Chapter 4 – Kendall
Dinner would be later than usual tonight, and it wouldn’t be in the dining room.
Kendall had stayed close to home most of the day, instead of going into the office and rereading the letters from those psychopaths and making sure she hadn’t missed anything.
She’d created family trees, noted all the birth certificates for each person—and the discrepancies or outright fucking lies—and logged her own speculations.
The volumes of documents were kept under lock and key in her office.
She wished she would’ve asked Outlaw to keep them at the club for times like this, when Kendall couldn’t bring herself to leave Mattie.
When Kendall decided to take a break and start dinner, she’d gone to Mattie’s room and asked if she wanted to help out.
Mattie said no, then explained how worried she was about Harley, which prompted Kendall to check on Mort’s daughter and bring her to the house until Zoann returned from Diesel’s party.
After dinner, she’d call Mort and tell him to check on Harley, who was suffering physically and mentally, something Kendall was very well acquainted with.
Sighing, Kendall opened the refrigerator, saw the lamb chops she’d defrosted for tonight’s meal, then slammed the door shut and leaned against it, gripping the handle like a lifeline. She couldn’t believe—
“Mom?”
Rory’s call prompted Kendall to lift her head, drop her hands from the handle, and turn. Her son stood on the other side of the island, rings around his eyes.
“Hi, honey,” she said. He’d been up half the night because he’d been in the meatshack.
CJ had killed Nardo. Last night, neither Kendall nor Meggie knew why Outlaw and Diesel took the boys. Once Meggie found out earlier today, she’d called Kendall. However, Rory hadn’t been himself for several days.
She went to him and hugged him tightly. “It’s okay, son,” she told him. “It will be okay. Mattie is struggling right now, but we’ll get her through this.”
Mattie’s attack had hit Rory hard and then when those fucking videos came to light…
Rory laid his head on Kendall’s shoulder and held onto her as if he’d never let go. As if he wanted to disappear and hide from the world.
“It isn’t only Mattie, Mom,” Rory croaked. “It’s…it’s Gypsy, too.”
Kendall let that sink in. “Gypsy?”
“Yeah, Mom,” he choked. “I’ve known her all my life. She worked at Crowne’s, with all the pretty gifts, and gave me a discount. She was such a nice lady. She shouldn’t have gotten killed like that.”
“I agree,” Kendall said, and the tension floated from her.
At least the tension from the unkind thought that Gypsy and Rory…fuck…predatory behavior was beyond the fucking pale even for that pathetic bitch.
“She was so pretty, too.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Kendall took her son’s beloved face between her hands. “You had a crush on Gypsy?”
Rory lowered his lashes, dark blond like Johnnie’s, then raised his miserable gaze to hers. “I know you think she was a pathetic old woman—”
“She was pathetic, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t pretty. No woman should put up with the bullshit Derby handed to her. If she wasn’t attractive, I would’ve thought she felt as if she couldn’t do any better. She was quite pretty, though.”
“Dad didn’t think so.”
“Ah,” Kendall said, understanding dawning on her. “He called her a pathetic old woman.”
“Yeah, Mom.”
“He isn’t known for compassion, love.”
Rory hugged her again. “I love him, though.”
“I know, sweetheart. As you should. He’s your father. He’s going through a lot right now.”
Rory stepped back. “You still love him though, right, Mom?”
Kendall would always love Johnnie. She nodded. “I know it’s hard not to worry about your father and I and our marriage because what happens between us affects you, your brothers, and your sister. Everything will work out just as it should.”
“Okay.
Ruffling his reddish blond hair, Kendall smiled at her son. “How about I call Derby Monday morning and ask if I can bring you to view Gypsy’s body? You can tell her goodbye without everyone looking.”
She hated that her son’s first crush—unknown until then—had ended so tragically.
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course, Rory,” she told him. “I have to go into the office in the morning, but I’ll check you out of school early, so you can change into a black suit, and we’ll even buy her a bouquet of flowers.”
“Aren’t you and Aunt Meggie doing something special for Gypsy, too?”
“Yes, she was Meggie and Bunny’s good friend and well known among the women and the brothers.”
“Thank you, Mom. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
Kendall hugged her son again. “I think I’m going to order food for us.”
“I’m not all that hungry,” Rory admitted. “Mattie probably isn’t either.”
“Neither am I, but JJ, Blade, and your father will still want to eat.”
“You’re right.”
“I’ll go to the library and ask Johnnie—”
“Dad went upstairs not long after you went to check on Harley.”
If she texted Johnnie, he might not respond. He was even unhappier with her now that she’d been named the club’s lead attorney. “I’ll go up and talk to him.”
Backing away, Rory shoved his hands in his pockets. “Uh, h-how was Harley?”
An unrecognizable note underscored that question and sent discomfort into Kendall.
“Uh—”
A text message alert interrupted her.
“Never mind, Mom,” Rory said, flushing. “Forget I asked.”
Before she could question him, he rushed out of the kitchen.
Too distracted to decipher Rory’s reaction, Kendall picked up her phone from where she’d left it on the counter. Seeing the message from her real estate agent surprised her.
Evan Marks: I have the perfect place for you, Ms. Miller. Unfortunately, it is a private showing. I have reserved a slot for you for tomorrow at 2PM. Please confirm.
Fuck.
The house she’d fallen in love with online had fallen through, so she’d asked the agent to be on the lookout for her. Of course, she could leave early in the morning, arrive in Nampa by one at the latest, and be home by nine, if she didn’t stay past three.
Kendall: I will be there. Thank you.
Evan Marks: See you then.
Phone in hand, she started toward the door that led to the hallway.
Johnnie walked in from the dining room, swept her with a look, then zeroed in on her phone. “Am I interrupting?”
“No.”
He looked at her as if he expected her to go into detail.
When she didn’t, he glared at her.
“I thought you were in your bedroom.”
Stalking to her, he narrowed his eyes. “I haven’t been in my fucking bedroom for weeks. I’ve been in a guestroom.”
He’d been in a servant’s room, but she decided not to point that out, since he’d chosen it. “What would you like for dinner?”
“What are you cooking?”
“Nothing. I’m ordering out. I still have a lot of work…” At his stiffening, she trailed her voice off. “I didn’t have the time to cook today.”
“Of course you don’t,” he said bitterly. “We aren’t your top priority.”
“Can we not get into this tonight? It’s been a long fucking week. I can do without your fucking bullshit.”
“My bullshit, Kendall? That’s rich coming from you.”
If she kept falling for his bait, the argument would devolve into a screaming match and go on forever. It would also alert their children, and they were going through enough. Blade was the only one who wasn’t mired in turmoil. He was a toddler and too young to understand.
“I was thinking about ordering a pizza, Johnnie. Will an extra-large do or would you prefer I order personal sizes for everyone?”
He studied her, then walked to the kitchen table and sat. “I’ll apologize to you, if you apologize to me.”
Instead of falling for Johnnie’s tactics, she should’ve walked out. After so many weeks of fuckery and recent additions to that fuckery, Kendall wondered why Johnnie was suddenly offering an olive branch.
She followed him to the table, though she remained standing. “What am I apologizing for?”
Cold anger burned in his eyes. “You know what the fuck you did.”
“According to you, motherfucker, my list of crimes is long and varied. Please tell me to which one you refer so I can say ‘fuck you’ and get on with my night.”
“Your affair.”
Sure she’d misheard, she blinked. “My what?”
“Don’t fucking play dumb. After I saw you arriving at the club on the back of Mortician’s bike, I investigated and discovered the truth. I know you went away with him.”
“I did, but it wasn’t to sleep with him, jackass.”
“As if you’d admit it.”
Kendall folded her arms. “I’m not you. The only reason you think I’m fucking Outlaw and Mortician is because of who you want to fuck.”
He smirked at her. “Are you accusing me of being attracted to Bailey?”
“My God, motherfucker, can you stop already? I know it’s only Meggie you’re obsessed with. Now that we’ve cleared up your fondest adultery prayer, what do you need to apologize to me for? Because as we’ve established, my conscience is clear.”
“I doubt that,” he sneered. “I think you’ve fucked both of them.”
Johnnie exhausted her. If he wasn’t accusing her of one thing, it was something else. Still, she couldn’t let his fucking insult slide, especially since his own fucking guilt led him to his low opinion and lack of faith in her. “That amazes me.”
“I’m amazing.”
Once, he had been. “Not you. You said ‘you think’. That’s fucking amazing. Brainless fuckheads—” Brainless blonds— “usually don’t have that capacity.”
“I come to you in good faith and you throw juvenile insults at me.”
“Good faith for what? I still don’t know what you are sorry for.”
“I’m sure you do. I’m sure Ryan couldn’t wait to blab how he came to me to help Molly and I refused. I wish I would’ve known Mattie was involved…” He closed his eyes. “That’s what I want to apologize to you about, Kendall. I never would’ve…to protect our daughter, I would’ve helped Ryan.”
Kendall thought about how Rory sounded when he’d asked about Harley. It was guilt, she realized. Guilt, because he’d known what was happening and hadn’t told anyone.
Of course Johnnie knew, too. Bash had been able to infiltrate their lives so deeply because of her husband.
Neither her husband nor her son would’ve cared if only Harley and Rebel had been affected. They would’ve continued on about the business, not fucking caring.
Swallowing, she thought of Ryan. How unforgiving her thoughts had been. She’d agreed to keep his secret on behalf of Zoann because she hadn’t thought…
Who was she kidding? Johnnie didn’t care about anything other than what he wanted and her son idolized his father.
“You knew what I went through,” she started, her voice trembling, “and you…you could’ve helped Molly…you knew about…? How could you?”
Johnnie didn’t meet her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
Instead of answering, she turned and ran to her bedroom, as sorry as she’d ever been for too many reasons to list.