Page 130 of Relentles
Ryan refused to meet Bash’s eyes. He was afraid of him.
Bash tied them right into the box he wanted. Ryan would cave to anything the motherfucker wanted out of fear alone.
“I wish the Terrible Triplets had drowned you,” Rory said with resentment. Accusation filled his gaze. “The problem would be solved.”
“Are you calling me a problem, nephew?”
“Am I looking at myself,uncle?”
“I do understand you have the brain capacity of a twelve-year-old,” Johnnie drawled, “but can you please get to the fucking reasonI’mhere. If you want to trade insults with children, I’ll invite you to play time.”
“You’re a motherfucker.” Bash took another beer. The cigarette he’d lit had burned away in the ashtray. “Comments like that get your fucking tongue cut out.”
Bash was jerking his fucking chains, which Johnnie didn’t have time for. The New Year’s Eve party was tomorrow, and Christopher’s birthday was in five days. He had an extremely long drive facing him and he needed to think of something else to twist the knife deeper into Megan.
He almost had her where he wanted her, so despondent she’d flee. Of course, she’d return. She loved Christopher. He was counting on that to undo the damage he’d wrought.
Johnnie stood. Rory followed his lead. Ryan was frozen in his seat.
“We’re leaving,” Johnnie said. “I don’t have time for your bullshit, Bash. You wanted me to drop everything and jump to your summons? Congratulations. You got me to do it.” He glared at Ryan. “Get the fuck up.”
“I’ve already told you why your boy is here. Ryan keeps running afoul of me. As foryou, I don’t appreciate your fucking deception. You want her cunt for yourself so you’re barring me from it.”
“Are you mad? You said you wanted to kill her not fuck her.”
“Uh, Dad. Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good fucking argument. Both options are awful.”
He ignored Rory.
Folding his arms, Bash leaned back in his chair. “I’m a busy man. Didn’t have time to cross all my ‘T’s and dot all my ‘I’s. In that whole, big ole stack of papers, I had one or two photos of her. Much less than ofyourbitch.” He emptied half the bottle. “Big bitches have never been my thing. Can’t hurt them as easily.” He sniffed, brushed at his nose. “I just assumed she looked like that bitch who pushed her out.”
In her younger years, Dinah had been a nice-looking woman.
“Then I saw our niece.” Bash gave Johnnie a knowing look. “You didn’t know? That isn’t important. Word reached me that Rebel was the spitting image of one Miss Megan Foy.” He winced. “Oopsies. Mrs. Megan Caldwell. Then I saw her.”
Sick to his stomach, Johnnie dropped into his chair.
“I intend to fuck her every way I can. She’s going to beg me to fucking die.” Hatred blanketed his face. “You think I don’t fucking know she’s the reason Daddy’s dead? I know. All he didwas talk about fucking her and throwing her headless corpse in the fucking river. Outlaw is insane behind that cunt. Fuck her. Her mother was as soulless as Patricia Donovan. She’s cut from the same cloth.”
“No.” Johnnie shook his head. “No. Megan isn’t like her mother or Aunt Patricia.”
“The fuck she isn’t! She’s a prissy little slut, thinking she’s better than everyone. Like those two dead bitches. The sins of the father? What about the sins of the mother? What about Dinah Fink drugging Big Joe because of your granddaddy and Sharper?”
He’d known a lot of Dinah’s behavior. He hadn’t known that. Was Bash seeking revenge or compensation. Johnnie could no longer tell. The lines were blurring; he wondered if Bash even knew.
Returning his gun to his side holster, Johnnie closed his eyes. “Are the documents even real?”
“You think I’m fucking playing about my fucking money? The motherfuckers are real. I just don’t know which fucking ones.”
“Dad?”
Rory’s voice trembled. He understood. While he was outwardly composed, his insides quaked.
“Aunt Meggie…you have to tell Uncle Christopher,” Rory pushed out.
Bash jumped to his feet and flung his bottle of beer. As glass shattered behind them, Rory threw his hands over his head as Ryan stood and stumbled back.
“You tell Outlaw I’m fucking killing Kendall,” he screamed, wild. He flipped the table and it slid to the middle of the pathway. The two buckets clattered to the ground. Bottles rolled and ice clinked. “You hear me, motherfucker?”
