Chapter Fourteen – Kendall
Instead of returning to her office to get her Navigator and her phone, Kendall told Mortician to head to the club.
Of course, he agreed. He’d made the day about her and that didn’t end because they were back on their home turf.
Unfortunately, the nearer they got to the club, the more overwhelmed she felt.
Mainly because she knew Johnnie wouldn’t have noticed her absence.
Also, it was close to seven and she felt a little guilty at being out-of-reach the entire day.
More than likely, her children were wondering why she wasn’t home to prepare dinner.
When she was held up at the office, she always called.
However, as a Probate opened the gate and waved at Mort, the empty parking lot surprised Kendall.
Only Diesel’s Mercedes and four bikes were there.
“What the fuck going on?” Mortician voice came through the helmet’s bluetooth speaker.
“I was thinking the same thing,” she responded.
He slid into the spot reserved for him and killed the engine. After dismounting, he held his hand out to help her off, then nodded to the door.
“If it was something bad, you would’ve gotten a call or a text message,” she said.
“My fucking phone died hours ago,” he grumbled, leading her into the clubhouse.
She expected its relative emptiness simply because of the sparse amount of vehicles outside. What she didn’t expect was CJ pacing and Grant sitting at the bar.
“Aunt Kendall, Uncle Mort,” CJ cried, spotting them before Digger, Cash, or Grant, and running to them.
“What’s up—” Mortician started.
“Nardo’s father attacked Harley, Uncle Mort,” CJ rushed out, not waiting for Mort to respond before he addressed Kendall.
“Aunt Kendall, Mattie needs you so bad. She’s at Lolly’s with Harley.
Grant saved her and…and she was going to Turn Creek to check on Harley.
” He covered his face and heaved in a breath, frantic and angry.
“Wally, Jr. a-attacked her. He tried to force her…he was strangling her—”
Kendall stared at her nephew, hoping he was pulling an elaborate prank. Except that was more Axel’s MO and CJ was too upset for it to be a joke. Besides, he wouldn’t play such a cruel trick on her. Mortician was as frozen as she was, blinking at CJ as if he’d spoken a foreign language.
“I don’t know where Mom and Dad are,” CJ continued, his voice catching.
Kendall wanted to comfort his distress. Hug him. Tell him everything would be fine, but she couldn’t do anything beyond hearing his voice echoing, ‘he was strangling her.’
“Uncle Val took some brothers to Ridge Moore to search for that motherfucker.”
She thought he meant Nardo’s father. She tried to ask for clarification but she only squeaked.
“Diesel looked for Wally, Jr.” Words exploded from CJ as if he’d been waiting to get it off his chest and now that he’d found an outlet, he couldn’t stop.
“Uncle Stretch went to Turn Creek.” He looked at Mortician.
“I-I told them to cut down the overgrowth. I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds.
They didn’t listen anyway. Not until Diesel gave the order.
That’s where most of the members are. Cutting down all that shit, which should’ve been done ages ago. ”
“Mort?” Digger called, the concern in his voice breaking through Kendall’s horror.
Mortician stared at his brother, still not speaking.
“A grown motherfucker hit my niece. A grown ass man. Do you hear me, Mort? You understood what little bruh told you?”
“Ned Grevenberg hit my baby girl?” Mortician finally asked.
“Yeah, Mort,” Digger said carefully. “One side of her face got a fucking nasty ass bruise. Her fucking eye shut.”
“And Wally, Jr. tried to kill Mattie?” Mort asked woodenly.
Spoon’s assault invaded Kendall’s mind and all the peace she’d found today evaporated. While her baby needed her, she’d been off licking her wounds because Johnnie’s behavior crushed her. Mattie had been all alone facing a monster just like Kendall had so many times with Spoon.
Yesterday’s meeting with Bash shoved away Spoon’s face. The betrayal she felt was staggering. She’d actually believed Bash when he said he wanted peace. She’d been so smug, so arrogant, preening that she’d gotten the job done when Johnnie hadn’t been able to.
But Bash was just like Spoon. No, he was worse. He’d taken her for a fool, and she’d almost lost her baby girl.
A sob escaped her.
“Aunt Kendall.” CJ hugged her. “Mattie is battered and bruised and-and h-he just ripped away her panties—”
“Oh my god,” Kendall cried, finally finding her voice at that detail, what her daughter endured hitting her full force and almost buckling her knees.
CJ’s arms tightened around her. “I-I know I’m a motherfucker for saying this to you and I’m sorry, but Mattie needs you so bad right now.”
“I thought Marvey…” Mortician stopped and started again. “I told that motherfucker not to allow Nardo on the grounds. It should’ve stood to reason that motherfucker daddy wasn’t fucking welcome.”
The opening door brought in a blast of evening air, cooling Kendall’s wet cheeks and her racing thoughts, and she pulled away from her nephew.
He gasped. “What the fuck did you do, Diesel?”
Turning, Kendall stumbled back. Diesel was covered in so much blood, she wondered if he’d been injured.
“What the fuck I said I would do,” he gritted.
“You fucking killed Marvey, you raging prick?”
“You’re lucky I don’t kill motherfucking Johnnie,” Diesel snarled. “That’s the motherfucker who put Harley and Mattie at risk with his fucking miserable games.”
“Wh-what?” Kendall’s nostrils flared and disbelief joined her stew of emotions. She couldn’t believe her husband had gotten so far away from their family, so far from the man he’d been, that he’d do such a thing. She shook her head. “He wouldn’t…wh-what do you mean?”
CJ shoved Diesel, unbothered by the copious amounts of blood. “Can you ever shut the fuck up and have impulse control, dickhead?”
“What the fuck Diesel talking about, CJ?” Mortician demanded, stepping between the two brothers before Diesel punched CJ.
A pained expression crossed CJ’s face before he glowered at Diesel and gave Kendall a hesitant look.
“Uncle Mort—”
“Tell me now.”
“Harley needs to see you and Mattie is waiting for you.”
“CJ—”
“Uncle Mort, please.” CJ didn’t give Mortician a chance to respond before he stepped aside so he could see Diesel. “Did you disable the fucking cameras at least?”
“I covered my fucking tracks, CJ,” Diesel gritted. “His body’s in the fucking van.”
“Don’t fucking tell me you dismembered him in the van,” CJ blurted.
“Val invited him for a ride as he was walking out of school. We didn’t want to give him advance notice and have him tell someone he was meeting us.” Diesel shrugged. “I got carried away and stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver five or six times.”
“What did Diesel mean, CJ?” Kendall demanded shakily, uninterested in hearing about the gore fest. “Tell me, please.”
“Stop protecting Johnnie, CJ,” Diesel blared.
Val stuck his head in as CJ spat, “You should’ve waited until Dad was around to fuck up that motherfucker. He might’ve wanted something different.”
“Outlaw and Meggie turning in now,” Val announced. “Diesel, would you please come and get that dead motherfucker out the fucking van?”
The sound of Christopher’s Harley pipes drowned out any response Diesel could’ve made. It gave Kendall a moment to catch her breath and brace herself even as she held out hope that Diesel overreacted because of how much he hated Johnnie.
A moment later, Christopher and Meggie walked in, holding hands. He halted, narrowed his eyes, looked into Kendall’s teary eyes, Mortician’s shell-shocked expression, and Diesel’s bloody hands, clothes, and face.
“What the fuck happened?”
Meggie rushed to Kendall and hugged her. “Is it Johnnie?”
Hysteria hit Kendall again. She hugged Meggie back. “It’s Mattie,” she sobbed.
“And Harley,” CJ added grimly, and explained the entire story, including what he knew of Johnnie’s role. Diesel added the rest.
Kendall went numb, but then she felt…everything. Her heart breaking and her soul shriveling. Johnnie had done so much. For months, he’d been on a rampage, systematically destroying himself, their marriage, the club, and their family. To have his way.
As much as Kendall wanted to find an excuse for that motherfucker’s latest fuckery, she couldn’t.
He was just too bad off. Too immersed in his ill-fated plans, betraying her little-by-little until he’d committed the ultimate sin and risked her daughter.
Their daughter. He’d risked Mortician’s daughter and Christopher’s daughter.
How could he?
“Ned a fuckin’ plant?” Christopher demanded no one in particular, though Mort answered.
“I don’t know, Outlaw—”
“Ain’t givin’ a good fuck. Bash set us the fuck up. I’m killin’ every motherfuckin’ body I can fuckin’ find, startin’ with Celia. Mort, you and Kendall go to Roxanne, then we tearin’ this motherfuckin’ town apart, lookin’ for Ned and Nardo. CJ, wait here for instructions—”
“Ryan wants to see me—”
“For what?” Val asked.
“He didn’t say, but he marked his message SOS. I’ve just been waiting for someone to get home.”
“You did good, boy. Diesel, go cut that motherfucker up. Megan, that motherfucker still on your fuckin’ No-Kill List?”
Meggie released Kendall, looked at her, and lifted a brow.
Although Kendall doubted she’d ever forgive Johnnie, she still didn’t…she started to cry.
“It’s okay,” Meggie whispered, then spoke louder. “Yes, he is.”
Cursing, Christopher stormed out of the clubhouse.
“Christopher!” Meggie called and took off running.