“Ryan, you have to trace—”
Rory’s words abruptly halted, but Ryan didn’t have the energy to look at his cousin.
“We have to find Aunt Meggie. Find her and we find our moms and my sister,” Rory said.
“I don’t even know where to start looking,” Ryan said hoarsely. “Mattie scrambled the feed at Aunt Kendall’s office. I don’t know who picked them up or which direction they went, Rory.”
“We have to do something,” he insisted. “Find Aunt Meggie and apologize to her.”
“It isn’t up to us. It’s up to Uncle Christopher,” Ryan told him. “Whatever he did made her mad enough to leave.”
“No,” Rory insisted stubbornly. “It was a fucking collective effort. We all pushed her to this.”
Tears slid down Ryan’s cheeks and he shook his head. He wished Rory spoke the truth. Unfortunately, the blame lay squarely on his shoulders. “No, you’re wrong. I pushed her to this. I never thought she’d leave, though. I…I did it all. Molly. Harley. Aunt Meggie.Rule. Rebel.”
“The new and improved you is a good thing, bro,” Devon said, “but you don’t have to take responsibility for the fucking fall of Rome. Molly’s father took her. Rule’s a psycho and Aunt Meggie is hurt. She’ll work through her feelings and everything will return to the status quo. I don’t know what the fuck you think’s going on with Rebel, butHarley?”
Hearing Devon’s contempt, Ryan stiffened.
“She’s a mean cunt.”
Ryan jumped to his feet. If Rory hadn’t stood in between them, he would’ve charged Devon and punched the fuck out of him.
“Don’t you fucking talk about her like that!” Ryan screamed, around bitter tears, almost falling to his knees so burdened with the weight of guilt. “I did it! Willard insisted I plant cameras. I recorded our sex and sent it to him and now he’s using it against her. He’s humiliating her.”
Rory’s eyes narrowed, then widened, almost bugging out of his head. It came to Ryan that his cousin was filling out. He no longer resembled a small kid. Possibly because he’d started working out in hopes of making the team. Or, maybe, because he was a late bloomer and puberty was finally catching up with him.
Wiping his eyes again, Ryan forced himself to meet Rory’s gaze. “Johnnie hired me to fuck with the footage and make it seem like Uncle Christopher and Torie were having an affair,”he went on miserably, since both his cousin and his brother seemed frozen in shock. “A-and I-I called Tom Harris and told him where to find Molly. I was so pissed with CJ.” He began to cry again, sick inside. “I didn’t mean to get her hurt. I just…I just wanted her away from CJ.”
“No, you wanted to hurt CJ,” Rory snarled, charging Ryan and shoving him. “Fuckhead!”
Anger surged into Ryan and he pushed his cousin back. “Fuck you. Don’t pretend you’re fucking innocent. You know everything that Bash wants to do. You know Johnnie’s role and you haven’t opened your fucking mouth. You protect that motherfucker at the cost of everybody. Evenyourself.”
“Is that your fucking justification, you miserable motherfucker? Don’t deflect your fucking guilt onto me. I didn’t assault Harley and I didn’t fucking ruin Aunt Meggie. And I didn’t send an innocent girl to her death for being a jealous fuckhead.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Ryan ordered, glad to snatch his fury and bitterness from the depths. They’d insulated him before and would do so again. “Johnnie knows where Molly is, and he refused to help me get her back.Hehired me to fuck with Aunt Meggie, in case your little baby ears didn’t hear me, so get off your high fucking horse and look in the fucking mirror. You’re complicit too.”
“I’m trying to help my dad to keep him alive so he can make everything right,” Rory snarled.
“Please, motherfucker,” Ryan spat. “Be so fucking for real. You fucking know he doesn’t want to make anything right.”
“You’re a fucking hypocrite, Ryan,” Rory replied, anger flushing his face.
“I’ma hypocrite?” Ryan laughed without humor. “What the fuck are you? I’ve done awful shit, but I’m trying to make it right.I feel so fucking bad about those things. You, though? You can’t admit that you’re fucking wrong for protecting Johnnie.”
“Fuck, stop!” Devon snatched Rory back and inserted himself between them. “Sit down and cool off.Bothof you.”
Glaring at his little brother, Ryan folded his arms. “Make me, cuck.”
“How about I call Dad so he can make you?” Devon spat.
Straightening, Ryan swallowed, regretting his moment of weakness. “You wouldn’t.”
“Dad’s suffering. I’m suffering.You’resuffering, Ry.” Devon glanced at Rory. “Ro’s miserable. All because we disrespected Aunt Meggie to the highest degree. We pretended she didn’t matter.Wedidn’t laugh at her, but the guys did and we didn’t correct them. But most of all, we took CJ from her.”
Devon’s accusatory look cut through Ryan. He hid his pain by lashing out.
“Fuck you, beta boy,” he sneered. “I know you’re blaming me when CJ had free will.”
