Page 132 of Misrule
“Please! Please, don’t do this, Johnnie. I love you. I’m so sorry for everything.”
He stared at her, then looked away, sadness drooping his features. He suddenly looked haggard and drawn. “It’s too little, too late,” he told her, and walked away.
“JOHNNIE?” Kendall had hollered, but he hadn’t answered and he hadn’t looked back.
He’d walked out on her.
And their marriage.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Knox had just witnessed the dissolution of a couple, and he sat in stunned silence until Cam whistled and said, “Fuck, that was brutal.”
Slowly, Knox nodded, still too shocked to speak. Johnnie adored Kendall, in ways so pathetic Knox sometimes felt sorry for him. Yet, after years of patience, he’d reached his breaking point with her.
Thinking of the argument he’d had with Roxanne, Knox shifted in his seat. He’d always looked down on Kendall for the games she played, and the things she said. Wasn’t he guilty of the same thing? Maybe, his position was a little more understandable.Still,Roxanne had overlooked Knox’s underhanded reasons for originally courting her, and given him a real chance.
She’d trusted him enough to believe he wouldn’t go after her family.
Yes, Outlaw was so ignorant and stupid he could only form a sentence if it had the word ‘fuck’ included two or three times. And, yes, the entire club engaged in criminal activity. They were important to her, though. Besides,shewasn’t involved in felonious activity, so…
“Knox?” Cam called.
Frowning, Knox focused on his friend and business partner.
“Are you okay?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I could’ve overlooked Mortician’s games on Roxanne’s behalf,” he said miserably. “I just…Damn it! I didn’t know he was wealthy. I just took him to be a violent offender, like the rest of them.”
Cam snorted. “Really, jackass? Mortician’s wealth changes the way you see him? Newsflash, brother: heisa violent offender. They all are, but they are also loyal to those who show them the same respect. Besides, your fucking uncle kidnapped Roxanne and intended to kill her. Not to mention the fact that he was embezzling money. That’s criminal too, Knox.”
“I know,” Knox whispered.
“We’re here to do a job,” Cam reminded him. “I want to salvage some of my Saturday to spend with my family.”
“You’re right,” Knox agreed on a swallow.
Cam nodded toward the now-black screen. They hadn’t switched back to the live feed.
“Knox,” Cam started, giving him a level look. “Are you sure you want to participate in this? Kendall Donovan…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head. “It won’t take long to drive her to suicide. She’s so broken already.”
Knox snapped his eyebrows together. “Are you taking up for that woman?”
“Roxanne loves her. If you are a party to her demise, that might affect your relationship a bit.”
Not only a bit. Another part of him, the side that allowed him to take the case, disagreed. “If Kendall is out of the picture, the whole club will breathe easier.”
“I don’t know her well enough to agree or disagree. However, you can just tell Outlaw to handle her death on his own.”
“That’s impossible,” Knox snapped on a scowl. “First of all, Megan Caldwell would never agree with his decision to murder Kendall. Second, Outlaw would also have to kill Johnnie in order to save his own life. Johnnie wouldn’t allow his wife’s death to go unavenged.” Especially given the sordid history of the four. Sudden anger infused him. “Kendall deserves to suffer for all her sins. She needs to be so fucking haunted that she can’t live with herself. I’d gladly supply the gun, the rope, or the poison.”
“Give her a break. She has severe mental problems. She’s lost her family and her friends. Her marriage is over—"
“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person,” Knox sneered, not feeling a bit of empathy toward the redhead.
The chime on the entrance door sounded. Glancing at his watch, Knox saw that it was five minutes to eleven.
“Hello,” Emily Riser called from the small reception area just outside of the conference room. Her voice still had edges of culture in it, but, according to what he’d discovered about her, the roughness in it had been born of cigarettes, hard liquor and cocaine.
