“Right.Cool.Later.”
“Later, Rush.”
He disconnected, tossed his phone on the counter and asked,“Well?”
She looked up to him and watched him take another huge bitebefore she spoke.
“Well, taking nothing away from the fact that I thinkCarolyn genuinely does probably love your brother, and that was part of whythis morning was off-the-hook, it’s clear another part of it is that she’s insome financial trouble and Jagger was her bid to freedom from that.With himout of the picture, she went to our mother, who shot her down, and wasdesperate enough to break the silence with Dad, who’s now entirely freakedout.”
“Did he shoot her down?”
“He asked her to come and talk to him.Something she did.And since he hasn’t seen her in a while, and she’s lost some weight, and wastweaking, he asked pertinent questions he knew the answers to.She lied.Hecottoned onto that too.So, yes.He shot her down for money to buy coke orwhatever else is at issue.But he offered to pay for rehab.She refused.”
“Shit, baby,” Dutch whispered.
She looked to the pizza and grabbed another slice, saying,“And now Dad’s mad at me because I admitted I knew there was a problem and Ididn’t let him in on it.”
Uh…
No.
“Fuck that, Georgiana,” Dutch clipped.
She again gave him her eyes.“I know.He’s just worried.He’ll get over it.”
“The last time you ate her shit happened this morning,baby,” he warned her.
“Okay, Dutch, but what if her financial situation involvesowing money to a dealer?”
Dutch drew in breath through his nose.
The reason why dope was zero tolerated by Chaos was notsolely because that shit was fucked up and they wanted no part of it.
It started back when Tack’s sister overdosed.
The Club dealt.
His sister dead, Tack went on a mission and he recruitedbrothers to that mission, and this mission was to get that shit, and all theother, out of the lives of Chaos.
The final battle sparked when Tabby’s best friend, who was ajunkie, got in over her head and the Club intervened to get her out of a verybad situation.
Carlyle, they were on board.
Carolyn, they would let swing.
And not just because of the dope.
Because she’d played a brother.
Even knowing this, Dutch offered, “You want me to askaround, darlin’?”
“I don’t want you eating shit because of this either,” shemumbled irately, and took a bite of pizza.
“And I don’t want you worried,” he returned.
She chewed, swallowed and refocused on him.
“I’m going to have a conversation and share this with her.Share that this is what she’s saddling me with.Mother with.Dad with.Thisgnawing worry.And I’m going to tell her this one time, I’ll intervene withMother, Dad, and pitch in myself if she promises to get her shit straight.Butif she can’t, we’re done.At least I am.I’ll be out.For good.I can’t letthis infect my life like that.Of course, there is no way I can just switch offthe love and worry I have for my sister.But she doesn’t need to know that.”
