“That’s so fucking wrong,” Ryan said, inserting his two cents into the conversation as if anyone asked him. “Rebel doesn’t deservethat.” He walked to the chair, directly across from Kaia’s. Gripping the back, he looked at him. “Don’t do this, bro. She’s probably devastated over Diesel. If she ever finds out you fucked Fia or any girl behind her back, it’ll crush her.”
“A man has needs,” Jana said softly, sidling a glance in Kaia’s direction.
Her wistful tone sure made it seem like she was willing to fulfill that motherfucker’s needs.
“Jana’s right, Ryan,” Devon said. “Besides, Kaia was flirting with other chicks last night and Rebel either didn’t realize it and that shit went over her head or she didn’t care.”
At the beginning of the party, Kaia had been flirting with Jana. She’d been blushing and giggling, too. Then, when the dancing started, girls vied for Kaia’s attention. CJ was almost certain Rebel hadn’t made a big deal of it because she trusted Kaia. She didn’t like most of the girls there, but she also didn’t think Kaia would sleep with any of them because they were going steady.
As much as it galled him, CJ understood Ryan’s point. Devon’s vehemence that Kaia sleep with another girl, though? That mystified him. It was almost as if he wanted to see Rebel hurt.
As long as Kaia stayed away from Fia, CJ would find a side chick for him. He needed to know how to finesse situations if he wanted to be an effective leader. Even Dad told him that.Rebel was too headstrong and stubborn to listen to reason and he didn’t want her to end up having sex at a young age.
What if she forgotherbirth control? The course of her life would change forever if she ended up as a teenaged mother.
He swallowed, hating the predicament he found himself in.
“Kaia should make an arrangement with one of the club girls,” he said with a sigh. “As long as it isn’t Fia.”
“You all are so fucking wrong,” Ryan repeated.
“No one asked you,” Diesel said coldly. “Shut the fuck up before I remind you why you’re lucky to be alive.”
“Yeah, Ry,” Devon agreed. “What the fuck’s wrong with you? These are our bros. Where’s all this sudden loyalty for Reb coming from?”
“Rebel covered for me with Mom,” Ryan answered. “She visited me after…after…” He heaved in a breath. “She came and talked to me when no one else has or would. She deserves my loyalty.”
Rory snorted. “A little fucking late for that, asshole.”
At Dad’s lifted brow, Rory flushed, much like Kaia had. CJ admired his father’s ability to get answers with just a look.
Before anyone responded, Mom breezed into the room. Dad wasn’t the only one whose tongue almost hit the fucking floor at seeing hermidriff revealed in a hoodie crop top and matching low-rise sweatpants. Narci and Torrin did it lowkey, but lust was still in their eyes. It still drove home Mom’s shape, which grossed CJ the fuck out. Besides, those fuckheads acted as if they hadn’t seen her in such an outfit before. For fuck’s sake, she’d worn much more revealing clothes.
“You’re not packing?” she asked Kaia, after greeting the newcomers.
“He ain’t goin’, Megan,” Dad announced.
“I beg to differ,” Mom responded.
“You fuckin’ knew he kissed Rebel?”
Mom narrowed her eyes—at Dad instead of Kaia. The iciness in her blue eyes…
Oh, goddamn. “Uh, Dad—”
“What does me knowing about Kaia and Rebel have to do with anything, Christopher?” Mom asked, not only interrupting CJ but ignoring him.
“What the fuck you mean?” Dad demanded. “You know exactly what the fuck that got to do with shit. He ain’t goin’. Case fuckin’ closed. And if you push this fuckin’ issue, that motherfucker fired.AndIma fuckin’ kill him.”
“Kaia, please go and pack,” Mom said in a steely voice, not taking her gaze from Dad.
He roared to his feet and pulled his gun, aiming it at Kaia’s head. “You motherfuckin’ move and I’m shootin’ the fuck outta you. You’ve lost your fuckin’ mind, Megan. Rebel my baby girl.Underaged. This motherfuckeralmost twenty. He ain’t got no fuckin’ business kissin’ her. And he definitely don’t need fuckin’ access to her, so fuck you. He stayin’ here or he fuckin’ dyin’.”
Instead of backing down, Mom flushed. Fury burned away the ice in her eyes. “You really want to do this, Christopher?”
Dad waved his gun at Kaia. “I’m fuckin’ doin’ it, ain’t I? Let Bishop go if you need help. Kaia stayin’.Oryou stay the fuck home, too. You ain’t got to go the fuck away. You just want another fuckin’ excuse to leave me.”
“You’re not standing in the way of me taking care of my children,” Mom spat. “You know? All the babiesyouwant me to have to suityourpurposes.”
