Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books

by Kathryn C. Kelly

  When he walked in, he paused for a moment upon sight of Roxy before continuing to Megan and kissing her, then heading to the fridge for a beer.

  “Want one?” he asked Roxy.

  “Yeah. I need one after the day I had.”

  Without responding, Outlaw opened Roxy’s beer and handed it to her. “Megan, baby, I got a confession.”

  Setting her spoon aside and covering her pot, Meggie lowered the fire and then turned to face them. “What’s that?”

  “I fucked up Doc Will old man,” he announced.

  “Omigod, you did what?” Meggie screeched.

  “Motherfucker had a gun on her, Knox, and another motherfucker. Fuck them two, but if he killed Doc Will that woulda up-fuckin-set you and Roxanne. There-fuckin-fore, the motherfucker had to bite it.”

  Meggie looked as if she’d faint at any moment. “You did this in front of Knox?” she croaked. “Christopher!” She covered her face then looked at him, her blue eyes filled with tears. “What’s going to happen now?”

  “I ain’t had a choice, baby.” Outlaw set his beer on the table and pulled Meggie into his arms, kissing the top of her head. “Motherfucker ain’t give me a fuckin’ chance to talk him the fuck down. It was him or them. My fuckin’ ass, too. I ain’t lettin’ no dirty motherfucker terrorize a girl in fuckin’ front of me. I ain’t got fuckin’ time for that shit.”

  “I know,” Meggie said quietly. “It’s just…Oh, Christopher.” Standing on tiptoe, she laid her head against his chest and hugged him as tightly as she could. “Knox was there.”

  Roxy drank from her beer, seeing Meggie’s heartache and worry. “Knox might be a low-down motherfucker, baby, but even he has a sense of fair play. I think Outlaw saving his life will change things.”

  “Baby, listen to me. I know I fuckin’ promised you a early moratorium, but I ain’t had a fuckin’ choice. It ain’t even Halloween yet—”

  “I’m not worried about that,” Meggie interrupted. “If you’re arrested I don’t know what I’ll do…” She clapped her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean that, Christopher. I’ll take care of our house and our kids and…”

  Threading his fingers through her hair, he placed his hands at her nape. “Shut the fuck up, baby. I’ma do my fuckin’ best to stay the fuck outta jail. If the badges come for me because of this, then—”

  “Then Jordan will vouch for you,” Roxy inserted, unable to watch Meggie’s worry and fear a moment longer. It was because of Knox. Although Meggie didn’t like her husband to kill, in this instance, Roxy was certain the girl supported the decision. “Dr. Will wouldn’t desert you.”

  “But Knox—” Meggie started, her chin wobbling.

  Inside, Roxy winced. Seeing Meggie’s fear served as a good reminder to keep a wall between Knox and her emotions. Even if she slept with him…fuck where had that come from?

  Except, she knew. She was attracted to Knox. His resemblance to a certain movie star had gotten her attention, but it was the man himself who kept it. His voice. His conversation. His…attention.

  Fuck. She was a mature woman. Once she’d come into her own and got comfortable in her own skin, she never questioned her desirability. She never considered her birthdate. True, she’d never dated a younger man. She wasn’t into cougaring.

  Then, Knox had come along and…he could’ve been killed today. “Outlaw, thank you,” Roxy blurted, as appreciative that he’d saved Jordan as he was that Knox had survived. “Without you…”

  He grunted, still whispering reassurances to Meggie. Because Knox might be…Fuck. For a moment, Roxy forgot all that was at stake. Outlaw’s freedom.

  Her son-in-law’s freedom. She couldn’t let months of loneliness affect her good sense.

  “Thank you for being you, Christopher,” Meggie whispered. “Good and honorable and just. I love you so much.”

  He was all those things and more. Maybe, Knox had seen the other side of Outlaw for himself and would walk away from whatever he’d intended before today.

  “Fuck, man,” Cameron groaned as he walked into their office, hours later. He’d brought Jordan Will to her house since her car had been ruined. The doctor said she wanted to be alone, so Cam had left her. Now, the man lingered in Knox’s doorway. “If Caldwell hadn’t been there, we all would be dead.”

  Knox sat at his desk, still processing the afternoon’s events.

  He had to…God, he’d almost died! He hadn’t spoken to his son in over a year, thanks to his ex-wife. If Grant ever came looking for him and Sulley had succeeded, his son would’ve gotten the news that Knox had been killed.

  Their last father/son outing had been a car show. Knox held that near and dear to his heart, but he didn’t know if Grant would even remember it.

  God.

  He’d almost died today. Roxy’s face flashed through his head. Would she have missed him? Mourned him?

  Did it matter to him? She was a fling, a fuck. A mark.

  What if she’d been in that garage? Things might’ve turned out differently. Knox wouldn’t have much cared to have a gun pointed at her. More than that, she wouldn’t have liked it and would’ve opened her mouth and pissed Sulley off. She would’ve gotten herself killed. After surviving cancer, a stupid lowlife would’ve killed her.

  “What about that Monsters Inc. motherfucker?” Cam asked, standing in the doorway, looking as shaken as Knox felt.

  “We called 911 and gave statements. We didn’t rat Caldwell out. The surveillance cameras will do that.”

  Cam leaned against the frame and closed his eyes. “He was defending us, Knox. We have to speak up on his behalf.”

  Knox scrubbed a hand over his face, thinking of his uncle. Of the lost law firm. One of his uncle’s partners had committed suicide and another’s life was still in danger. An innocent man, one associated with the firm by marriage, was missing. Knox couldn’t reconcile the man he’d seen in Caldwell today to the man his uncle described him as. The man Knox believed he was. He’d made a career out of catching bad guys. If someone was guilty, they were supposed to be in jail. His entire life was based on that theory. A good deed didn’t make an offender any less guilty from his crimes.

  “He’s a killer,” Knox said, torn. Maybe, he was no longer the right man for the case. He felt biased, unable to think clearly. “He took Sulley out because the man likes to murder,” he went on, as much to remind himself as it was to make Cam recall why they were on the case. Uncle Avalon expected him to deliver. Knox hated to back out from his first big case. But, if Caldwell hadn’t been there, he’d be dead. Speaking of which… “He had no business being there.”

  “Roxanne was at the restaurant. It looks like he must’ve followed her for some reason.”

  “If he did, then he saw her leave and knew she wouldn’t be with us. He came to that garage to shoot Sulley. That’s the same thing he probably did to Charlotte and Brooks’ son-in-law.”

  “You know what, Wafer? You say what the fuck you want to. If he gets into trouble, I’m going to tell what he did. I think he was there for the doctor. That’s his wife’s OB.”

  “No, Cookie,” Knox insisted, needing to keep his low estimation of the man for his uncle’s benefit. “He doesn’t have the attention span or the wits to do a stakeout.”

  Shaking his head, Cam snorted. “You’re an arrogant ass.”

  Leaning forward, Knox slid his hands along his cheeks then clasped them together. Maybe, he was being an arrogant jerk. Caldwell had saved his life. He needed to reassess his opinion. No, he needed to recuse himself. No. He couldn’t. He had a job to do. “Think about it. If he’s sent to jail for this, the club will be without him and that’ll make everyone else easier to bring down.”

  Not responding, Cam walked away.

  Knox was being a little too rigid in his views of the motorcycle man. But, Christ, he was a law-abiding citizen, seeking justice on behalf of other law-abiding citizens who’d been victims.

  Was it so wrong to want to bring the man do
wn anyway he could?

  “Knox,” Cam called. “Come here a second, would you?”

  Getting to his feet, Knox headed to Cam’s office, where his friend was frowning at a computer screen.

  “What’s up? Everything still on track?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded to the screen. “Everything except the camera in Brooks’ office.”

  Knox started. “What do you mean?”

  “Just what I said. The camera’s off.”

  “You mean like it’s been tampered with?”

  Cam nodded.

  “That can’t be. No matter how obvious I am, those yahoos are too stupid to discern my threat, even if it was tattooed on my forehead.” Unless… “Could Brooks have disabled it?” He knew the answer to that. “No. Before he touched it, the dumb ass would report it to Outlaw.”

  “Knox, shut up and listen. The last image I have is of Kendall Donovan.”

  Knox narrowed his eyes, remembering Kendall’s accusations. He heaved in a breath. This entire day had been shitty, so it wasn’t surprising that red-headed bitch had screwed with his setup. “It’s apparent she hasn’t gone to Outlaw. We certainly would’ve heard about it. There’s something else at play here. She hates the club president.”

  “Yeah, man, but she loves her husband. Why wouldn’t she tell him?”

  “Telling Johnnie is like telling Outlaw. He’d see it as a threat to the club. In all honesty, I think he’s the one who makes the majority of the decisions.”

  “After seeing the man in action today, I wouldn’t underestimate him, Wafer. What he did took balls. He’s a crack shot. Then, he walked away as cool as a fucking cucumber.”

  “Look at it this way. If he’d suspected me and still killed Sulley, then he would’ve shot me, too. It’s as simple as that.” Knox smiled, forcing himself to control all the emotions coursing through him at having a gun pointed at him and being unarmed.

  “I see that grin. You have a next step? A new plan of action?”

  Knox smirked at his friend. “I always have a plan of action. Another step.”

  “Which is?”

  “To do nothing.”

  Cam placed his hands behind his head and reared back in his seat. “Now, there’s a brilliant plan,” he quipped.

  “Listen, ashfuck.” Knox stopped and chuckled, as CJ Caldwell’s word came to him.

  “What’d you call me?”

  “Words of a little hoodlum-in-the-making. Forget it. My plan is to do nothing. I know I won’t be getting video of criminal activity that might be taking place in Brooks’ office, but I can’t risk switching clocks again or adding anything else. I’m sure Kendall expects some sort of response to what she did. I’ll just have to depend on the audio from my wire.”

  “Sounds like a winner to me.” Cam threw him a sly grin. “Are you calling the lovely Roxanne?”

  “She is beautiful, isn’t she?”

  “The woman seems like a pistol.”

  “God, is she ever.”

  Cam considered him. “You sound like you’re really into her.”

  “No. Never. The only thing she can do for me is provide inside information. Once this case is over, we’re over.”

  “If you say so.”

  Cam didn’t sound convinced. Not surprising, since Knox’s words hadn’t had as much conviction as they should have.

  Silence fell around them. Once again, Knox saw the moment Sulley cornered them. He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. “We owe Caldwell,” he finally admitted. “We owe him.”

  “We do,” Cam agreed.

  “I don’t think I can continue…” His voice trailed off. If only he knew what was right in this instance. Damn it! The law was the law, but if he looked the other way for Caldwell committing a murder to save his life, then he could back off…Jesus, this galled him.

  “Call Uncle Avalon,” Cam suggested, familiar enough with the family to refer to Avalon as ‘uncle’ like Knox. “Let’s tell him what happened. He might even decide to back away.”

  “We have to call Charlotte, too, then.”

  “You call Charlotte. I’ll call Uncle Avalon.”

  As they waited for their client to arrive, Knox ordered food for him and Cam from the restaurant. They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Today’s events dominated Knox’s head. He wanted to get home and have a drink.

  Call Roxy.

  For the moment, the thought didn’t annoy him or panic him. She made him laugh. Giving up the case would allow him to pursue her in earnest. Maybe, they wouldn’t last, but he would be in her company because of real interest not just for information.

  She deserved better, anyway.

  From the moment she’d walked into the kitchen the morning he’d met her, he’d been attracted to her. It was shallow, at first. Her face and her body had drawn him in. Then, she’d spoken, and hadn’t cared one bit what he thought of her. She’d been real from that moment to this one.

  “Why all the long faces?” Uncle Avalon said, ushering Charlotte into Knox’s office.

  Setting his plastic fork on the Styrofoam plate, Knox straightened. Cam looked up from the computer. The man scarfed food down, so he’d been finished.

  “Knox, dear,” Charlotte said with a smile.

  He winced at the hope in her eyes but stood. “Let’s go into the conference room.”

  Once he led Uncle Avalon and Charlotte into the small room, and Cam walked in carrying his laptop, Knox indicated they all sit.

  “What prompted this emergency meeting?” Uncle Avalon demanded.

  “You have to hire another firm,” Knox started.

  Charlotte gasped as his uncle widened his eyes.

  “There’s no one better than you and Cameron,” Uncle Avalon said gruffly. “I know this is your first big—”

  “It isn’t that,” Cam interrupted. “Caldwell saved our lives today. If he hadn’t been where we were in a nearby parking garage, a crazy man would’ve shot us.”

  “Oh dear.” Charlotte placed her hand on her chest. “I saw on the news a bit ago that a body had been discovered in a parking garage. Wouldn’t you know it, the surveillance cameras weren’t working?”

  Knox shrugged, surprised at the relief he felt. Caldwell would face no consequences for his actions.

  “Boys, I understand you must be grateful to the man,” Uncle Avalon started.

  “I am. Aren’t you?” Knox asked.

  Uncle Avalon exchanged a glance with Charlotte before he nodded and she lowered her lashes. She shuddered.

  “Ordinarily, I’d go and shake his hand myself. I’d even compensate him monetarily. But this is a horrible club. He’s a horrible man. Violent. He…”

  Charlotte let out a sob as a tear slid down her cheek. “Kyler gave his life for my daughter’s virtue,” she said hoarsely. “To save his young daughter from being sold off.”

  Knox straightened and his stomach turned. “What?”

  She nodded. “I swear to you that man ordered my beautiful Brenda to be…” She leaned closer. “Violated. This club has a history of selling little girls and women to the highest bidder. They were going to take little Charlene. She’s eight. My God, Knox, they’re horrible. Kyler went to the club to save his family and hasn’t been heard from since. He’s dead! Brooks told me Outlaw tortured and killed my son-in-law.”

  “Shit!” Knox said, standing up and doing his best not to throw up at the horrible details. Rape, murder, and torture was one thing. Selling children was something else altogether. “Why didn’t Brooks go to the police?”

  “He can’t!” Charlotte sobbed. “Brenda and Charlene are still in danger. Nothing can bring that club down. Do you know why he hates Kendall so much? She spurned him while his little slut of a wife had something with Johnnie.”

  “Caldwell’s evil personified,” Cam said with disgust.

  “He is. Let’s not forget about Joe Stone, who killed himself,” Uncle Avalon said. “If I wasn’t a silent partner, I’m sure I would�
�ve been targeted for repercussions.”

  This new information changed Knox’s perception drastically. He couldn’t believe Caldwell was still a free man nor could he imagine the hell Charlotte and her family must’ve gone through.

  “I love my husband. I want him safe.” Tears slipped down Charlotte’s cheeks. “I’m so happy he saved you, dear. But you were saved to get justice for the sake of good. Christopher Caldwell and John Donovan…all of those lowlifes aren’t men to have pity for. Your pangs of conscience are wasted. They are immoral pigs. You need to pretend today never happened and go on as before.”

  “No, what I need to do is call in a few of my contacts in the department,” Knox snarled, angrier that he’d almost walked away and allowed a monster to remain free.

  “No!” Uncle Avalon said quickly. “No. Good men disappear with them. Forget what we said today and continue on. We gather the evidence and then bring in the Feds. I mean it, Knox. You’ll only endanger yourself and Cameron if you let this affect you. You were on the right path. Stay your course, son. I can give you so many other reasons to go after them. Tax evasion, for instance. They have offshore accounts that I have records for. An obscene amount of money is there. They are a violent gang. Please. Please! Hal would never forgive me if I got his only child killed, and Joan would just be devastated.”

  Mentioning his parents snapped Knox back into focus. He could go on as before, for the sake of justice. One thing was certain—Caldwell and the others were going down and he’d use whoever he needed to achieve his goal.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It wasn’t even Halloween, and Christmas circulars were already coming in the mail.

  Christopher made a small stack of the ones he’d bring to Megan. The rest he threw the fuck away. She already had a fucking list a mile fucking long for every motherfucker she’d ever fucking met. Maybe, she’d manufactured motherfuckers to buy shit for.

  With the mail sorted, he turned his attention back to the bank statements. As Johnnie said, the numbers matched the printout from the accounting software. But the balances were even lower this month than they were from the last.