Christopher choked.
“Dad, Reb’s baiting you,” CJ said.
“Prez, you not winning this one,” Mort whispered. “Stop engaging with her. You just making shit worse.”
Mort was fucking right, so Christopher clamped his jaw shut.
“Are you finally done or do you need anything else, Rebel?” Diesel barked.
She lowered her lashes, suddenly the picture of innocence, even with the angry flush to her cheeks. “Nope, big brother.”
Axel tipped his head back to look at her. “Reb, I asked Mom to swim with us, and she went to the natatorium,” he said, his words coming fast and furious. “Do you think she’s mad?”
Rebel pursed her lips, then looked at CJ, and a message seemed to pass between them.
“Mom loves to swim, Ax,” she said, ruffling Axel’s hair.
“She’s not leaving, right?”
“Mom missed Daddy and our brothers too much for her to leave again,” Rebel said. “Only extreme bullshit would make her walk away. Swimming isn’t it, little brother.”
Axel frowned. “Extreme bullshit? Like what?”
“Daddy acting like a jackass. Her sons fighting and ignoring her rules. Arguing and strife. Stress. We just have to make sure everyone behaves. Okay?”
“Uh huh.” Grinning, Axel bumped his fist against Rebel’s. “I’m on the job. Any motherfuckers who fuck with Mom and makes her mad will deal with me.”
Glancing at Christopher’s head, Rebel laughed. “A frightening prospect, Axel,” she drawled.
“If you make me mad, how upset would you be with me if I put hair melting stuffs in your shampoo like I did to Dad, Reb?”
Rebel kept smiling. “I’d smother you in your fucking sleep. Anything else, Ax?”
“Nope. I just got to remember to lock you up ‘til your hair grows back if we go to war.”
“I suppose so. Now, can I go? Mattie is waiting for me.”
“Where Harley, baby?” Mort asked.
“She asked Aunt Zoann if she could leave, Uncle Mort,” Rebel said with a long-suffering sigh. “She said she wasn’t feeling good.”
“Be nice, Rebel,” CJ said.
“Listen up, fuckface, I think Mattie is right. Nardo is hurting Harley. I asked her, but she won’t tell me.”
“I wonder why,” Ryan sneered.
“Did she tellyou, fuckhead?” Rebel demanded, jumping back on her fucking bitch train and raising Christopher’s hackles again. “Better, did you even fucking ask her? Probably not, so shut the fuck up. Your fucking girlfriend devastatedmybrother. I will always hold a grudge against that bitch for that.However, Harley is my cousin and if that fuckhead is hurting her, I will comfort her and support her until she gets through this, then I’ll go back to not talking to that bitch. You good with that, Ryan? Or do I need to draw a diagram so you can fucking understand?”
Ryan chuckled. “Nope, I’m straight, Reb.”
“Lovely.” Rebel started to turn, but Axel grabbed her hair and yanked. If CJ hadn’t moved fast and caught her, she would’ve fallen. “Every time I talk to you more than five minutes,you serve as my personal advocate against having children, Axel.”
He grinned.
Rebel’s comment amused Christopher, but he clamped his jaw, refusing to laugh.
“Where’s Kendall, Rebel?” Johnnie asked.
