Chapter 21 - Misunderstood - Original Storyline

21

            For the next two days, Kendall watched and waited for the opportune moment to hit Megan with the news of her husband’s death and she knew the man had to be dead. After that phone call, she hadn’t heard from him again and neither had anyone else.

            She watched with distaste as Megan spoke to the club officers, Johnnie included, and they hung on her every word. She looked grave and pale, heartbroken.

            As usual the noise level worked on her ass. Babies crying. Men yelling their conversations. Women cackling. It seemed food was always being passed around and babies were always being fed. The little group dispersed and they all scattered in different directions. For once, Megan didn’t have Outlaw’s son attached to her hip as she headed for the door.

            “Where the fuck are you going, Megs?” Johnnie called.

            She twirled her fingers in the air then pointed to the door. “For a walk,” she yelled back.

            None of them looked too happy but they didn’t try to stop her. One by one, the main room cleared. Johnnie stopped briefly to tell her he had church in the board room. Kendall didn’t know what the meant and didn’t care. K-P gave her a two-fingered salute as he walked in the same direction. Val scowled at her and she flushed. She was really sorry she’d stuck him with that syringe and would tell him as soon as she got the chance. Stretch and Digger didn’t acknowledge her at all. She frowned and realized she hadn’t seen Mortician passing by.

            She was tired of waiting for anything to happen and this might be her only opportunity to get to Megan, so she headed for the kitchen to get a bottle of water. She’d drop a few things in it and disguise the taste with lemon.

            She came to a screeching halt when she saw Mortician in a corner, his back to her. “You’re trying to get me fucking killed, Bailey.”

            “I’m not. I just want you to make love to me again.”

            “No. Can’t do that. Shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

            “But—“

            “You’re a young bitch just like Megan. That’s enough naïve pussy to deal with and watch over. Can’t deal with one like her for myself. Next thing I know I’ll be tied to one pussy for the rest of my life. Just like Outlaw. And, just like Outlaw, I’d have to watch every motherfucker who came near you.”

            “You didn’t care about all that when you became my first lover,” Bailey said in a small voice.

            The door opened before Mortician could respond. Kendall jumped at the same time the other two flew apart. Mortician met her gaze and narrowed his eyes at her, his look not very nice. Kendall backed up while Bailey squeaked, her hazel eyes rounding.

            “You like your dick hanging between your legs, fuckhead?” Val growled.

            “Fuck off,” Mortician snapped.

            Val pointed up.

            “I know about the fucking cameras, Valentine. Why the fuck you think I was standing in front of her the way I was?”

            Val leveled a glare at Bailey. “Get to your fucking room and stay the fuck there.”

            Mortician stepped in front of her. “Hey, man, don’t fucking talk to her like that.”

            “Better I talk to her like that, than have her father carve you the fuck up because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants.” Val glowered at the time of them. “I just hope you covered your shit or she’s on birth control.” He folded his arms, big and intimidating, although Mortician wasn’t intimidated in the least. “She might’ve just wanted to fuck a biker. Little by little, she might start calling you names, demanding you leave the club. Turn into a complete bitch. Before you know it, you have a knocked up cunt on your hands who hates the fuck out of you and wants to keep your kid from you.”

            Mortician took a step closer to Val. “Bailey ain’t fucking Zoann, motherfucker.”

            “What’s going on in here—“ Megan’s voice trailed off. She assessed the scene, peeped around the two men glaring at each other, saw a trembling Bailey and wailed, “Why, Mortician? Just why?”

            She stomped around Val and Mortician, grabbed Bailey’s hand and started towards the back, pausing only a moment. “You, two,” she gritted. “Out. I don’t want any bloodshed in here. Even if I feeling like spilling blood myself. If K-P ever finds out—“ She growled in frustration and yanked Bailey behind her, grumbling about oversexed, lusty bikers.

            “You. Red,” Mortician called to her. “You say one fucking thing about this to anybody and I’m not going to be too happy.” With a warning glare, he strolled past her and Val, and disappeared through the door.

            Val didn’t acknowledge her at all. He just spun on his heel and left. Kendall was glad to know about the cameras in the ceiling. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t thought of it before. There was a shitload of monitors behind the bar but there must’ve been more monitors in another location. She wondered how Val had seen Mortician and Bailey and not K-P.

            Unfortunately, she’d probably wasted her chance today to get to Megan. She’d do it tomorrow, then announce the news of Outlaw’s death. She was sick of being on lockdown. Now that the debt was settled, surely they could leave.

            After grabbing the bottle of water, she headed out of the kitchen. She needed to pour herself a drink and take it to Johnnie’s room to replace half the water with the alcohol then add the lemon and sleeping pills to it.

            Passing the phone again, it startled her when it rang. Unlike the last time when no one heard, she happened to be the only one around to take the call this time.

            “Who the fuck’s this?”

            Kendall swallowed at the rough tone, although, just as the last time, she knew exactly who she spoke to.

            “Er, um, h-hold on, I-ll g-get—“

            “Fuck! I gotta go. This is Outlaw,” he said in a rush, his voice lowered. “Tell Megan I’ll be home tonight.”

            With that he hung up and spurred Kendall to action.

            Tension filling his body, Johnnie waited for Christopher’s call for the next two days, but didn’t have any word. Seeing Megan’s expression, he knew she hadn’t heard from him, either. She oversaw things, made sure everyone was getting along, held conversations with all the women. It was her eyes, though, so sad and lost. Whenever he asked after her, she smiled and promised she was fine, inquiring after Kendall, who came out for her lunch shift but kept herself apart from the other women. She nodded in passing to Megan, who stopped and made small talk with her.

            A knock on his door pulled him from the thought. Hoping a fight or something hadn’t arisen, he reached the door and opened it. Val stood there, pale.

            “Has Out—“

            “Megan in here?” he interrupted.

            “What—?”

            “Nobody seen her since lunch,” he rasped, breathing hard, like he’d run a marathon. “Little Man is here. But she’s not.”

            “Shit,” Johnnie managed, forgetting everything but Megan. “Where was she last seen? Who was she last talking to?”

            “Fuck, I don’t know. Everybody so tense, wondering why Outlaw ain’t called. We been looking all over.”

            “And you just thought to tell me?”

            “We realized you and Red had left. We thought maybe Megan was in here by you and Red.”

            “Where else have you checked?”

            “We went to the house. We checked the surrounding area. We checked the warehouse. Every room here in the club. She’s not anywhere.”

            When Johnnie reached the main room, everyone except Megan and Kendall were present. They all looked grim, exhausted. Johnnie indicated the officers follow him. Going into the boardroom, he flipped on the light. The first thing he saw were the photos of the members who had joined the Freebird Chapter. Rack. Sinner. Tex. Some guys who’d gone on before Johnnie joined. Snake and his father, Big Joe. The thought Megan might have to join her father’s and brother’s photos ripped Johnnie to pieces.

            His gaze fell on the other wall, the one with the photos of Aunt Patricia—Christopher’s mother—and Ellen and Kiera, all killed at the hands of Snake. The women were there because Megan had begged and pleaded for a way to honor them and never allow them to be forgotten. Ellen had been a supreme bitch to Megan and Kiera had managed a couple underhanded tricks, too, but Megan had lived when they’d died and she considered their infractions minor in the face of that.

            After Johnnie went through all possible scenarios with the guys, he decided he’d venture deeper into the woods. Maybe, she’d gone for a walk, which she shouldn’t have done, and went further than she should have. At least he hoped that was the case.

            Otherwise, it meant someone had somehow snatched her from beneath their noses and they might not ever get her back.

            When Kendall walked out of the bathroom, it surprised her not to find Johnnie waiting for her. After nearly an hour of waiting, she decided to find clothes and go in search of him. She passed the entryway to the main room, saw the grim faces of everyone. She should tell them Outlaw was on his way back. She’d answered the club phone during lunch but everyone had been somewhere else. He’d said he didn’t have a lot of time, just let everyone know he’d be home in a matter of hours. Kendall realized she’d had to act then or forever hold her peace.

            Her heart lurched at the thought of Megan and Johnnie fucking, but she had to sacrifice the sharing of his body with Saint Megan to achieve the greater goal. So instead of telling anyone of Outlaw’s imminent arrival, she kept that secret. She’d intended to have sex with Johnnie, then point out Megan hadn’t been seen in hours. Just as she had Megan, she needed to get him away from the clubhouse, drop her awful news that someone called and said Outlaw’s body had been found. She wouldn’t have to drug Johnnie and carry him away as she had Megan. She would merely have to tell him Megan had found out and run off into the woods.

In actuality, she’d told Megan about the call, watched her fall to her knees in grief, and felt such supreme vindication and satisfaction at her pain, she’d put everything else out of her mind. The “water” she’d had prepared to offer Megan. Once she’d rendered Megan drugged into a state of unconsciousness, she’d taken her into the woods and anger had overtaken her. Why should she have Johnnie? Instead of setting her up to have her husband find her and Johnnie fucking, why not just get rid of her? It was cold and rainy, and she was a slip of a thing. Animals had to also roam in the woods. She’d be fair game. And Ellen would be vindicated finally. She’d carried Megan so far away, she’d almost been unable to find her way back to the club. The palace Outlaw had built for Queen Megan had been Kendall’s saving grace.

Male voices drew her down the hallway, in the direction she’d never gone.

            She found all the club’s officers—everyone except Johnnie—sitting around and talking. About Megan. Kendall rolled her eyes. Of course, who else would they talk about? But they were grim and worried. Every now and then, Outlaw’s name came up and she realized they didn’t know he would arrive at any moment. Apparently, however, they’d realized Megan was missing.

            She halted when she saw Ellen’s photograph, along with two other women, one olive skinned and gorgeous, the other one older and resembling Zoann. Ellen’s blue eyes seemed as hard as ever, the lines and creases in her face showing all she’d gone through. Kendall’s heart pumped in agitation and bitterness swelled inside her. “Wh-what’s Ellen’s photo doing up there? And who are those other two women?”

            “The other chick is Kiera,” Digger answered.

They must have noted her presence but hadn’t said anything, just continued to speak amongst themselves. Of course, she wouldn’t matter to them. Just as Ellen hadn’t. She’d been replaced without anyone batting an eye.

“The older lady is Miz Patricia,” Digger went out. He thrust a hand through his hair, looked exhausted and grief-stricken. “Outlaw’s mama.”

            “Just go to show you what type of chick Megan is,” Val said, rubbing his jaw. “Wanting to honor bitches who was tag-teaming her husband and had been nothing but club ass for years.”

            Megan! Megan! Megan! Everything was about—Wait! WHAT?

The memory of her last Christmas with Ellen rose in her head. Ellen hadn’t mentioned tag-teaming with Outlaw. She’d said…she’d said Megan…Ellen couldn’t have lied about that. Not as torn up as she’d been. She glanced at Ellen’s photo again, the perpetual smirk that always annoyed Kendall. Her sister had a cruel streak a mile wide. She’d tormented Kendall forever, until Kendall had shut her feelings away. Just stopped caring about everything and everyone. Until she’d grown viler than Ellen, only dressed in designer clothes and high-class friends.

Kendall swallowed. “T-tag t-teaming?” she whispered. She was beginning to shake, her head lightheaded. The men seemed not to notice or not to care.

            K-P scratched his beard, his features drawn, and nodded toward the photos. “They were Outlaw’s lovers until Megan came along.”

            She staggered to a seat and sat. “They knew about each other?” she croaked. She knew Ellen liked dick as much as she liked pussy, but…but…My God…but, her relationship with Outlaw had been different. Her sister had been heartbroken, a state Kendall hadn’t seen Ellen in since their daddy had died. “Ellen knew about that girl?”

            “Fuck, yeah,” Mortician responded. “What the fuck you think? Outlaw just turned into the no-bullshit type of dude all of a sudden?”

            Outlaw. His sinfully handsome face rose in her head. No, he didn’t seem like a man who’d just decided to become straight and to the point. He demanded respect and took control of everything and everyone according to his will. And he did it by whatever means possible. By pulling a gun and threatening to shoot anyone who screwed over his wife again. By oh-so-casually mentioning he’d slit her throat. By offering one, meaningful, cold look to silence everyone.

            My. God.

            Kendall shook her head in denial at the blind faith she’d placed in Ellen’s theatrics, wanting to vomit at her sister’s betrayal. What could she expect, though? They were Millers and Millers won at any cost, used anything at their disposal to get their way. It seemed the only people they hadn’t been able to best were Outlaw and Johnnie. And Megan. And Ellen wouldn’t have abided that. Whenever Kendall got one-up on her, Ellen retaliated.

Tears rushed to Kendall’s eyes. She felt like a fool and wished Ellen had been there so she could kill her herself. Her whole world was crashing around her again, just like the day she’d found out about her daddy’s death. Just like the time she’d decided to give up her virginity to a forty-year-old man in exchange for a good grade. “Ellen said…She wouldn’t have lied to me!” she wailed, attempting one last time to defend her sister.

Please, Ellen. Please. You can’t have been so vicious…God, but she was. They all were. Ellen had been vicious enough to seek revenge on an innocent girl. A girl Kendall had caused untold pain. She’d ruined her wedding. Made her lose her baby. Left her out in the elements to die, thinking her husband was already dead.

Kendall pounded on the table. “No! Ellen wouldn’t have lied.” Yes, she would have. All she’d ever done was lie.

            “About what?” Val asked with a frown. “All Ellen did was lie,” he echoed, as if he’d read Kendall’s mind.

            She balled her hands into fist to quell their shaking. “She said Megan broke up her and Outlaw.” Her voice was high, almost unrecognizable, as the impact of all the lies and deceit crashed on Kendall. “That he…they were all but engaged. They were going to announce their wedding plans during Christmas at his mother’s house if it hadn’t been for Megan.”

            Mortician leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at her. “Johnnie set you straight about that at the church.”

            “I didn’t think he was telling the truth.”

            K-P reached out and gripped her hand, squeezing it in affection, not yet realizing the extent of her betrayal. They were trying to comfort her. They’d embraced her as their own. Accepted her. Because of Megan. Whether she’d done it for Johnnie or not, Megan was still responsible for Kendall being here and a part of this family. It had to have hurt to allow Kendall in, knowing what she’d taken from her. If the roles had been reversed, Kendall would’ve wanted her blood, no matter who asked her to relent.

            “Babe,” K-P said, “Outlaw wouldn’t bring Club Ass to meet his mother.”

            The words hit her in the heart. Kendall had known all about all the other men Ellen slept with. But she’d said she’d moved beyond that. And Kendall’s entire reason for playing Johnnie as she had was because of her feelings towards Megan. She gulped in a breath, light-headed. “I-I thought he wanted…I thought he was covering for Megan because he wanted to sleep with her.” She’d thought so many things. Then, again, she hadn’t believed Johnnie capable of murder. This, though, was different.

            “Didn’t say John Boy don’t want his dick in Megan,” Digger said with a shrug, tapping his fingers on the table, then pulling out cigarettes as an afterthought.

            “Yeah,” Mortician agreed. “But what he said about Ellen at the church was the truth. Megan didn’t break up shit between them because there wasn’t shit to break up. They was his ass but he still fucked other bitches and they all knew it. Wasn’t like he made a big secret out of it. By the time Outlaw started fucking Ellen and Kiera together, or making them fuck each other, every last one of us had fucked her. Ellen even fucked Big Joe, Megan’s father.’

            Kendall was trembling, shaking her head like she’d lost her mind. “Why…why…why didn’t Johnnie say that?” Why did he have to? She’d already known it. But, glimpsing a softer side of Johnnie, she realized he must have wanted to spare her feelings.

            “Why would he want to say something like that to you about your own sister?” Val asked with curiosity.

            Because. God, because. Because they didn’t deserve any consideration.

            “Ellen s-said M-Megan was sp-spoiled, d-demanded everybody…She said she and Outlaw talked about having kids,” she sobbed.

            “Fuckin’ bitch,” K-P growled, scratching his bald head, some of his kindness evaporating. He was staring at her, as if what she might’ve still been capable of was dawning on him. “I guess I can understand why Outlaw keep such a close watch on Megan. She don’t realize she’s dealing with some treacherous whores.” He glared at Kendall.

            No, they were lying. They wanted to protect their precious Megan. “Megan’s still alive!” she snapped through her tears. “She saved her own life and let my sister die. Tin or Rin or whatever his name was said so.” God, she had to believe that. That had to be true.

            “Who the fuck’s that?” Val barked.

            “I think she talking about Bin,” Mortician clarified.

            The other men frowned and Mortician sighed. “That albino motherfucker.”

            The curses and grimaces weren’t reassuring and raw fear swept through Kendall.

            Digger eyed her narrowly. “If I was you, I wouldn’t ever mention that fucker around Outlaw.”

            “Wh-why?”

            “Same thing that happened to him, might happen to you, if you do,” Val warned with a downturned mouth.

            “See them motherfuckers?” K-P pointed to two blond men. “Snake and Boss.”

            Kendall knew those names, knew what they both had done.

            “Outlaw made peace with them fuckers now that they not here.” K-P pulled on his silvery beard. “He won’t ever do the same with Bin, so if I was you whatever the fuck that dead ass told you, you forget.”

            “He sent him to deliver the message!”

            “No,” Val disagreed. “He sent Traveler. Traveler decided to let Bin come.”

            “They…he…Bin said Megan sacrificed Ellen to save her own life,” Kendall insisted.

            Val rose to his feet and kicked his chair back, stalking toward her. He jerked her to her feet and she cried out. “Listen to me. I was fucking there. Megan didn’t sacrifice nobody to save her life. She begged for Ellen’s life, if you want to know. She’d been groped, fondled, humiliated, and tied to some fucked-up contraption with spikes on it. She survived because Outlaw got loose and beat the fuck out of Snake. You got me, you stupid bitch? Megan never did nothing to your fucking cunt-sister but be in her company at Outlaw’s orders. She did a lot more than bitches twice her age, considering her stepfather used to beat her and her mother to a pulp and she came looking for her father’s protection. Instead, she found a shitload of secrets and a much older man who was a mean sonofabitch. She didn’t cower. She stood up to him, just like she stood up for your lying bitch of a sister.” He thrust his face into hers and he looked ready and willing to choke the life out of her right there. “As Megan did for you.”

            Kendall knew Outlaw was a mean sonofabitch. He’d oh-so-casually mentioned he’d wanted to slit her throat. She bounded to her feet, needing air, needing comfort.

            If any of these men ever found out what she’d done to Megan Caldwell—all the games she’d played to exact her revenge—her life was well and truly over.

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW