Page 148 of Relentles
Nervous, Rory swallowed more water. He was exhausted from worry, the long drives to and from Salt Lake City, and the events while there. The only bright spot was early today and his time in the meatshack.
Uncle Christopher’s revelations about his first time in the meatshack soothed the turmoil inside of him. It might not last, but it still felt good. Dad had made it into a dirty little secret. He’d acknowledged how hard it was on a man’s soul without going into detail about how he’d felt after his initiation into the place.
“If you’re here for CJ he’s in his room,” Aunt Meggie said, breaking into Rory’s thoughts.
Rory hadn’t even been allowed to tell CJ when Dad first took him into the meatshack. “He’s devastated about Molly. So’s Ryan.”
He wouldn’t have expected that turn of events in a million years.
Aunt Meggie’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Shockingly, he is.”
“Uh, yeah.” Maybe, his idea would bring about more problems.
“Are you here about your uncle’s birthday party that’s two days away?”
“Uh…” He swallowed, suddenly so afraid.
“What’s the matter, love?” she said gently.
Tears stung his eyes. “I…Aunt Meggie…if I tell you and Uncle Christopher finds out, he’ll kill me and my dad.”
“You’re a kid. He couldn’t kill you.”
He swallowed. “He told Ryan if he fucked up one more time, he was dead.”
Although he knew he shouldn’t curse when he spoke to Mom or one of his aunts, Aunt Meggie never judged. She listened and gave advice. He remembered so many times over the years when she’d gather all the children and read to them or tell stories of her childhood. Mainly about Big Joe. She’d loved him and he’d loved her. The lessons he taught her, she passed onto them.
She took in stride the snickers and the comments and the snide remarks about her only being a mom and Uncle Christopher’s wife. But she protected their family in a different way than Uncle Christopher. She knew how to calm him down. Call him down. They were really a team, in every sense of the word.
Right now, though, she was staring at Rory, blinking.
“Ryan isn’t even seventeen,” she said faintly. “And that’s Christopher’s nephew.”
“It’s the code of the club, Aunt Meggie,” he whispered miserably. “If we’re in the club, we have rules that override familial ties. Uncle, father, brother, cousin, nephew, son, it doesn’t matter.”
Her eyes were huge and horrified. She pressed her lips together and shuddered.
Rory hung his head. He’d upset her, which hadn’t been his intention. He stumbled to his feet. “I’m sorry, Aunt Meggie,” he said, sucking back his tears.
“No, Rory,” she said, swiping her arm across her cheeks. “Talk to me, love. What do you need my help with?”
“I don’t only visit you when I need help.”
“You don’t,” she agreed. “But you’re clearly upset.”
He sat next to her and leaned his head on her shoulder. It didn’t matter that he too was now taller than her. When she put her arm around his shoulder, he felt protected, and his heartache eased.
“Talk to me, nephew.”
He’d had every intention of revealing the entire story. It wasn’t something she’d keep from Uncle Christopher. Nor should she. Just because Dad and Ryan were jackasses and needed saving from themselves and she was the only one with the power to do that, didn’t mean she deserved that burden or that task.
Dad was grown and Ryan was stupid.
“I-I can’t.”
“Is Kendall okay?”
For now. Once Bash or Uncle Christopher killed Dad, his mother would never be okay again.
