good for you or the child you’re carrying.”

  Her lower lip trembled. “You haven’t mentioned the baby to me in a few days. You’ve been ignoring me.”

  “Can you blame me?” he said gently. “You fucking drugged me. That’s serious, sweetheart.” He caressed her cheek. “But we’ll work through it, as we work through everything. I’m just so fucking happy you’re safe and sound.”

  Kendall drew in a deep breath, then pressed her lips against his.

  Johnnie knew he should get out to the meeting. Christopher needed all hands on deck, but the feel of Kendall’s mouth against Johnnie’s jolted him. He hadn’t touched her in days.

  “I need you,” she whispered, laying on her back and guiding him on top of her. She dragged her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp, her touch soothing his turmoil. “I love you so much, Johnnie.” She opened her legs to him in a sweet offering.

  “Kendall, sweetheart, I don’t want to take advantage of you. We need to spend the night in each other’s arms. Instead, I’ll have to get out to the meeting as soon as we’re through.”

  “I don’t care,” she said, frantically unfastening his belt and zipper. She dug into his boxers and fisted his cock. “I’ll take you however I can get you. I love you so, so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  Moving away from her grasp and allowing his dick to spring free, Johnnie shoved her skirt above her waist and pulled her panties down, fingering her pussy.

  “I want you inside of me now, my love,” she said breathlessly.

  Unable to deny her and too long without being inside of her, Johnnie sank into Kendall. They sighed in unison.

  “I’ve missed you,” Johnnie told her, pumping into her and staring into her beautiful brown eyes.

  “Not as much as I missed you,” Kendall gasped. “I’m so lost without you.”

  “Sweetheart, I might get angry with you, but I’ll never desert you. I love you too much.”

  “Oh, Johnnie. Do you promise?”

  “With my heart and soul. You keep life interesting.”

  She grinned at him and tears shone in her eyes. “Can you ever forgive me?”

  He nuzzled her neck. “There’s nothing to forgive, gorgeous. You and our kids are unharmed, and our love is as strong as ever. That’s all that matters.”

  Kendall pulled his face down to kiss him deeply, rubbing the column of his spine as he thrust in and out of her. She matched his every move. Wherever else their marriage had issues, sex had never been one of them. It was in bed that they connected most of all. It was taking time, but they were making progress outside of the bedroom.

  Maybe, if Kendall went to another mental health camp, the demons haunting her would be exorcised once and for all.

  “Come inside of me,” she demanded.

  He gladly complied. As he lay breathless in her arms, he remembered her latest pregnancy. He’d never send her away while she carried his baby. Once the child was born, though, he’d broach the subject.

  He loved her and wanted to keep her as his wife, but he had to safeguard himself against any future druggings on her part.

  Somehow, he had to learn to trust her again.

  When she came to, Meggie found herself surrounded by dank darkness. She couldn’t even see her hand in front of her. All she could think about was her son and wonder if he was okay. He had to be!

  She had to escape to find him.

  Driven by the need to get to CJ, she screamed again and again, until her throat hurt and her head, already pounding from the hit, throbbed worse. No one ever answered.

  CJ’s precious little face danced in her head, and she doubled over in pain, attempting to yell. She’d become soundless. Voiceless.

  Disoriented, she’d lost all sense of time. Maybe, she’d been in this dark, dank prison for an hour or maybe it had been a week. She’d gotten a small glass of water, but nothing else. Later, she’d had to pee and had held it in as long as possible, until her bladder failed her, and she’d wet herself.

  Suddenly, the sound of a door banged open and sunlight gleamed down wooden steps. Cold blasted in, sweeping in welcomed fresh air.

  Footsteps approached her, and Meggie backed against the wall. Without warning, the beam of a flashlight shone into her eyes, hurting them. To protect herself, she drew her knees up, and rested her head there.

  “You pissed yourself?” Mystic demanded, the sound of his voice sending fear hurtling through her.

  Her head hurt, and her stomach felt so empty, it nauseated her.

  She still didn’t know why he’d taken her. She did know it had something to do with the club.

  “Look at me!”

  Light flickered through her drawn up knees. He thumped the side of her head, jarring her already rattled brain.

  “Next time it will be harder. Look at me.”

  The moment she complied, he flickered the flashlight on his phone into her eyes. She flinched at the pain shooting through her.

  “Ready to talk?”

  She glared at him.

  He smiled. “Didn’t mean to hit you so hard. You been out a while.”

  She didn’t respond. He thumped her head again.

  “Cat got your tongue?” He laughed. “I
need answers from you.”

  “Tell me my son is safe. Otherwise, I have nothing to say to you,” she said in a steely voice.

  “Bitch, do you really think you’re in control here? You might guide Outlaw around by his cock, but around here I’m the boss.”

  “Where’s my child?” she demanded. “As for my husband, take it up with him on whether I control him or not.”

  Looming above her, he smirked, flicking the light in and out of her eyes. “I just might do that.” Crouching down, he slid hair behind her ear. “You’re going to be a good girl for me?”

  A tear slid down Meggie’s cheek. All the times her stepfather had snuck into her room came to her. She’d lasted then, and she’d do so now. Whatever came her way, as long as CJ was safe, as long as she got back to her husband and her family, she’d endure and survive.

  “Mystic, we got to get a roll on,” someone shouted from above. “Don’t take too long.”

  Meggie glanced behind him. The sunlight streaming down a set of concrete steps was pretty. Cold air washed away the rank smell of her misery and suffering.

  “I hear you,” Mystic called back, then turned his attention back to her. Grabbing her hair, he leaned in and licked her tears.

  Turning away, she shivered.

  “Your kid’s safe,” he breathed against her ear. “Didn’t have a use for him.” He scrubbed his chin. “Thought about blowing him away, but I kind of admired his spunk. The way he stood up for you, so I let him live. That make you feel better? Will you get wet for me now?” He sniggered. “Do I want you wet or do I want my cock ramming in your dry pussy?”

  Meggie wouldn’t respond to that. She couldn’t without breaking down. “Whatever you want, Christopher will give to you,” she swore.

  “Because I got you?”

  She nodded.

  “We’ll see about that whenever I’m ready to let him know you’re here.”

  “Please, call him, so I can talk to him.” She could make sure CJ was safe and she’d show Christopher that she was alive.

  Mystic grabbed her chin between his fingers and yanked her closer. “We need his help. He needs an incentive to give that help. You’re it. My club is in trouble and your husband’s club can help out. He refuses.” He dragged his tongue across her closed lips.