He lifted a brow and refused to look away.
In the interest of maintaining the peace she’d once begged Johnnie to protect, she gave in and dropped her gaze. It galled the fuck out of her and she almost collapsed into conniption fits. “Ryan, I’m calling it a day, honey. I need to get home to shower and change before our family dinner. Let me get my things and we can head home.”
She wouldn’t ask how he’d gotten there. The firm sat between Ridge Moore and the club. Although it was a distance, he still could’ve walked.
“Did I ask you for a fucking ride, thot?”
“Thot, huh?” There was no reasoning with him. Kendall stalked to him, grabbed handfuls of his shirt and snatched him to his feet. “Listen you little motherfucker, I don’t have time for your bullshit,” she snarled, low. “I’m not ever discussing that fuckhead with you. You want to find out about him, ask Johnnie or Christopher or shut the fuck up. And if you ever disrespect me in such a manner, I’ll punch you in your goddamn mouth.” She shoved him away. “Am I clear?”
He swallowed. “I can tell my mother.”
“Tell her.” She pointed to the ceiling. “And I canshowher.” Though it was recording, the feed was unmanned. Johnnie was at workandhe was angry with her.
Ryan glanced at the ceiling, then at her. She saw his skepticism, so she went to her desk and took her purse out of the drawer. After getting her phone, she went to the application and pulled up the recording. She pressed play.
“Believe me now?”
Without responding, he turned and almost ran out of the door.
Chapter Sixteen
“Hey, you.”
Smiling at the sound of his woman’s voice, Christopher leaned back in his seat to allow Megan to slide onto his lap and plant a sweet kiss on his lips.
The clean up from the sprinklers lasted well into the night. For most of today, Sparrow and Pike worked on the HVAC, finishing an hour before dinner began. Thankfully, it no longer felt like Frosty’s castle.
Once Reb dared anyone to disturb her ma and then left, Christopher used the opportunity to find out about Easton Love, so he pulled Stretch to his mancave, called Riley, and put them on the case.
Within an hour, Stretch discovered Easton was new to the area with a financial planning degree from the University of Virginia. He’d also minored in accounting. Later, Riley told Christopher the assfuck had been a male dancer in Florida and went byEaston Love; his actual name was Easton DeLuca; and he was thirty-seven years old. He’d never married, had no kids, and recently purchased a Maserati.
Long after everyone left and Christopher opened Rebel’s door with the master key to reclaim Megan, his wild imagination kept him awake. Megan wasn’t a fucking pushover. From the time they met, she drove his ass. If he lost her to death, he’d never recover. But if she ever decided his life, and all the bitches always around him, was too much? If she ever decided she needed a man with a good education and a white-collar career? Someone who wasn’t a criminal, a killer, or a psycho?
He’d step aside.
Fuck, he’dtryto step aside. Maybe, years ago he would’ve selflessly let her go. As much as he loved herthen, it was incomparable to how he feltnow.
Yet he had to be fair to her and try to allow her to find her happiness with that motherfucker. The first time he made her cry, Christopher could kill him.
She leaned in and kissed him again. “What’s up?”
She looked edible in her white cashmere turtleneck, pink leather pants, and pink Uggs with bows, her golden hair falling around her in a silky mantle. Considering all her work just to make tonight special, she appeared rested and happy, love and warmth sparkling in her too blue eyes.
“Hey, baby.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and stole a longer kiss from her. It didn’t matter that they had an audience in his mancave because dinner was over and they’d moved to the get-tofuckingether that took place after the meal.
Instead of everybody converging on the den, Christopher took his boys in one direction and Megan and her girls went in the opposite. He felt as if they needed time in their own respective camps to get back on track since this was their first family night since the week beforeThanksgiving.
“Reb wants her locks changed so that only she and I have a key.”
Christopher scowled. “Not happenin’, baby.”
“I told her. She’s just annoyed that youstoleme from under her nose.”
When Christopher went into Rebel’s room this morning, he’d found his woman and their girl sleeping side-by-side, an ethereal angel and her protective cherub.
“I told her I would’ve gone with you whether you awakened us or not.”
Satisfaction shot through Christopher and he kissed her again.