“He’s adopted,” Bash said after a prolonged silence. “Shine once told me that Diesel claimed if anything happened…well, if he was hurt, Christopher would seek justice on his behalf. Is that true?”
“Quite,” Johnnie said. “If any of his children are hurt from Diesel to Jo, he will annihilate the perpetrator.”
“Bash, back off,” Celia pleaded. “I’m begging you. Before this ends badly.”
“His cunt isn’t his children,” Bash declared, scrubbing a hand over his face.
“You’ve lost your mind.” Celia looked at Tabitha. “Didn’t Diesel tell you that Outlaw wasn’t only furious that he’d been kidnapped by your father and the other boys, but also because those idiots sent photos of a dead man to Meggie and pretended it was him?”
“Yes, Aunt Celia.”
Celia returned her attention to Bash. “Think what’ll happen if you actually hurt her, asshole? You willdie.”
“What do you mean if Bash hurts Meggie?” Johnnie asked. “You never said you’d moved to the next phase. I thought I still had time.What the fuck do you mean if Bash hurts Meggie? That sounds imminent. No! Fuck no! Have you lost your fucking mind! I demand more time!”
No one interrupted his rant, though they all stared at him as if he’d turned into a stupid motherfucker.
Finally, Bash gave him a half-smile. “Ignore Celia. She’s overwrought.” He patted Tabitha’s head. “This is what I’ll do, since I think your Aunt Celia loves you as much as she does Easton and Tío. I’ll summon Diesel and tell him he better be nice to you and don’t even think about divorcing you.”
“Diesel doesn’t like Tabitha,” Easton said dryly. “If he finds out she’s related to you, all bets are off, Bash. He might kill her.”
“No!” Celia cried.
“Then we better fucking warn him it’ll be in his best interest not to fuck with this cunt.” As decent as he was a moment ago, he turned into a motherfucker again, and thumped Tabitha’s head, scowling at Celia’s slap. “Tabitha’s death will hurt Celia.”
“How am I supposed to warn Diesel without giving myself away?” Easton asked. “Wouldn’t it be better ifyouimpressed that up on him?”
Bash laid a finger on his chin and thought for a moment, then nodded and pointed at Easton. “You’re right, boy.”
Cleaner curled his lip and threw a death stare at Easton. “You just have all the answers, huh, Easton?”
Easton ignored him, not even flinching.
Smiling, Bash walked around to Johnnie and settled his hands on his shoulders, beginning a rough massage. “How are you feeling, little brother? Tight in there. You need a muscle relaxant?” He squeezed harder.
Johnnie tried to shrug him away but didn’t succeed.
“Kids are so fucking annoying, huh, Johnnie?”
“Yeah,” Johnnie managed, pretending Bash wasn’t hurting him. “They are.”
“Cleaner interrupted me in the middle of coming. Madder than a motherfucker since my jizz squirted into the cold air instead of a warm cunt.”
“You’re disgusting,” Celia complained.
Bash ignored her. “Shit was such a fucking emergency, Cleaner rented us a private plane. All my reserve cash is gone. Between this house and the unexpected transportation, I’m fucking broke.”
Motherfuckerstayedbroke for one fucking reason or another.
“Send me an infusion of cash, and I’ll stick to our agreement.”
Johnnie finally jerked himself away and jumped to his feet. His neck and shoulders felt fucking broken, they hurt so bad. “What agreement, asshole? You took away a deadline. Told me I’ll know when you run out of patience.”
“Not out of them with you yet. Meggie’s head is still attached to her shoulders. Tío?” Bash said without missing a beat. “I still want to choke the fuck out of him, but Celia doesn’t want me to.”
“How much do you want from me and how much time will it buy me?””
“Half a rock, and an amount,” Bash announced. “I also promise I won’t kill Meggie without a twenty-four-hour warning. Until then, I’ll find a way to force my cock down her throat and up her pussy.”
