Free A Very Christopher Christmas (A Death Dwellers MC Novella) by Kathryn Kelly, Swish Design, Editing Page A

Outlaw’s good side. Once she’d heard about the arms deal and the money that could be made for the club, she knew she’d found the solution.  
    It was much better than some paltry few hundred thousand dollars Meggie had so generously doled out to everyone from some stupid house that Outlaw had gotten rid of simply because his poor wife couldn’t deal with it.  
    This arms deal was a money maker .  
    “Brooks said I could accompany them on the deal and he was going to give me a large chunk of the revenue. He-he already gave it to me. McCallister transferred the money yesterday. I could have my own nest egg where, if I didn’t want to work, I’d have my own money and wouldn’t have to rely on you.”  
    She’d never get him to understand what it was like to sleep around to advance in life. Coming from her background, having her own identity and her own money was imperative to her piece of mind.  
    “The holidays start in earnest next week, Kendall. You’re three weeks from delivering Matilda. How the fuck did you intend to hop on a fucking plane?”  
    “Just what I said,” she answered around sniffles. “I thought we’d be gone a week at most. Then, when I discovered McCallister only wanted Outlaw, I still thought he’d go with the staggering amount of money involved. I thought I could use the time with him to finally make him like me.”  
    Narrowing his eyes, Johnnie stiffened. “How’d you propose to do that? By offering to fuck him again?”  
    “No! Of course not.” She wiped her cheeks and blew her nose into the napkin, a part of her pleased at Johnnie’s jealousy. “He would see that I’m good at my job and realize I’m not all bad. I’d make him understand how much I love you. Brooks was going to be there, working on him, too. It could’ve worked, Johnnie. Then he wouldn’t ignore me and you’d be happy that he’d laugh and talk to me just like he does with Zoann and Bailey.”  
    Heaving in a breath, Johnnie scrubbed a hand over his face. “Zoann’s his sister and Bailey’s K-P’s daughter. He feels more comfortable with her because of that. Think about Bunny. She works for Megan and he barely talks to her outside of the kids. He’s not the most talkative with women.”  
    “Loquacious,” she supplemented.  
    Johnnie grunted.  
    “It could’ve worked. You’re close to him.” As much as that annoyed her considering Outlaw’s treatment of her, it was true. “Eventually, he’d treat me the same way he treats Bailey and Zoann. I’m so sorry, Johnnie. I swear my intentions were good.”  
    “I know, Kendall,” Johnnie said with a sigh. “And you might be right. If he just took the time to get to know you, you two might become friends.”  
    “Forgive me.”  
    “Always. Just remember that when you visit my grave.”  
    “No! Please. Let’s talk about this. I have an idea to get him to listen to me.”  
    “No—”  
    “Yes, and you can do the same with Meggie.” That piqued his interest immediately and hurt her even deeper. He still felt something for Outlaw’s wife. Whether Johnnie knew it or not, or even wanted to admit it. “We find them in a place where they can’t run away and make them listen to us.”  
    “Christopher would kill you without qualms. At least if everyone’s there, especially Meggie, he’ll hesitate.”  
    “I just want to feel him out. I promise I won’t say anything else if he doesn’t seem amenable.”  
    “Fuck, no! Let me face my punishment and get it fucking over with.”  
    “What does that mean?”  
    “It means I’ll tell Christopher I went behind his back and accepted the deal he turned down. Hopefully, taking responsibility will save your life.”  
    “No! Never! I don’t want to live without you.” Especially if she were the reason he was killed. “Please. I beg you, let’s try it my way. Let’s finish dinner and go to his house.”  
    “I don’t want to disturb him tonight. He’s doing