Page 126 of Restless
“And, finally,” the minister continued, speaking over K-P as if no one else mattered, “you forget Joe.”
“Are you out of your motherfucking mind?” Boss yelled, no longer a passive witness. “You don’t get to tell me who the fuck I see and you especially can’t dictate my relationship with Kaleb Paul.”
“I get to tell you any fucking thing I please, motherfucker,” Sharper said. “He’s not happy—”
“Then I’m out, too,” Joe said.
Logan’s eyes widened. “There’s no way—”
“Your name is on everything, Joe. The loans. The titles. The legal documents. You can’t leave.”
“Buy me out. I’m fucking done. You’re beside yourself.”
Sharper’s nostrils flared. “I’m the Alpha and the Omega. It’s my fucking way or else. There’s only one way out for you, Joe. Death.”
“No,” Logan said, horror washing over his face. “I don’t care what you need to do. Joe survives under all circumstances. He saved my life when no one else would.”
“I’m done, Logan,” Boss said. “I helped with a bunch of fucked-up shit—”
“Because of that cunt you fell in love with,” Sharper snorted. “You put Kimber on a pedestal and wanted to spoil her, so you fell back in with us.”
“What are you talking—”
“You’re a miserable fuckhead, Sharper,” K-P interrupted Daddy. “Joe loved Kimber. He struggled his fucking ass off to give her an easy life and an easy pregnancy. Your bullshit killed her!”
“Someone tell me what the fuck K-P means,” Daddy demanded.
“Nothing, Cee Cee,” Boss said raggedly. “Nothing at all. It won’t bring her back—”
“No, Joe. No,” K-P said. “If this is the last time we see each other, I want the truth. I want to know why you never answered Joe, Cee Cee. He stuck to his word. He never used your sister as a go-between. He called you. I called you. Sharper and Logan swore they called you. He wanted to discuss the club to bring in more money for his wedding to Kimber. He wanted to buy her a house. Leave this fucking life and give her and their son a better one.”
Daddy lost the color in his face as Sharper roared, “goddamn you, Kaleb!”
“If you want to blame any fucking body for Kimber’s death, blame Sharper and Logan,” K-P continued. “They knew it was close to her due date, but insisted Joe go on a run before they paid him, and he needed that fucking money to pay for the home birth she wanted.”
“Shut the fuck up, Kaleb Paul,” Daddy snarled, jumping to his feet and stalking to the other man, grabbing him around the throat. “I didn’t know Joe wanted to talk to me about money for my sister. I ignored both you fuckheads and when I asked Logan and Sharper if they knew what you two wanted, they said it was about her fucking baby shower.”
Boss yanked Daddy away from K-P and shoved him back. “She was three months pregnant, Cee Cee. We weren’t planning a fucking shower then.”
Without responding, Daddy closed his expression, then walked to the other end of the table and grabbed a berry from a bowl, popping it into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. He glanced around the cabin with the heads of elk and bear hanging on each side of the room. On the back side were wall to wall draperies, and Bash wondered if they covered windows or glass doors.
Daddy walked to the fireplace and grabbed the poker from the side, stirring the dying embers. Unable to generate a spark, he took two thick pieces of wood from the nearly empty rack and tossed them into the fire, rekindling the flame.
He heaved in a breath, staring at the burning wood. “What made you choose Whitehorse, Sharper?”
“Roddie wanted to see the Northern Lights.”
“I prefer Cleaner,” Daddy said.
Sharper snorted. “As if I give a fuck.”
Rack chuckled, and Wally, Jr. followed suit.
“Hear that, motherfucker?” Logan taunted, glaring at Daddy’s back.
Fred shifted in his seat.
Gripping the poker, Daddy prodded the wood again. “I pay you and Logan for the lives of your sons, Christopher, Johnnie, Joe, Joey, and K-P.”
