Chapter Eight

Ten minutes after watching his wife crumple to the ground because motherfucking Johnnie mistakenly hit her, Christopher walked into his bedroom and paused just inside the door.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring. He drew in a deep breath, still so filled with rage he thought about tearing the fucking door from the hinges.

“Kendall intends to ask Johnnie for a divorce.”

Megan’s voice surprised Christopher. She hadn’t looked in his direction, so he didn’t think she was aware of his presence.

He slammed the door shut. “She don’t have to divorce that motherfucker,” he growled. “Lemme take care of him and her problem solved.”

“Mattie’s devastated. She doesn’t want her parents to separate because of her.”

“It ain’t because of her,” Christopher snapped. “It’s because that motherfucker tried to slap her in the fucking face.”

“She doesn’t understand that, Christopher,” Megan said tiredly. “She’s a child. She thinks her inappropriate behavior is ruining her parents’ lives. Kendall asked me what to do.”

Scowling, Christopher shoved his hands into his pockets and stomped to the bed, sitting next to her. “I guess that motherfucker on your fuckin’ no-divorce list, too,” he said sourly.

She stiffened. “Kill Johnnie, Christopher,” she hissed. “As long as you kill Torie and leave Kendall alone.”

“I ain’t mentioned no killin’ to you,” he snapped. How the fuck Torie got into this conversation?

“Shocking,” Megan bit out, “considering your girlfriend’s involved.”

Christopher stilled, shock, fury, outrage, and hurt converging inside him at her statement. Megan didn’t hold fucking grudges, and they’d resolved this matter. Besides, with Jo’s surgery tomorrow, he didn’t want all this negative energy between them.

“Torie ain’t my fuckin’ girlfriend, Megan,” he snarled. “Ain’t never been my fuckin’ girlfriend. I ain’t ever wanted her to be my fuckin’ girlfriend. But it don’t matter what the fuck Johnnie do, you always find a reason to save that motherfucker. For me, it’s a goddamn no-kill list when he deserved to be fuckin’ cleaved into little pieces. For Kendall, I’m sure you said not to divorce him, and you probably used Matilda as the fuckin’ reason.”

Shoving his shoulder, Megan jumped to her feet and twirled to face him, her blue eyes narrowed, her beautiful fucking skin flushed. Her tits heaved under her cashmere top.

She fisted her hands on her hips. “I told her Johnnie’s toxic,” she yelled. “Instead of getting better, I told her he’s getting worse. I told her,” she spat, angrier by the second, “that hitting my child across the face would be a deal breaker for me, too, but she has to be careful because Johnnie has gone completely off the deep end. He might kill her.”

Christopher blinked, then reached out to take her into his arms, but she shoved his hands away and backed out of his reach.

“I also told her your girlfriend called me again today.”

“What the fuck you mean?”

“You heard me, Christopher.” She swiped at a tear. “Torie.” She turned the name into a filthy word. “Torie wants money from me. More money.”

“Torie fuckin’ called you afuckingain today?”

Too late, he realized she’d misconstrue the disbelief in his voice. She’d take it as if he didn’t believe her, instead of incredulity at that bitch’s nerve for fucking with Megan again.

Balling her hands into fists, Meggie snatched her phone from the nightstand. A moment later, she showed Christopher Torie’s number on her call list.

“Motherfucker.”

“I know you think she’s a saint—”

Christopher’s gaze flew to Megan’s. Her eyes burned with accusation.

“I believed you, baby.” His anger disintegrated. “I’m gonna handle that cunt.”

Megan shook her head. “Kendall is going to handle it, Christopher. Obviously, you have such a soft spot for Torie that she sees nothing wrong with shaking me down for money.”

“That ain’t true!”

“It is,” she insisted. “This is the first time I’ve heard you call Torie out of her name. When you called me a cunt as recently as a week ago.”

Not quite believing Megan, Christopher searched his mind. There had to be one time when he’d called that fucking bitch out of her name. But no. Not one instance came to mind. He’d always referred to Torie with the utmost respect.

Heaving in a breath, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Johnnie’s handprint remained on Megan’s cheek, her jaw slightly swollen. The residual fury he’d felt when he walked in slipped away under the weight of Megan’s pain, worsened when he’d accused her of protecting Johnnie.

“At least admit you had a crush on her. You were attracted to her. That’s why you didn’t jump at the chance to kill Johnnie. It would’ve meant killing her, too. Your girlfriend.”

She really believed her words. He scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Megan, baby, ain’t no woman alive ever been my girlfriend but you. My friend. My best friend. My lover. My conscience. My fuckin’ world. You my everything.”

“No,” she said dully. “You and Torie bonded over Jo. Maybe you didn’t mean for an attachment to happen, but she was the only one who took time with you. You stopped asking the other nurses for help. You waited for her.”

“She was the fuckin’ easiest to talk to. The other nurses talked in medical terms and kept up a wall between me and them. They ain’t carin’ how fuckin’ worried I was about Jo and you. Torie did. She went above and beyond—”

“Because of you, not Jo. She wanted you. She still wants you.”

“I ain’t givin’ a fuck what that bitch want!” Christopher shot to his feet and stalking to her. He grabbed her and shook her. “My ass for you. You mine. You. I don’t want her or no other girl. But you can’t fuckin’ flip the script now and tell me to fuckin’ kill a bitch who a ma, when for fuckin’ years you been tellin’ my ass to kill as little as possible. What the fuck is it, Megan?”

“You killed two women who were trying to have sex with you and you have the nerve to ask me that?”

“Those bitches wouldn’t let me by! It was that or let them fuckin’ steal dick from me.”

“Torie rode on the back of your bike, Christopher, a place only reserved for me or one of our kids.”

“She asked me for a ride to her house in the middle of the fuckin’ night, Megan.”

She burst into tears. “You could’ve called Uber,” she sobbed.

Fuck him.

Afraid she’d resist or push him away, he yanked her into his arms and held her tight.

“Megan, baby, I ain’t too sure why you so emotional right now—”

His thoughts crashed to a halt and his blood chilled. He’d fucked her when? Not too long ago. Enough time hadn’t passed where she’d turn hormonal and sensitive because his cock had betrayed him again and made another baby inside her.

His life just wasn’t that cruel. The Fates weren’t so vicious. Because, fuck, if Megan was pregnant again, Christopher would believe the universe wouldn’t be happy until they stole her from him.

He tangled his fingers through her hair.

“Megan, baby,” he crooned. “Tell me what you want. If you want Torie dead, Ima ride out and kill her.”

He hated the thought that Megan had become bloodthirsty, but that was his fault, too. Years with him had corrupted her sweet innocence.

Taking her face between his hands, he thumbed away her tears. “I know how I acted with Torie looked bad, but baby, I was lost, Megan. It all happened so fuckin’ fast. When I thought Jo was dead, I didn’t want to consider how close to death you were. You…I almost…you almost left me, so when Jo took another turn and I went to her, she was so fragile. And, fuck Megan, she just stole my heart. Me and her was in the same boat. Alone, and without you.” He brushed his lips across hers. “I ain’t even able to explain it,” he croaked. “I was scared to leave her and scared to come to you, then when you started stabilizin’, I was scared to leave her and you. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I still ain’t right.”

Sighing, he released her and backed away until the bed hit his legs and he sat.

“I’m tryin’ to be Prez, but everything turned upside down. In my head. My heart with you. My head stuck on the past years when everything been so peaceful. I barely fuckin’ remember that Outlaw from before. I barely care about that fuckin’ Outlaw. I just want it all to go away, and you to be whole and well, and Jo home.” He glanced away, unable to meet her searching gaze. “I wasn’t lookin’ at Torie through the eyes of Outlaw. Always on guard and always ready to fuckin’ kill. I was lookin’ at her as a husband and a father who was so fuckin’ broken-hearted, I only wanted to focus on life.”

“You killed those women and you wanted to kill Johnnie.”

He’d also killed a couple of Scorpions at his meeting with Bash. “I killed those girls as your husband. I wanted to kill Johnnie as your husband. I ain’t killed Torie as Jo’s father. But you want her dead? She dead. We can send her kid to her ex. Or raise him. Or what the fuck ever. If you want her chopped to fuckin’ pieces, boxed up, and brought to you, tell me and Ima do it, Megan.”

She frowned.

“You want me to sell my bike and buy another one so you ain’t ever got to imagine her on it, I’ll do that, too. Just tell me what you want me to do, and it’s yours.”

Sighing, she glanced away. “Kendall saying she wanted to divorce Johnnie shocked me, Christopher. Their marriage wasn’t always the best, but I always thought they’d be together forever. Nothing is stable anymore. I was bringing Mattie and Rebel to the club to help me with food. To take their minds off what happened. The minute they walked in, they ran to me. She sighed. “I thought we needed a break, and since you were at the club—”

“What did you tell Mattie?”

She shrugged, then came to him and slid onto his lap, snuggling against him. “I told her she and I would talk to Kendall about birth control. Hearing about past sexcapades as adults is so much different from living through them as an adult with her niece. Val and Mortician started having sex at twelve, Diesel at thirteen or fourteen, you at fifteen, and Kendall at sixteen.”

Fuck, Val”s introduction to sex happened at ten.

“It’s just…God, Christopher. It’s just been a tough day, and it isn’t even three in the afternoon yet.” She rubbed her cheek against his shirt. “I’m sorry for bringing up Torie again, but her call started this crappy day. I just can’t imagine…e-every time I-I th-think of you and her together, you and any woman, I just want to die and kill and throw up. You’re my life. My everything. I don’t care about my businesses or our money or our home. As long as I have you and our children, as long as I have your loyalty, I can survive anything.”

“You got me, my loyalty, my everything. My body, heart, and soul.”

“And you were right to be Jo’s father first. That’s what I expect of you. And, yes, I don’t want you to kill indiscriminately, especially a defenseless woman with a small child whose only crime is wanting you for herself.”

Sagging in relief, Christopher released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He tipped her chin up and brushed his lips across hers. “My sweet angel,” he whispered. “I knew you wasn’t a cold-blooded bitch.”

“I am a jealous one though,” she admitted wryly, “and I’m so furious that she took advantage of you when you were at your lowest. You were surviving on coffee. Not food. Not sleep. Nothing.”

“I told you if you want me to kill—”

“No, Kendall and I will handle her, where she’ll stay alive but will leave me alone. Kendall said to give her a day.”

Christopher nodded.

Megan leaned her head against his chest again. “Do you want to resign from the club?”

“I ain’t too sure, baby. I wanted to stay as Prez until CJ joined so I could guide him.”

“I understand,” she said morosely.

She slid off his lap and Christopher missed her at once.

“About Rebel,” she said, meeting and holding his gaze.

After a moment’s consideration, Christopher’s eyes widened.

“I don’t think she’s had sex yet, then again, she hated the two of us for months. But I don’t want her to turn up pregnant. We’re lucky Mattie hasn’t.”

“Fine, Megan.” He sighed. “But if Bishop fuckin’ look at her wrong, I’m hackin’ his fuckin’ cock off.”

“Until she’s eighteen,” Megan said, “after that, we have to let her figure out who she wants to be with. If it’s a club member, as long as he is good to her, don’t interfere.”

“Megan—”

“And I think she’s truly over her crush with Diesel. She was very apologetic and said she didn’t think you’d really kill anyone who, um…” Voice trailing off, Megan pursed her lips. “Who she liked.”

“Who she wanted to fuck?” Christopher said with distaste.

Frowning, Megan nodded.

“Motherfucking Snake was twelve or thirteen, too. Randolph ma, Snake’s son and your nephew, was about that age if I fuckin’ remember, but fuck, baby, you right. This shit here is hard. When you and your fuckin’ friends fuckin’ and you young, it ain’t nothin’ but a thing. Now, that shit’s different. Rebel and Harley and Mattie our kids, just little girls to me.” He thrust his fingers through his hair. “Fuck, this is penance for all the bitches I fucked and not worried about whose daughter or niece they were.”

“Another thing?”

Raising his head, Christopher narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“We have to call CJ down from the boys at school, so Rebel can go on dates.”

“Nope. Fuck no. Ain’t fuckin’ happenin’, Megan. Nope. Anyway, you can put her on pills or whatever. If she ain’t fuckin’ datin’, she ain’t fuckin’ fuckin’.”

“Christopher,” Megan said in exasperation. “She almost fucked whoever. Billy or Eric, one of those jerks. If Potter hadn’t interrupted, she would have.”

He hadn’t known all of that. He’d just found those motherfuckers with Mattie and Reb. Fuck, they should’ve been tortured.

“She’s your daughter. Do you really think she won’t find a way to do exactly what she wants?” Megan huffed. “Personally, I think it’s better if she finds a boy her own age until she’s eighteen. They won’t stand a chance against her. They’ll do what she wants them to do. A grown man would manipulate her. Besides, if she dates now and want a sexy older man to love her and cherish her when she becomes legal, who are we to stop her?”

Christopher snickered at Megan’s smirk.

“She’ll at least have gone on dates.”

“Datin’ differs from fuckin’. Why she gotta take birth control?”

“Why not take precautions?”

“Fine, baby. Do what you gotta do to protect her.” And he’d do what the fuck he had to do to protect his princess. He changed the subject. Today was supposed to have been a quiet day with his family as they prepared for Jo’s surgery. But that was blown to hell. He stood. “What time dinner?”

“Usual time. 6:30.”

“Ima go talk to Johnnie.” If the motherfucker was conscious. He also needed to check on Potter. “Ima be back long before dinner.”

“Okay.” She stepped into his open arms. “I love you so much, Christopher.”

“I love you, too, baby.”