Page 210 of Relentles
Cousin Bash. What did that mean?
“You’re related to Bash?” Rebel demanded, her mind working out the relations. Did that mean she was related tothesemotherfuckers?
Before she voiced that horrifying question, Willard cuffed Wallace. “Shut the fuck up, fuckhead.”
“Don’t hit me, Willy!” Wally yelled. “Alls I’m saying is I would be afraid of a motherfucker that killed his old man, too.”
Willard threw Rebel a sly look. “And his bitch’s old man.”
“Your father’s still alive, Willard,” Ryan said blandly, “so why lieandlabel yourself.”
“Burn,” Rebel said, hi-fiving her cousin.
“Shut up, cunt,” Willard ordered.
“Your mama’s a cunt, motherfucker, and make me,” Rebel snapped, tired of the false starts. She’d explore the family tree later. Becausereally! Did fate have no mercy? Bash was bad enough, but Willard and Wallace, too?
Forever the fuckhead, Willard stepped up to her. Rebel raised her fists, prepared to battle the overgrown motherfucker.
“Step the fuck away from Rebel,” Ryan ordered.
“In the words of a whore, make me,” Willard gloated, jabbing his fist toward Rebel’s face.
She ducked, preparing to torpedo her body into his. Suddenly, she dangled in the air and was set aside.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you, Rebel,” CJ bit out, just before he delivered a blow to Willard’s gut that sent him flying.
Motherfucker landed with a hard thud on the ground. Puffing on his cigarette and jamming it in the corner of his mouth, her brother stalked to Willard, unperturbed that the monster was staggering to his feet.
“Go home,” CJ ordered over his shoulder.
Willard threw a wide punch; CJ easily evaded it and pummeled Willard’s face and body.
“I owed you for hitting Harley; now you’re fucking with my sister?” CJ demanded in an eerily similar manner to their father—calm and deadly—as Wallace helped Willard to his feet. Daddy wouldn’t have left them alive, though.
Another, big old dirty secret that she wasn’t supposed to know.
“I hear you’re returning to school Monday,” he went on. “You and motherfucking Wallace steer clear of Rebel, Harley, and Mattie, or your bodies will be floating in fucking Turn Creek.”
Blood poured from Willard’s nose and busted lips. He still had the audacity to stiffen.
“Shut it,” Ryan warned, giving CJ an uneasy look. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah, brother,” Wally said on a sniffle. “There’ll be another day.”
Shockingly, Willard stayed silent and allowed Ryan and Wally to steer him in the direction they’d come.
CJ glanced between Eric and Billy. The two fuckheads were suddenly very interested in their phones.
“I put the money in the register for the tequila, Potter,” CJ announced, taking a last drag on his cigarette before tossing it. “Dad looked at the security footage when he went for hisspecialpints and found them missing.”
Potter cleared his throat. “Thanks, bud.”
“Sp-special?” Mattie squeaked.
CJ nodded. “Interesting how there was a fifteen-minute gap in the footage. Even the primary storage server was wiped.”
Mattie laughed nervously. “I-I wonder who could’ve done that.”
