“Hopefully, scooping Outlaw up.” The reason he and Johnnie were visiting Brooks this morning was to see what the hold-up was with Outlaw’s release. No one seemed to know anything, so they’d decided to come straight to the horse’s mouth and demand answers.
“Kendall has a doctor’s appointment today,” Johnnie answered. “After I’m finished, I’m going to see Megan. She’s rescheduled the meeting for the christenings indefinitely. She sounds so fucking sad, I can’t stand it.”
“How’s the baby?” Cash asked, not commenting on Johnnie contacting Megan. “Do you know what you’re having yet?”
“A boy,” Johnnie answered with pride.
Cash considered Fee’s words all over again. If she’d announced she was pregnant, how would he feel? Would it be different because it wouldn’t only be him and Fee, but him, Stretch, and Fee?
They’d talked about kids, with Cash being the one against it. Now that he’d almost lost her, the idea of a child with her wasn’t so frightening. Cash wouldn’t even care not knowing if he or Stretch fathered the baby, as long as she had it. He wasn’t even against the idea of Fee having a kid for each of them.
“Congratulations,” he remembered to tell Johnnie. “Kendall must be ecstatic.”
“She is. I can’t wait to meet my newest son. Rory and I will have backup with Matilda and Kendall.”
Cash laughed. “Matilda’s a small baby.”
“Already showing signs of having Kendall’s personality,” he joked. “She’s already a beautiful little redhead, just like her mom.”
“Kendall is gorgeous,” he admitted.
Johnnie smirked at him. “I know.”
Now would be the perfect time to bring up Kendall’s request of abortion pills and her association with Counts. Motherfuckers were just overflowing with secrets nowadays. But, if Johnnie believed him, he’d be left with facing the fact that either Kendall had betrayed the entire club with Counts, or just Fee.
Also, if he confronted Kendall and she exposed Cash, Fee, and Stretch, all the hiding, subterfuge and lies—Daphne’s death—would be for nothing.
Johnnie pinched the tip of the cigarette. “C’mon,” he said, turning to the door and pulling it open.
“Hi, Johnnie,” the receptionist called, smiling broadly. “Here for Uncle Brooks?”
“You know it,” Johnnie answered with a grin.
Five minutes later, Cash and Johnnie walked into Brooks’ spacious office and sat in chairs in front of his desk.
Brooks loosened his tie. “What can I do for you?”
Johnnie narrowed his gaze to slits. “Why is Christopher still in jail?” he asked in an icy voice, one that made even Cash squirm.
Unable to meet Johnnie’s eyes, Brooks looked at his desk. “Technical glitch. It’ll be corrected soon.”
“How soon?”
At Johnnie’s hard words, Brooks glanced at Cash, then shifted in his seat.
“He didn’t ask you the fucking question,” Johnnie snarled. “I did. Look the fuck at me and answer my fucking question. Otherwise, I’ll think your tongue is going to waste inside your head and relieve it of its boredom.”
Horror washed over Brooks’ face. “Of course, J-J-Johnnie,” he stammered, his voice shaking.
“Answer me. How fucking soon will Christopher be out?”
“Uh…”
Growling, Johnnie jumped to his feet and started around the desk. Cash and Brooks rose, too.
“Wait, Johnnie,” Brooks cried, rushing behind his chair and using it as a barrier. “Soon, I swear.” Sweat popped onto his forehead. “I’ll talk to Kyler…Kyler, yes! Didn’t he speak to you?”
“He spoke so well, I allowed him to walk away alive. I’m not sure if you’ll be in the same state when I walk away today.”
“I’m doing everything I can,” Brooks swore, sounding as if he were lying through his fucking teeth.
“Are you sure?” Cash asked.
“What reason do I have to lie?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Johnnie started. “I’m thinking of a tall redhead, who you think of as your daughter. I’m wondering if she’s convinced you to let her work on Christopher’s release and you can’t tell her no but know better than to tell her yes, so you’re dragging your ass!”
“No, that’s not it at all.” Brooks grabbed his handkerchief from his lapel with a shaking hand and mopped his brow. “It’s…it’s a glitch.”
“What glitch?” Johnnie pressed. “As far as I know, there’s nothing in the system that should complicate matters. According to you. Remember? Upon our last quarterly review, you said no members had any legal issues to report. Records were clean. Permits were up to date. You do recall that, don’t you, Redding? I certainly do. It was the same day your cash bonus was awarded to you. On Christopher’s orders.”
“Some things aren’t detectable until a problem arises,” Brooks cried, his face reddening. “His name has been mixed up with a man who had a BOLO out from Stamford.”
“A be-on-the-lookout for a Christopher Caldwell from Stamford?” Johnnie asked skeptically. “In Connecticut?”
Brooks nodded. “The name’s fairly common.”
“I won’t dispute that. However,” Johnnie added, just as Brooks relaxed a fraction, “social security numbers are unique to every motherfucker. If his name is mixed up, his number sure the fuck won’t be.”
“Johnnie, please, I swear, I wouldn’t fuck over the club. I’m working through the problem. It’ll be resolved soon. Please. Just don’t hurt me.”
A moment of silence went by before Johnnie backed away. “Let’s leave Brooks to work, Cash.”
It disappointed Cash the lawyer didn’t have better news. “Sure thing.”
At the door, Johnnie halted. “Brooks, for your sake, I hope you’re telling the truth. If you’ve lied to me, it’ll be my pleasure to kill you and end my drought.” He smiled. “Good day, motherfucker.”
With Christopher still in jail, Fee’s release from the hospital felt underwhelming. Escorted by a slew of bikers that included Johnnie and Val, she sat in the passenger seat of Zoann’s Yukon as her sister drove her to Christopher’s house. Neither of them spoke so Fee enjoyed the scenery on the short drive, not caring clouds covered the sky again today. She was at peace, happy to be alive. It could’ve been storming and she’d revel in the rain.
At the entrance to the compound, the bikes roared onto club grounds as Stretch waved them through, their show of strength exciting to Fee. Zoann didn’t seem fazed that so many bikers escorted them. She looked serene, awaiting her turn to drive through the gates.
The beautiful machines impressed Fee but the sight of them also led her to a revelation. “I’ve never been on a bike,” she blurted. Her throat still felt sore and tender, but, as Cash said Noah had missed everything vital.
“Cash or Stretch never took you?”
“Secret relationship. Remember?”
Stretch knocked on Fee’s window before Zoann responded. In the three days since she’d given her blessings for Cash and Stretch to pursue each other, they’d continued to visit, not giving her a clue regarding their choice. She pretended her decision didn’t wreck her, needing her strength to recover.
“Fee?” Stretch called through the raised window glass. Leaning on his cane, he held a red rose in his other hand.
She reminded herself she had a family to create. As long as she was with Cash and Stretch, that wouldn’t happen. If she had any sense, she’d tell Zoann to drive on, but the hope in Stretch’s eyes gave breath to her lingering dreams of them and renewed her wild, raw feelings, if only for that moment.
Lured by his blue gaze, she pressed the button to roll the window down.
“Welcome home, Fee,” he told her, his eyes saying what words couldn’t. I miss you. I need you.
I love you.
Did he really feel that? Or was she seeing what she desired the most?
Accepting the rose from him, she sniffed its fragrance. “Thank y
ou.”
“I’ll be at the house soon,” Stretch said. “Meggie’s there, waiting to pamper you.”
Fee didn’t want pampering. She wanted to live. “You know what I really want?”
“Besides me?” he flirted, not caring that Zoann was within earshot.
She adapted his carefree mood, twirling her rose. “Yep.”
“What’s that, sweetheart?”
Oh, swoon. The endearment spoken in his sexy voice transfixed Fee. Her pussy heated. Never mind her injuries. Or, maybe, because of them. She wanted Stretch in the most basic, life-affirming way. However, that had to wait a few days. At the moment, she’d settle for… “A ride.”
He dropped his gaze to her lips, making it hard for her to resist her desire to reach out and touch him. Run her fingers along his scar. Tangle her hands through his hair. “Is that so?”
“On your bike,” she clarified with mischief.
His grin revealed his dimples. “I can arrange that. As soon as you heal.”
“That’s a date. I’ll see you at the house,” she said happily, then nodded to Zoann to drive off.
“Wait!” Stretch called.
Fee lurched against her seatbelt as Zoann slammed on her brakes. The bikes behind the SUV revved in protest. Val and Johnnie circled like sharks.
“Are we telling Cash?” Stretch yelled over the din, glancing in Johnnie’s direction with unease.
“Sure, but only you and I are going. I’ll ride his…bike some other time.”
Tapping her door, he laughed, then waved Zoann through. Val and Johnnie swerved ahead, gunning onto the private access road. Fee thought maybe her sister would comment on Stretch’s behavior, but Zoann continued to Meggie’s house and stopped at the curb.
Instead of accompanying them inside, Val and Johnnie waved, then sped back toward the clubhouse.
At the gate, Zoann punched in the code, remaining at Fee’s side until they got inside.
“Surprise,” Zoann murmured, closing the door behind them.
In the foyer, Ryan and Rory held a sign that read Wlecame hom Ant F, each letter a different shade of crayon and in CJ’s handwriting.
Rebel rushed to her and held out a papered crown, colored pink, each end glued together. “I made this for you, Aunt Fee.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” she said, stooping to allow Rebel to “crown” her, touched by her legion of nieces and nephews who’d gone out of their way to make her feel special. It was another reminder that she needed to be thankful for what she had, instead of focusing on what she’d lost. She’d never forget her nieces who’d been murdered, but she had to tuck them away in a special place in her heart. It was time.
Harley ran to her and grinned. She held up a star created from construction paper that read ecame hom. “I couldn’t make the w and l fit, Aunt Fee,” she explained, holding the star out.
“I tell you to make a circle,” CJ complained, doing his best to stand still, but failing miserably, while Rory barely moved a muscle.
“You ran out of space for ee on the sign,” Harley told him.
As CJ and Harley argued, Rule held up a drawing, mostly scribble, but Fee picked out a flower and a heart. “Welcome home, Aunt Fee.”
“Did not!” CJ yelled.
“Did!” Harley said.
“All right, you two,” Meggie chastised from where she stood with Bunny, Kendall and Bailey behind the tribe of children. “That’s enough. You both did very well. Don’t ruin Aunt Fee’s homecoming with an argument.
Ryan and Devon also brought her drawings that Fee accepted before the women hugged her, one by one.
“If you’re up to eating, we have food in the dining room.” Meggie smiled, but the dark circles around her eyes and the sadness on her face revealed how hard her separation from Christopher was. “I cooked your favorites. Crabmeat Louis. Meatballs and spaghetti. Sour cream pecan pie.”
“We used Momma’s recipes for the crabmeat and the pie,” Bailey said softly, her tone indicating how much she missed her mother.
“We’ve been in the kitchen all morning,” Kendall added. “Just for you. Meggie’s on a hunger strike. She hasn’t eaten a thing today.”
Bailey scowled. “Please don’t start, Kendall.”
Zoann laid a hand at the small of Fee’s back. “Let’s get you seated and Meggie fed.”
“Oh, um, I’m not hungry,” Meggie said. “I’ll eat later.”
“Later never gets here, sweetie,” Bunny told her gently. “By the time Outlaw gets out, you’ll have disappeared.”
CJ abandoned the sign, allowing it to fall around Rory, and ran to Meggie. He dug in the pocket of his jeans. “I got apple for you,” he said, holding a piece of fruit out to her.
Ruffling his hair, Meggie took the brown slice from him and popped it into her mouth. “Yum,” she said between chews. “You saved it for me from a couple of hours ago?”
“Uh huh.”
She forced herself to swallow. “I’m all filled up, buddy.”
He raised up his hand. “Hi five, Mommie.”
“Hi five,” she echoed, following through on her words.
Satisfied, CJ turned to the children. “My room,” he yelled, starting a chorus of shrieks.
Rory grinned, bouncing up and down, forgetting Kendall’s strict rules about inside and outside behavior.
Clearing her throat, Kendall narrowed her eyes at Rory and he snapped his mouth shut. The kids raced away, leaving Rory behind. His little chin wobbled and tears filled his eyes. He sniffled, staring at his mother. Annoyance tightened her face.
“Time out, young man. I’ve told you not to raise your voice inside. As punishment, you’ll sit in the middle of this floor, by yourself with the lights off, for thirty minutes.” Kendall looked at Meggie. “Let’s go. We’ll leave him alone so he can think about his actions. He wants to act like a barbarian, I’ll treat him like one. Some children have parents who care about manners.”
Meggie stiffened, picking up on her dig at CJ. “Some parents have happy children.”
Glaring at Kendall, Zoann left Fee’s side to kneel in front of Rory. “Go play,” she instructed.
Not moving, he looked at Kendall, the tears sliding down his cheeks and the plea in his eyes almost too much for Fee. Rory was Kendall’s son, so how she chastised him was her business. Fee wouldn’t want anyone interfering with her parenting. In this instance, though, she was happy her sister attempted to intercede. Not that it worked.
“You move and I’ll spank you,” Kendall warned, prompting growls from both Zoann and Meggie.
Fee had an idea. “I’m really tired,” she interjected. “Can Rory help me to my room, Kendall? Maybe, as a reward he can join CJ in his room?”
“He can help you, but he returns here and sits on the floor until I tell him to get up.”
“Rory, please help Aunt Fee to her room,” Meggie instructed with a smile. “Remember the one me, you, and CJ brought the big bouquet of flowers to a little while ago?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
His sad little voice broke Fee’s heart, and she smiled at him. “Can he keep me company?” Anything rather than him sitting on the floor, alone, in a darkened hallway, while the adults ate and the other children played.
“Perhaps, after his punishment, he can return to keep you company, Fee,” Kendall replied, not budging.
Rory’s face fell.
Zoann hugged him. “Hold Cousin Fee’s hand all the way there. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then, go play.” Meggie’s look dared Kendall to refute her.
Kendall’s face reddened. “Son…”
Megan took her cell phone from her pocket and pressed a couple of buttons. “Hey,” she greeted. “I know you just got back to the club, but why don’t you come over and eat with us?” Taking the phone from her ear, she put it on speakerphone. “Could you repeat that, Johnnie?”
Kendall paled. Smirking, Zoann got to her feet. Rory’s face lit up, his eyes brigh
tening.
“I said I’ll be right over, sweetheart. Is my gorgeous wife still there?”
“Yeppers. So’s Rory. Still enjoying himself with his cousins.” Meggie grinned at Kendall, a cold look she’d adopted from Christopher. “Isn’t that right, Kendall?”
“Hi, Johnnie,” Kendall called, sending Meggie a violent glower. “Rory’s just fine. About to help Fee to her room. He’s such a little gentleman.”
Yeah, but at the cost of being a kid.
“Good job, Rory!” Johnnie complimented. “Are you helping the boys look after your mother, cousins, and aunts?”
“Yes, sir, Father,” Rory cried, tears still evident in his voice.
“What’s the matter, son?” The pleasure in Johnnie’s voice was gone. “Are you okay? Are you playing with the boys?”
“He fell, Johnnie,” Kendall rushed out, “running to take Fee’s hand to bring her to her room.”
Johnnie cleared his throat. “That’s my boy. I’m so proud of you.”
Rory’s hurt went away and he nodded, not realizing his father couldn’t see him.
“I had them in CJ’s playroom all morning, working on art projects.”
Silence met Kendall’s lie. Likely, she took credit for Bunny’s job.
“Right, gorgeous,” he said, as if he didn’t believe her.
Kendall gave Rory a thoughtful stare. “How long will it be before you arrive?”
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Rory has been asking for you,” Meggie interjected. “Why don’t you talk to him on your way over here, Johnnie? Cheer him up from his fall.”
“You little bitch,” Kendall snarled, low.
“It takes a bitch to know one, doesn’t it?” Meggie returned sweetly, holding her phone out to Rory but staring at Kendall.
Johnnie sighed. “Fuck. I’m on my way.”
“Just in time to discover where we bury this bitch’s body,” Zoann called.
“Fuck,” Johnnie said again, a chair scraping in the background.
Fee stepped forward, wanting to remove her little cousin from Kendall’s wrath while Johnnie was still on the phone. “Rory, bud, why don’t you show me to my room?”
Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books Page 348