“You think I should, especially after what his ass did last night?”
Bailey hugged her again. “He likes you, despite his constipation of the brain that’s not allowing him to think about his actions. He can’t see that we’re all on to him, when all the evidence is right there. He thinks he’s the sharpest tool in the shed and he isn’t. You have to lead him in the right direction.”
“You don’t think I’m too old?”
Bailey fell back on the bed with a dramatic moan. “Oh my God, where’s my mother? What have you done with her?”
“Twenty-four-hour pity party, remember?” Roxy said with a sniff.
“Can I amend that to twenty-four minutes?”
“Just answer the fucking question.”
“No, Roxanne, you aren’t too old. Do your parts still work?”
“What kind of a fucking question is that to ask your mother?”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Your similar names are cute. When you doodle your names in hearts, it’ll be Knoxy and Roxy. Adorable,” Bailey added with a mischievous giggle, making Roxy laugh. “Besides, Knoxy might be a rat fink jerk bastard, but he’s hot and sexy. If he turns out to be your boy toy for only a few weeks, grab your happiness and run with it. Life’s too short to let it pass you by.”
“When did you get so wise?” Roxy asked, brimming with pride and overcome with emotion.
“When I was lucky enough to get you as a mother,” Bailey responded before leaving Roxy alone to dress for the day.
Turning into the club parking lot, Knox pulled into a space. The sight of an Escalade coming from the private road drew his attention. The passenger side window was down, affording him a view of Roxy.
As they turned at the gate and the biker on duty allowed them to leave, Knox got back in his car and headed out, instead of going inside as he’d intended.
He told himself the only reason he followed the vehicle Roxy rode in was because he was curious to know her movements. Not because he felt guilty as hell for what had happened at the party. He’d used her invitation for his benefit. In the end, it had backfired on him.
Now, he felt like a stalker as he watched her walk into a grocery store with Kendall, Megan, and Bailey. She’d agreed to go out with him tonight, but it concerned him that she might try to pluck his eyes out.
He didn’t trust her temper. Or, maybe, he felt as if he deserved her retribution for being such a cad.
Whatever the case, he waited a few minutes before he exited his Mustang and went into the store. He groaned at the vastness of it. He preferred smaller places. However, he had the perfect excuse of purchasing their meal for later once he crossed her path.
Halloween was just yesterday and already workers were out, shelving packages of ornaments, garland, and holiday lights. He didn’t get into the Christmas spirit until after Thanksgiving, but that was just him. For as long as he remembered, the tradition had been to start decorating for the holidays the night of Thanksgiving.
Pushing his basket, he tried to focus on choosing a package of berries. Knowing Roxy was somewhere in the store made it impossible, so he chose the next container he laid his hands on and dropped it in the cart. Same with the bagged oranges and lemons. He swore he smelled her perfume and heard her laughter.
Glancing around, it disappointed him that he didn’t see her face amongst the shoppers. Passing the section with the fresh flowers, he took more time choosing a bouquet of red roses. Strictly to get on her good side, he swore. An idea came to him, one he’d explore later. At the moment, he had to find Roxanne.
After haphazardly throwing items into his basket, he finally spotted her standing with the other women at the meat counter. She was leaning into Kendall, pointing at something in the butcher’s case.
She wore the same wig she’d had on last night at the party. She must’ve liked the cut. Knox grinned to himself. Roxy’s look changed on a daily basis. He kind of liked that.
Of course, the red-head spotted him first and her brown eyes narrowed. Megan and Bailey’s mouths fell open and then they looked at each other.
Knox grabbed the bouquet of roses he’d kept safe at the top of the basket and walked to Roxy, who’d gone still, though she didn’t turn in his direction.
Stopping just behind her and tuning out the disapproval of the other three, he slid the bouquet into her line of vision.
“What the hell do you expect me to do with a bunch of roses that’s not paid for?” she asked, still not looking at him.
“How do you know they aren’t?” Knox countered, ignoring Kendall’s smirk. “I might’ve ran to the register, purchased them, and then came back to you.”
“That would be a no,” Kendall told him, her glare fierce enough to freeze hell. “We’ve been keeping track of you and not once did you go to the checkout line.”
Bailey elbowed Kendall. “Shut up.”
Megan scowled at Kendall. “Girl code, remember?”
“Yes, sugar, you need to learn the art of shut the fuck up,” Roxy said with a sniff. “This motherfucker didn’t need to know that.”
Knox stepped closer to Roxy and placed his hand at her waist. “Does that mean you led me on a merry chase around a grocery store?”
Another sniff. “Well, if you want to fucking dog my steps, who the fuck am I to ruin your fun?” she retorted, not moving away from his touch. “What do you want, Knox?”
“I want to apologize.” Saying sorry to her might not work with Roxy, but apologizing to the girls would. He looked at Megan, since he’d been in her house. “Starting with you. I shouldn’t have invited anyone else to your private party. It caused a lot of trouble. I thought I was doing something good,” he lied. All it did was piss Roxy off and limit the amount of time he could spend in the company of the bikers. They socialized a lot at their houses. “Please, accept my apology, Megan.”
“I do,” she responded. “But I still can’t have you over to my house.”
“Meggie, baby, let’s go to the frozen food section,” Roxy said, dismissing him. “Bailey, Kendall, you order the meat we chose.”
“I can do it,” Kendall volunteered. “You go with Roxy, Bailey.”
“Are you sure?” Bailey asked suspiciously.
Roxy sighed. “Sugar, if you need to talk to this motherfucker without us, just say so. Don’t make up stories to get us away.”
Kendall blushed. “I just didn’t want you asking questions.”
“We won’t,” Megan and Bailey said in unison.
Roxy gave Kendall a hard stare but finally nodded and ushered the girls away without acknowledging Knox. He hoped she wasn’t backing out of their date.
“You’re an asshole,” Kendall hissed the moment they were alone. “You had a fucking camera hidden in that clock.”
“Says who?” he asked, his turn to smirk, and laid the flowers back in his basket.
“Says me,” she shot back, not intimidated at all. “I took it to a shop and paid for it to be dismantled.”
He hadn’t expected that. He shrugged to play it off. “I purchased the clock from a friend,” he lied. “Perhaps, he had the camera placed.”
“You’re a fucking liar,” Kendall insisted.
“If you think I am, why haven’t you gone to Outlaw?”
Her expression closed and she lifted her chin. “He’s an asshole. He doesn’t need to know you’re doing…whatever.”
His confidence grew and he lifted a brow. “Why not, Roxanne, then?”
Her hostility returned. “She likes you, asshole. Why tell her you’re a fuckhead when she needs a little fun in her life?”
She was describing his affair with Roxy in the same manner the woman herself had. That annoyed the hell out of him. He didn’t introduce every woman he met to his parents. On the other hand, given the disaster, he shouldn’t have done so with Roxy. Then, again, that catastrophic dinner had led to him making love to her. Kendall didn’t need to k
now any of this, so Knox shrugged and blurted the first indifferent response that came to mind. “I’m sure she does. A woman of a particular age has very limited choices.”
Kendall gasped. “Listen to me, fucker. I don’t know what you’re looking for. I’m watching you closely because I don’t want my husband harmed. In the meantime, I refuse to allow you to hurt Roxy. She’s been through enough and I’ll make you the sorriest asshole alive if you do her anything.”
Pity he wasn’t bugged. “Is that a threat, Kendall? It sure sounds like it. What would you do. Go to Johnnie? Tell him to beat me up like Outlaw did?”
“Outlaw didn’t lay a hand on you,” she scoffed.
“I beg to differ. He beat my ass and shoved a gun in my mouth.”
“If a guy lets another man beat his ass, he fucking deserves it. Why didn’t you fight back? There hasn’t been a scratch on the man.”
“And you watch him close enough to see each of his nicks and scars?”
“Fuck you,” she spat. “I’m telling you not to hurt Roxy. Hell hath no fury…I’m sure you know the rest.”
“I do,” he agreed. “I’m pretty smart.”
Kendall snorted. “Not from my vantage point. I’d say you’re pretty fucking stupid.”
“I think that title goes to Outlaw.”
She leaned back, then broke into laughter. “I pity your ignorance. Not,” she said merrily, then turned toward the counter, clearly dismissing him.
Frustrated by Kendall’s attitude, Knox decided not to engage her any further and went in search of Roxy again, finding her alone on an aisle with myriad spices.
“Separated yourself for my benefit?” he called, sauntering to her and appreciating her knee length skirt and knee high boots. “Maybe, for us to steal a kiss.”
“Please,” she said with a snort.
“You knew I was in the store,” he reminded her, his satisfaction running deep that she was so aware of him.
“I saw you turn in when we were getting out of Bailey’s Escalade to come into the store,” she confessed. “You don’t blend in very well.”
He slid a finger along her jaw. “Is that a compliment?”
“You would think so, but, no, it isn’t. It means you’re shit at being a PI.”
“You wound me,” he teased, not in the least offended since he knew it wasn’t true.
“What do you want?” she asked, her expression turning serious. Although she didn’t stop him from cupping her chin, her friendliness disappeared.
Knox glanced in each direction, wondering if the girls had returned and she was showing her hostility to save face.
“I wanted to apologize to you for last night. I wanted to thank you for not blowing my cover. I can’t wait until our date tonight.” True, on all accounts.
“I shouldn’t have accepted. What you did was so fucking wrong. You’re trying to lead Outlaw to incriminate himself for whatever. You’re not even considering what that would do to Meggie if you do find something on him. What about his kids? CJ, especially. You’d break that child’s heart, Knox. You turned what was supposed to be a fun, family night into a showdown that, in the end, hurt Kendall terribly. You made her lose Charlotte.”
Knox dropped his hand. “Despite everything, you know I’m right,” he pointed out. “Otherwise, you would’ve outed me.”
“What do you think the boy would’ve done if I “outed” you?” she asked, using air quotations. “You make the boy sound like a criminal. He saved your life, Knox.”
Yes, but he was also selling little girls. Using women for his benefit. A good man who’d only wanted to protect his wife and daughter from Outlaw’s brutality had died. What had started out as an investigation on behalf of the law firm, had morphed into so much more. Outlaw had a lot of crimes to pay for. He’d made his choice.
“Outlaw saving my life is commendable. I’m grateful, for that. But, to me, he is a criminal.”
She stiffened and put her hands on her hips. “This conversation is over and done with. Go.”
Hell. Knox hadn’t come here to piss her off. He’d come to apologize. “Roxy, I swear, I’ll be as fair as possible and look at every angle.”
“When you find nothing, then what? Because you won’t. He loves his family too much.”
“It’s unfortunate the people who love him would suffer.”
That pissed her off a little more and she hissed. “They’d just be collateral damage, right, Knox?”
He thought fast before his good intentions went to hell. “No, of course not! I’m very aware of all the families. It isn’t my intention to separate them,” he lied, and raised his right hand. “Scout’s honor.”
She studied him, then snorted. “Were you even a fucking scout?”
“Yes,” he said honestly, stepping even closer to her. “I didn’t come here to argue with you. I came to apologize. I promise you if I don’t find anything by the beginning of the year, I’ll back off.”
Her eyes brightened with hope. “Really?”
Feeling like a lying jerk, he nodded. “I know how much they mean to you, babe. I’ll do all I can to protect them.”
She grinned and adjusted the collar of his button down. “I knew you had some fairness in you.”
“I do,” he agreed, taking advantage of her softening to pull her into his arms and slant his mouth over hers, tasting her sweetness and breathing in her scent. When she lifted herself on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, he knew she’d bought his lies. She returned his kiss. Touching her tongue to his. Melting into him. Pressing her body against his growing erection.
A throat cleared behind them. Knox groaned, reluctant to let her go. They were in a public place, so he had to. Breaking apart, he turned and found Bailey staring at him. He detected a bit of amusement.
Roxy patted her wig. “Bailey, baby, I got distracted. I was just coming to look for you.”
“I understand,” Bailey answered.
“What’s up, sugar?”
“It’s Kendall. She’s giving the butcher a rough time. There’s a sign that lists the price of the meat as ten bucks a pound, but that was last week’s special. It’s actually eighteen dollars. She wants the manager and…can you just come?”
“I’m happy to hear the woman isn’t the only one who gives me a rough time,” Knox said dryly.
Before Roxy responded, Megan appeared, dragging Kendall toward them.
“Can we go check out now?” Megan asked, exasperation clear on her face.
Licking her kiss-moistened lips, Roxy frowned. “Where’s the rib roast and the filet?”
“Somewhere in a land where Kendall told the butcher to shove up his ass,” Megan answered in annoyance.
“I did,” Kendall said without apology. “I’m not you. Miss Debbie Do-good, who smooths things over with everyone.”
“Okay, that’s it.” Megan went around the basket. “I’m going outside. You’re not insulting me, Kendall.”
“Megan, can you come with me?” Knox asked in a hurry. “I can purchase Roxy’s roses and give them to you for her?”
“How can you, asshole?” Kendall sneered. “You left your basket at the butcher’s counter.” She looked at Megan. “Are you volunteering to be a good girl and get the roses from Knox while we finish shopping?”
Megan growled. “Omigod, Kendall, shut up.”
“Girls!” Roxy said, clapping her hands. “You’re grown ass women acting like fucking preschoolers. Kendall, get off Meggie’s ass. You’re wrong and if I was the little girl, I’d punch the fuck out of you. Meggie, can you go to the butcher and order the meat? Knox, get your fucking basket and stop stalking me.”
He winked at her. “The kiss I stole was worth it.”
Roxy’s face reddened and she averted her eyes, worsened by Bailey elbowing her and giggling.
“Bye, Knox,” Roxy said sharply, but Knox swore he heard just a small amount of fulfilment at his public display of affection.
“Hey!” Bailey c
alled, stopping his intention to walk away. “You’re paying for those flowers for my mother, Knox. Get your basket and I’ll hold them for her.”
“Bailey…” Roxy started.
Bailey’s wink might’ve made Knox wonder at the silent communication. Instead, he caught Roxy’s amusement and laughed along with her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Before Knox, the last time Roxy had gotten flowers was when K-P brought them to her for giving birth to Bailey. The only other time she’d allowed a man to kiss her senseless in public was when K-P did it.
Now Knox had given her a second bouquet in a matter of weeks. He’d followed her from the club to the grocery store to apologize.
Roxy believed his intentions were sincere. After all, she’d already agreed to go out with him tonight, so this extra effort had been unnecessary.
She sat in the middle seat of the Escalade with Kendall, since the girl was still being a supreme bitch to Meggie, who’d returned to the butcher and gotten him to compromise on a lower price. That had sent Kendall’s anger through the roof. She’d accused Meggie of being an ass-kisser. Meggie, in turn, had told them she’d call her husband to pick her up.
No one needed that, so Roxy stepped in and convinced her not to disturb her crazy man. Unlike on the ride to the store, tension filled the SUV. No one spoke. Each of them looked out their windows as Bailey drove. Roxy, meanwhile, kept staring at the pretty red roses in her lap.
She wanted to call this a bullshit move on Knox’s part and not allow sentimentality to enter into the equation. Dealing with Knox wasn’t only about her. Kendall had already felt the sting of his presence. Next, would be Meggie, until it finally affected Bailey.
Even going out tonight with him hadn’t been for herself, but to question him and then report to Outlaw. It was to get him to back off, despite the low-down shit he’d pulled with Charlotte. Whatever else happened between them, she didn’t want Knox to die.
However, he was finally getting the picture. She could tell Outlaw that he had to behave for a few more weeks, and then Knox would give up. All would be well. They could…No, she wouldn’t allow her emotions to give her false hope.
Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books Page 397