Chapter Twenty-Two

Falling back against her desk chair, Kendall blinked owlishly at the birth certificates laid out in front of her. Trying to process. Trying to wrap her head about the fact that…

She squinted. Removed her glasses and set them on her desk. Rubbed her hands over her face.

Outlaw, Johnnie, Mortician, and Digger were second cousins. The Banks brothers also had a half-brother named Roddie, although Kendall wasn’t sure what had become of him. And Meggie and Bailey were first cousins. All this fuckery took place through the paternal lines.

Of course it did.

Snatching her legal pad and pen, she swallowed and began writing to try and unfuck this twisted web.

Caldwell: Sebastian ? Bash ? Outlaw ? Johnnie

Kendall pushed aside their birth certificates and saw two women that she’d forgotten to add.

Caldwell: Sebastian (Cee Cee) ? Kimber ? Bash (also named Sebastian {one of many}) ? Celia ? Outlaw (Christopher) ? Johnnie

Sebastian was Kimber’s older brother. Kimber gave birth to a son.

Kendall saw the birth certificate somewhere. Her eyes had fallen on her name, and she’d set it aside as she tried to group which birth certificates belonged to which family.

When she found the birth certificate for Kimber’s son, she grabbed it, smiling in relief. Until she read it in full. “For fuck’s sake,” she growled, tossed it aside and hung her head in her hands.

Kimber had given birth to Meggie’s brother, Joey or Snake as he’d come to be known. Meaning Outlaw and Johnnie were Snake’s first cousin, but they weren’t related to Meggie.

Thank goodness for one small miracle.

As for the myriad birth certificates for Cee Cee’s other children, Kendall wouldn’t worry about. The only reason she’d included Celia was because she’d stood out as the only daughter of that man.

Snatching her pen again, she restarted her notes.

Banks: Sharper ? Mortician (Lucas) ? Digger (Marcus) ? Roddie {illegitimate}

Cursing, she moved to the third pile.

Foy: Joseph (Big Joe or Boss) ? Joey (Snake) ? Randolph ? Jana ? Megan (Meggie)

What the ever-loving fuck? Who the fuck was Jana? Unfortunately, Kendall knew Randolph. She didn’t want to think about Big Joe’s grandson or the Imperials. But she’d never fucking heard of Jana. Was it a sister, a daughter, or a granddaughter?

“Could any of you motherfuckers keep your dicks in your pants?” she grumbled.

Seriously, they were flirting with fucking inbreeding.

She snatched the fourth pile of birth certificates. Like the others, it was paper-clipped and neatly arranged. Rory did an outstanding job.

Andrews: Kaleb ? Bailey

Although she knew K-P was Big Joe’s half-brother, she smiled at the simplicity of his family line.

She paused at the fifth set of birth certificates, wondering where the Barts fit into this mess.

Bart ? Wallace (Rack)

Her pen halted and she narrowed her eyes, her mind searching over memories of the recently reviewed documents.

“Fuck!”

She snatched the Caldwell documents, dropping her gaze to the name of Cee Cee’s mother.

He and Rack were half-brothers!

Rack, Cee Cee, and Sharper were the sons of two sisters.

Meaning not only were Bash, Outlaw, Johnnie, Mortician, Digger, Roddie, and Celia related to each other but also to Rack’s grandsons. They were all cousins.

Right?

She’d figure it out in a minute. First, she had the final fuckery to get through.

Donovan: Logan ? Simon ? Patricia ? Tess ? Outlaw ? Johnnie ? Zoann

Why were there two birth certificates for Outlaw and Johnnie?

Realization dawned on her, and she scowled before grabbing theirs from the Caldwell pile. On them, Cee Cee was listed as the father and Patricia Caldwell as Outlaw’s mother while Tess Donovan was named Johnnie’s mother.

Logan’s copies showed Simon and Marissa Donovan as Johnnie’s parents and only Patricia Donovan and Sebastian Caldwell as Outlaw’s.

Patricia Caldwell…

Patricia Donovan…

No. Fucking. Way.

Absolutely not! There was no goddamn way Outlaw’s parents were married when it was club lore and town gossip that Patricia had been raped by Cee Cee, then forced to relive her shame because he’d insisted on putting his name on her baby’s birth certificate.

Of course, Kendall had questioned that over the years. Why would Logan Donovan allow the man who’d assaulted his daughter to even come to the hospital? Logan had been Satan incarnate. If he could have, that motherfucker would’ve killed Cee Cee before he allowed him to acknowledge Outlaw.

What the fuck was going on?

Throwing her pen aside and rubbing her temple, Kendall decided to throw in the towel for the day. She’d thought analyzing the birth certificates would’ve been a good starting point to figure out the family dynamics. Either Rory had overlooked marriage and death certificates, or there were documents missing.

Swiveling in her chair, she glanced at the clock on the inlaid bookcases, sandwiched by two tall cabinets. She’d come into the office today because she’d left Torie’s file in one of her locked cabinets, used for special cases. Her intention had been to grab the file, put the birth certificates inside, then make a couple of quick calls. She’d wanted to spend time with Mattie.

Then she’d talked to Torie. She’d offered her money to back the fuck off. She’d also needed a location to implement the next phase. Deep down, she felt Outlaw and the rest of them underestimated that bitch.

Honestly, Kendall shouldn’t have even tried to reason with Torie. After that exercise in futility, she’d been spitting mad. Worse, she didn’t have an address to send child protective services to. Was she still in California? Was she back in Washington? Kendall couldn’t claim Torie was neglecting or abusing her little boy, if she didn’t know her fucking whereabouts.

Kendall really didn’t appreciate being pushed against a wall. And she didn’t appreciate that cunt fucking with Meggie.

Her intercom buzzed. She snatched the phone. “Yes, Beams?”

“Outlaw is here to see you, Mrs. Donovan.”

Kendall considered all the birth certificates, then gathered them in one pile, shoving everything, including her tablet into one of her desk drawers.

“Mrs. Donovan?”

“Show him in.”

A moment later, Beams opened the door and stepped aside so Outlaw could saunter in. Kendall didn’t miss how the woman eyed her brother-in-law. In her late thirties with a trim figure, bleached blonde hair, and a perpetual tan, Beams was attractive.

“I have no idea where Diesel is,” Kendall started. She’d been locked in her office most of the day.

“He’s in his office with that girl,” Beams volunteered, staring at Outlaw and licking her lips.

“What fuckin’ girl?” Outlaw demanded. “And where’s Tabitha?”

“She left. And the blonde girl that’s been with him the past two days. Jenny or something.”

“Tell him I gotta talk to him,” Outlaw said, then nodded to Kendall. “But I ain’t come to see him. I came to see Kendall.”

Kendall frowned.

“Oh,” Beams said, a dreamy expression on her face. “That’s sweet. She’s been locked in here all day.”

Outlaw grunted, a decidedly male noise that had Beams swooning.

“I’ll just leave you two alone,” she breathed, stumbling out and slamming the door shut.

“I don’t have anything to report yet,” Kendall blurted. “I have two days before my first update is due.”

“Ain’t here for that.” He glared at her. “Sit the fuck down and listen to me good.”

She folded her arms. “I’d prefer to stand.”

“Sit!” he snarled.

She complied.

“If you don’t restart your meds, you off the fuckin’ case and I’m barrin’ you from seein’ Megan.”

“What? You’re not my fucking doctor, motherfucker,” she yelled. “And Meggie wouldn’t allow you to stop me—”

He narrowed his eyes, fury lighting them. “If I fuckin’ kill you, she won’t have a fuckin’ say.”

“I’m not doing anything! I don’t intend to do anything to her.”

“Says you. Now. You ain’t been off that long, so you might have some left in your system. Let’s see how the fuck you feel in two or three goddamn weeks.”

“There you go! I’ll always be just crazy Kendall to you. It doesn’t matter that Johnnie railroads me when I’m so fucking docile. I thought I’d become an important part of the family, but I was just accepted as Johnnie’s wife because I was behaving.”

“No, you was accepted as a member of the fucking family because you was behavin’, Kendall. Johnnie don’t have nothin’ to do with it.” He drew in a breath and sat in one of the plush chairs in front of her desk. “Do you want to get so bad off that you end up overdosin’ again?”

Tears rushed to Kendall’s eyes. She was wrung out and knew she played a dangerous game. She hadn’t been eating properly or sleeping properly. She’d been scared, worried, and angry, on emotional overload. Instead of snap decisions, she overthought almost everything. One was as bad as the other.

She also recognized her sudden relief that she and Meggie hadn’t implemented their plan to have Kendall poking at her to lull Johnnie into complacency. One, she was still so fucking furious with him. And, two, it was so close to the person she’d been. The one she’d worked so hard to change.

“This time, there might not be someone to save you,” Outlaw continued. “You want that for your kids? For Megan? For us? Brooks a fuckin’ stupid motherfucker, but he love the fuck out of you. Charlotte still a cunt, but she love you, too. And what about Roxanne? You’d break her fuckin’ heart.”

“Johnnie told you when you went to check on him?” she asked, tears clogging her throat.

“Johnnie summoned me to ask for my help with you,” he responded, shocking Kendall. “Ain’t interested in checkin’ on that motherfucker. He fuckin’ dead to me.”

Kendall released a shaky laugh. “I doubt that. You could never truly turn your back on him. I’ve tried and I can’t do it. You’ve known him your entire life.”

“Ain’t came here to discuss how I feel about that motherfucker. I came to talk to you. Take your fuckin’ meds.”

“But—”

“But nothin’,” he snapped. “Off those motherfuckers, you the most impulsive cunt alive. You just fuckin’ busy. Your ideas get ahead of your fuckin’ common sense. You get fuckin’ depressed and bored and try to find a fuckin’ way to make yourself feel better or make every motherfucker around you as miserable as you. Fuck Johnnie. If you ain’t doin’ it for nofuckinbody else, do it for Mattie. She need you so fuckin’ bad right now. In the last few years, you turned into a solid bitch. A good friend. A good wife. A good aunt. None of the other girls read fuckin’ Shakespeare and all those borin’, dead motherfuckers to the kids. You helped shape them. You mentored Diesel. But you been a kick ass ma. You shocked the fuck outta me cuz I wrote you the fuck off as a psycho cunt. You proved me wrong, and I’m proud of you.”

Kendall blinked and swiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks. “You’re proud of me?” she whispered.

He nodded. “You still got chokable moments. Ain’t none of us perfect, though.”

She laughed through her sniffles.

Leaning forward, Outlaw extended his hand. “A long overdue truce, Kendall.”

Slowly, she placed her hand in his and shook. “Thank you, Outlaw.”

“Call me Christopher,” he said kindly, a small smile on his lips. “Like Johnnie and Megan.”

“Thank you,” she said tearfully, reclaiming her hand. “Your acceptance means more than you’ll ever know.”

“You ain’t keepin’ it if you don’t get back on your fuckin’ meds. I go back to thinkin’ of you as a miserable psycho cunt and you go back to hatin’ me.”

“I’ll take my medicine,” she conceded. “For the record, I haven’t taken them the past three days.”

“Long efuckinnuff.”

Before Kendall responded, her door opened, and Diesel walked in.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked, glancing from Outlaw to Kendall.

“Nope,” Outlaw said, standing. “Just discussing a long overdue clearin’ of the air between us, boy.”

Diesel nodded and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, jingling loose change. He looked from Kendall to Outlaw. “Do either of you need anything?”

Outlaw shook his head. “Just wonderin’ about the bitch you got in your fuckin’ office that ain’t Tabitha.”

“Just a fuck buddy of ours,” he said, noncommittal.

“Ours?” Kendall asked, lifting her brows.

“Yeah. Keeps things interesting.”

Outlaw grunted.

“I’d like to spend the weekend at home,” Diesel said. “If that’s okay with you, Uncle Chris.”

“Megan not too mad anymore.”

Suddenly, Kendall didn’t care about Jenny, or whoever the mystery woman was in Diesel’s office. She couldn’t wait for him to leave so she could question the meaning behind Outlaw’s statement.

A moment later, she got her wish.

“What did you do now?” Kendall demanded, the moment Diesel left her office and closed the door behind him.

“What the fuck make you think I did something, Kendall?” Outlaw snapped.

She glared at him. “From the goddamn sound of it, you and your sons undercut Meggie’s trust again. Didn’t you idiots learn from Torie?”

He glowered at her.

Sniffing, she folded her arms and lifted a brow.

“Fuck, fine. Rebel want to start datin’ and Megan want her on birth control.” He scraped his fingers through his hair. “I…fuck…Reb my baby girl. I ain’t fuckin’ ready for her to start datin’.”

“So let me fucking guess. You and your posse of sons came up with some type of fucking scheme to undermine your wife and your daughter?”

“What the fuck you expected me to do? Megan all about fuckin’ equality. If we let the boys do it, she expect me to let Rebel do it. But I got a cock, so I know how motherfuckers think. How the fuck I’m supposed to allow my daughter to date a dirty fuckhead?” Mirroring her, he folded his arms. “Her brothers feel the same way as me, so we tapped Grant and Bishop. Finally settled on Grant.” His look darkened. “Who sent a message to Megan meant for me and who then fucked up his invitation to Rebel for dinner and a movie.”

Resting her elbows on her desk, Kendall leaned forward, processing the words. “How the fuck can he fuck up your numbers? I thought all the kids had everyone’s numbers saved.”

A thoughtful expression crossed Outlaw’s face.

“He’s pretty upset over the entire Harley situation.”

“What Harley situation?”

Opening her desk drawer, she took out a chocolate candy bar, and unwrapped it. Breaking off a quarter, she held it out to Outlaw.

Without hesitation, he took it and held it up, then pointed to the wrapper. “Regular chocolate.”

She slowed her chewing. “And?” she asked defensively, finishing her candy and swallowing.

His green eyes fixated on her as he finished his candy. Over the years, he’d elicited so many different emotions in her. Normally, his scrutiny foreshadowed threats or actions, driven by her behavior. Now, he showed no hostility, just equal amounts of amusement and concern.

Holy fuck! She blinked.

“You not hurtin’ a motherfucker except yourself, baby,” he said, unaware of her epiphany.

As he accepted the love of his family and friends, he used the term ‘baby’ more loosely, not only reserved for Meggie as it had once been. Kendall knew him, so she understood he wasn’t flirting with her. He was just accepting her in his close circle.

“You stopped takin’ your meds and you not eatin’ your sludge.” He nodded to the candy wrapped. “Last time I saw you eatin’ chocolate not made up of squid ink and ground snails was years ago.”

She chuckled, though she waited for him to remember what she’d done. How she’d fucked over Johnnie and Meggie. She waited for his resentment to flair.

Instead, he cocked his head to the side. “I meant what the fuck I said, Kendall. The past is over. We got too much shit goin’ on in the fuckin’ present to dwell on what happened ten fuckin’ years ago. You behavin’. Keep behavin’. That’s all the fuck I ask.”

“I’ve regretted so much,” she whispered.

He gave her a half-smile. “Life pass you by when you spend it thinkin’ about what coulda been.”

“Thank you, Outlaw…” His amusement deepened and she flushed. “Christopher.”

“About Harley…?”

“And I would never insult my fucking tastebuds eating squid ink and ground snails that passes as chocolate. I eat high quality dark chocolate with cashew butter or peanut butter and quinoa. As long as it isn’t made with animal byproducts, I’m fine.”

“More than I fuckin’ wanted to know about goddamn chocolate. I just know that ain’t it.” Once again, he pointed to the candy wrapper.

Glaring at him, she swiped it from her desk and threw it away.

“Since we friends, I’m gonna do you a solid and take all the fuckin’ chocolate you not supposed to eat.”

She giggled and he winked at her.

There it was again. An action she’d seen him do a thousand times to his wife, his daughter, his nieces, and his sisters. He’d even winked at Roxy a few times.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna tell Megan you gave me the fuckin’ candy,” he told her. “I know if I don’t, you will.”

Interesting. She’d get to that in a minute. “It isn’t about the candy that I haven’t given you yet. It’s about your interaction with Torie.”

He frowned. “I’m fuckin’ innocent—”

“Innocent,” she agreed, “but fucking dumb and clueless.”

“What the fuck you talkin’ about?”

“I know you, so I know how you interact with other women whom you consider family. Although you keep more formality between Bunny and Bailey because of how they act around you, you joke with Zoann and Ophelia. Even Georgie Mason. You call them babe and baby. You wink at them. In addition to everything else you did for Torie, imagine if you decided she was a friend and related to her in the same way?”

“I always told her how much I love Megan. Even when she offered me pussy or to suck my cock, I turned her down.”

That fucking bitch. Each time Kendall remembered those fucking videos, her blood boiled. “You also got a fucking erection.”

“Not cuz I wanted her. I was pussy deprived.”

“I’ve watched you around women for fucking years, motherfucker. Other women have to actively do something overtly sexual for you to get a hard-on.”

“Why the fuck you studyin’ my motherfuckin’ cock, Kendall? You got a goddamn man. Look at when his dick rise.”

“Mainly around Meggie,” she snarled, “and we both know it.”

“Then you the stupid bitch for stayin’ with that brainless motherfucker.”

“Oh, yeah, fuckhead? Does that mean your wife’s stupid for staying with you after your behavior with Torie? That bitch should be dead. Do you want to go over your fucking body count for all the women who’ve fucked with Meggie? Do you know how close you’ve come to killing me because of Meggie? Yet that cunt got away with bloody murder and she’s still fucking breathing.”

“You sound like Megan. You put that in her head or she put it in yours.”

“Give us more credit,” she said irritably. “It isn’t hard to figure out.”

“I just saw Torie as Jo’s nurse. That’s fuckin’ it. I wanted her to help Megan, then I thought she would be good to keep watch over Molly to keep me informed so CJ wouldn’t worry so much. Why the fuck we’re goin’ round and round about that cunt?”

“Kill her and the problem will be solved.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you and Megan? You turnin’ into bloodthirsty bitches…” He heaved in a breath. “Well, you always been a little bloodthirsty. Megan haven’t.” A chink in his armor dented and he scrubbed a hand over his face. “I ain’t ever felt as disconnected from my wife as I do now.” Stark pain entered his eyes and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “The more I try to reach her, the more we grow apart. We sit down and have a deep conversation, shit seem fine, and then somethin’ else happens and she hatin’ on me again.”

Kendall leaned back in her chair. “Does Meggie know you’re here?” The million-dollar question that arose when he promised to tell Meggie about the candy.

“What the fuck you think?”

“Actually, I’m no longer sure. Once, I would’ve been certain. I might’ve gone so far as to say you went to her and she encouraged you to come and talk to me. Now…”

Her voice trailing off revealed her uncertainty.

“Bishop told me motherfuckers…they think I fucked Torie and they…” He shook his head.

She’d ask him about Torie what she asked Johnnie about Meggie. “Tell me about her. The first time you met her.”

“Fuck, I just wasn’t me the first time I laid eyes on her. Didn’t fuckin’ matter. I still thought she was so fuckin’ gorgeous. But my attraction to her was so fuckin’ wrong for a bunch of reasons, so I did my fuckin’ best to ignore it. She got my attention and fuckin’ kept it. Even now when…after…” He sighed. Shrugged.

“I see,” Kendall said, shaken to her core. “If you feel that way, do you even still love Meggie?”

He snapped his brows together, then narrowed his eyes. “Who the fuck you think I’m talkin’ about, Kendall?” A moment passed, then his eyes flared in surprise. “You was askin’ me about the first time I met Torie?”

“I asked Johnnie the same thing and he immediately knew who I meant.”

“’Cuz that brain dead motherfucker don’t deserve you.”

She jerked at his vehement words, startled and touched and suddenly wanting to cry. Not that Outlaw…Christopher noticed.

“The stupid assfuck love you, but he got a fucked up way of showin’ it,” he raged. “As for Torie, I don’t fuckin’ remember the first time I met her. She was one of the fuckin’ head nurses and was just fuckin’ there one day. Then, she was always fuckin’ there. Tellin’ me about her kid and how much she was strugglin’. Reassurin’ me about Jo. Tellin’ me to go sit with Megan and if somethin’ changed she’d send one of the nurses to get me. But Megan? The day I met her is stuck in my fuckin’ brain. The day I first kissed her. Touched her. Tasted her. Every fuckin’ time I look at her, it’s like lookin’ at salvation and glory. Sometimes, it’s like seein’ her for the first time. Somethin’ new and beautiful. Somethin’ fascinatin’. But, fuck, she drive me. How the fuck she flippin’ the script and wantin’ me to fuck up a bitch who a ma and who helped us? How the fuck she wantin’ Johnnie dead if I kill said bitch?”

Kendall wasn’t sure how Meggie felt about Johnnie right now. However, she was sure Christopher still wanted to kill her husband. She was just as sure he saw Torie as Jo’s nurse. He couldn’t get her kindness toward him and his infant daughter out of his confused little man-brain. Of all the fucking times for him to empathize, he chose now.

Hopefully, once Kendall figured out her location, having her son removed would cure that bitch. If not, she’d have to sit down with Meggie and make her understand that Torie needed to be put back into Christopher’s path as well as hers, so his goddamn rose-colored glasses could be removed, and he’d see that cunt for the viper she really was.

No one held Torie’s attraction to Christopher against her. Most especially Meggie. She’d confided to Kendall that she understood since she herself had waged a war with two club girls for his attention.

“To answer your question, Kendall, yeah, Megan knows I’m here. I told her you were off your meds. She said I was the only one who could talk sense into you.”

“She told you to let me call you Christopher?” she asked, unable to deny her disappointment.

He shook his head. “After we talked, she went to her office. She’s way behind on work and filin’ claims. I thought about what she said and realized she was fuckin’ right. I told her, and it helped her to thaw a little bit. She’s happy I’m finally seein’ your value and thinkin’ of you as a sister-in-law.”

Kendall smiled sadly. “It’ll be easier to keep me around when you kill Johnnie.” She felt sick to her stomach at the words and all the images they evoked.

“As long as he stop fuckin’ over Megan, I ain’t killin’ him,” he said, and she detected his sorrow and regret.

She couldn’t help but wonder if he hated Johnnie as much as he professed.

“Do you remember what rule number one is in Outlaw’s Law of Love?” she asked, changing the subject. Johnnie was tough to discuss.

He smirked at her. “Don’t be nobody else except Megan’s husband.”

“Bravo,” she said, clapping.

He grunted. He despised opera.

“Rule number two is stop interfering in the fucking household. When Meggie needs your help, you’re the first to know. Otherwise, she runs it smoothly, tells you at the end of the day, keeps calm, and continues on. You, sir, stay in your lane, and run the fucking club. You’ve gone and fucked up again by interfering with what Meggie knows is best for Rebel.”

He scowled.

“Granted, in the scheme of things, this is child’s play. Ordinarily, Meggie would laugh at how badly your plan backfired.” That reminded her. She still hadn’t told him about Harley. “But you just tried to manipulate a situation. A very egregious one, might I add.”

“My little girl about to turn fifteen, Kendall. I can’t imagine her on a fuckin’ date. And I definitely can’t imagine her on birth control,” he said distastefully.

She rolled her eyes. “Johnnie wanted to slap Matilda and call her a slut. I don’t think you feel that way, but you do want to stop her from growing up.”

“I don’t fuckin’ feel that way,” he growled. “I just can’t fuckin’ understand why Megan takin’ this shit so calm. She said we’ve accepted the boys growin’ up. We gotta do the same with Rebel.”

“You’ve accepted the boys growing up. They’re now yours, along with everything that means. I know Meggie is hoping she keeps Rebel. That club life doesn’t take her, too. The only way to do that is for your daughter to find normalcy away from the club. Go on dates. Have crushes on boys at school. We all know the kids can’t get jobs. They’ll be easy targets.”

“Megan told that to you?”

“Meggie hasn’t been saying much to anyone. She’s hurt and confused.” Kendall sighed. “And she feels old.”

“What?” His eyes bulged. “If she think she’s old, she must fuckin’ think of me as Methuselah.”

“My reaction was similar to yours. But she is just a woman. And women suffer insecurities. Fear. Pain. We are judged by our beauty and our fertility. Sooner or later, we lose one, if not both.”

“Fuck.”

“Meggie loves her kids. She’d give her life for them. But you’re her world. She worships you. The moment you walk in, her entire face lights up, even if you take twenty minutes to get to her. She adores you. She lives for you. To keep you happy. To lay in your arms. To hear your voice.”

He glanced away. Bowed his head. “And I crushed her cuz of Torie and cuz of what Johnnie let her hear me sayin’. Then I made it fuckin’ worse by pretendin’ I was okay about Rebel, then went behind her back.”

Kendall nodded. “She’s also still emotional because of pregnancy hormones, which would be a bitch if Jo had been born at term.

“Tell me how to fix it. If I lose her—”

“Eat properly. Rest. Be you again.”

“I ain’t too sure if I still wanna be Outlaw.”

She’d have to tell Meggie about this latest development. “Fair enough. As long as it is because you’re ready to resign and not because you want to sit around and wait for something else to happen to Meggie.”

He sighed.

“I’ve known you to be a lot of things, but never morbid.”

“Sooner or later, either they finally takin’ her from me or she’s gettin’ sick of comin’ close to death and leavin’ me.”

Johnnie hadn’t only gotten into Meggie’s head. That motherfucker wrought all kinds of damage. It made Kendall want to beat his ass again.

“When you tell Megan about this conversation, she’s just gonna think I’m a pussified bitch.”

Kendall chuckled. She wouldn’t pretend Meggie wouldn’t hear about Kendall’s talk with Christopher. Her allegiance was to Meggie, just as Johnnie’s should’ve been to Christopher. “She’ll never think that. I’m sure you’re feeling that way, but hearing how much you need her might finally snap her out of her malaise.”

“Or send her further into it.”

“We’ll see.”

“Fuck, I rather talk about club business. No matter what I fuckin’ decide. For the past few weeks, it’s like I don’t even have a fuckin’ club.”

“Do you miss it?”

“I ain’t too sure.”

“I’ll have a lot to tell you in two days,” she promised. “Right now, I’m just looking at birth certificates and comparing the information.”

“How many motherfuckers do they have for you to have to compare information?”

“A lot,” Kendall grumbled. She arranged some of her hair over her shoulder. “There are a lot of records. Some of them aren’t authentic. If I can, I have to match instrument numbers and research them at the various courthouses.”

“How the fuck long will that take?”

“I’m piecing everything together as quickly as possible. I just wish…” She wouldn’t open that can of worms and remind Christopher why her husband should die. “Never mind.”

“You wish fuckin’ Johnnie or Brooks had properly looked into shit or brought me in earlier,” he said flatly.

“Yes,” she said, sighing. “Even if you kill Bash, we don’t know who else will come behind him.”

“My fuckin’ thought exactly,” Christopher admitted as her office phone began ringing.

Johnnie’s number flashed across her screen and Kendall stiffened. The fuckhead was spying on her. Given her anger toward him, he should’ve known better, especially since she wasn’t in danger.

She accepted the call, not bothering to pick up the receiver. “Piss off, motherfucker,” she snarled.

“You’re in club business,” Johnnie fumed. “You’re allowing her in club business, Christopher?”

“Shut the fuck up, Johnnie,” he ordered. “You should be fuckin’ lucky your woman got the fuckin’ brains to save yours. Left up to me, I’d blow you and Bash the fuck away and be fuckin’ done with it.”

“Bash is a fucking madman. That’s my wife you’re endangering.”

Black fury hardened Christopher’s face and he tipped his head, searching for her cameras. When he found one, he spoke directly to Johnnie. “Keep fuckin’ talkin’, John Peter. Refuckinmind me how you endangered my wife. See how much longer you get to fuckin’ breathe today.”

Johnnie disconnected.

Breathing deeply, Christopher took a few moments to calm himself, then scrubbed a hand over his face. “When K-P was killed, Bailey found a lotta old letters. If she still got them, it might shed some light on some of this shit.”

“I’ll look into it. Thank you. I have another question.”

“You just full of them motherfuckers today huh, Kendall?”

“When you threaten to kill members of the family, are you serious or are you just trying to regain control?”

“Fifty-fifty.”

“Even now with Johnnie?”

“Nope, I wanna kill that motherfucker. I take full responsibility for how my marriage is, but that assfuck played a big fuckin’ role. He admitted he had those videos sent to Megan. He been wanted to drive Megan away. He didn’t expect her to stay in the first fuckin’ place.”

It was just what Johnnie said. Whether they’d discussed this matter whenever Johnnie told Christopher that Kendall was off her meds didn’t matter. Only that he knew and hated Johnnie for it and wanted him to die because of it. As for Torie—

“I know what the fuck you’re thinkin’, Kendall. I already told you why I ain’t killed that bitch.”

She blinked. “How do you do that?”

“I saw it in your face.”

“It isn’t like her fucking name suddenly appeared on my skin or in my fucking pupils,” she said crossly.

His snicker eased her annoyance. “I ain’t able to read Megan no more.”

“Do you know that’s why Bella fascinated Edward so much?”

He narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck vampire motherfuckers have to do with me and my woman?”

Her eyes widened before she broke into peals of laughter, belly chuckles that brought tears to her eyes. “Christopher Caldwell, are you a Twi-Dad?” she roared.

“No, but Megan and Bunny Twi-Mas and Rebel, Mattie, and Harley are Twi-girls.”

“Twi-hards,” she corrected, still snickering and dabbing at her cheeks.

“Them. I’ve watched the movies and read the fuckin’ books more than I ever fuckin’ wanted, especially if Rebel was sad. Sometimes, that was the only way to cheer her up.” He glanced at his watch. “Before I forget, I’m gonna have a lawyer Megan and Bitsy know draw up a separate will for Megan and me for Diesel.”

“Why? He’s your son. Why wouldn’t you include him in the will we drew up here?” That was part of the fucking issue with the dead fuckheads. Old documents, new documents, hidden documents with no rhyme or reason. “You’ve made him a part of the family, now you’re separating him from your biological children?”

He shrugged. “It’s clean. All assets from legitimate businesses.”

“He’s a club member.”

“Is it because he wanted to be or ‘cuz he thought that’s what I wanted from him? If it’s the former, then he won’t be short-changed. He still got a stake in the house and everything. If it’s the latter and he decide to bow out once I’m gone, it’ll still be the same thing except the life he decide to lead gonna be untainted by the club. All his money gonna be from Megan.”

As was the house since it was in Meggie’s name. Christopher had even bought the grounds upon which it was built and given it to her. He’d wanted her home free and clear of his lifestyle. But it had been built using illegally earned money, so it was still in jeopardy.

He met her gaze. “I fuckin’ thought about tearin’ that motherfucker down and rebuildin’ it with Megan’s money, but she wouldn’t hear of it.”

“Seriously, how the fuck do you do that? Read minds,” she clarified at the lift of his brow.

“I learned to read motherfuckers long ago.”

She sniffed and glared at him.

“Motherfuckers in the general sense,” he said impatiently.

“Fine,” she chirped. “Are you telling me about the will to look over it?”

“Or Brooks. I want to make sure both wills match. I went outside of this firm because I didn’t want Tabitha gettin’ wind of it. I don’t trust that cunt. If you scan the shit to keep a copy, she won’t know. Even if Brooks look over it, make sure he don’t let her near it.”

She grinned. She hated Tabitha, too. “Gladly.”

“Now, tell me what the fuck’s goin’ on with Harley.”