Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club:: Fifteen Bad Boy Biker Books

by Kathryn C. Kelly

  “You know what I’ve just realized?” Johnnie suddenly asked the group, looking into each of their faces as a broad smile curved his lips. “Megan hasn’t spoken directly to Christopher once tonight. Could it be that Mr. and Mrs. Happily-Ever-After are arguing?”

  “Damn, son,” Mortician said with a shake of his head. “You don’t have to sound so gleeful.”

  Outlaw looked in his wife’s direction. Megan must’ve felt her husband’s gaze on her because she turned, the long strands of hair escaping her messy bun wiggling with her movements. Not only did she seem angry, but hurt, too.

  “I ain’t gonna talk to Megan for at least another five fuckin’ days,” Outlaw confided in a low voice.

  “I beg your pardon?” Johnnie glared at Outlaw. “Is that why she’s looking so wretched? Because of you?”

  “Back the fuck off, Johnnie,” Outlaw snapped. “This between me, my cock, and my woman. Megan ain’t gonna get kidnapped ever a-fuckin-gain. I almost lost my fuckin’ mind.”

  “And we almost lost our fucking noses,” Digger quipped.

  Outlaw hadn’t even had it in him to shower.

  “Ha fuckin’ ha ha,” Outlaw grumbled. “Laugh all the fuck you wanna. This shit serious. Megan gotta sleep with a fuckin’ light on. She scream in the middle of the fuckin’ night. What them motherfuckers did fuckin’ harmed her a lot.”

  “We still don’t get where you’re going with this,” Cam put in.

  “I got a dick snip flip,” he confessed, still in a tone that suggested secrecy. Or betrayal. “Ima get Megan pregnant again. Fuckin’ problem is she ain’t wantin’ no more lil’ motherfuckers and I ain’t told her about my plans ‘til after I had the procedure that she still ain’t knowin’ about. I gotta see…I don’t know what Ima do.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Johnnie asked in suspicion.

  “Tell her and hope she change her mind, or pull a lower-motherfucker-move, don’t tell her and hope she end up filled with my kid.”

  “You wouldn’t,” Johnnie managed, anger lighting his eyes. “You can’t take away her choice. It’s her body, Christopher, and her body isn’t your fucking receptacle.”

  “Yo, Johnnie, back the fuck off,” Outlaw ordered. Even his soft voice was filled with menace. “This between me and Megan.”

  “Prez,” Mortician started, “you saying you created an argument between you and Meggie girl so she don’t know your cock injured, in case you decide against telling her?”

  Outlaw nodded.

  “You’re such a barbaric asshole,” Johnnie barked, taking Outlaw’s cue and keeping his voice quiet.

  Outlaw put his bottle down and grabbed Johnnie by the collar. Much like he’d done to Knox days ago.

  “Look, motherfucker—”

  “Don’t ‘look’ me, Christopher,” Johnnie spat. “I’m telling Megan what you’re doing.”

  A chill dropped into the air. “If you do, Ima cut your fuckin’ tongue outcha fuckin’ head and watch you bleed to fuckin’ death,” Outlaw snarled.

  Johnnie yanked himself away, but fell silent. Perhaps, thinking about the day Outlaw had shoved a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger…?

  “Why do you want to cut Johnnie’s tongue out?” Megan called.

  “So he ain’t usin’ it no more, Megan,” Outlaw answered in frustration. “What the fuck you think for?”

  She glowered at him, but turned her attention back to the women.

  Outlaw bowed his head. “Fuck, but Megan breakin’ my fuckin’ heart.” He drank more rum, then rubbed the back of his neck. “She wanted to talk to my ass this mornin’, but I had to turn her away, and that’s why she look so fuckin’ hurt. Fuck, Ima have to make this up to her.”

  “Start by telling her the truth.”

  “Fuck, I might just gotta do that, Cash.”

  Knox hid a smile. He’d love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Sighing, Meggie tried to follow the conversation of the other women, but it was so hard. All she thought about was Christopher and the arguments they’d had. She couldn’t understand what was wrong with him.

  Did he really want another baby so badly that her response to his question about a vasectomy reversal upset him to the point of resentment that she’d turned him down?

  They didn’t handle disagreements through anger. They talked openly and honestly. They didn’t push each other away.

  “Why is Christopher walking so weird?” Fee asked, frowning as she watched her brother hobble next to Johnnie behind the bar.

  “I don’t know,” Meggie said glumly. “He’s been in a horrible mood for since last night, yelling at me for no apparent reason. I tried to be understanding. I thought maybe something happened at the club…” Voice trailing off, she gasped. “Do you think he’s been shot?”

  Despite promising to ignore him, Meggie couldn’t help but glance at her husband. He was leaning nonchalantly against the bar, engaged in conversation, his smile making her breathless.

  As if he felt her gaze on him, he looked at her. And frowned.

  “What burr is up his dickhole?” Zoann asked, narrowing her eyes at Christopher.

  “I don’t know,” Meggie admitted. “Yesterday morning was the last time we made love.”

  It was no secret that she and Christopher had a very active love life.

  “Dr. Will, I need to come in and talk to you,” Meggie said.

  “Are you pregnant again?” Bailey asked.

  “No, but Christopher wants me to be,” Meggie answered.

  “Wasn’t he the one who said he didn’t want more babies?” Roxy asked.

  Meggie nodded. “We had a very long talk last night, then I left him in the kitchen. He never said goodnight to the kids or anything. By the time I got to our room, he’d locked himself in the bathroom. He never does that.”

  “I wonder what’s wrong with him,” Bunny said. “That isn’t Outlaw’s style.”

  “Maybe, there is something going on at the club,” Zoann suggested. “I’ll ask Val and see what I find out.”

  “Thank you,” Meggie responded. “Let me know.”

  “Maybe, if you talked to him, Meggie,” Dr. Will suggested. “Mr. Caldwell can be gruff but he stops everything for you.”

  “I tried to talk to him this morning. He was so…so different. He wasn’t my Christopher at all. I got to a point where I had enough, and we argued all over again. As far as I’m concerned our fight was baseless.”

  She’d busied herself with preparing the food for their get-together and was sure Christopher would’ve calmed down by the time he returned from the club. He hadn’t.

  But, he had been limping. He hadn’t given her a chance to ask him what had happened. Things had spiraled out of control. Now, though, his behavior was thawing slightly.

  “Hello, everybody,” Kendall greeted.

  The room fell silent. As a whole, everyone glanced in Kendall’s direction. Looking uncharacteristically nervous, she shifted her weight and wrung her hands together.

  “Hi, sugar,” Roxy said with a smile.

  Relief removed some of Kendall’s uncertainty. “Hi, Roxy.”

  Meggie stood. “Come and join us, Kendall. We’ve been waiting for you. Roxy and Bailey want us to pick out the kids’ wedding clothes.” She indicated the two stacks of magazines, where an iPad sat on top. “We’re even going to visit websites.”

  “You waited for me?” Kendall asked, sounding unsure and out-of-sorts.

  “Of course, Kendall,’ Bailey responded, not unkindly. “You’re part of the planning committee.”

  As she walked forward and completely ignored the men, Kendall’s face brightened.

  “I’m so glad you made it,” Meggie continued.

  Kendall searched for a seat. However, the only available place was a spot next to Zoann on the loveseat. Pursing her lips, Kendall smiled, then decided to stand behind Roxy’s chair.

  “I’m not going to bite you,�
�� Zoann said sharply.

  Instead of replying, Kendall shrugged.

  “Lawd Jesus, give me strength,” Roxy said, getting to her feet, and walking to the loveseat. She plopped next to Zoann. “Now, sit, child.”

  “Yes, please,” Meggie said, sad at how uncomfortable and awkward this was for everyone. “Let me take your jacket.”

  Shrugging out of it, Kendall held it out to Meggie. “It’s going to be in the usual place,” she said, heading to the mudroom and hanging it on one of the hooks.

  When she returned, the room had fallen silent. The men seemed lost in their own thoughts and the women were twirling their hair, picking at their clothes, or playing on their phones.

  Girding her resolve, Meggie reseated herself, trying to think of something to say. The problem was Kendall. No one wanted to share even a little secret in front of her because they didn’t trust what she’d do with the information. Too many times before she’d burned them.

  “Rory misses you,” Meggie started, then regretted the words. She didn’t want the drama of Kendall discovering her children were living under Meggie’s roof.

  She hadn’t been able to tell Johnnie no, because he’d seemed so distraught, in no condition to care for his kids.

  “I miss Rory, too,” Kendall said in a soft voice. “All my children. I worry they’ll forget about me.”

  “I thought Johnnie brought them over to visit you?” Fee asked in surprise.

  “He does,” Kendall confirmed. “But it isn’t the same as living with them and watching their daily milestones.”

  “Just hold on, baby,” Roxy encouraged. “You’re going to get through this.”

  Kendall blinked away the tears glistening in her eyes.

  “Er, Kendall, would you like to be my matron-of-honor?” Bailey asked.

  “Really?” Kendall whispered.

  Bailey nodded.

  “I’d love to. Thank you for asking.”

  Silence fell again.

  After an eternity, Kendall cleared her throat and smiled at Roxy. “I can’t believe your hair came back like normal hair.”

  Zoann rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, you’re beyond fucking ignorant. I just remembered why I didn’t talk to you.”

  “Your hair is so long now. So pretty,” Kendall went on, ignoring Zoann. “Normal.”

  Roxy scowled at Kendall. “What the fuck you mean, sugar? Normal? My hair was always fucking normal.”

  Kendall frowned. “How so? I mean…” She gulped at Roxy’s glare. “Um, you know, um…your hair was really considered normal hair?”

  Shaking her head, Roxy laughed. If she let the matter drop, Meggie hoped Zoann would, too.

  “Johnnie?” Kendall called, drawing his attention in her direction. She pointed to Roxy’s long curls. “Isn’t it gorgeous? Even prettier than it was when it first started growing back.”

  Johnnie winced and offered Roxy a sheepish smile.

  “Please, boy,” Roxy said with a snort, perceptive as always. “Nothing Kendall thinks, says, or does, embarrasses, offends, or shocks me. You’re the one always caught off-guard.”

  “I asked her not to repeat that to you,” Johnnie confessed. “I tried to explain that your hair is normal. It’s just a different texture.” He gazed at Roxy’s hair. “Or had been until the cancer took it and it re-grew.”

  “I know about hair, Johnnie,” Kendall huffed. “Fine, limp, brittle…See? I know about hair.”

  “Wrong,” Knox snapped. “I’ll thank you to stop insulting Roxanne with your ignorance. There’s fine, medium, and coarse hair.”

  If Johnnie and Kendall couldn’t find common ground for many things, they found it when someone insulted her. At Knox’s sharp words, they both stiffened.

  Roxanne gazed at Knox. “Don’t sweat it, sugar,” she said to him. “If we can’t discuss something as simple as the differences in hair texture without flinging insults, then we can’t discuss shit. This is nothing to get ass hurt over.”

  “How does Johnnie know this difference but Kendall, a woman like you, doesn’t?” Knox demanded, sounding as grumpy as Christopher had been acting.

  Roxanne cleared her throat. “Johnnie has spent years around Mortician,” she explained. “These boys like brothers, so, of course, he’d know about hair texture.”

  “I’ve also dated a Black girl and slept with more than a few.”

  A murderous scowl spread across Kendall’s features at Johnnie’s casual information. Meggie felt like strangling him. It seemed as if he wanted to get a rise out of Kendall.

  “Check your bullshit, Kendall,” Roxanne warned, seeing Kendall’s reaction. “The boy had a dick before he met you. Just like you had a pussy, and used it, before you met him.”

  Kendall poked out her lower lip. “I don’t flaunt my affairs in his face.” She turned to Johnnie. “I don’t flaunt my affairs in your face.”

  “Not your past ones,” Johnnie reminded her. “But every chance you get, you remind me you want to sleep with Christopher.”

  Kendall glowered at Knox, then focused on Roxanne and sniffled. “Do you see how Johnnie treats me? As if I mean nothing to him. Johnnie hates me.”

  “I don’t hate you, Kendall,” Johnnie told her. “I’m just sick of you.”

  Huffing, Kendall got to her feet, then started for the door. “Excuse me for a moment.”

  The thought to go after Kendall and talk to her crossed Meggie’s mind, but to say what? More than likely, Kendall didn’t even want Meggie’s interference.

  She looked at Christopher. He didn’t smile or move, so she started for the door that led to the kitchen. “I’m going to start heating the food,” she said morosely.

  “We can all help,” Zoann put in, following behind Megan.

  Once they reached the kitchen, Meggie headed to the oven and turned it on. She loved to serve fresh-baked rolls and favored frozen ones that had to sit out for hours and rise. Setting the oven to four hundred degrees, she could almost taste the buttery goodness in her mouth.

  Fee pulled the bowl of salad out of the refrigerator and handed it to Zoann, who put it on the counter. They repeated the process with a bowl of fresh fruit.

  “I’m going to start warming everything in the microwave,” Roxy said.

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” Bunny responded, carrying Meggie’s favorite set of dishes from the pantry.

  “Stop!” CJ cried in a teary voice. “You hurtin’ me, Aunt Kenda.”

  “Ouch!” Kendall yelled. “You little motherfucker, I’m beating your ass again for kicking me.”

  “Mommie!” CJ yelled, alarming and angering Meggie, propelling her in the direction of the sounds. “’Law! Aunt Kenda got me.”

  “Fuck!” Roxy said, running behind Meggie. “What the fuck is wrong with that girl?”

  It took only a few moments for them to reach the main hallway, but Christopher, Knox, and the other men already stood there.

  Johnnie grabbed Kendall’s arm and whispered to her, pointing to CJ.

  “Come here, boy.” Christopher threw a death glare in Kendall’s direction. Wincing, he stooped down when CJ reached him and took their son into his arms.

  Meggie wondered at her husband’s fleeting look of pain, but let it go as she watched CJ hug Christopher.

  “What happened, boy?” he asked gruffly.

  What happened? Kendall happened, as always. The woman terrorized everybody, but Meggie would be damned if she allowed her to frighten CJ.

  “Then what the fuck happen, son?” Christopher asked, and Meggie regretted missing CJ’s first response.

  “Does it really matter?” she asked, a dull ache in her chest.

  “Aunt Kenda mean,” CJ sniffled, answering Christopher despite Meggie’s question. “She treat me like at the ball, when MegAnn was there. And you. A whole lotta peoples.”

  “What the fuck happen now, CJ?” Christopher asked.

  “Her grabbed my arm and shook me, then her hit my booty and legs so hard, ‘Law. Real hard
. Her say she was going to beat me again cuz I won’t say Aunt Kend-All. I call her Aunt Kenda.”

  Kendall squinted at CJ. “He’s lying,” she said without flinching.

  Meggie bristled. Kendall looked perfect and put-together, not a hair out of place, her make-up flawless. Her surface beauty hid so much ugliness. Too much.

  Too much for Meggie to keep ignoring. Someone had to stop her.

  “You and Johnnie got a bad fucking habit of wanting to hit other people’s kids, Red,” Mortician told her.

  “I don’t want to hit him. I didn’t hit him,” Kendall insisted. “I told you he’s lying.”

  “Nuh-uh, Aunt Kenda!” CJ cried, tears wetting his reddened little face.

  “My boy ain’t a liar.”

  Folding her arms, Kendall lifted her chin. “Even if it was true, which it isn’t, there’s not a lot you could do to me.”

  A buzzing started in Meggie’s head at Kendall’s boast. The past few days had been so difficult for Meggie. She was worried about Christopher, heartsore over their arguments, and upset with herself for denying Christopher’s want of another baby. She’d pushed all that aside to make Kendall feel as welcome as possible, so she wouldn’t feel so alone. Being isolated from everyone had never helped Kendall in the least.

  But Meggie was on the verge of exploding, leaping on Kendall and pummeling her into the ground.

  She’d defended Kendall to Christopher time after time. Had even talked Christopher into giving Kendall the house that was meant for their protection should the need ever arise. After overlooking the rumors of Kendall almost punching CJ, she came into Meggie’s house and actually hit her son?

  “You would never hit me,” Kendall boasted.

  No, Christopher couldn’t hit her. “Leave, Kendall.”

  “And,” Kendall went on, ignoring Meggie, “because of Johnnie, you wouldn’t kill me, either.”

  “I could shake the fuck out of you,” Christopher snapped. “Dangle your motherfuckin’ ass from a fifty-story building and accidently let you go.”

  “As if,” Kendall bit out. “CJ is a stupid little nothing, Outlaw. Just like you.” She turned angry eyes to Meggie. “Your son’s a goddamn liar.”