Chapter 21
April slid into May and, although she and Johnnie slept together and made love, Kendall felt on the fringes of his life after their confrontation in the cave. The detached, offhanded manner he’d first treated her with returned, disturbing her, although he continued to hint at something more. Something long-term and permanent. But he wouldn’t listen to her whenever she broached the subject of him leaving the club. Nor had he said he loved her again. He just expected her to adapt to being locked on the property while he disappeared every day, then guarded her every night.
Brooks visited several times. Christopher always invited Johnnie to the board room, but, at least, Johnnie respected her enough to decline, watching wistfully as Val, Digger, and Stretch followed behind their leader.
Kendall thought more and more about her conversation with Megan. Her belief that Kendall was in the position to do something about the human trafficking Spoon and Logan were involved in. If Johnnie didn’t take more than just a sometimey interest in her, Kendall knew she’d have to walk away. Raise Baby Biker without him. She’d prefer being alone rather than having a man who thought of her sometimes.
The fact that he continued to refuse to even think about leaving the club pissed her off a little more. Seeing the site for Meggie’s new house cleared made Kendall long for something similar. Her own house. Johnnie’s utter and undying devotion.
Today, though, she’d had an AHA! Moment. After thinking about Meggie’s conversation, she’d resumed researching human trafficking online. Years after passing the country’s first anti-trafficking laws, the state still led the way on both sides of the law—amongst the worst offenders while still leading the fight with a dozen additional laws.
As long as swine like Spoon existed, though, the battle would be never-ending. She’d lost her little sister and she wanted to do something. Meggie was right. Kendall was in a position to do something. She was an attorney. She could call one of the non-profit organizations and offer her services pro bono. Or she could go to the police and tell everything she knew about Spoon and the Torpedoes.
Admittedly, not much, which might be a problem. Spoon had told her only a small bit and Logan had spoken in riddles to Johnnie, insisting they—Kendall, Meggie, Bailey, and Zoann—could bring in money if they were sold off.
And if she went to the cops, she’d put Johnnie and the Death Dwellers in jeopardy.
The stronger she became, however, the more she wanted to do something. For herself and Caroline and to Spoon.
Breathing in deeply, Kendall knocked on the door of Meggie’s and Christopher’s room.
“Come in.”
Kendall opened the door, pausing when she saw Meggie curled up on the bed. Her morning sickness came and went now and she had more days where it didn’t plague her. Today didn’t seem to be one of those days.
A stack of children’s books sat on the bed, near the brick wall. Little Man cuddled close to Meggie, fussing around the baby bottle he drank from.
“Isn’t he too old?” she asked in greeting.
“According to who?”
“Baby books. Doctors. Mommie blogs.”
“Since they aren’t paying for his formula, then they have nothing to say about it.”
“What about his teeth? Won’t his teeth cut crooked?”
“Circumstances stopped me from nursing him. If not, I’d planned to do it until his first birthday.” She yawned. “I’m going to wean him from the bottle when he turns one.”
Kendall pressed on her sensitive breasts. “Nursing until his first birthday?” The thought made her wince. “Again, what about his teeth? This time, though, I’m thinking of the damage to your nipples.”
Meggie laughed and shifted on the bed. “The boys are gone?” she asked, not responding to Kendall’s comment.
“Yes.” She looked at the end of the bed, tempted to sit but not knowing if she should. Another indication of her stunted growth on female interaction. She’d never had a close girlfriend. At her age, it seemed rather silly to do all the things young women did.
Meggie sat further up and nodded. “Have a seat,” she offered.
“Do you think I’m too old?”
“Um, too old for what?” Meggie chewed on her lower lip and a cold sweat broke out on Kendall.
She was feeling stronger, but she still felt…inadequate…paired with this girl who seemed so comfortable in any situation.
“To…to—“
“Toooooo?” Meggie urged, giving her an under-eyed look.
Sliding into the space on the edge of the bed, Kendall bowed her head.
“You aren’t too old to do anything. You’re what twenty-six? Twenty-seven?”
Kendall peeped at Meggie to see if she teased her, but she really thought she was that young.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said with a dismissive wave. “Age is nothing but a thing…” Her voice trailed off and she giggled, then cleared her throat. “You’re never too old to do anything you wish to do.”
Little Man rolled on his belly and lifted up on his elbows. He fisted his mother’s hair, then stuffed it in his mouth.
“Silly goose!” Meggie chastised, tugging her hair from his mouth. “No eating Mommie’s hair.” She kissed his forehead before guiding him to his back and raspberrying his tummy. His giggles pulled a smile from Kendall. “I love you,” she gushed, rubbing her nose against the baby’s.
He rolled from her grasp and babbled before inching ever closer to the wall. Meggie retrieved the forgotten bottle from the bed and sat it on the nightstand.
“Are you bored?” Kendall asked, rubbing her belly. She hadn’t started to show yet and couldn’t wait to see the evidence of her baby growing inside of her.
“Yes. Very. There’s not a lot to do right now. Not many visitors allowed in. We aren’t allowed out. Arrow is looking after Momma. Christopher is off on Club Business.” Hands behind her head, Meggie rolled her eyes. “This sucks.”
Kendall licked her lips and wiped her clammy hands on her thighs. “I’ve taken your advice. I want to get Spoon.”
“Good for you, Kendall,” Meggie cheered with a bright smile. “He has it coming to him. Whatever you intend to do to him.”
“I thought of going to the police, but then I decided not to because of the position it would place everyone here.”
Meggie nodded slowly and pulled Little Man back when he lunged for the footboard. He was lively and quick. “I agree. So what are you going to do? Help out Brooks Redding? Tell him what you know.”
“That’s just it, Meggie,” Kendall said quietly. “I don’t know a lot. Not how involved they were with the trafficking. Or if just Logan and Spoon participated. Who the girls go to. Or where. Nothing.”
“No, no, Christopher Joseph,” she screeched, reaching for Little Man who had wiggled between his mother’s feet and Kendall’s sitting space. Picking him up, she gave him the raspberries again, rewarded with another happy laugh. She swung her feet to the ground, her son in her arms, and settled next to Kendall. “I’m sorry, Kendall. That must be hard to swallow. But Christopher and Johnnie and—“
“We can do something. You and I.”
Meggie lifted a brow. “We’re on the most wanted list for the Torpedoes as much as our guys.”
“That doesn’t stop them from taking action. We can figure out something to help out.”
“Um, hello? Earth to Kendall. We’re both pregnant. While the idea of helping out is very appealing, we can’t do it at the risk of our unborn babies.”
“You were the one who said I’m in a position to help out,” she snapped, frustrated at Meggie’s attitude. It seemed ingrained in the girl to go the opposite of whatever Kendall suggested.
“Helping out is a lot different than putting ourselves in unnecessary danger.”
Kendall tuned Meggie’s argument out, desperate to do this, prove to herself and Johnnie—everyone—that she could take care of herself and knew how to fight her own battles. She looked at her watch. “It
’ll be no danger. The hardest part will be getting off the premises.”
Meggie rubbed her son’s nose again and, for a moment, Kendall thought she wouldn’t answer. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“If I have to, I’ll go alone.” Although she’d prefer to have company with what she planned, she’d stand firm and go alone if she had to.
“What do you have in mind?”
“You’ll come?”
“I’ll listen to you and then decide if I’ll come.”
“There’s no more than two brothers on the premises right now. Every day, they go somewhere around this time and are gone for three or four hours. I can get up to Spoon’s office. He has a locked portable file. It has a USB drive in it. I know because I saw him put it in there a couple times when I accompanied Brooks on business.”
“I’m liking this less and less.” Meggie frowned at her. “That drive could be a red herring.”
Kendall narrowed her eyes and Meggie flushed. “I doubt it,” she said through tight lips.
“Think about it,” the girl rushed on, not backing down. “Why would he leave a portable file out in the open when he knows several people know about the USB? It might be to see who’s loyal to him and who isn’t.”
“Spoon is really cut and dry,” Kendall insisted coolly. “He wouldn’t waste his time…Oh never mind!” She got to her feet. “I’ll do it myself.”
Meggie huffed out a breath. “Wait. I’ll come. I have a better chance of getting us off premises than you do anyway.”
Even though Meggie hadn’t offered the words to brag, the truth of them still chafed Kendall, but she ignored her annoyance.
“Let me see if Arrow can watch over my son. If not, I’ll call Bunny. Either way, I’ll be ready to leave in ten minutes.”
“Stop right here,” Kendall instructed, not much later and two blocks from the Torpedoes’ clubhouse. Unlike the Dwellers who had a compound on a dead end street that backed onto the woods in Hortensia, the Torps had a wooden structure that spanned almost a city block, close to downtown Portland.
Meggie backed the Mini Cooper into a tight spot between a pickup and an SUV.
“What now?” she asked, her brow scrunched in a frown.
Now, Kendall prove herself to Johnnie, show him that she’d be at his side through thick and thin. She was a strong, independent woman worthy of such a strong and willful man.
“Now, we go to the clubhouse,” Kendall responded. “You go to the bar and strike up a conversation while I get upstairs to Spoon’s office.”
Skepticism glittered in Meggie’s eyes and, for a moment, Kendall thought she’d changed her mind about helping her to do this. Instead, she leaned against the headrest and turned to Kendall, a small smile tipping her lips.
“I’m already showing.” She splayed her fingers over her baby bump. “Dr. Will said you always show quicker with a second baby. I just figure it’s because I’m almost twenty weeks. Further along than I thought when I realized I was pregnant again.”
Kendall really didn’t want to hear…Her thoughts skidded to a halt. How many times had Meggie reached out to her in some small way and she’d rejected the overture? Now, she’d left the safety of the MC to help her. At the least, Kendall could listen to her talk about her baby. Besides, they had that in common. And Megan had been pregnant before, so Kendall could use her as a go-to resource.
“You’ll find out the sex of the baby your next appointment?”
Megan laughed. “I already know. It’s another boy, just like I told Val it would be. Christopher doesn’t know yet, though. I want all this behind us before I start bombarding him with baby stuff.” She cocked her head to the side. “How far along are you?”
“Nearing eleven weeks,” Kendall confided, surprised at how contented she felt at being able to discuss her pregnancy with another woman who seemed quite interested. “I can’t wait to find out the baby’s gender.”
“I think we’re in the season of boys. Christopher and Johnnie were the only two boys of all of Logan’s grandchildren.” She frowned and glanced out the window. “I wonder what makes men monsters, Kendall. Men like their grandfather. Spoon.” She bowed her head and sighed. “My father.” She slanted a glance to Kendall, her smile sad. “Whatever Spoon is doing…I know Christopher is going to get him, but I’m going with you because I don’t want you facing this alone. But also because Big Joe…my daddy hurt those little girls. I owe it to them, so let’s do this and get back to the MC before Christopher and Johnnie return, so they’ll have no reason to worry. They’ll be angry when you hand over the drive, but we’ll be safe, so they’ll get over it. I just hope it’s there and it contains what you believe it does.”
“Don’t worry, Meggie. It will.” Although Kendall spoke with certainty, unease slid into her but she had to do this. She opened the passenger side door. “Time to rock and roll.”
“Hey, pretty lady, which part of heaven did you fall from?”
Kendall rolled her eyes at the greeting Megan received after she sashayed into the bar and sat on one of the stools. Instead of entering that area when they walked into the door, Kendall went left toward the staircase. She paused on the third step.
Kendall hadn’t recognized the bartender’s voice, so, hopefully, Spoon hadn’t had a chance to show Meggie’s photo around.
Kendall chose a time when nearly everyone except a few prospects were on premises, tending the bar. The Torpedoes MC saw bartending as a low-tiered, menial job, so their officers and regular members thought it beneath them. Unlike Mortician who seemed to enjoy the job himself. Not only that, the Dwellers deemed want-to-be members as probates.
Noticing the differences between the two clubs didn’t mean she wanted to live her life as Johnnie’s…whatever. She certainly didn’t want to raise Baby Biker in an MC.
Drawing in a deep breath, Kendall tip-toed the rest of the way up the stairs, cursing Spoon for the pervert he was.
Reaching the second floor, Kendall scowled at all the baseball paraphernalia. She noticed a baseball on the file cabinet in the hallway and smiled at the time Spoon had gotten hit in the head—knocked on his ass—with one, receiving a mild concussion.
Apparently, all bad-ass bikers had some type of weakness. With Spoon and his boys, it was baseball—playing, watching, and discussing it. When they weren’t up to no good. With Johnnie and his brothers, it was two little boys—Outlaw’s and Val’s sons.
Surprised at the pleasant thought, Kendall glanced in the VP’s office, finding it empty just as she knew it would be. She almost sagged with relief at being correct. Getting that jump drive would be so easy.
Not wanting to waste a moment of time, she hurried to Spoon’s office, blinking at the sunshine glaring through the opened blinds. The black plastic file box sat on the desk, in the usual spot, between the wall and the banker’s lamp. Her fingers itching with anticipation, Kendall jerked the box to the edge, scowling at the sudden beeps. The sound spurred her to work faster. Popping the top open, she reached in and grabbed the drive, adrenaline pumping through her.
Being proactive exhilarated her. In her hands, she held the means to make a difference, find out who the girls were and get them rescued somehow.
A shadow bounced off the floor and desk, the specter of menace rising in the air. Fear slithered into her and her mouth dried. Kendall didn’t want to turn, didn’t want to see death looming in front of her.
“Cunt!” Spoon snarled, his voice echoing down the hallway and rising above Meggie’s screeching. “Fucking biting me.”
“Christopher is going to castrate you,” Meggie fumed.
Hands yanked Kendall by the hair just as Spoon grunted and cursed.
“Little bitch, come back here.”
Meggie was getting away and that was good. She didn’t have to suffer. She’d get back to her husband…tell him about his soon-to-be born son. Kendall had gotten them—
“Oomph,” she gasped, knocked against the desk, the drive
falling to the floor, her breath whooshing from her lungs. Whoever had grabbed her thunked to the floor while the door slammed and a baseball rolled to a halt next to the head of the man. Meggie had used the baseball Kendall had seen on the file cabinet to knock him out.
Meggie leaned against the door, colorless, tearful, and breathing hard. “Do something, Kendall,” she begged.
Spoon banged against the door.
“Why’d you come back for me?”
Meggie’s eyes widened. “Because we’re family,” she snapped, trembling. “Do something.”
Kendall shook, seeing the door buckling thanks to Spoon’s relentless kicking. He had the key, but he wasn’t using it for a reason. He aimed to hurt Meggie. “Get away from the door,” she whispered.
With a little sob, Meggie ran to Kendall’s side. The man she’d clobbered with the baseball groaned. The door flew open and Kendall reacted, pulling Meggie behind her, knowing no other way to protect her.
“Move,” Spoon snarled, his face scratched and bleeding, furious because Meggie had fought him. “I’m going to fucking kill her.”
“She’s pregnant. Leave her alone. You want anyone, take me.”
The other man swayed to his feet and blinked, scowling at Kendall and rubbing his head.
“What the fuck happened to you?” Spoon asked, his gravelly tone reminding her of a demon from a B grade horror movie.
“I was getting her—” He pointed to Kendall— “when something hit me in my head.”
Narrowing his eyes, Spoon glanced at the floor, honing in on the baseball and lifting a brow. He howled with laughter. “Bitch knocked you the fuck out with a baseball. You probably have a concussion, asshole.”
“We got to get them off-premises,” the man said with meaning. “Remember? The meeting.”
“Are you fucking stupid? You think I don’t remember it? Brothers should start arriving soon.” Spoon stepped closer and Kendall backed up, wedging Meggie between her, the desk, and the wall.
Kendall knew he intended to hit her. Before he got the chance, she girded her resolve and barreled into him with all her might, a growl escaping her.
Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books Page 109