“I do too!” Axel said, his little face reddening. “Maybe, if you spent time with her, you’d know her, too, fuckface.”
“I’ll think about it,” Ransom said. “But she don’t deserve the same consideration as Mom does with Dad. Rebel’s just his daughter. He can do whatever he wants with her and sheshouldn’t say anything. I don’t blame him for ignoring her. What are they supposed to talk about? Make-up and stilettos? That’s what Mom’s for.”
Ransom’s entire statement was fucked up.Theywere just words strung together, though. It was the fact that he actually believed what he was saying that concerned CJ. Suppose Ransom said that to Rebel? The Terrible Triplets were fucking agents of chaos. Ransom would blast Rebeljust totry and hurt her feelings. Ransom siding with Dad and feeling as if she didn’t deserve a healthy relationship with him might not surprise her–she thought they were all manipulative chauvinists–but it would still hurt her. She’d also blame Dad. Right or wrong, it would create friction.
“What do you say, Ryder?” Ransom asked.
Ryder set aside his phone and met Ransom’s gaze. “Dad’s Rebel’s old man, too. He should spend time with her like he does us. The older she gets, the less he’s around her and he screams at her for girl stuff, bro. Girls get crushes a lot. If Dad hadn’t gone off his rocker when she first talked about Diesel, she might’ve been over it by now. But Dad reacts just like Reb does. When they’re stressed, they cuss and fuss and fight. If he doesn’t gentle down with her, she’s going to end up leaving or with a baby like Bishop’s sister.”
“Rebel can’t leave because of Dad,” Axel said. “We got to protect Mom.”
“Rebel doesn’t give us a break,” Ransom said.
“Youneed to give Rebel a break, Ransom,” CJ advised.
“Why?”
“Because when Mom left you were sad, too,” Ryder told him. “Remember? Before Ax got back that Sunday, we all agreed we’d do better once Mom returned.”
“Fine,” Ransom huffed. “But Rebel’s all mopey and I don’t like mopey girls. I especially don’t like it on her. It’s annoying.”
CJ wondered if Ransom was only annoyed or if his brother was also worried about Rebel and could only express it with resentment. “She’s still sad about Rule. She doesn’t need us against her, too. The olderweget, the more time he spends with us. I can see how that can hurt her and make her lash out.”
“Girls are a fucking headache,” Ransom grumbled.
Axel snapped his brows together.
“Not Mom, Ax,” Ransom said quickly.
Axel’s phone beeped, so he took it out of his pocket and looked at it. “Diesel’s on the way down.”
CJ rolled his eyes. “This is my fucking meeting. We don’t need him down here.”
“Why not?” Axel asked, frowning. “I want Diesel with us.”
Of course he did. If Axel had to choose between Diesel’s life and CJ’s, he’d pick that motherfucker’s.
“Diesel’s grown.” The excuse was convenient and didn’t require a lot of explanation.
Axel narrowed his eyes. “Is Grant a fucking kid?”
“Diesel’s already a member of the club,” CJ said, a little jealous over Axel’s loyalty. “I don’t want him here, inserting his fucking comments as if he knows everything.”
“Listen up, fuckface,” Axel began, drumming his fingers on the table. “Donotargue with Diesel and make Mom mad. She don’t want her sons arguing. I will beat you unconscious if you start a fuss with him.”
“You can fucking try, but I’m taller than you and heavier than you.”
“But not meaner,” Axel responded. “You’ll look at me, see that I’m smaller and hesitate. While you’re feeling sorry for me, I’ll kick you in your fucking head and knock you out.”
“Why don’t we get to the meeting?” CJ advised. If he responded, the conversation would drag on. Besides, he hated that Axel was probably right as much as he hated feeling as ifAxelandDiesel were usurping his position. “I want to hear the creed you came up with.”
“Creeds,” Axel corrected, not challenging the change of subject. “Mine and yours, C.”
“Are you planning on splitting the fucking club, Axel?” CJ demanded.
“Nope. That would be a hostility takeover. I love the Dwellers. I’d never do that.”
“Then you have to have only one creed, dude,” Grant said.
