Page 233 of Restless
“My twin,oursister, is sweet and innocent, and you won’t ever disparage her again or face our wrath.”
Ransom and Ryder glanced at each other, then broke into peals of laughter.
“Fuck you, Rule,” Ransom said around his chuckles. “I will sacrifice you to the fucking devil or to God or to whoever if you ever fuck with me. Remember, there’s one of you and three of us. Fuck with us at your own fucking risk.”
Rule narrowed his eyes, but Ransom flipped him off and stood. “Come on, Ry. Let’s go buy more stuff before I punch Rule in his fucking mouth.”
“Ryan is Ry,” Rule said. He glared at CJ. “Mom is so lucky I’ve been ordered to honor her. All of these ‘R’ names are a travesty.”
CJ’s eyes widened. Rule’s announcement interrupted Ryder and Ransom gathering the shopping bags of shit they’d already purchased.
“Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, Rule,” Ryder said. “Don’t make us tie you to your fucking bed and burnyou.”
“Jesus Christ, would you walking representatives of the need for birth control, shut the fuck up?” CJ ordered. “Rule, if you think to hurt Mom, I will break you in two, then give you to Rory for practice. Ryder, you’d burn the fucking house down, you little asshole. Not to mention murdering your own fucking brother.”
“That would be strictly self-defense, C.,” Ryder defended.
“An offensive move to protect Mom,” Ransom added.
“I said defense, Ryder,” Ransom said.
“Don’t give a fuck,” Ryder said, shifting his heavy bags. The little asshole purchased more shit for himself, then gifts for the family, which was the main reason to shop today. “If you make the first move, it’s offense. Ask Dad.”
“Rule made a threat, prompting a preemptive strike,” Ransom argued.
“You sound like an attorney,” Grant said with a grin. “Do you want to study law?”
“Nah, you, Diesel, Brooks, and Aunt Kendall has that covered. I want to go into finance. White collar crimes net a lot of money.”
“And a lot of fucking time behind bars,” Devon pointed out.
“Mom’s real good with numbers. She’s teaching me…” Ransom’s voice trailed off and he lowered his eyelids. “Well, she was.”
“Mom’s home now, Ran,” Rule said softly. “She’s going to be fine. I’ll pray for you to have peace and faith.”
“Fuck, please don’t.” Ransom shook his head. “Please. You might decide to try and sacrifice me after I fuck up if you’ve spent time praying for me.”
“This isn’t funny,” Rule snapped. “You’re blasphemers. My faith and beliefs aren’t a game. I want to be a priest. Stop joking about my rituals. Stop minimizing my religion. Or else.”
Ryder leaned closer to Rule and belched, polluting the air with the onions he’d had on his burger. “As long as you insist on your fucked-up threats, I will continue to fuck with you. You don’t scare me, Ransom, or Axel, Rule.”
Rule glared at Ryan. “Shut up. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
“We’re Dad’s sons, too, assface,” Ransom said with disgust. “The same weapons you have access to, we do as well.”
“If I harm someone or ever kill someone, it’ll be for the greater good. I would never hurt anyone I wasn’t instructed to. AndAxelis afraid of me.”
“Axel’s ten,” Ryder said. “Easier to scare. I’m warning you, Rule, if anyone ever tells you we need to be fucked up, you risk getting yourself fucked up.”
“Exactly,” Ryan crowed. “Thanks for putting shit into perspective, Blondie.”
Rule clenched his jaw, and CJ wondered how much of his boasts were bravado to keep Ryan from bullying him and how much Rule actually believed.
“Didn’t put nothing into perspective for you, Ryan,” Ransom said with disgust. “Make no mistake. Rule hears fucking voices. We have something you don’t, and if you forget that, you’ll get your ass killed.”
“Yeah, cuck, what the fuck is that?” Ryan sneered.
“Caldwell genes,” CJ supplied. “Lifelong lessons from our dad. We’re not afraid of each other. In a fight, the odds are even, but if you don’t bring all you have, we can fuck you up together or individually.”
