Page 24 of Restless
“I’m not you, cuck. You’re a fucking wannabe, when really you’re just aneverbe. You’ll never be Outlaw or me or any biker. You’ll never be happy without Aunt Meggie and Uncle Christopher as your crutch. You’ll never be an alpha. You’ll never be with Harley.”
“My dad’s worried about my mom,” CJ spat, refusing to explore any of Ryan’s allegations. “She and Jo needs his full attention right now, but if you don’t set that motherfucker straight and tell him to back the fuck off, I’m telling Outlaw about Bash and your affiliation.”
Fear marched across Ryan’s face. “You wouldn’t dare.” He swallowed. “The club…That would be seen as…”
Disloyalty. Betrayal. Treason.
Clenching his jaw, Ryan glared at CJ. “Fine,” he finally said. “I’ll handle it.”
Chapter Three
For the entire ride home, Harley refused to talk and, instead, seethed in silence. She was livid and hurt at CJ’s disregard and dismissal of her. Honestly, Harley wished they’d never made up on Thanksgiving Day. She wouldn’t have had such high hopes that he’d ignore Molly unless it was for the project, as he’d led her to believe.
“No, I think he went to the hospital to see Momma and Jo.”
Belatedly tuning into the conversation left Harley clueless about the context.
“It shocks me how he can act normal at school,” Mattie muttered. “If Maman had almost died, along with my little sister, I’d be a fucking wreck.”
Harley waited for her mother to chastise Matilda for the bad language, but she remained silent.
“Me, too,” Rebel admitted on a sigh. “Iama nervous wreck. I’m so scared for Momma and Jo. If they were out of danger, they wouldn’t still be in ICU…NICU in Jo’s case. CJ is like Daddy, though. I know he’s worried, but he knows how to get things done.”
“He’s also not suffering a case of pressing guilt,” Mattie snarked.
“Fuck off, dummy,” Rebel snapped, elbowing Mattie.
She grunted, and returned the favor, hitting Rebel’s side.
“That’s enough,” Mommie said sternly, focused on the road.
“Mattie cursed, Aunt Bailey,” Rebel grumped, “and you didn’t ream her ass out.”
“I’m not reaming your ass out because you cursed, honey. I’m reaming youbothout for the elbowing. Stop before it turns into a fight.”
“That isn’t fair, Mommie!” Harley cried. “If I cussed, you’d ground me. By the way, Rebel,” she went on before her mother responded, “stop pretending CJ is so concerned about Aunt Meggie and Baby Jo. He’s been up Molly’s ass for days!”
“Bro, Molly is CJ’slabpartner,” Mattie said with displeasure. “Control yourself. We already hadRebel.”
“Yeah, Harls,” Rebel said, surprisingly agreeable. “Don’t let jealousy turn you into a miserable cunt. It isn’t fun and it turns everyone against you.”
“Shut up!” Harley snarled. “You were a cunt because you’re an idiot. You want to fuck your brother and you didn’t want a little sister. My behavior is nowhere close to yours and I resent the comparison, especially since you’re making a joke of the havoc you caused.”
A beat of silence went by before Rebel released an audible breath. “To you, it sounds as if I’m oversimplifying my behavior. In truth, I’m not, Harley. I was a beast, and that’s the only reason I’m not climbing over the seat to fuck you up for your bitchy comments.”
“You wouldn’t dare. Mommie would slap you.”
“Perhaps,” Rebel said, dismissive. “But until you’ve been spanked by Outlaw, you won’t know anything that comes after is child’s play. Besides, your ass is on your shoulders because CJ is tired of your bullshit.Dude. Grow the fuck up. You cut class to go with fucking Nardo Grevenberg, a bigger dickhead than Ryan.”
“Youdidcut class, Harley? And forNardo?” Mommie demanded. “But I was told—”
She abruptly stopped. Judging by the sudden anger in her mother’s voice and the tightening of her mouth, Harley was in big trouble.
“How dare you lie on me!” Unbuckling her seatbelt, Harley twisted around and glared at Rebel. “You fucking bitch!” she screamed, and would’ve lunged if Mommie hadn’t yanked Harley by the collar and stopped her.
“Sit down,now!” Mommie ordered, swerving onto the dead-end street that led to the club at breakneck speed.
Luckily, Mommie still gripped Harley, Otherwise, she would’ve banged against the door, since she hadn’t strapped herself in again.
