Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books

by Kathryn C. Kelly

  “That means I can return to my position at the firm?” Kendall asked hopefully.

  “Fuck you. Fuck no. My fuckin’ patience and generosity only go so fuckin’ far. You two motherfuckers welcome back in the club. Johnnie ain’t suspended no more. But, if Brooks give you your job back, I’m fuckin’ you and him up. Lemme tell you if you two was rank and file motherfuckers, you woulda been so fuckin’ fucked. Even now, you shoulda been put to fuckin’ ground.”

  “Can she get a job at another law firm?” Megan asked him.

  He wanted to be a motherfucker so bad and say fuck no, but he wouldn’t. Megan was looking at him as if she fucking expected him to relent at least this much. “Kendall, if you so much as think ‘bout club fuckin’ business, I’m chokin’ the fuck outta you. Hear me?”

  She nodded, but for once kept the fuck quiet.

  “Practice law, but the motherfuckers better fuckin’ not have no MC affiliation. Under-fuckin-stand?”

  “Yes.”

  Megan stood on tiptoes and he leaned in for her kiss. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, now go sit the fuck down and take Johnnie bitch with you.”

  Doing as he asked, Megan held out her hand to Rory while Kendall kept Matilda close to her. Together, they walked out. Just to be certain, Christopher got his phone and followed Megan’s progression back to the kitchen, where she sat on a stool and indicated Kendall do the same. Roxy turned from the stove, long enough to kiss Kendall, while Bailey made a beeline for Matilda.

  “Thank you, Christopher,” Johnnie said quietly, hands in pocket. He still looked sad and out-of-place.

  “Whiskey in the usual spot, John Boy,” he said, hoping to put him at ease. “Get your shit and join us. We rollin’ in fifteen. Goin’ fuck up the motherfuckers responsible for this latest bullshit. You in?” He held out his hand as a peace offering.

  Johnnie stared at it a moment, before grabbing it and yanking Christopher into a man hug.

  “You ever a-fuckin-gain do what you did, motherfucker…” Christopher let his voice trail off, although he fisted Johnnie’s back as he returned his hug.

  “Shit finally feel right again,” Mort said, holding out his hand. “We missed you.”

  Johnnie grinned. “Show me how much. Tell me who I can kill?”

  Because they didn’t have a lot of time, Christopher decided not to make it long and drawn out. As he sat, facing his brothers, he saw traces of Cee Cee in each of them. Charles, the eldest, turned forty-two a few weeks ago while Bradley the youngest would celebrate his twenty-fourth birthday in January.

  “There a fuckin’ reason you tellin’ my ass this?” he asked Tobias, the motherfucker who’d been the ringleader the night he took Christopher. He was thirty-two.

  “The attorney said you’d have a deal we couldn’t refuse. As brothers, I thought you’d be interested to know about us,” Tobias answered coolly.

  “Ain’t known all these fuckin’ years. Don’t care to know now.”

  Charles leaned forward. “If you’ve gotten us here to waste our fucking time, I’m not going to be happy,” he said. “We’re here to collect our money.”

  “What fucking money?” Johnnie asked, folding his arms. Before they’d left, he’d gotten his cut and his Glock. “We haven’t made a deal yet to exchange money.”

  Bradley laughed like a maniacal fucking hyena. “The money to keep your bitches safe. Didn’t the attorney explain our terms?”

  “Unless you know something my ass don’t, kinda hard to fuckin’ muscle us with ten fuckin’ members.”

  “Says you,” Tobias told him. “We’ve regrouped. Taken over some of the Torps’ old territory. Honestly, if we were charged with their downfall, it had to be worthwhile. They were without leadership. We were without members.”

  “What it means, little brother,” Charles began, knocking on the table to make the point, “is, unless you’re willing to pay a monthly safety fee, your women and children are in danger.”

  “Lemme get this real fuckin’ clear,” he started. “You threatenin’ my wife?”

  Charles lifted a brow, wordlessly calling Christopher a dumb motherfucker.

  Christopher gave the barest nods. If they wanted to get to the mall and pick something up to keep their cover story, they had to move now. Besides, he was completely out of patience. He sat directly in front of Charles. He wanted to fuck up Tobias just as badly as he wanted to take out Charles, the ringleader. Pretty fucking sure they were packing heat just like him and his boys, Christopher knew he couldn’t risk giving them the chance to draw.

  Because as he listened to them, he got the feeling they’d come to the meeting with the same intention as Christopher. They wanted to fuck him up as much as he wanted to fuck them up.

  Pretending to consider Charles’s offer, Christopher grabbed his nine from his waistband and shot the motherfucker in the center of his head. He didn’t wait for any of the others to shoot Tobias and Bradley, he kept firing.

  “Fuck, I’m full of fuckin’ blood,” he snarled, once the shooting stopped and the three motherfuckers lay riddled with bullets. “I have to waste fuckin’ time cleanin’ the fuck up.”

  “I put an extra T-shirt in my saddlebag,” Johnnie said as Mort and Digger opened their bags and pulled out plastic.

  “We shoulda put this shit down first,” Digger grumbled.

  “That would’ve given us away, fool,” Mort returned.

  “Just shut the fuck up and clean the fuck up, so we can get the fuck,” Christopher ordered, snatching the T-shirt from Johnnie and hoping like a motherfucker they got back to the house before the party started.

  “If you need me, call me on my cell phone and I’ll come right up,” Kendall instructed her new nanny, Ella. They were in Ryder’s nursery, where additional bassinets had been set up for Matilda and Bailey’s son, Lou. At the moment, all three infants were asleep. The other kids were downstairs, allowed the run of the party.

  Except Rory, who didn’t seem to know if he should play with the others or sit silently on a chair. Even now, he clung to Kendall’s winter white pants.

  “Mrs. Caldwell left her and Mrs. Banks’s phone numbers as well, Mrs. Donovan.”

  Kendall nodded to acknowledge Ella’s statement. She was an older woman, fifty-nine to be exact, a little rotund grandmother type. In the five days since she’d started working, Kendall found her to be both professional and nurturing. Ella had even suggested to Johnnie that Kendall needed a housekeeper, immediately warming Kendall to her.

  “Rory can stay with me,” she offered kindly. “That does seem like a rowdy bunch down there. Too much for such a sweet, gentle child.”

  Kendall beamed at her. “I appreciate the offer, but they’re his cousins. He has to learn to interact with them.”

  “Yes, ma’am. If it gets to be too much, I’ll be happy to look after him.”

  “Thank you,” she said and held out her hand to Rory. “Come, son.”

  Without hesitation, her precious little boy took her hand and followed her meekly out into the hallway. Black and white photos of Meggie still hung from the pillars that stood six feet apart and separated the floor-to-ceiling glass panels. Outside, darkness had already descended. Johnnie had been gone several hours already.

  She couldn’t imagine what destination was so important that they’d leave before the big party. He claimed they were going to the mall for gifts and he wanted to tag along.

  Kendall supposed she was happy. It felt good to be back in with the other women, but she really wanted her job back with Brooks. She’d made a mistake and had paid dearly for it. She’d almost lost her husband. It didn’t escape her that he’d decided to be mean to her after staying under Meggie’s roof.

  She frowned and paused right near the staircase. “Rory, show me the room you slept in when I went on my vacation.”

  “‘Kay.” He pointed down. “We stay on second floor.”

  “I know, my love. Who stayed with you?”

&nb
sp; He frowned. “Jo-nee.”

  “Not CJ?” she pressed.

  “No, Kennaw.”

  Johnnie wanted Rory to call them Mom and Dad. Now that she thought about it, she liked the idea too. She was afraid of confusing Rory, but she knew if Johnnie heard their son call him by his name, he’d be furious and he was just now forgiving her for all she’d done.

  “Take me to your room.”

  They carefully made their way to the second floor. Although her kids’ rooms were one floor up, Meggie allowed them to scatter their toys in the hallway on this level. If it made her happy, Kendall was ecstatic.

  There was no outer glass wall on this level, nor were there only photos of Meggie. She’d made this some type of family gallery with pictures of her and Outlaw and their kids. Her mother and father. His mother. And…Kendall halted, surprised to see a photo of her, Johnnie, and Rory near one of Val, Zoann, Devon, and Rory. There was Mort, Bailey, Harley, and Roxy. A photo with Outlaw’s dead sisters and nieces. Zoann, her sons, and Ophelia were also in that shot. Then there were photos of the guys.

  Kendall stared at the first photo. In it, Johnnie, Outlaw, Mort, Val, and Digger stood between Meggie’s and Bailey’s fathers. Johnnie must’ve been twenty-two or twenty-three. He looked happy, arms folded, muscles bulging, in his cut, his pose and expression similar to those of the other guys. The second photo was more recent and didn’t include Big Joe, K-P, or Digger.

  The photos transfixed Kendall. It finally dawned on her exactly what these men meant to her husband. They were important to him.

  They were his family. As much as she, Rory, and Matilda were, and she’d tried to come between them. All because of Outlaw.

  Christopher.

  It shamed her to admit that she did feel an attraction to him, and she hated him because of it. She hated that it wasn’t reciprocated so she wouldn’t feel as if she were cheating on Johnnie in her head while Christopher went unaffected. And she hated that he had that power over her at all.

  Even if he wanted her, she’d never act on it. She loved Johnnie so much, but she had to accept that she’d ruined any chance of her and Christopher ever being friends. Her determination that he notice her, acknowledge her, had backfired. The only reason he had accepted her back into the fold was because of Johnnie.

  It was time for her to put her big girl panties on and accept that.

  Rory shifted his weight, the movement tugging her hand and reminding her of her son’s presence. As always, he was quiet, just as she’d taught him.

  “Fucka mudna!” CJ yelled at the top of his lungs, speeding down the hallway.

  Huffing in annoyance at his bad language, she turned and faced him, leaving him no choice but to stop. “Time out, mister!” she said forcefully. “You’re a child and children do not use such filthy language. Do you understand me?”

  He blinked at her.

  She pointed to a spot between a bench and a table. “Sit in that corner until I’m ready to walk downstairs.”

  “No. I okay.”

  CJ started to turn, but Kendall didn’t tolerate disrespect from her son. “I said sit,” she gritted through clenched teeth.

  “I say I okay,” he retorted and ran back the way he came.

  “He’s due for a spanking,” she announced to Rory, who was taking an avid interest in the scene. “Show me where you slept.”

  Thoroughly annoyed, Kendall allowed Rory to guide her to the room, decorated in gray and coral with its own fireplace and private bathroom. It was both elegant and cozy, with a work of abstract art that appeared to be just an orange blob. Kendall easily saw the sun, the sand and an ocean of fire within the splashes, discernible by the bolder patinas and sharper strokes.

  “You slept in here with Johnnie…Dad?” she amended.

  He nodded. “Yes, Kennaw.”

  “Call me Mom, please, sir. Thank you.”

  “Mom.”

  Hearing her son using the term unfurled something in her and tears rushed to her eyes. “Mom,” she repeated.

  “There you are,” Meggie said from behind her.

  Dabbing at her eyes, Kendall faced her sister-in-law. “Here I am,” she said with a pat smile. “Rory wanted me to see where he slept while I was away.”

  Meggie nodded, easily accepting Kendall’s lie. “Would you like to play with the other kids, Rory? They’re playing hide-and-seek. You might enjoy that.”

  “I’m his mom. Ask me. Not him.”

  “Right,” she said but didn’t follow through until Kendall lifted a brow. Meggie sighed and rolled her eyes. “Is it okay if Rory plays hide-and-seek, Kendall?”

  “Of course.” She released her son’s hand. “Go ahead. I need to discuss your cousin’s behavior with Aunt Meggie. Please, excuse us.”

  Without further encouragement, Rory ran out of the room.

  “Your son disrespected me,” she said the moment she and Meggie were alone.

  “He told me what happened. Just as you want me to ask you if Rory can play, I expect you to tell me or Christopher if one of our kids misbehaves.”

  “I’m his aunt. I have the authority to chastise him.”

  “I’m not playing this game with you, Kendall. I can remind you I’m Rory’s aunt as well. But we’d go around and around and we’re past this.”

  They were. Kendall knew it as well as Meggie did. For some reason, silently admitting her attraction to Christopher had put her in a shitty mood. “What do you want?”

  “To talk to you. See how you are.”

  Turning her back on Meggie, she walked to the window and gazed out, finding it too dark to see anything. She went to the bed and smoothed her fingers over the comforter, before turning to the nightstand and opening the drawer.

  A small photo of her and Rory greeted her, one she recognized as being from Johnnie’s bureau. He’d brought it here with him.

  “The guys are on their way back,” Meggie announced into the silence. “Christopher called me.”

  “Don’t you find it odd that they left when they did?”

  “He went to buy something for me.”

  “Of course, you would believe him.”

  A moment of silence went by before soft laughter filled the air. “Christopher does what he must to do what’s necessary. Do I think he’s involved in something else? Yes. Will I pressure him and demand answers? No. When he’s ready, he’ll tell me. If he doesn’t, it means it isn’t something I need to know or want to know.”

  Kendall shoved the photo in her pocket and faced Meggie. “And you’re okay with that?” This had always bothered her. She may as well ask now when everyone thought her nothing but a crazy bitch. As she began to feel better, the questions wouldn’t rankle as much. She wanted to know, though, so she’d use this window of opportunity. Already, she felt her edge slipping. “Suppose it involves another woman? Johnnie has to tell me where he’s at every step of the way.”

  Meggie glared at her. “Stop talking about Christopher. If you can’t say something nice, shut up and don’t say anything at all. I’ve told Johnnie the same thing. Frankly, this conversation gets old.”

  “Go ahead defend his virtuousness.”

  “I owe you or no one else a defense of Christopher. I know the man that he is. What I do demand is your respect of him. You almost got him killed. If you hadn’t accepted that stupid deal, he wouldn’t have left. Wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped. Instead of insisting I act a certain way with my husband, sit down somewhere, preferably in the corner you sent CJ to, and talk to yourself, Kendall. We’re your family if you want us to be. We’re living our lives, with or without you being a part of it.”

  Instead of thinking of a retort, Kendall felt tears rush to her eyes. “You hate me.”

  “You’re putting words in my mouth,” Meggie said evenly. “I don’t hate you. I love you like a sister, but hear me well. If you ever, ever risk my husband again, I’ll see to it that you never set foot on club grounds again. Am I clear?”

  “Perfectly,” s
he said faintly. Hearing the steel in Meggie’s voice reminded Kendall of the war they’d waged when she’d first arrived. The girl was far from a pushover. She’d just ceded to Kendall in respect to her illness, but even that went out the window when her husband was threatened.

  “I’ll see you downstairs,” Meggie announced and left Kendall on her own.

  Give Love At Christmas blasted through the house as Johnnie followed Christopher inside, the jewelry box secure in his cut. They’d had a lot to do to clean the conference room and get the bodies in Christopher’s pickup. Because of time constraints, they’d return tomorrow to give the room a deeper cleaning.

  The Luminol test had failed spectacularly today, which reminded Johnnie he needed Mutt and Jeff to supply them with more. Situations arose where it came in handy.

  “Where’ve you been?” Kendall asked, appearing amidst the crowd.

  He smiled and pulled out the jewelry box. “Getting a present for you, gorgeous. To thank you for my beautiful daughter and for being the amazing mom you are.”

  She accepted the gift and opened it, finding a pair of topaz and diamond earrings.

  “They’re lovely!” She studied them closely, then gave him a teary-eyed grin. “Thank you for being the wonderful man you are. I know I’ve been a beast. Can you ever forgive me?”

  Johnnie pulled her into his arms. “Forever and always, sweetheart.”

  Before she responded, Digger called everyone to attention. “I know we almost a hour late.”

  “Two fucking hours,” Roxy called. “But who the fuck counting?”

  “I love you, too, Roxanne,” Digger responded, throwing her a dirty look. “As I was saying, I want to thank Prez and his old lady for opening their house to us. When my shit built, me and Bunny not letting rowdy motherfuckers in,” he joked.

  “Don’t give a fuck, brother,” Mortician shot back. “I got my own fucking crib.”

  “I’m not answering. If I do, I’ll never give Bunny her gift. Bunny, where you at, girl?”

  Bunny weaved her way through the crowd, CJ running behind her.

  “Ash fuck, Dig,” he greeted, his eyes bright, grinning wildly at all the snickers his words brought about. As usual, he wore his cut, motorcycle boots, and jeans.