Page 48 of Remiss
“She looks really bad off, Ry,” Devon said softly.
Rory stumbled to his seat. “I thought…never mind.” He drew in a sharp breath, tears brimming in his eyes. “We…what…my dad…send me that picture. My dad has to help now.”
“What don’t you get about your father, Rory?” Ryan snarled. “That motherfucker isn’t going to help.”
“He wants to be seen as a hero. This is one way to do it,” Rory insisted, intentionally blind where Johnnie was concerned. “He will achieve something that no one else has. Not even Uncle Christopher.”
“Send it,” Devon encouraged Ryan. “It can’t hurt. Rory might be able to get through to him.”
Doubtful, but Ryan capitulated, then asked, “What now?”
A new sense of purpose seemed to fill Rory as he jumped to his feet. “I’ll call you as soon as I talk to my dad,” he said, and rushed away, slamming the front door shut a moment later.
“Do you think he’ll figure out Mattie’s involved too?” Devon asked after a moment of silence.
Glancing away, Ryan shrugged. “He doesn’t ask the right questions.”
“Or, maybe, he’s a little too trusting.”
“Maybe.”
A heartbeat passed, then Devon said, “You never told us what Willard does with those videos.”
“He shows them at the clubhouse bar.”
“Goddamn. Like, seriously?”
“As a heart attack.”
“That’s lame, but you do know how strict child pornography laws are? I’m sure there are tip lines. We don’t have to tell anyone. We can call in an anonymous tip.”
“That would lead right back to me,” Ryan said bleakly. “I use a VPN to send most of the videos, but in the beginning, I sent one or two on my phone. Besides, I’m sure there’d be a shootout. Bash wouldn’t just allow law enforcement onto the property.”
“Why’d you do all this shit, Ryan? Was it even worth it? What the fuck was your end goal? Was it to be in line for Prez? Drive CJ away? Drive CJ insane? What?”
“With Aunt Meggie, Johnnie wanted to drive her away. To save her life. Instead of going to Uncle Christopher, I just didn’t care. I thought it was poetic justice. Everything was always about CJ. He was like the Second Coming.”
A half smile tipped Devon’s lips. “In a way, he was. The second coming of Outlaw. But that’s just it. How people saw him and treated him wasn’t his fault.”
“He didn’t have to eat that shit up. Be good ateveryfucking thing. Football. Dancing. Fighting.Mario Cart. Charisma. Popularity. It was all so effortless.”
“Wouldn’t you have eaten it up if you were in his place? I would have.”
“You’re jealous of him, too.”
Devon shook his head. “No, bro. How fucking hard is it to live inOutlaw’sshadow? I wouldn’t want that for all the perfection, or money, in the world. Think about his bloodlines. The legacy handed down to him. Grandson of Big Joe Foy and Cee Cee Caldwell. Legends, all three of them, whether good orbad. I’m perfectly happy as Dad’s son. I’m perfectly happy taking on a role that supports CJ, but I’d never want to be him. I’d fold under the pressure.”
Ryan considered his brother’s words. “So would I,” he finally admitted. He blinked away his tears. “And I actually like CJ. He isn’t a bad guy at all. Not like me.”
“You aren’t bad, Ry. You’ve made bad choices that’s hurt a lot of people. Did you know they were going to try to kill CJ?”
“No! I swear I didn’t.”
“Would you have done anything differently if you had?”
Ryan opened his mouth to sayof course, but Devon held up his hand.
“You wouldn’t have because they still would’ve used Molly against you. You would’ve let him die in hopes of saving her.”
