KENNICK: A Bad Boy Romance Novel (9 page)

 
“Shall
we?” Kennick asked, rising with a stretch and placing his half-eaten plate of
half-edible food on the ground. Damon put the guitar back in its place and rose
with a nod.

“Can we stop for real chow?” Cristov asked, looking up
at his brothers, though the dinner Mina had prepared was nearly gone from his
plate.

“How can you still be hungry?” Damon asked, a smile
playing on his lips.

“It’s a gift,” Cristov responded, belching loudly as
he hopped up and strode towards the car that would take them to Dover, where a
man waited to be graced with the brutal honesty of a gypsy fist.

Chapter
Fourteen

Kim began her Monday in the same way she’d started a
hundred Mondays before. In fact, the only thing that separated this Monday from
every other Monday since she’d reached adulthood was that it would end in a
date with Kennick Volanis. A date that made her stomach twirl and flutter with
butterflies each time she thought of it.

Luckily, there was plenty to deal with at work that
she could afford to ignore the impending date for the most part. She’d been
right in her assumption about the business proposals being dealt with quickly;
the Town Clerk’s office was in touch all morning, letting Kim know where each
application stood. Most would be verified and approved without question. The
strip club was the only dark horse – and the application was being tabled until
it could go before the Town Board. Kim was happy to know she’d have some good
news to share with Kennick that evening.

And commence the fluttering.

She had just hung up with Pat over in the Town Clerk’s
office when the doors to the office slammed open with the force of a hurricane.
Kim’s neck nearly snapped when she jerked her head up to see what had happened;
it wasn’t a what, though. It was a
who.

She groaned, deep in her throat. Pastor Hendrix was
standing across the room, red-faced and clearly fuming. She wished that he’d
had better timing. Mayor Gunderson was on lunch, which meant that there’d be no
friendly buffer between her and Pastor Hendrix’ white hot, pseudo-righteous
rage.

He and Mayor Gunderson had both served on the force
long ago, before Gunderson ran for office and Hendrix took up the cloth. They
regularly played golf together. Pastor Hendrix had never been anything but kind
to Kim when their paths crossed, but she’d long heard the rumors of his
ferocious temper. And it only took one look at the meek woman he called his
wife to know that temper mostly showed itself in their home. The gossip around
town was particularly vicious when Mrs. Hendrix wore her sunglasses in the
middle of winter or a scarf in the middle of summer.

Now, as he stood red-faced in front of Kim’s desk, she
felt the anger radiating off him in waves, and pitied his wife dearly.

“Are you aware, Ms. James, that those damn gypsies are
planning to open a damn
brothel
in
our town?” he hissed, barely keeping his rage in check as his hands closed into
fists on the countertop. Kim swallowed hard but managed to maintain eye
contact.

“Pastor Hendrix,” she said as calmly as she could. “We
are aware that a business proposal for a gentleman’s club has been submitted by
our new residents. But it won’t be a brothel, and it won’t actually be in town
limits. If you want to take issue, there will be a discussion at the next town
meeting, and you can propose to deny the application…”

He slammed his fist hard against the counter. Hard
enough to spill the cup of pens and pencils onto Kim’s desk below.

“This is absurd! How can anyone even entertain the notion
that such an establishment belongs in Kingdom? Why, those
criminals
should be exiled! They will do nothing but bring crime,
and immoral activity! They’re thieves and con artists…and murderers!”

His eyes narrowed as he spat out the last word. Kim
sighed and wished Mayor Gunderson would pick this moment to return from his
lunch break. She was the only one in the office, and Hendrix was starting to
look more like a rabid animal than a man of God. By the way the vein on his
forehead throbbed, he looked like he was either going to jump across the desk
and throttle her or have a heart attack. Secretly, Kim wished for the latter.

“They’re not murderers,” she said quietly, knowing
that wasn’t the most tactful way of handling the situation but feeling oddly
protective all the same. Pastor Hendrix’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head as
his jaw worked in small circles.

“You know nothing,” he said, his voice low and
shiver-inducing. “Violence begets violence. Thirty years ago, one of
them
killed one of
us. ‘
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old
he will not depart from it.’ Proverbs!”

“’The righteousness of the righteous will be upon
himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.’ Ezekial.”

The voice surprised both Kim and Pastor Hendrix, who
whipped around to take on the new challenger. To Kim’s delight, it was Ed
Kerry. Ed had no small beef with Pastor Hendrix, who made it clear what he
thought of Ed’s “lifestyle choices.”

“Surprised one of us residents of Sodom can quote the
bible? They teach the scripture in Catholic Church too, you know,” Ed said,
shouldering his way past the Pastor to the counter. Pastor Hendrix looked like
he wanted to throw holy water on him.

“Not enough of it, apparently,” Pastor Hendrix hissed.
“Leave it to a sinner to defend sinners.”

“Blow it out your ass, Jimi,” Ed sneered, using his
favorite taunt. The Pastor was sensitive to the counterculture icon that shared
his last name; he considered it some sort of modern-day cross to bear. Kim bit
back a laugh as his eyes widened further, but when he turned back to her, her
blood ran cold. Pure, unadulterated violence lingered behind those eyes.

“They’ll get what’s coming to them. You all will. All
you who defend them,” he said. “Just like she did. She lay with one of them,
out of wedlock, and look at
her
fate.
Any of you who support their immoral, criminal activity will meet a similar
end, one way or another.”

Kim’s breath caught in her throat. He did
not
just say that. Even Ed seemed
shocked as he watched Pastor Hendrix shake with rage.

“You’ll see! You’ll all see!” he said, backing away
from the desk. Kim wondered if he was so crazed with rage that his own words
hadn’t even hit him yet. “And once that Mayor of ours gets back, I expect a
call. You tell him Dick Hendrix deserves to be heard!”

“Holy shit,” Ed murmured as the man slammed the door
shut behind him.

“Literally,” Kim said, equally stunned – and still
angry about the way he’d threatened Kennick and his brothers. “So…how can I
help you, Ed?”

“Came by to speak to Tom,” he said. “Guess he’s not
here?”

Kim shook her head.

“Well, I’m glad I came by anyway. Asshole. You
alright? Look a little shaken up,” Ed said, rolling his shoulders as though
Pastor Hendrix’s presence had put a knot in them. Kim wouldn’t have been
surprised if that was true. Pure rage could have that effect on a person.

“It’s just…did you
hear
what he said? I mean…wow,” Kim said, shaking her head slowly. Ed offered
her a sympathetic smile.

“Men like him want to call everyone a sinner,” he
said. “Even the victims. But you…you have a personal stake in the matter, don’t
you?”

Kim blushed. Of course Ed Kerry knew. He and Ricky
were gossip buddies. They had a deep dish session at Sid’s Diner every Monday
morning to go over everything that had gone down over the past week, and Kim
had told her sister about the date on Sunday night, so it was fresh in her
mind. The two most incorrigible gossips in town – and Kim had the luck to be
related to one.

“Well, just so you know,” Ed said, leaning close with
a twinkle in his eye, “I can’t say I’m not a little jealous. Those are some
fine specimens of men. Even if they don’t wash behind their ears.”

“Wish everyone was so accepting of them,” Kim said
with a sigh. “I have a feeling things are going to get rough around here. And I
just don’t want to be waltzing myself into the middle of it all.”

“It’s a small town, people will come around when they
see nothing’s amiss,” Ed said confidently. “I mean, maybe not everyone. Just
don’t get Pastor Hendrix to officiate at the wedding.”

Kim laughed.

“I doubt it will get that far, Ed.”

“Hey now, don’t go stomping all over my fantasies. You
ever seen a gypsy wedding? Those things are
awesome.
You better invite me.”

“You can walk me down the aisle if it happens,” Kim
said. “But it won’t, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“You never know. I saw the way that big man was
looking at you in the bar. He’s got something more than knocking boots on his
mind. Trust me. I’m a man.”

“I barely know him!” Kim couldn’t help but laugh as
she blushed harder.

“Well, Sleeping Beauty didn’t know Prince Charming
from Mr. Clean before he smooched her. And honey, if ever there was a Sleeping
Beauty in Kingdom, it’s you.”

“You’re awful. Get out of here. Don’t you have a
supermarket to run?”

“You never let me have any fun,” Ed faked a pout but
turned around, only to open his arms as Mayor Gunderson entered the room.
“Perfect! Just the man I came to see! And wouldn’t you know, this woman here
was going to make me leave?”

“I’m sure she had good reason,” Mayor Gunderson said,
flashing them a million-dollar grin while he held his hand out for Ed to shake,
adding an amiable pat on the back to the greeting. “What can I do for you,
Eddy?”

“I was just checking in after the other night,” Ed
said, his tone softening. Kim saw Mayor Gunderson stiffen slightly, but a
moment later he was his old easy-going self. “You were a bit keyed up. Should
we go into your office?”

“Naw,” Mayor Gunderson said. “Kim was there. She saw
it too. I know, I got a bit riled up. It was just the shock of it. But, you
know, I’ve done some thinking. Can’t really blame the sons for the sins of the
father, can you?”

“Tell that to old Hendrix,” Ed glowered. “He was just
in here raising hell about sin.”

“Oh, that old blowhard,” Mayor Gunderson grumbled.

“He’s expecting a call,” Kim piped up. “Don’t imagine
it will be a nice one.”

Mayor Gunderson sighed and Kim felt sorry for what
he’d have to deal with when he got the Pastor on the line. Their friendship was
old but strong, and if Mayor Gunderson really
had
changed his tune on the matter, it might cause a rift between
them.

“You know, it hurt us all quite a bit back in the
day,” Mayor Gunderson said, shaking his head. “Some of us more than others. I
thought I had it bad, but Hendrix…well, he just about lost his mind. I was
happy when he took to God instead of drinking. That man and the bottle don’t go
well together.”

Ed and Kim shared a momentary glance; the same could
almost be said for Mayor Gunderson himself. Though he didn’t have the same
temper as Pastor Hendrix, he certainly had a deep propensity for booze, and it
sometimes got in the way of his best interests. The other night had been a good
example of that.

“Well, like I said, I just wanted to check in,” Ed
said. “Glad to hear you’re gonna let sleeping dogs lie. Not gonna lie though, I
do
love the drama and intrigue of it
all.”

“And that’s why Kimmy here wanted you to get going, I
bet,” Mayor Gunderson said with a chuckle. “Go on back to eavesdropping on your
customers, will ya?”

“Beats arguing with Demi Kilter over stocking more
vegan cheese products,” Ed said, returning the Mayor’s pat on the back as he
swiveled to leave the office. Mayor Gunderson rapped on the counter.

“Anything besides Pastor Hendrix to take care of this
afternoon?”

“Not really,” Kim said. “But you really ought to look
over some of those applications the Volanis’ brought in. I left copies on your
desk.”

“Will do, Kimmy,” he said before disappearing behind
his door. Kim wondered at his change of heart, but truly wasn’t that surprised.
Mayor Gunderson didn’t typically let much get to him. He was a roll with the
punches kind of guy. That’s what made him such a dream to work for. And, in a
way, he was a lot like the town that elected him term after term. There were
the few bad seeds, like Pastor Hendrix and Bob Talkee, but as a whole they were
good people who were willing to work with what they had to work with.

She glanced at the clock. It was just past one. In
four hours, she’d be closing up for the day. And then she’d be meeting Kennick
Volanis for dinner. She’d already picked out what she was going to wear: a
little black dress, something casual and light for the summer but which
flattered her soft, curvy body. She hummed a bit as she shuffled mindlessly
through the papers in front of her. A date with Kennick Volanis. Kimberly James
was going on a date with a wild-haired, green-eyed, strong-bodied gypsy. It
didn’t seem quite possible, or real.