Misled (34 page)

Christopher checked the ammunition in his gun, the tequila boiling in his blood but not blotting out the hatred in his sisters’ eyes or the fact that his
mother had to have a closed casket. He couldn’t forget the unreadable expression in Megan’s eyes when she’d come to him, urged on by his cousin. Not because she gave a shit about her father’s killer. She was just a good girl with good manners.

She had absolutely no place in his world, and he had no place in hers. When their two worlds collided, death and destruction happened. He didn’t have a kind heart. Nor a forgiving one. Once he made examples of the
rebels, he’d never return out of the darkness.

The four men who’
d deserted with Snake and the eight who’d been assisting Rack stood handcuffed, blindfolded and gagged. They were moments away from joining the three fucks in the corner whom Christopher had killed with a more personal touch. The ones who’d dared touch Meggie and humiliate her. According to Val the ones who’d caused her to scream until she lost her fucking voice.

He held his semi-automatic up and glared at his brothers. “This is what happens to those who betray me.”

Remorseless, he opened fire, pumping bullets into the men who’d had no second thought of planning his demise. It was over in a matter of minutes. He stared at the carnage.

This was his life. Megan Foy had absolutely no place in it.

Two hours later, he stood at the bar in the clubhouse, holding a bottle of gin. He couldn’t believe it had just been this morning he’d been at the cemetery, telling his mother good-bye and hearing Meggie’s sweet voice offering her sympathies.

He wore a pair of jeans, debating on whether or not he’d take one of the bitches in his room to have his dick sucked.

“Yo, John Boy,” Val called and Christopher scowled, tipping back the bottle to swallow more booze.

What the fuck wa
s his cousin doing here? He’d fuck him up if he was coming to lay blame at his feet over Patricia’s death. He’d heard enough shit from his sisters.

“Give me a beer, Bowlie,” Johnnie said.

Christopher’s eyes widened. His cousin wore his leather and his cut. “What’s up?”

Johnnie shrugged. “Not much. I figure
d I needed to see what was going on. Been awhile.”

“Yeah. Since Boss started his road to hell.”

Johnnie swigged his beer. “Yep.”

“You back in all the way?”

“Dunno. That depends.”

He had a feeling what it dep
ended on, but he wouldn’t discuss her. He’d done what he thought right by calling his cousin and asking him to invite Meggie to Patricia’s services. He refused to give his verbal blessing for the dude to have her as his old lady.

“Ain’t no
thin’ but a thing. Don’t matter,” Christopher added.

Johnnie stared at him. “Don’t,” he said quietly. “You need her.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“And what the fuck I’m gonna do with her? Kiss her goodbye and tell her to have a good day while I go work for the day? Only my job is dangerous as fuck. The kind that can get me killed or locked up.” Or her killed.

“You don’t care if you see her at functions, on the back of my bike, knowing she’s just come out of my bed?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“And what about if she ends up pregnant? Maybe, I could use a condom but I want to feel her cun—“

Christopher jerked out of his stool, knocking it over and grabbing Johnnie’s jacket. “Shut up before I rip your fuckin’ dick off.”

Johnnie smiled calmly, stared into his eyes. “Lucky me, you already took care of that.”

“I said—“ Christopher’s thoughts whooshed out of his mind like a vacuum cleaner had sucked them away. “She’s havin’ my kid?”

“Ummmhmmm.”

“Well—“

“If you hadn’t been licking your wounds, you would’ve noticed how her hand kept pressing to her belly. She’d gaze at you and look lost and forlorn and flushed. But she’s young, scared, and confused. And you’re not helping
by trying to push her into my arms.”

“She said that?”

“No. I’m saying it. I’m not a girl who’s only had one lover and ended up pregnant.”

“Johnnie—“

“I’m giving you one chance. I’d like to come back to the club. But I don’t want to risk having a bullet in my ass because she’s in my bed. You piss this chance away, she’s fair game, Christopher. And I won’t stop until she’s mine.”

Christopher studied him for a moment, searched his mind about how he’d feel if he didn’t try for Meggie. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. He’d kill Johnnie, especially if his cousin had the nerve to make a play for her while she was still pregnant with Christopher’s baby.

He’d get dressed and go reclaim his girl.

Megan sat alone in her motel room. She’d cried so much, she suspected she was dehydrated. She had to get past this crippling grief
, though. She had to stay focused for her baby. Christopher’s baby. She needed to be strong, but, she’d been suffering with morning sickness since Christopher had brought her there and forgotten about her. She knew her overwhelming sadness only added to her sickness.

Big Joe had been killed by the man she loved, the father of her unborn baby. In turn, her own brother killed Christopher’s mother and, then, Christopher had killed her brother. It was all so surreal.

She stumbled to the dingy window. Lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a loud rumble of thunder. Staring at the darkened skies, she tried to get her head straight and figure out why so many people had to die.

She knew why. Because her father was cut from the same cloth as her brother. They were corrupt, evil personified. Maybe, with therapy they could’ve been saved. She’d never really known her dad, just seeing the best of him when he decided to vi
sit. And she’d never get to acquaint herself with the brother she hadn’t known about until a few weeks ago.

She shuffled back to the bed and sat, flinching at the thunder and pressing her hand against her belly.

While she was wallowing in grief and anger, Christopher was…what? He’d lost his mother and Meggie knew how much he’d loved Patricia. But he’d be Meggie’s big bad biker and hide his grief.

She curled into a little ball, no longer able to deny how much she still loved him and how much she wanted to be there for him. She wanted him to be the father to their baby that her father hadn’t been to her.

She screamed into the pillow. So what if her father and brother were dead? And Patricia. So what if Meggie would never get to know her better and really become her friend? Or introduce her to Christopher’s baby?
So what
? People died every day.

But not people she knew. Not her own flesh and blood and three women who hadn’t deserved to die. Because
, in all her current grief and anger, somewhere inside of her the thought of Kiera and Ellen crept in from time to time.

She screamed again and pounded the bed, wondering if she was losing
her mind. The rain started falling in sheets, beating against the roof and the window pane. She sat up, hungry and weak. She needed to get to the minimart when the rain let up. She wanted a Milky Way and some chocolate milk. She wanted…what?

Swallowing, she made her way to the bathroom and turned
on the tap, splashing her face with cold water. Her mirrored reflection revealed the mess of her red, swollen eyes, puffy face, and hair hanging like limp noodles.

Pulling a strip of toilet paper from the roll, she blew her nose, then dried her face with a towel from the rack. She drew in a deep breath. Her mother had loved Big Joe, too. Maybe, Dinah could be a comfort to her. Meggie would never tell her mom everything, but she’d have someone to grieve with her where she wouldn’t feel guilty because she
was
grieving.

She pushed her tears aside and walked out of the bathroom. Sitting on the side of the bed, she dialed her home number. It was safe since Christopher had one of the boys watching over her. They wouldn’t let Thomas get anywhere near her
if, by any chance, he saw the motel number on Caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Daddy’s dead.” Meggie sniffled around the words, the moment her mother picked up.  Her hand trembled as she held the receiver. Silence. “Did you hear me, Momma?”

“Yes,”
Dinah whispered. A hiccupped sob escaped her. “Are you all right, baby?”

Meggie bit her lip. She wanted so badly to have her mother with her, especially now. She knew she couldn’t and wouldn’t.
Dinah was too afraid to leave Thomas and Meggie could never return to live with them. As much as she wanted to protect her mother, she had
her
baby to think of. She swallowed, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I can’t believe he’s gone!” she cried. “I just wish I’d gotten to talk to him one last time like you did.”

“So that’s why you left,”
Dinah said dully. “You heard what I said to Thomas.”

“Yes. And I thought Daddy could protect me and rescue you. He would’ve.”

“Oh Meggie. My sweet Meggie. He…I…he never said anything. I never spoke to him,” she admitted. “I just wanted Thomas to leave you alone. If he thought Big Joe was coming…”

Her mother’s voice trailed off.

“I hurt him, Meggie. I never should have…he loved you so much. Seeing you kept him focused and I took that away from him. I ruined his life.”

“No, of course you didn’t,” Meggie soothed. “You—“

“I was angry,” Dinah confessed. “I couldn’t stand…I hated his lifestyle. I detested the fact that he had another child.”

“You knew?” Meggie squeaked. “About his son?”

Silence met the shocked question, then Dinah sighed. “Yes. And…”

“And?” Meggie prompted when
Dinah’s voice trailed off.

“I wanted to have a son for him, too. I didn’t think he’d have any place in his life for a daughter. But I was wrong. He loved you with everything in him. There were always so many women around. I was afraid to leave him around them and I refused to have anything to do with the MC.”

“It’s okay, Momma. We all make mistakes that we end up regretting. Only, at the time, we think it’s the right thing to do. None of us have a crystal ball to know our decisions are the right ones. Even if we did, I think it would be pretty boring to get everything right. We’d never learn. We’d never love, for that matter.”

“Yes. You’re right.”
Dinah cleared her throat. “Will you come back home?”

How could she ask that? “I’m having a baby,” Meggie admitted softly.

“Oh dear God! He got to you, didn’t he? That’s why you ran away.”

“
Thomas never—“
Touched me.
The lie died on her lips because Thomas
had
touched her. He just hadn’t penetrated her. “We never had sex.” She shored up her courage, knowing this had to be said. “He fondled me. But that’s all.”

“I wish he’
d die!” Dinah spat vehemently.

Meggie did, too. Since that wouldn’t happen anytime soon, another approach was necessary. “Do you have your passport?”

“My…? Yes. Why?”

“Why don’t you go to Europe? Start over.”

“Alone?”

“Um…”

“I went straight from my parents’ house to living with your father. Then I had you and I haven’t been alone since.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Meggie said. “You need to leave to save your life. Get away from the monster you married.”

“I love you, Meggie.”

“I know. I love you, too.”

“Meg—“

A knock at the door pulled Meggie away from her mother’s voice. She frowned, wondering if Johnnie was visiting to continue the discussion they’d began earlier today. “I’m coming,” she called when the knock sounded again. “Someone’s at the door. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“All right.”

“Think about what I said,” Meggie urged before saying goodbye and rushing to the door, throwing it open. “Christopher!”

He scowled. “You always open a fuckin’ door without askin’ who’s there?”

Meggie rolled her eyes. “Since I have my own personal bodyguards, I figure they wouldn’t allow anyone to harm me,” she sniffed.

He brushed past her without waiting for an invitation. “We need to talk.”

Slamming the door, Meggie stomped to him. “About?”

He narrowed his eyes. “How ‘bout we start with my baby?”

Meggie gasped and opened her mouth to speak.

“Don’t try to deny it,” he growled, untying the belt on her robe and revealing her nightshirt. “Johnnie wouldn’t lie about that shit.”

“He had no right to tell you,” she huffed, the feel of his hands roaming over her breasts and belly burning through her. She closed her eyes when he thumbed her nipples. Her breasts were so sensitive and so much fuller. “It was my news to share.” She gasped as his fingers found her center, already wet and empty feeling.

Christopher bent his head and covered her mouth, sucking on her tongue, destroying her thoughts of anything else. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, loving the taste and scent of him. His hard body pressed against hers and he back walked her the few steps to the bed. He stopped a moment to remove her nightshirt before he sat on the bed and pulled her between his legs.

Meggie knew she should stop him so they could talk. But she’d missed him so much. Death had been all around them. He needed to feel life. He’d put life inside her belly. She clutched his shoulders, opened her mouth in submission, whimpering when he massaged between her legs. Arms around her waist, he laid back and pulled her on top of him before rolling over. He lifted himself up and stared into her eyes. She raised her hips, urging him
to bury himself inside her.

“We need to talk, Megan
,” he whispered, caressing her cheeks, gliding his fingers through her hair. He kissed her again. “I love you. Stubborn, cheeky little bitch that you are.”

She glared at him.

Christopher sighed and rearranged them on the bed. He held her in the crook of his arm, wrapped tight against his body. “That’s what girls are to me. If I don’t say it with no heat, I don’t mean nothin’ by it.”

“Oh.”

“Jesus. That’s what I mean.” He scraped his fingers through his hair. “You don’t belong in my world. And I thought long and hard about this. About leavin’ the MC. And, fuck, Megan. I can’t. It’s what I know. Who I am. I’m in too deep. I got my own mother killed.”

His voice broke just as Meggie swore her heart was breaking, too. “Christopher, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Then whose was it? I got her involved.”

“By bringing me to her. You must hate me.
If you hadn’t sought to protect me—“

“No.
Don’t even think such bullshit. I could never hate you,” he swore. “I just wish…fuck, my life don’t have no place for wishes. Don’t you see? Ain’t no way we could ever be together. When you look at me, you’ll always see the man who killed your pops.”

Meggie considered Christopher’s words. The past three months had taught her a lot about herself
and her father. And the last ten days had shown her how precious and fragile life is. Living under Thomas’s brutality, she’d always believed it in the back of her mind.

“As to my kid, I’ll always take care of it. Just don’t shut me out of the kid’s life. I’ll buy you a house wherever you want to go. Send you to school so you can do that weather girl thing.”

“I loved—love,” she corrected on a swallow—“my father. He put you in the position of having to choose his life or your own. He should never have done that. Knowing my dad, he would’ve done the same thing if the situation was reversed. No, he probably would’ve done it the moment he realized you’d started using the, um…” She frowned. “Merchandise.”

“Fuck. Boss was a tough fucker. He didn’t fuck around. He probably woulda cut my fuckin’ fingers off first.”

It was the first time Meggie heard Christopher mention her father with such reverence.

He scooted down and pressed his forehead to hers. “I came here to get yo
u back. I fucked enough chicks to know I don’t need to keep fuckin’ no random bitches.”

Meggie growled. He laughed.

“You a jealous little bitch, huh?”

“Would you stop?”

“This ain’t the life for you, Megan. No matter how much I want you with me. How many babies I want to give you.”

“B-but I love you, Christopher,” she said softly, drawing her fingers along the angle of his jaw.
“Do I want to live at the clubhouse? No. Not full time. I saw you at your mother’s house. How much you enjoyed the normalcy.” She swallowed, scared he’d turn her down. Besides her father, she’d never met anyone so willing to put actions behind the words to protect her. He believed she deserved better. What exactly was his idea of better? It was the height of irony that society would view Thomas as the
better
man. Thomas was a child molester, an alcoholic and a wife beater. The scum of the earth cloaked in middle-class respectability. “Can’t we be together? I don’t want anyone else but you.”

“Megan, no. I thought Johnnie would be better for you, but ain’t no way now. He wants to patch back in and—“

Megan lifted herself up and glared at him. “Did you ever consider who I wanted? I like Johnnie. A lot—“

“He fuckin’ kissed you.”

Scrambling out of bed, Meggie stalked to the dresser and snatched open a drawer. She pulled on her panties before finding a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt.

Christopher pulled himself up on his elbows. “What the fuck you doin’?”

“I’m going to buy myself a Milky Way,” she muttered, slipping her feet into her shoes.

“No the fuck you ain’t.
It’s been rainin’ fuckin’ buckets. It’s stopped now but who knows for how long?” He got to his feet and pulled out his cell phone. “Lemme call Digger. He can make the run for you.”