Chapter Twenty-Seven

Five minutes after Mom left in Diesel’s Mercedes, CJ sat in the passenger seat of her Corvette with Diesel behind the wheel, speeding toward Turn Creek.

CJ had already called Dad, who was sending Uncle Val with the van to scoop up that bovine motherfucker.

Rebel rarely cried. When CJ walked into the lobby of Clark Hall and saw her in tears, he’d thought it was because of Marvey and the resource officer. Yeah, he’d intended to call Dad because no one made his little sister cry, but he’d been concerned. The principal had a high profile both at the school and in the community. His disappearance would be noted and attention might turn to the club since Dad was Dad and his children attended Ridge Moore. Few knew Mom and Dad owned the school. Not that that knowledge would be any less detrimental.

Somehow, few questioned Lumbly’s disappearance. CJ didn’t know much about the teacher’s background. Except he was related to another educator who hadn’t liked CJ and who Dad put to ground because of it. If family members searched for them, CJ wasn’t sure. He did know Mom’s financial advisor was classified as missing. Brett’s disappearance was big news in the region. Once again, the club escaped scrutiny.

But how long would their luck last? Dad still wasn’t at his optimal, which could lead to a major fuckup that would get him killed or arrested.

Yet, what could CJ do except call his father about Marvey and Hominy? The motherfucker wanted to taze Rebel. When he told Dad about Mom’s decision and her thought that Grey and Hominy were aliases, Dad had gone silent, then directed Diesel and CJ to where Rebel left Willard.

Diesel screeched to a stop. CJ jumped out of the car and ran through the brambles and overgrowth. When Diesel joined him, they searched the area for ten minutes but found no sign of Willard.

“Fuck!” Diesel snarled, his cheeks flushed with anger, his face a mask of hate and fury.

“Better get Meggie’s Vette out of the middle of the fucking road,” Uncle Val said, walking up to them. He glanced around. “I take it the motherfucker’s gone.”

“Yeah, Uncle Val,” CJ said glumly. “In less than a week, Wally has terrorized Mattie and Willard attacked my sister,” he said darkly.

“Let’s meet up on the bridge,” Diesel suggested harshly, stalking away.

Uncle Val lit a cigarette, watching as Diesel sped away. “What’s gotten up his cockhole?”

Rebel, if CJ were to guess, and not for the reasons everyone might believe.

“He walked in on the resource officer about to taze Rebel.” It was the easiest answer CJ could offer. Accurate, too. It just wasn’t entirely truthful.

“Fuck, well, motherfucker’s lucky it was Diesel and not Outlaw.”

CJ nodded. “Do you have a smoke to spare, Uncle?”

“Fuck, sorry, boy. I’m just so used to Ryan declining my offers, I didn’t even think to ask if you wanted one.”

“Ryan’s a fucking dickface,” CJ snapped, then winced at Uncle Val’s flinch. “I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right.”

Uncle Val lit CJ’s cigarette then sucked on his own. “It came out exactly as it should have because it’s the truth. Come on, boy.”

CJ followed his uncle to the van, then slid into the passenger side. A minute later, Uncle Val parked next to Mom’s Corvette at the top of the bridge. It was rarely used, a waste of taxpayer dollars from what he’d heard. It had been meant to facilitate development in and around Turn Creek. They got as far as the bridge with a parallel street and an intersection. The mall where CJ was arrested was supposed to be another focal point with the edge of its parking lot about five hundred yards away. But funding was diverted when interest in an amusement park and small hotel waned. Old picnic shelters hadn’t even been cleared. It remained an overgrown area with a little used bridge.

Diesel leaned against the bridge, staring at the creek.

“You can see the water better from the pedestrian deck, D.,” CJ said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

“She could’ve been fucking killed.”

“She wasn’t,” CJ said irritably, not wanting to even consider that possibility.

“Why all the company, C.?” Kaia asked, walking up to them from the side with the overgrowth and the creek embankment. “I thought we were going to meet alone.” He nodded to Uncle Val. “Hey, Val.”

Uncle Val clicked his tongue and used his fingers to fashion a gun. “Hey, boy,” he said in friendly tones. “Haven’t seen you around in a minute.”

Kaia shrugged. “I’ve been figuring out what I want to do now that I’ve graduated.”

“Club’s still an option,” Uncle Val said. “Twelve months as a hangaround and two years as a probate before you earn your full patch.”

“As much as I would love hanging out with you, CJ, and Diesel, I don’t get along with Ryan.”

“Not many people do,” Uncle Val admitted.

“You need to lay that motherfucker out one time, Uncle,” CJ grouched. “Beat his ass good one time and he’ll respect you. You don’t deserve his fucking bullshit.”

None of them did, especially Uncle Val. He’d taught whoever wanted to learn how to read maps and how to find the shortest routes. He taught them that north-south interstates ended with the number ‘5’ and east-west with the number ‘0’. There were all kinds of rules and idiosyncrasies for the highway system, but Uncle Val knew them, and was as good at organizing runs and choosing the brothers best suited to lead them as he was at repairing electronics and running wires. Most of all, he was a kind, loving husband, father, and uncle.

CJ tossed his cigarette on the ground and stopped it underneath his boot. “So, how’d it go, Kaia?”

Kaia drew in a deep breath. He’d been quarterback until his graduation and taught CJ a lot about the sport. “You didn’t tell me she was so fucking gorgeous.”

Diesel straightened. “You weren’t supposed to notice anything about Rebel, jackass?”

Taking a last draw of his cigarette, Uncle Val discarded it and looked from CJ to Diesel and then Kaia. “What’s this about Reb?”

“She wants to fucking date, Uncle Val,” CJ grumbled. “And Mom’s okay with that. Dad got us all together and we settled on Grant asking her out.”

“But he fucked it up royally,” Diesel picked up. “He fumbled the fucking invitation and he fucked up when he sent Aunt Meggie a text instead of Uncle Christopher.”

Hooking his thumbs through his belt loops, Uncle Val rocked on his feet. “How does Kaia fit in and when the fuck did he go blind?”

“Exactly,” Kaia said, seizing upon Uncle Val’s words. “I couldn’t help but to notice her since I have fucking eyes.”

“I called Kaia to show up at school today and ask Rebel out on a date,” CJ confessed. “I wasn’t sure if she had cheer practice. If she did, then I was going to invite Kaia to football practice. Coach Yancy would be happy to see one of his star players. He was hanging out at the creek until school ended.”

“I was at the mall and had just left to come to the creek when I saw her walking by,” Kaia said. “I didn’t know it was her until she told me her name, but I’m a sucker for blondes.”

“You followed my little sister, asshole?” CJ asked in outrage.

“I didn’t know it was her!”

“Did you fucking frighten her?”

“What? No, Diesel! I offered her a light for her cigarette. Goddamn, if you keep fucking with her she’s going to fucking rebel. She doesn’t strike me as a girl who lays down and takes bullshit.”

“Did you get her fucking phone number?” Diesel demanded.

“Wasn’t I supposed to get her motherfucking number, Diesel?” Kaia retorted. “Goddamn, you sound jealous.”

“What did she say?” Diesel said tightly, not denying the charge.

“Word of advice, boy,” Uncle Val said, pointing to Diesel. “You use your cock and tongue a lot on a bunch of different bitches. You want to continue to carry on, don’t fuck with Rebel. She’s young and she’s reckless and she can’t handle a cold-blooded motherfucker like you. Outlaw will kill you.”

“She’s underage. I’m not going to touch her.”

“Even if she was the same age, you couldn’t touch her,” Uncle Val replied. “I was a drug addict and a sex addict with no hope to ever be with Zoann. The only reason I’m still alive is because of the rift that happened between her and Outlaw. If he hadn’t been angry with her when I knocked her up, he would’ve fucking killed me. It’s nothing against you. It’s all about us. Who the fuck we are. What we do. We all fucking know you don’t hold bitches in the highest regard because of what your mama did. Never fucking mind your old man had a fucking responsibility too. If you know what the fuck’s good for you, stay away from her now, later, and forever.”

Clenching his jaw, Diesel glanced away.

“Or use the next three years and straighten the fuck up. Get rid of Tabitha. Stay fucking sober. Which you need to do before it fucks up your career. Stop looking at broads the way you do. Outlaw will only stomp the fuck out of you, but he will leave you alive. It’ll be up to you to fight to stay alive and recover.”

Panic crossed Kaia’s face.

“Dad knows about our plan,” CJ quickly told his friend. “When you take her out, we will be there, too.”

Pursing his lips, Uncle Val squinted. “Reb won’t see that as a date.”

“We’re going to be in strategic places around the restaurant and in the movie theater,” Diesel explained.

“I will have my suits waiting for each of your funerals,” Uncle Val said, grinning. “Rebel will body slam you two motherfuckers and Meggie will make Outlaw suffer.”

“We’re not going to get caught,” CJ said with certainty.

“Why Kaia?” Uncle Val asked.

“He just turned nineteen,” CJ answered, “and Reb will be fifteen in two months. So that ticks one box. He’s older. He wears earrings and leather.”

Diesel snorted. “Fucking emo.”

Scowling, CJ thumped Diesel’s shoulder. If the motherfucker wasn’t careful, he’d slip up in front of Dad. He looked at Kaia. “Did she like you?”

Kaia smirked. “What isn’t to love, bro?”

“Did you like her?” Uncle Val asked. “This foolishness won’t work if you two didn’t hit it off.”

“It isn’t foolish. We’re just protecting her, Uncle,” CJ insisted. “If you had a daughter and she wanted to date, how would you handle it?”

“I would trust that Zoann educated her about the ins and outs of dating and the assfuckery of young cocks.”

“Rebel’s innocent,” Diesel snapped. “She doesn’t know about cocks.”

“Shut the fuck up, Diesel,” CJ ordered. “Sounding like Uncle Johnnie.”

“Yeah, fucking stupid and hypocritical,” Uncle Val growled. “Most young motherfuckers find young bitches to fuck. You were fucking at fourteen and fifteen, so don’t fucking judge her if she does the same thing.”

Diesel looked as if he were ready to explode, but he snapped his mouth shut and looked away.

Uncle Val glared at CJ. “It’s fucking foolish because you all are fucking with Meggie. She thinks it’s fine if Rebel goes on a fucking date. I learned my fucking lesson when Puff wanted me to sleep with Hogzilla a few weeks back. Of all the motherfuckers, I’d think Outlaw would be the last one to keep fucking with Meggie.”

“We’re trying to protect Rebel, Uncle Val,” CJ said desperately, worried his uncle would rat them out to Mom.

Amusement lit Uncle Val’s eyes. “My lips are sealed, boy. All I’m saying is this is a bad fucking idea. Meggie still isn’t herself.”

“Neither is Outlaw,” Diesel said before CJ got the words out.

“This is the last thing we’ll do behind Mom’s back,” CJ promised.

“No, boy. It’s only the beginning. You’re on your way into the club. There’s going to be many instances where you will have no choice but to deceive Meggie. Outlaw regularly manipulated situations to cover his tracks or hide shit from her. He’s just working on fumes now or that Torie bullshit never would’ve gotten so out-of-hand. Then, if Meggie found out about this shit, it would seem like business as usual and not a betrayal.”

That dampened CJ’s excitement at finding a way to thwart Rebel’s plans while still appeasing her desire to go on a date by controlling the situation.

“How do we fix it? Or can they be fixed?”

Were his parents headed for a divorce? The thought crushed him and stole his joy.

“Meggie won’t be right until Outlaw is and he won’t be happy until she is,” Uncle Val said, presenting a dilemma that sounded frustrating and infinite, since there was no easy answer.

“Right,” CJ said quietly.

“They need a fucking vacation,” Diesel decided. “With just the two of them, so they can air out their differences and focus on each other.”

Scrubbing a hand over his face, CJ sighed. “Tabitha has been repeatedly trying to get Mom to go away. Now you’re joining that bandwagon.”

“Don’t put me and that bitch in the same barrel ever. I—”

“I have to get to my job at the gas station,” Kaia interrupted, “so tell me what you want me to do. Ghost her or not?”

CJ and Diesel looked at each other. “Not,” they chorused.

Instead of going to the committee meeting, Meggie called Roxy and told her what had happened, ending with the decision to bow out of the appointment. Once she spoke to Christopher and told him he needed to take care of Willard Bart, sooner rather than later, the girls convinced her to stop at the club-approved boutique to look at a gown, since she hadn’t even started shopping for her outfit and the ball was just weeks away.

Narci, Pike, Zephyr, Sparrow, Bishop, Torrin, and Huck adjusted easily to the changed itinerary. Her detail sandwiched her in with one leading her, two on each side of her and two behind her.

With Bash still lurking, and now Willard on the loose, Meggie didn’t mind the protection, especially with her daughter and niece with her.

The girls tried to act normal, yet Meggie was aware that Willard’s attack had traumatized Rebel. Mattie was just as traumatized and suffering because of Johnnie. She was aware that Kendall and Christopher had spoken to the jerk, but when she asked Mattie if she’d heard from him, she’d answered in the negative.

Meggie had to shore up her courage and resolve to add her voice to the list of people who’d tried to reason with Johnnie. Someone had to get through on Mattie’s behalf.

“What about this one, Mrs. Caldwell?” Edie Bradford, the shop manager, asked, holding up a gorgeous creation of white lace, silk, and tulle.

Edie and her ex-husband, who owned the shop, were on the club’s payroll. Their son had been a Burning Hound—Derby’s club—but was killed in a motorcycle crash a few years ago. It led to their divorce and hard times. She’d been a skilled seamstress, who sewed all the patches onto the cuts of the Hounds’ new members. After Don’s death, the Death Dwellers and the Night Flyers also hired her. A couple of years ago, Edie and her ex bought this shop that offered high-end clothing to the general public and allowed her to have a workspace for the cuts.

“You’d look like a princess, Momma,” Rebel breathed, staring at the gown in awe.

It was beautiful and would align with their black and white color scheme for a Mardi Gras Ball, but whatever. Thanks to Jordan, JaZuria Davis had gotten on their committee and completely ruined the color scheme.

Roxy swore she’d kick her off for next year.

Meggie stood from the loveseat. “I’ll try it on,” she decided.

“You have to get a hair stylist and make-up artist, Aunt Meggie,” Mattie chirped, once Meggie walked out in the gown.

It made her feel like a fairy princess.

“I’ll have a mask on, love,” she said. “I won’t need that much makeup.”

“Of course you will, Momma,” Rebel protested, forgetting the past couple of hours for the moment because she loved to shop. “If you don’t want to hire professionals, let me do your hair and makeup.”

Meggie opened her mouth to protest.

“Please?” Rebel begged.

“Reb would do a great job,” Mattie swore.

“It looks like you’re outnumbered, Mrs. Caldwell,” Edie said with a smile.

“It would seem so,” Meggie agreed, turning in the gown to test its danceability.

She’d need even higher heels than the ones she wore right now, but she absolutely loved the gown.

“Let’s get your measurements,” Edie said.

Meggie looked at her watch. She wouldn’t have time. The committee meeting was taking place at the restaurant Knox’s mother owned, so Meggie intended to order food for her family and bring it home with her. As it stood, she didn’t have a meal prepared or a menu in mind.

“I’ll pay for the dress today, but I have to come back tomorrow or the next day for the fitting.”

After scheduling a time for Wednesday, Meggie led the girls back to Diesel’s Mercedes, parked between the parks. The guys stood nearby, laughing and chatting amongst themselves.

The roar of motorcycles captured her attention at the same time it caught the guys’. Memories of her long-ago kidnapping flirted at the edges of her brain, quickly replaced by more recent occurrences such as Bash confronting her a few weeks ago. The Dwellers had very strong ties to Portland area clubs with several serving as support clubs.

However,the Dwellers also had an array of enemies in a variety of places. The bikes drew closer and closer. Bishop had already broken away, probably to call Christopher. He didn’t want her trapped in a car ever again as she had been with Mystic and the Imperials, so she understood why the guys weren’t hastening her into the Mercedes and rushing to drive away.

If an enemy wanted her and killed her detail, she was also dead. Besides, they were on a dead-end street that was virtually deserted.

“Fuck,” Narci grumbled. His mouth continued moving, but the roar of the bikes as they turned into the parking lot drowned out his words.

Meggie still held Diesel’s key fob, so she locked the doors, hoping Rebel and Mattie understood to stay put.

A blast of wind kicked up her hair and sent a chill through her. A skinny man with black hair, beady eyes, and a wrinkled face dismounted and signaled the dozen other men to cut their engines. His black goatee and beer belly on such a small frame were his most prominent features.

His boots clipped across the pavement as he walked toward her. Her guys began closing ranks around her, but she shook her head. It was too late. She’d already been spotted. If a gun battle broke out, Rebel and Mattie were dead.

The man stopped in front of her. He was only an inch or two taller than her because she wore her heels.

He wore a president’s patch on a leather jacket. His cut peaked out, but she couldn’t see any other identifiers since his jacket covered everything.

He looked her up and down. “You’re Meggie, Meggie.”

“Who’s asking?” she demanded.

“Willard and Wallace’s daddy, Meggie.”

“Wally Bart,” she said.

Narci released a stream of spit that barely missed her shoes and Wally’s boots. “A fucking Gnome.”

Wally narrowed his eyes. “I’m Wally Byrd, Meggie. Don’t know no Wally Bart, Jr., Meggie,”

Wally Bart, Junior? Where had that come from? She hadn’t mentioned a junior.

She wasn’t stupid enough to push the issue. She folded her arms. “What do you want?”

“I had to pick up my boy today from the fucking bushes, Meggie. He said a pack of Dweller boys set upon him, Meggie.”

That wasn’t what happened, but she stayed silent and kept her expression neutral. “I see.”

“They attacked my youngest boy last week! All because Johnnie’s little cunt lied on him. Broke Wally’s fucking arm.”

The Dweller brothers shifted around her. They were growing restless, wanting to act. Meggie just wanted to leave.

“You followed me from the school.” It was an improbability since her guys would’ve spotted them and they all would’ve heard them, but she needed to keep calm and figure out a way to get the kids safely away. “I’ll talk to Christopher about the boys.”

Amusement crinkled his eyes so tightly they almost closed. “Christopher, huh, Meggie?”

She smiled blandly. “Outlaw.”

“We didn’t follow you, Meggie.”

She thought for a moment, her mind going back to the officer who wanted to tase her daughter. Stupidly named people in the same profession were a rare occurrence, yet there’d been Earl Grey and Connor Hominy in a matter of months. Not only were they Gnomes plants, but she’d bet her life they were Scorpion plants.

Safety was had in numbers. If she’d gone to the committee meeting at a busy downtown restaurant, her movements would’ve been reported, but she wouldn’t have been confronted. If Bash thought like Cee Cee, he’d gather intelligence and use it with optimal effect.

They knew about the ball. They knew Meggie had been kidnapped after picking up a dress for a Valentine’s Day Ball. And they knew she’d redirected her route to the boutique.

They knew the psychological effect it would have on her, but more than that, Christopher.

While Meggie was dressing to go to the school to sign Mattie’s papers and then head to the meeting, Christopher had left to meet with Kendall then go to the hospital to sit with Jo. It pleased her to see him wearing the expensive sweater she’d given him for his birthday.

As a general rule, he didn’t like costly items of clothing. But it had been his fiftieth, so she’d splurged.

“If you don’t have anything more to say, I’d like to leave, Mr. Byrd.”

“Not no Mr. Byrd, Meggie. I’m just Wally, Meggie.”

“I am aware of my name,” she said politely. “You don’t have to keep repeating it.”

He scratched his scalp. “Don’t got a use for no cunt that I’m not sticking my cock in, Meggie. If I don’t keep saying your name, I won’t remember it, Meggie.”

“Right.”

“So, Meggie—”

“Enough,” she ordered, annoyed to the end of her patience. “Just insult me. Please stop saying my name!”

Frowning, Wally scratched his head. “You prefer me to call you cunt than Meggie, Meggie?”

“Yes! My God, call me bitch and cunt,” she yelled. “Anything! Dummy. Blondie. Anything.”

The guys were laughing, Dwellers and Wally’s friends alike. She didn’t care.

A car rocketed into the parking lot, tires screeching. A van sped behind it. Diesel, CJ, and Val raced toward her. She wasn’t surprised. Though the school was in Hortensia, it was near the freeway, and she was close to the last entrance ramp that would get her home.

“What the fuck are you doing here, motherfucker?” Val roared as CJ and Diesel flanked her.

“Aww, fuck, Val, I just told Meggie I wasn’t Wally Jr., and you had to go and tell her my fucking name.”

“How about I tell Johnnie you fucking with Outlaw’s woman?” Val demanded. “He swore if you didn’t keep your fucking distance, he’d cut one finger for every time you said any of our bitches’ names.”

“How’s that fair? I can’t remember no cunt. I can only remember Eliza ‘cause Pa liked her so much. He used to fuck her too, you know? One time, I thought Willard was my brother stead of my boy.”

“Ummhmm. You know what I always wondered, Wally Jr.?”

“What?” he asked suspiciously.

“How those little red squishy things get inside olives.”

Wally slapped his forehead with the palm of his head. “Fuck! Me, too, brother! Don’t have a clue to what they’re called. Know what else I can’t figure out? How those hard little nut sacs get inside olives. Don’t know how to get ‘em out. I’ve almost choked once or twice swallowing them.”

Chuckling, Val nodded and drew his weapon so fast, aiming it at Wally’s head, the others didn’t have time to react. “One of you Gnome motherfuckers pull and I shoot Wally, understand?” Val ordered.

Wally’s hands shot in the air. “We friends, Val!”

“I haven’t seen you in fifteen or twenty years, motherfucker. How the fuck are we friends?”

“But—”

“If you don’t get the fuck out of my fucking face—”

“Wait, wait!” Wally yelled. “Hominy got fired. After all the work we had getting him hired, too.”

“Who the fuck is Hominy?” Val asked, his hold on the gun steady.

If Wally was trying to throw a curveball, Val wasn’t falling for it.

“The resource officer at Ridge Moore,” Wally answered. He looked at CJ. “Goddamn, you sure Outlaw didn’t hatch you from an egg?”

“Shut the fuck up, Wally,” Val ordered.

“I guess that couldn’t happen,” Wally said thoughtfully. He winked at Meggie. “He must’ve dropped a big load in your fish taco, Meggie.”

She frowned.

His eyes gleamed as he considered her. “Come really hard, Meggie.”

Val socked him in the mouth, ignoring the protests of Wally’s brothers. “Shut the fuck up. Respect Outlaw’s woman.”

The faint roar of motorcycles rose around them.

“Outlaw’s almost here,” Val chortled.

Wally’s eyes widened. He swiped a hand across his bloody mouth and began to back away. “Tell them boys to leave my sons alone, Meggie,” he called, racing to his bike. “Remember, we the Byrds not the Barts, Meggie.”

Mortician turned into the driveway and Wally screamed, jumpstarting his bike and speeding away so fast he almost ran into Digger.

Mort and Digger looped and weaved through Wally and his bikers. Meggie worried she’d watch her friends get seriously hurt or killed, but it was over in a matter of minutes.

Val was guffawing as he watched the spectacle and CJ was absolutely in awe. By the time the last of Wally’s group sped out of the parking lot, Cash and Stretch rode in and stopped next to her Corvette.

However, they were so amused, she wondered if they’d seen the rockers on their backs.

Diesel took his keys from her and unlocked the doors. Immediately, Rebel and Mattie exited the Mercedes, and ran to Meggie.

“Are you okay, Momma?” Rebel asked.

Meggie nodded and hugged them both. She looked at Val, grinning as he smoked a cigarette, his gun nowhere in sight. “Those red things are called pimentos and they’re stuffed mechanically.”

“Always wondered that. I do know those nut sacs are pits.”

“Wally still a dumb motherfucker, huh?” Mort asked.

“Dumber,” Val said.

“Fuck, Rack was a sneaky motherfucker, but he wasn’t stupid,” Digger said.

“He was a mean, overgrown rhinoceros,” Meggie said flatly. After all these years, her opinion hadn’t changed.

“Are you okay, Sweetness?” Cash asked as Christopher rode into sight.

Her smile frozen on her face, she was scrambling for an explanation, searching for a reasonable excuse that everyone would quickly pick upon. Narci and the guys didn’t know the exact reason she’d come to the boutique. She had bought nightgowns and casual wear from the shop a few times.

“Mortician, the resource officer was a plant. I didn’t go to the committee meeting but came here to be fitted for a ball gown. Somehow, they knew. They have to know about Mystic and the circumstances of my kidnapping. My phone might be tapped. In case you didn’t notice, those were Scorpion rockers. Bash is behind this.” The words were falling over themselves.

At first, she wasn’t sure if she made any sense, but in the ensuing silence and sudden tension, she knew they’d heard every word.

“Fuck,” Stretch snarled. He was in charge of monitoring the phones.

Christopher halted his bike and dismounted. He never failed to freeze Meggie in her spot, so she could admire his beauty, his symmetry with his bike, as if one couldn’t exist without the other.

Just seeing him eased her and her mouth curved into a genuine smile. She didn’t wait until he reached her, breaking away and meeting Christopher halfway.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, enveloping her with his warmth and his scent. She reveled in his touch, loving him with everything in her and returning his hug.

“What happened, baby?”

“Come on,” she said, wanting everyone to hear her story.

Arm in arm, they walked back to everyone.

“Reb, Mattie, and me stopped in to look at a couple outfits,” she said.

“Yeah?”

She couldn’t read that one-word response. “Yep.”

“Jeans?”

“We couldn’t decide, Christopher.”

He was silent.

“When we came out into the parking lot, the girls got into the car, and I went to talk to my detail—”

“Narci, Bishop, Pike, Sparrow, Torrin, Zephyr and Huck?”

She nodded at her husband’s question. The men shifted.

“Before I knew it, Wally and his brothers were turning in.”

Christopher released her. “Almost like the time—”

Laughing, Meggie waved away his words before he got them out. “Omigod, it is! I didn’t even consider that.” She smoothed her hair and tucked some behind her ear. “It happened so long ago, it didn’t even enter my mind.”

He glowered at her. “You a lyin’ lil’ motherfucker, Megan,” he snapped. “You was in this motherfucker to buy a fuckin’ gown.”

She narrowed her eyes, his Outlaw-like language barely sinking in, then glanced from Mattie to Rebel. They were both frowning.

“They ain’t fuckin’ told me!” he said, reading her mind. “You barely fuckin’ come to this motherfucker if you ain’t makin’ my ass get in a fuckin’ monkey suit. You bring your lil’ ass to those expensive fuckin’ malls.”

“How’d you know where I was going?” She had an idea.

Frustrated, he scrubbed a hand over his face. “How the fuck you tryna protect me from you almost bein’ kidnapped the exact same motherfuckin’ way different from what the fuck I did with Torie?”

Meggie gasped. The various reactions would have been funny if she hadn’t been so furious.

“Goddamn, Prez,” Mort said.

CJ groaned. “Dad, for real?”

“Uncle Chris,” Diesel grumbled.

“Outlaw, you need more rest or something?” Val asked.

Only Digger looked amused.

“Jerk, it isn’t the same.” She looked him up and down, livid. “This is a life and death situation. Your mistress isn’t!”

“She not my motherfuckin’ mistress. I ain’t even knowin’ what the fuck her pussy look like.”

Balling her fist, Meggie punched Christopher’s jaw. Turning, she snatched Diesel’s keys out of his hands and stormed to the driver’s side of the Mercedes, indicating Rebel and Mattie follow her.

“Megan—”

“Go to hell!”

As soon as the girls jumped in and slammed their respective doors, Meggie put the car in reverse, ignoring Christopher’s demands that she stop. The tires squealed, smoke and dust kicking up. She shifted into ‘drive’, then sped away.