When CJ was Axel’s age, he wasn’t thinking about mass fucking destruction.
“I’m fuckin’ curious myfuckinself, Val,” Dad said, smiling, his hair ruffling from the breeze blowing through the entrance doors, opened to sweep away the smoke. “I ain’t got that fuckin’ story, Diesel.”
There wasnofucking story worth a motherfucking bomb. None. Nada. Zero. Zilch.
Sipping his beer, Diesel shrugged, clamping his jaw shut.
Fuckhead. It was because of the argument over Rebel that Axelbombed the fucking bathroom.
“I’m lucky he didn’t bombmybathroom,” CJ grumbled, deeply, deeply annoyed and outraged. To the depths of his fucking soul. No, beyond. To infinity. Beyond that, too. “I can’t believe that little motherfucker.”
“Don’t forget he poured baby oil on my floor and in my shower and attacked me with a fucking belt when I fell on my ass,” Diesel growled.
Narci and Torrin howled with laughter, and Diesel flipped them off.
CJ wanted to throw them the fuck out. Nothing about this situation was humorous. “Axel got you on his own, Diesel. He put baby oil on my clothes, which I discovered aftermyshower. When I walked out of my closet, Ryder, Ransom,andAxel attacked me. They changed their plans because Jana was in your room. Those little fuckheads only stopped when I crawled under my fucking bed.”
The minute everyone howled with laughter, CJ regretted his honesty. He’d never live this shit down.
“For real, CJ?” Diesel asked, his eyes wide.
CJ nodded. “That little motherfucker plotted the entire fucking attack. It took me fifteen minutes to negotiate with him. He threatened to fucking blind me with a phone flashlight.”
Dragging on his cigarette, releasing the smoke, and repeating the process, Dad listened intently. But pride flickered across his face, annoying the fuck out of CJ.
“He only fuckin’ motherfuckers up cuz of Megan, so what the fuck you two did to your ma?”
All eyes turned to CJ and Diesel, and they glanced at each other.
“Ain’t no fuckin’ need to look at each fuckin’ other. You already fuckin’ know what the fuck you fuckin’ did, so fuckin’ spill.Now.”
“We argued, Dad,” CJ said carefully. It was the simplest explanation and one that wouldn’t get Diesel fucked up. “In the rose garden.”
“Axel was in there with you?” Ryan walked to the standing ashtray and discarded his cigarette. “He didn’t warn you motherfuckers to chill?”
Diesel pursed his lips and CJ rocked on his heels.
“Whatthe fuck did you two motherfuckers do?” Dad asked again, losing his patience much faster with CJ and Diesel than he did with Axel.
“Mom wanted to talk to Diesel, Dad. Axel walked in at the end and he thought we were upsetting her. Later, he saw us arguing in the rose garden.”
“Back to Ryan’s question,” Narci said. “With one of my own.”
It was only fair they wanted details, since they’d gotten the emergency alert once the fucking sprinklers went off. They swarmed the house within minutes, helping to clean up the glass from the blown-out mirrors and frosted glass shower. Although part of the sink was missing a section, Axel’s bomb wasn’t strong enough to cause damage beyond the bathroom.
“What, Narci?” Diesel asked irritably as if he had the fucking right. Everything was his fucking fault.
Narci looked at CJ, then grinned at Diesel. Another unserious fuckhead with twinkling eyes. “Why argue in front of Ax if he’s on a crusade to protect Meggie?”
“The little monster has listening devices all over the fucking house,” Diesel said grimly.
Chuckles rose around them, and CJ gritted his teeth.
At least, Dad wasn’t amused. “Fuck!” he exploded.
“Don’t worry, Dad,” CJ grouched. “I told him you and Mom spend alone time in there and we watched him remove it.”
“After we got a fucking sex ed lesson,” Diesel said with distaste.
