Christopher gritted his teeth at Axel’s call.
“DAD?”the little motherfucker blared.
Instead of answering, Christopher swung his gaze to where Axel stood and lifted a brow.
“Why’d you let me do all those stuffs to you to revenge Mom, but you don’t like Reb being mad at you over Mom?”
“It ain’t got nothin’ to do with protectin’ your ma, boy. It’s cuz of Torie.” He was so tired of saying that bitch’s name. “And Diesel.”
“Diesel’s old like you,” Axel said. “And you don’t spend time with her, so she’d want Diesel to.”
“She don’t want us to spend time with her in the same fuckin’ way, Axel. Fuck. Never mind. Why the fuck am I engagin’ you? You a kid. Protect Megan. Leave Rebel to me.”
“The only girl you have a lot of time for is Mom,” Ryder told him. “Well, after you killed Torie. Before that it was Torie, then Mom, then Jo. If we see how you were ignoring Rebel, I know she does.”
“Outlaw, I just went through some of the worse fucking weeks of my life with Harley,” Mort said, then looked at CJ. “Don’t take this the wrong way, kid. I’m trying to make a point.”
“Okay, Uncle Mort,” CJ said.
“When CJ and Molly became partners, Harley suddenly had to share CJ when she’d always been first and center. Did she want to control him? Tell him what to do? Bend him to her will? She did. I’m not taking that away. But she’d never faced the idea of competing for him with another girl. Whatever Harley wanted, CJ gave to her. She wanted to do Shakespeare. He got into Shakespeare. She wanted to have complementaryHalloween costumes every fucking year. He got that. He spent more on a fucking custom-made promise ring for her then some motherfuckers spend on their wedding rings. So she started acting out and hating everyone. Now, think about Reb. You completely pulled away from her after that scene at Ryan birthday party. You’ve wrapped yourself up in all the boys. The time you once gave Reb, you give to Jo.”
“Jo a small baby. I ain’t ignorin’ her cuz’ Rebel spoiled.” Christopher wasn’t about to concede to Rebel until she apologized to him for how she’d treated him for weeks.
“Outlaw, you want you daughter to leave?” Val asked. “You want her to find some forty-year-old motherfucker who knocks her up and knocks her around?”
Christopher glanced at Diesel. That motherfucker wasn’t opening his mouth, but he looked furious enough to burst.
“Dad, Diesel’s a grown fuckhead,” CJ started. “If…him and Rebel…he’s grown. That would be on him. Not her. Unless she’s eighteen.”
“Speaking of eighteen, I saw Gypsy earlier,” Johnnie said. “She’s fucking an eighteen-year-old.”
CJ glanced at Rory, and so did Ryan. Meanwhile, Rory choked. Christopher narrowed his eyes.
“The experience an older woman give a young motherfucker invaluable,” Digger said.
Mortician shook his head at his brother.
“What, Mort? You know I’m right.”
“Yeah, butGypsy,” Johnnie said in disgust. “That eighteen-year-old must be desperate.”
Rory’s face crumpled, and Christopher lifted a brow.
Diesel cleared his throat. “Can I point something out, Uncle Christopher?”
From the tone of that motherfucker’s voice, Christopher knew it wasn’t about Gypsy’s young motherfucker, butRebel.“You must be lookin’ at her mighty goddamn hard if you noticin’ shit about Reb thatIain’t.”
“Really, Dad?” CJ said, still in that fucking disapproving tone that made him sound worse than a fucking judge.
Christopher scowled, then glared at Diesel. “What, fuckhead?”
“The sincerest form of flattery is imitation,” he said. “You should take it as a compliment that your daughter idolized you enough and you had such a major impact on her, that she emulated you.”
“That’s genetic and it ain’t from me,” Christopher said stubbornly. “I don’t act like that. Rebel disrespects me. She wanna fight the minute she lose her fuckin’ temper. She call me and any motherfucker that make her mad all kinds of fuckin’ names. She tunnel-visioned. Don’t take no fuckin’ advice. Think she know it all. Push motherfuckers to their fuckin’ limit. Challenge motherfuckers. She drink. She smoke. She cuss. And…andon top of all that, she fuckin’ spoiled and think every fuckin’ thing supposed to go her fuckin’ way. She think Megan belong toher.Andshe thinks I fuckin’ cheated. Mainly cuz she jealous. She think if I don’t spend every fuckin’ day with her, I ain’t lovin’ her no more.And…andeven if Ihadfuckin’ cheated, that don’t have nothin’ to do with Rebel. She’s stillmyfuckin’ daughter.”
CJ, Mort, Val…all those motherfuckers…gaped at Christopher like he was a fucking alien. Axel ran to him and snapped a photo, then showed him the picture.
“Delulu, you-you,” he said.
