Chapter Eleven.
Kendara
I t was two days since the ‘incident’ as it was now referred to, and I was finally starting to move better without wincing or gasping. The old ladies had taken turns keeping me company, which was kind, and the boys were diligently working on their punishments daily. I was betting they’d not play with dynamite at the beginning of the school vacation again.
The day had been red hot, and the evening promised to be no different. I was already uncomfortable because of the itchy scabs forming across my body when Rooster entered the house with another man. One glance and I understood this was someone I would never cross. He’d shoot me where I stood.
“Kenny, this is Onyx, the President of The Riders of Vengeance. Onyx’s VP, Venom, is coming in a few moments,” Rooster said.
“Don’t get up, Kendara; we’ve heard about the incident. Seems a rather strange way of catching a woman, if you ask me,” Onyx replied.
At first, I thought Onyx was being serious and then I saw a twinkle in his eye, which quickly disappeared.
“Rooster had the kids blow me up so I wouldn’t run. He guessed I’d be able to outrun him otherwise,” I quipped.
Rooster’s mouth dropped open, and I laughed at his expression as Onyx let out a dry chuckle.
“Damn, you’re a live one. Don’t know anyone who’s had the balls to tease Rooster yet,” Onyx drawled, sitting down.
A second hulking man entered and offered head tilts before grabbing another chair.
“We’ve not met before Kendara, but my club is allied with Hellfire and Rage. Which means when something affects one of them, if they need help, I’ll provide it. It also means if we come across information that one of them needs to know, we inform them,” Onyx said.
“Two nights ago, Riders of Vengeance were contacted by a man named Clive Parsons,” Venom stated. His voice sounded rough, as if it had an issue.
“Clive Parsons is the husband of Lola,” I exclaimed.
“Parson’s has a right fucking hard-on for you. Asshole wants you in a world of suffering and then dead. Seems Parsons thinks you’ve taken his rightful property and hid it from him,” Venom continued.
“If you call a nineteen-year-old girl and his children property, then yeah, I have her safe,” I snarled, curling my lip.
“Parsons claimed you manufactured evidence to get restraining orders against him. He says you then helped hide his lying wife, who is destroying his kids’ lives. Parsons, funny enough, didn’t mention the eleven calls to his house for domestic violence. Nor the fact his wife and kids between them had been hospitalised fourteen times in the last four years,” Venom stated.
“Oh, I bet Clive didn’t,” I agreed.
“Riders of Vengeance don’t like assholes like him. In fact, we hate men like Parsons. But before we could turn down the job, which he’s offering ten grand for, he gave us your name. No offence, lady, but there ain’t many Kendara’s around here. We told him we’d get back to him and followed him home from the bar where we met. Then we did some digging and discovered that we really don’t like Parsons,” Venom said.
“Dislike is a mild word. Parsons wasn’t aware my club had ties to Rage or Hellfire, but he was careful not to mention your links to them. But he made his wishes clear. Parsons wanted you black and blue and then dead. He thinks that once you’re out of the way, he can get his family back. You deserved to understand the threat against Kendara, Rooster. And we’ve checked and seen Kendara’s had a few incidents lately,” Onyx added.
“Yeah, we’re not sure if it’s two stalkers or one. But thanks for bringing us this,” Rooster said .
“We’ll take gratitude as a beer, food, and decent company,” Venom suggested.
Rooster shot him a stare, and Venom chuckled. “Don’t worry, dude. Ain’t looking for nothing but that. The cooking at the club leaves a lot to be desired. We lost our cook, and we’ve eaten a lot of shit lately.”
“Oh, I can cook,” I offered, struggling to get up.
“You’ll sit your ass there,” Rooster and Onyx said together.
“We order takeout. There are some pretty good places locally. Although, I keep telling Bernard he needs to open a restaurant over here,” Rooster complained. “We’ve got some good restaurants but not a Bernard’s.”
“I love Bernard’s,” I agreed, trying not to drool.
“If we could kidnap Bernard, we would. But we can’t deal with his husband nor the fuss Phoe and Drake would make,” Onyx replied with a dry chuckle. “Order away Rooster, just make it edible.”
I was surprised at how comfortable the evening was. Despite their looks, Venom and Onyx made easy conversation, covering a variety of topics. They’d been laughing at the punishments when Banshee arrived with the boys. Rooster sent all four up to wash up and offered Banshee dinner.
Shee called Sallie-Anne, and she hurried her ass over, grateful not to have to cook on a hot evening like this. Considering the overload of testosterone, not one of them left Sallie-Anne or me out of the conversation. They all talked late into the night, and I fell to sleep lulled by their voices and curled into Rooster’s side.
◆◆◆
I woke with a jolt, aware I wasn’t alone in bed and gazed into Brax’s eyes. Brax was attempting to appear innocent, but I heard everyone screaming his name.
“Did you get revenge?” I asked, suddenly guessing what he’d done.
“Don’t hurt my Kenny,” Brax hissed.
“Dad, I’m going to kill him!” Kit yelled furiously.
“You’re going to do shit,” Rooster responded.
“Look at me!” Fin shouted.
“I can see very well, Finn. My eyes weren’t injured,” Rooster said from outside my door.
“Brax, I’m going to brush my teeth and pee. Don’t drag me into whatever this is,” I warned Brax, who kept looking innocently at me.
“My Kenny,” he murmured, stroking my arm, and then dived under the bed.
Moments later, the door opened, and Rooster stuck his head in. There was a huge grin across his lips, which he wiped as he stared around the room.
“Brax?” he asked.
“I’m Switzerland,” I said, causing Brax to pop out.
“What’s that mean?”
“That means I’m neutral, and now your dad knows where you are,” I answered, shaking my head.
“Oh. Duh,” Brax said, and face palmed himself.
Rooster planted his body firmly in the doorway. “ I’m going to ask once, Brax. Was that the end result you intended?”
“Nope. But I’m happy,” Brax replied.
I let myself into Rooster’s bathroom and shut the door on them. Until I had coffee, I didn’t care.
Most of my stuff remained downstairs, but Rooster had insisted I have his bed to sleep. He said it was the best thing for a battered body. Hell, my mattress wasn’t a slouch, but Rooster’s was heavenly. Rooster hadn’t pressed his advantage and had slept in my room, allowing me to heal, which was nice of him.
After brushing my teeth and having a quick shower, I pulled on some clean underwear, shorts and a tank top with a built-in bra and headed for the kitchen.
I went straight for my coffee and absentmindedly rubbed Kit’s bald head as thanks. I’d taken two sips before I realised what I’d done. Slowly, I turned to stare at Kit. Yup, he was bald, from top to toe, by the looks of it.
“Er,” was all I could manage to say.
Rooster, wearing shorts and nothing else, spoke, “Yup, completely bald. The little fucker got Kit’s shampoo and shower gel in one hit.”
My gaze focused on all the beautiful flesh and muscles on show, and I lost track of what Rooster was saying. He was even barefoot. I pressed my legs together to stop myself from jumping him.
“Kenny,” Rooster said, amused, and I realised he’d called me several times. With effort, I wrenched my eyes from his taunt stomach and to his face .
“You’re dead, you little fuck,” Finn growled at Brax from behind Rooster, making Rooster spin around and point a finger.
“As it stands, because I’m unaware of what’s safe to use and what isn’t, you ain’t getting your mouth washed out. But when Uncle Chance drops new shit off, you better get ready!”
“Dad, you gotta be joking. Look what Brax did to us,” Finn exclaimed. “We’ve got no hair anywhere!”
“Make that the three of them,” Shee announced, escorting Troy in with an upset Sallie-Anne behind him.
“Touch my Kenny, threaten my Kenny, and hell has no fury like a Brax!” Brax hissed at them.
“Dude, I guess they learnt their lesson,” Rooster said calmly as Sallie-Anne began to beat eggs, and Shee sat down at the island.
“Kit, coffee duty,” Rooster ordered.
“Seriously? You’re not going to punish him?” Kit demanded.
“Was you or was you not threatening to bash Kenny’s head in?” Rooster retorted.
“Because we thought Kenny was a zombie!” Finn yelled.
“Why the hell would Kenny be a zombie?” Rooster shouted back, his hands in the air.
“Because there was no heartbeat, Dad!” Kit yelled.
“Maybe you weren’t checking the right place for a pulse, duh! And that doesn’t explain how you jumped to her being the Walking Dead!” Rooster argued.
“Wow, who’s the adult here?” I murmured to Sallie- Anne.
“God knows, but Rooster has a valid point. Why jump to zombies?”
“Because they watched a horror movie a few nights ago,” Brax provided the answer while gazing adoringly into my eyes.
“I can’t believe Troy’s golden hair is gone. Half an hour ago, I could have strangled Brax. Now I’m starting to see the funny side,” Sallie-Anne admitted as Shee joined the zombie argument.
The kitchen door opened, and Chance let himself in. He took one glance at the three boys and burst into laughter. Chance whipped his phone out and snapped a picture before tapping furiously on the keyboard.
“Holy shit, you got them good,” Chance said to Brax.
Clio opened the door minutes later and let herself and their four children in. She gaped at the hairless boys and placed herself in front of her kids.
“Is it safe?” she demanded of Rooster.
“Yeah, I’ve thrown out every soap, shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner in the house. Fuck knows what Brax infected on his spree, so I took precautions.”
“Shampoo?” I whispered as I stared at the strands of hair I was holding.
“Oh no, no, no!” Rooster cried in a strangled voice. Brax went whiter than white, and I ran my fingers through my hair again and came away with another clump.
“I swear to God, you’re trying to kill me,” I hissed and stormed off. On top of everything else, I was now bald!
◆◆◆
“Tell people you shaved your head for charity, raising ten thousand. Hellfire will give you that,” Clio said as she stared at me, worried.
Miserable, I stayed silent. The boys had blown me up, and now I was bald. What else could they possibly do? Was I in shock? I rather thought I was.
“Kenny, please say something. It’s been fifteen minutes; you’re scaring me,” Sallie-Anne begged, almost in tears.
“I can’t believe I’m bald. It was bad enough with a pixie cut. At least I had hair. But I’m bald. Nobody will take me seriously in court again,” I whispered. “Don’t they like me?”
“Oh honey, Brax is beside himself,” Sallie-Anne said.
“Keep Brax away from me right now. I’m too distraught and don’t want to upset him further,” I muttered. “I’m lost for words.”
And I was. This had been an awful month. Forced off the road, nearly run down, my house invaded, blown up, bald. What else was going to happen? Plus, I was covered in bruises and cuts, and supposedly, three little boys who liked me had done this to me. Why me? The mantra kept running through my mind.
“Thalia is sending her beauty lady out with wigs,” Clio said, wringing her hands.
“Shit, I’m a hairless freak,” I whispered as tears finally spilt and I began to cry.
“Get Rooster,” Clio hissed, and I wailed.
“No, don’t. Rooster can’t see me like this,” I cried, looking at my hair all over the floor, my hands and lap.
“Get Rooster now,” Clio insisted, and Sallie-Anne fled. Clio yanked me close and hugged the shit out of me.
Moments later, Rooster burst into the room, and Clio got up, and Rooster took her place. I tried to pull away. I didn’t want him to see me like this. But Rooster hauled me into his lap, tucked me under his chin and rubbed my back.
“Don’t look at me, I’m ugly!” I wailed.
“Baby, you could never be ugly!” Rooster replied.
“But I’m bald.”
“And? Your hair will grow back, and it doesn’t change how I see you.”
“Huh?” I grunted as I grabbed the box of tissues Clio had left on the bed.
“Do you see me differently because of my stump? Nope. I saw you eyeing me up this morning, lady. Am I going to treat you differently because you’re temporarily bald? Nope.”
“Now I’m selfish! Your booboo is permanent, and mine isn’t, and that makes me the most self-centred and vain person in the world!” I wailed harder.
“Oh boy!” Sallie-Anne said from outside the bedroom door.
“Babe, you’re not selfish. What Brax has done is a shock. Naturally, you’re going to be upset. Fuck, I would be, too, if I were you. The good thing is, it will grow back and think of the fun you can have with wigs in the meantime.”
“You’re too good to be true!” I sniffed and hitched on a breath.
“Keep thinking like that. Damn, worship me, babe,” Rooster teased as he continued rubbing my back.
“Rooster, I have a shiny face, no eyebrows, no hair, scabs and bruises everywhere. I resemble a battered woman rather than a successful lawyer,” I cried and blew my nose.
“Yeah, you do appear like you’ve been through some wars. But everything will heal or grow back. And in the meantime, I’ll beat the shit out of anyone male who upsets you and Clio and the old ladies can beat up the women,” Rooster soothed.
“Damn right,” Clio agreed through the door.
“They do know they’re not meant to be listening?” I asked Rooster with a wet snort/laugh.
“Woman, they’re always sticking their noses in. In fact, they should shave their heads in support of you,” Rooster said.
“Love you, Kenny, but not happening,” Sallie-Anne called.
“This club runs on crazy,” I murmured, snuggling into Rooster and calming down.
“Yeah, it’s tragic,” Rooster replied, and I began laughing.
◆◆ ◆
Levi couldn’t take his eyes off my baldness. In embarrassment, I swiped at it, but Levi shook his head.
“Stop staring,” Thalia hissed and elbowed him.
“Baby, I can’t. Kendara has a perfect head,” Levi replied.
“Huh?” I muttered.
“You have the most perfect head I’ve seen,” Levi elaborated.
“Levi, what are you on about?” Tati demanded.
“Look at Kendara. How her head is shaped and how smooth it is. There’s no scarring or lumps. It’s perfect… well, apart from the three bumps on it. But they’re going down. You really are flawless.”
“Levi would know as he’s an artist,” Madisen said, looking at her old man with an indulgent stare.
“Kendara, I seriously need to paint you,” Levi said and looked around him for something.
He saw Finn with a drawing pad and pencils and snatched them from him. Finn stared open mouth as Levi began sketching straight away, every so often glancing up at me and then continuing.
“Okay…” I drew the word out.
We were waiting for Thalia’s miracle worker, and Levi had tagged along with Celt. Celt had shaken his head when he saw me and muttered, ‘Welcome to the family,’ before taking a seat.
The boys were conspicuously absent. They were under the watchful eye of Jesse, Chey and Celt’s seventeen-year-old son.
I think everyone realised I needed some time to accept what had happened.
Thalia’s beauty therapist arrived with a variety of wigs, and I ended up picking several. I chose a black one with pink and purple streaks, a bob very much like my original and a bright red-haired, curly one. They were made really well, and I knew they wouldn’t irritate my skin. I was taken through how to care for them and was told she could return and set them in different styles until my hair grew back.
Rooster once again had paid, and I seriously was grateful. But I couldn’t help but wonder what disaster would happen next and hope that I got at least a twenty-four-hour break.
That wasn’t to be when Brax walked in carrying some hair clippers, who knows where they came from, and his little head shaved bald. Brax sighed dramatically.
“I couldn’t leave my Kenny to be a baldie alone,” he said, and everyone stared at one another before we all began laughing. Christ, I loved that kid.
Rooster
Rooster eyed the man tied to a meat hook in the wet room. Hellfire brought criminals here for punishment and made sure they paid for their actions. Nobody left here alive, but Clive Parson didn’t know that. Rooster hauled back and let his right fist fly. It landed on Clive’s jaw and sent him spinning backwards.
“You tried to kill my old lady,” Rooster hissed.
“I don’t know your woman!” Clive babbled. The stench of piss filled the room, and Rooster laughed.
“Call yourself a man? You can only beat on women,” Rooster jeered.
“Dude, I’ve no clue what you’re talking about!” Clive squealed.
“No? How about you breaking your wife’s arm twice? Breaking her fingers, her elbow, her ankle. Need I carry on?” Chance said from where he stood.
“She’s lying! Lola wants my money, she’s lying,” Clive blubbered. Rooster hit him again.
“The hospital is lying as well?” Tiny asked, standing up and putting on some knuckle dusters. “I’ve seen her records with all the bruises marked on charts. You made a mistake coming after Rooster’s woman.”
“Told you, I don’t know his fucking woman!” Clive screamed.
“The lawyer. Kendara. You ran her off the road. Then tried to run Kendara over, and finally, like the putz you are, you contacted an ally of ours to kill her. Recognise these men?” Chance said and motioned to Onyx and Venom. Clive paled.
“Now, for every bruise and broken bone, you gave your wife and Kendara, you’re going to get the same. If you’re still breathing, then I might slit your throat or just bury you alive. But before we start, why mess with Kendara’s things inside her house?” Rooster asked.
“I’ve never been inside that bitch’s home,” Clive yelled.
“Wrong answer,” Tiny said and slammed him hard. Everyone heard Clive’s rib crack, and he screamed in pain.
“Parson’s, tell me how you hacked Kendara’s feed and broke in,” Rooster demanded.
“I didn’t,” Clive yelled. “Honest, I didn’t. You have to listen!”
“We don’t have to do shit,” Chance said darkly and gave Banshee and Tiny the nod to begin working Clive over.
◆◆◆
Two hours later, Rooster held Clive’s head up and stared into his swollen face. Clive was barely breathing and was a battered mess of flesh and bone.
“I’ll see you in Hell,” Rooster said and slid a knife into Clive’s throat.
Clive died choking on his own blood.
“Kendara has another stalker,” Rooster said to his brothers.
“The wild ride isn’t over yet,” Tiny agreed.
“I’m going home to my woman,” Rooster said and headed for the room where they cleaned themselves up.
“Lucky man,” Shotgun whispered, and Tiny nodded in agreement.