Page 180 of Restless
“I would parade you in front the world, so they could see my prize.”
“You see me as a prize?” she asked, her heart pounding at the romantic words and at her imagining all the different ways she’d let CJ knowshewas done withhim. She’d throw Nardo in his face and make him cry.
“You’re a golden jewel, girl. A diamond possession. That’s what my old man always tell my momma,” he confessed. “He owns her, and she lets him. I always thought it was so romantic. Claiming herself as his ride-or-die and not letting no one else near her. She only listen to you.”
“It is romantic,” Harley agreed. “I think it’s the sweetest thing a boy has ever said to me.”
He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. When they came up for air, they were both breathing hard.
Harley gloated, wishing someone could’ve taken pictures of her with Nardo and sent them to CJ.
Nardo nuzzled her neck and she shivered. “Let’s go to my room, ma,” he whispered. “I’ve told you what I want from you. Show me what you’re willing to give.”
After CJ’s treatment last night and her father’s meanness earlier, Harley was ready to give anything Nardo asked of her. She wanted to show CJ who was boss and she wanted to prove to her daddy he was wrong. “Okay.”
By the time her mother picked her up, Harley was already regretting her decision. The pain had been almost unbearable and Nardo ordered her to stop crying. Belatedly, she remembered protection.
“Everything okay, hunny bunny?” Mommie asked when Harley got into the SUV and closed the door.
“Fine, Mommie,” she said, close to tears. She felt as if she didn’t have a friend in the world.
“Oh, darling, I thought spending time with Nardo would help your hurt feelings,” Mommie soothed. “CJ doesn’t deserve your heartache. Until he changes his ways, I think it’s best he doesn’t see you.”
Hours ago, she would’ve wholeheartedly agreed. Now, she only wanted to go back and time and change what she’d done.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
With Meggie’s release from the hospital two days ago, life would return to normal sooner rather than later. Once Outlaw rested, he would start to ask questions and then Ryan would be fucked.
Meggie dying hadn’t mattered one way or the other. But then fuckhead Bash came to Hortensia with his fucking games.
Ryan still hadn’t recovered from finding Mrs. Harris’s head. He hadn’t even been home. After he left Molly’s bedside, he’d gone to stay with Willard, Wallace, and their aunt and uncle…
Fuck, their mother and father, but Wallace and Willard persisted with the falsehood that they were orphans.
All the fucking lies. It didn’t matter if he somehow blamed Val for his meeting Bash, Ryan was still so fucking dead, if he didn’t find a way to straighten shit out. Even Willard bitching Ryan out over his nightmares didn’t matter. Nor did Zoann’s demands that he come home. For once, Val found his balls and told that cunt to back down, siding with Ryan and allowing him to spend Winter Break with the Byrds…the Barts.
But he was little more than a slave at that house. They all treated Ryan with derision and made him serve them. One-on-one, he could stand up to Willard. With his whole family against Ryan, his life was on the line.
He still resented a lot abouthisfamily, but he had autonomy and a little status as Val and Zoann’s son. For now, the Barts allowed him to come and go as he pleased. Unfortunately, the unstable fuckheads were a danger to his safety and could revoke his freedom on a dime.
Turning, he leaned against the railing at Turn Creek Bridge. Feet below, the icy water in the creek meandered on its downstream journey to meet up with the Columbia River. Frigid air blanketed his face and the heavy clouds threatened snow again, promising a white Christmas.
The jingling spurs alerted him of Bash’s arrival before he crested the bridge and came into view.
“Why are you in Hortensia, Bash?” Ryan wasn’t in the mood to fuck around with hellos. His girlfriend was in the hospital, and he couldn’t make heads or tails of her words. Usually, she madesomesense. Worse than that, she kept asking for CJ.
Her reliance on his cousin left him even more angry. It was why he’d left a message on her father’s voicemail initially, though he had yet to hear back from Tom Harris. For some reason, the man’s silence relieved Ryan. As hours turned into days, he greatly regretted revealing her location. He could only hope the motherfucker was dead, incapacitated or too busy running scared to bother with Molly.
Bash halted beside him and leaned against the railing. “Why shouldn’t I be here, boy? I had business to see to.”
“Business?” Ryan scoffed. “You beat my girlfriend and made her lose her baby. You fucking killed her mother!”
Bash guffawed. “Tom killed that cunt. I just relieved her of her head to show Molly what might happen to hers if she didn’t shut the fuck up. I thought about killing her.” He patted Ryan’s back. “I allowed her to live for your sake.”
“You’ve fucked her up.” For the first time in a long time, Ryan felt something other than hate and bitterness. Remorse and helplessness settled into him. “She’s a sweet girl, Bash. Stupid as a brick. You hurt her.” Apparently, he’d been hurting her. “Physically. Mentally. Emotionally.”
“I give a fuck how? Don’t make me regret allowing her to live, boy. She told me she didn’t trust CJ enough, so he couldn’t read her mind, then confessed she told him she was knocked up.”
