Page 106 of Relentles
“You told me to stop crying for you and to come to do Christmas stuff.”
He froze. How hypocritical of him, asking her to set aside her pain and grief and unwilling to do the same, even resenting his parents for their pretense.
“I’m sorry, Molly. That wasn’t fair. I shouldn’t have pushed you. You’re dealing with enough.”
She lowered her lashes, even thicker and longer than normal with mascara. “I’m glad you made me do it.” She blinked away tears suddenly filling her eyes. “I remind myself that the storktook the baby to the moon and my daddy is protecting Mama’s head under his arm. They’re fine, so I can be happy.”
CJ swallowed and brushed a hand over her cheek. “They are fine, Mo,” he promised.
“They’re not mad at me?”
“No.” He couldn’t manage more.
“I tried to fight him and make her run away,” she said. “But she wouldn’t look at me. She kept staring straight up. Blood kept coming out of her neck. When I touched her, she was so cold.” She shivered as if the memory of that sensation invaded her and chilled her to the bone. “Daddy started kicking me.”
“Molly…Mo…” CJ started, but she was already gone to another place.
Her eyes were glazed. “Gnome Bart and his boy Gnome Bart pulled him away. Biggest Bart shoved me to Bigger Gnome and Big Gnome Bart made me suck his weenie. After they finished, Daddy had a knife to cut Baby and Mama out of me, but Bash grew scorpion claws, and a stinger came out of Cleaner’s head and made Daddy stop.”
He held her closer, trying to make sense of what she was trying to tell him. She kept fucking mentioninggnomesand Barts. She was trying to fucking tell him something. After Jo’s surgery, he’d ask Uncle Mort to help him decipher her meaning. Obviously, Bash and Cleaner were involved. Suddenly, he was sorry he hadn’t knocked that motherfucker in the head before Axel, Ryder, and Ransom shoved him into the creek.
He would’ve drowned. On the other hand, Molly still would’ve been pregnant, and her father still would’ve unleashed his murderous fury.
“I bought you a present, too. A robotics engineering kit.”
It took CJ a moment to switch gears at her soft announcement. She no longer sounded on the verge of sobbing. Her happiness was back. His heart was pounding at the imagesher recollections brought about. No one should’ve had to live through that.
“We’ll build things together,” he promised, determined to help her through today since he’d been the unfeeling jackass who insisted she participated.
“I’ll watch you. I-I like watching you build stuff,” she said shyly. “You make me laugh.” She shivered again. “I’m cold.”
“Here. Wear this.” He hated to let her go, but he did. Stepping back, he started to shrug out of his jacket.
Ryan and Harley rounded the corner before he did.
“I’m not in the motherfucking mood for your bullshit, Ryan, or your accusations, Harley, so turn the fuck back around and leave me the fuck alone.”
Glaring at CJ, Ryan removedhisjacket, walked to where Molly stood so close to CJ he could’ve reached out and pulled her back into his arms. He hadn’t kissed her again out of respect for all that she was going through.
Ryan helped Molly into the jacket, then eyed CJ with dislike. “Seeing as how you have something that belongs to me, you have a lot of fucking nerve coming at me like that, cuck.”
“Molly isn’t anyone’s possession, asshole,” CJ said, not liking his twinge of jealousy when Ryan whispered in her ear and she nodded.
“Bye, beta.”
Holding Molly’s hand, Ryan tugged her away.
She glanced over her shoulder and waved at him.
“See you at the house, Mo.”
With or without that fuckhead.
Although he wished Molly hadn’t gone, he didn’t miss Ryan and might’ve seen the solitude as a cosmic favor if Harley left with them.
She was staring at her, her expression unreadable. He thought about Nardo, then dismissed his curiosity. He couldn’tinvolve himself with her drama while his little sister was in danger, Dad wasn’t thinking clearly about Torie, and Uncle Johnnie needed to die.
“Do you have something to say to me, CJ?”
