Page 204 of Relentles
She wrinkled her nose. “Pooh on you, John Donovan. You’re pulling my leg.”
Chuckling, he shrugged. He wouldn’t force the issue. Otherwise, she’d switch her drink of choice to a vegan brand. She wholeheartedly believed in the health benefits of her dietary choices. Encouraged by Bunny’s mom, Kendall made it her life’s mission to change her eating habits. She’d changed her entire life to heal and be the wife, mother,person, expected of her.
Johnnie had made so many regrettable mistakes over the years. He’d tried his damnedest to course correct, even with the inevitable bumps in the road.
When he’d returned from Salt Lake City, after watching Cleaner place a gun to a girl’s head and pull the trigger, Johnnie hadn’t been in a good frame of mind. Jumping from a club crisis to a family one hadn’t helped his state.
Unlike the first time he’d visited, Bash and Cleaner hadn’t given Johnnie the chance to save the girl from torture and then death. The entire time Brooks and Johnnie had been in the club, Bash directed Cleaner and Tom, Molly’s father, to abuse the unknown woman.
Brooks had fainted—par for the course. Johnnie had offered money to buy her. He would’ve brought her to a shelter,somewhere.
“I’m begging you,” he’d said. “Stop torturing her. I’ll pay you whatever you ask.”
They’d trotted her over and shot her before Johnnie could even speak to her.
So, two days later, when he walked into his house and found Kendall and their childrenstark fucking naked, he’d gone a little mad. Of all the fucking days for her to lose her shit, she’d chosen one of the worst weeks he’d had in recent memory.
At first, he’d refused. “You’ve lost your fucking mind! Put your fucking clothes on.”
Kendall had thrown shit at him, screamed and cussed, sobbed and slobbed. He’d wanted to fuckingkillher and wildness overtook him. Before he did something he’d regret, he’d undressed and damned her to the fires of hell. Five minutes later…five fucking minutes after her madnesshad gotten her her way, she’d declared she was fun and whimsical and they could dress again.
Instead of permitting the moment to pass, Johnnie snapped. Memories of Kendall’s manipulation wafted to him. Not allowing her to run roughshod was a lesson well-learned. He’d felt singularlycontrolled,so he’d refused to allow her or the kids to leave. Blade was the only one not scarred from that day.
Last year, it was easy enough to keep Mattie away from Megan and out of Bash’s crosshairs.
He’d started slowly, harping on Mattie’s behavior and dropping hints at what a lady Kendall was. By the time he’d taken an unforgivably rigid stance, Kendall agreed with his view that their daughter was a princess and had to act accordingly. For a time, it was enough. It worked.
But then he’d been in the parking lot when Molly’s father dropped her off for Ryan’s birthday party. The motherfucker actually smirked at Johnnie and then nodded, wearing a fucking Sheriff’s deputy uniform just as he always did whenever Johnnie saw him at Bash’s club.
That day, Rebel had unwittingly given Johnnie what he needed to yank Mattie away.
Separating Kendall from Megan, though, was a different beast. Their rivalry was a thing of the past. It took her nearly losing her place in the club and their family for her toappreciatethe place she enjoyed.
To protect them, Johnnie could pay that fuckhead for the rest of their lives, but Bash was a greedy, violent, vengeful motherfucker.
Kendall disentangled herself from Johnnie and started for the door. To her, Bash was a non-issue. She trusted Johnnie’s explanation. He had to make himself worthy of her faith in him.
“Let’s go away for the weekend. We can—”
“We have rehearsals for the ball,” Kendall interrupted, referring to the Mardi Gras Ball Roxanne and the women hosted to raise money for various causes.
The first year had been a disaster. Christopher allowed them to use the clubhouse as long as members were invited. Then plans took shape. The tuxedos, decorations and all the little nuances discovered after Christopher’s agreement led to a huge argument between him and Megan. In the aftermath, it took weeks for him to get back into her good graces.
The next year, Roxanne, Megan, Kendall, and the others selected a hall. Once Knox got involved, it went from a fundraiser to ahighbrowfundraiser with rehearsals and call-outs and dance sets.
“Skipping one won’t hurt, Kendall.”
“It’s just weeks away.”
“We’re just going into the second week of January, gorgeous. The ball is weeks away.”
She nodded. “True.”
“We’ll leave the kids with…Megan,” he said at the last minute when he’d thought about Roxanne first. What hadKendall called her once? He searched his memory, ignoring his wife’s surprise. “Little Miss Susie Homemaker will enjoy the chance to watch over our children.”
Scowling, Kendall stiffened and folded her arms. “Little Miss Susie Homemakeralmost died and our niece along with her, fuckhead.”
How right she was. Though what everyone thought a tragedy had a remarkable ending, the scare rocked the entire club.
