Chapter 40 – Christopher #3
Grant gritted his teeth. “I’m not trying to, Dad.”
“If I was you, I’d want a beautiful girl to talk some sense into me,” Axel said. “Reb, you want to try?”
“Nope,” she said, her gaze touching on Tio. “I’ve wasted enough time today on fucking idiots.”
What the fuck was that about?
“You looked in the mirror, Reb?” Tabitha cooed.
“Yep, and saw your fucking reflection,” she replied. “Try again.”
“Leave Rebel the fuck alone, Tabitha,” Diesel snapped.
Bash leaned in and whispered to Christopher, “You motherfuckers argue like this all the fucking time?”
Christopher nodded. “And not one motherfuckin’ argument ever fuckin’ settled.”
“So you prefer if I target Jana?” Tabitha demanded, the question grabbing Christopher’s attention again.
“Jana can defend herself,” Diesel said.
“And Reb’s the Blonde Viper,” Ransom told him. “That bitch can’t handle my sister’s venom.”
“Your sister?” Diesel sneered.
Axel rolled his eyes. “That’s better than you wanting to marry a girl that’s your sister, perv.”
“Shut up, Axel. You were just asking me to represent you. Now, you’re insulting me?”
“I fired you once before. I’ll do it again. And you can’t invade what I said with no answer. That just proves my point.”
“It’s evade,” Diesel gritted.
“You got a cock, not a pussy. You don’t get to correct me, dick mite. Only beautiful girls.”
“I can’t fucking believe I’m about to ask this,” Knox said, shaking his head. “Axel?”
Axel grinned and rocked on his heels. “Yes, Uncle Knox?”
Knox flushed and cleared his throat. Axel’s grin widened.
“Can you talk to Grant?” Knox mumbled.
“No, Dad. It doesn’t matter who talks to me—”
“Have you ever heard of employed and employeder?” Axel started.
“Employer and employee,” Diesel said. “And shut the fuck up about beautiful girls. No one else knew what you meant but me.”
“I’ll give you that one,” Axel huffed, then addressed Grant again. “What Diesel said. Have you ever heard of them?”
“That’s the basic principles of working, Axel,” Grant said.
“You want to know what I would do, G?” Axel asked.
“I’ll listen, but my mind’s made up.”
“A man got better things to do than waste his fucking breath on stupid motherfuckers,” Axel declared. “Either you listen for real and then decide or I’m not helping you.”
“Fine. Tell me.”
“Will you keep an open head?”
“Open mind,” CJ corrected.
“Whatever, motherfucker,” Axel spat. “Now, Grant, this is what I would do—”
“Keep in mind this is to help CJ—”
“You can’t fucking help little bruh if you fucking dead,” Digger grumbled.
“Exhibit one has been entered into evidence,” Axel said. “From Digger Banks, who can be my uncle again since Dad beat his ass.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Diesel griped. “You can’t enter anything into evidence if you haven’t shared it with…what the fuck are you anyway? Defense or prosecution.”
“Defense prosecutor,” Rebel said, and winked at Axel.
“Stay out of it, Rebel,” Diesel ordered.
“Nope, I’m answering on my little brother’s behalf.”
“You’re also tainting the fucking trial,” Diesel said.
“Not everything’s about the law, Axel,” Grant told him.
“Nope, other stuffs are Texas, beautiful girls, murdering, bikes, and Medieval. But law is first.”
“What is your fucking obsession with Texas?” Devon asked.
Axel bristled.
“Megan Thee Stallion,” Harley answered.
“You remembered, Harls?” Axel asked.
She nodded.
Axel gave her the thumbs up sign, then pointed at Devon. “Don’t fucking talk to me. Your name is added to the list with Uncle Johnnie and Rory. Stupid motherfuckers that I hate, want to kill, and don’t ever want to talk to again.”
Christopher was getting hungry. Usually, they’d fucking eaten by the time the arguing began. “Boy, just say what you got to say to Grant.”
“I keep getting, uh…”
“Distracted,” Rebel supplied.
“The trial has been missed because of all the infer…wait…” Axel thought for a moment. “Interference.”
“You’re declaring a mistrial?” Diesel asked.
“Uh huh, so I just got to issue my statement from the bench.”
Grant laughed. “You can’t. You just declared a mistrial.”
“Can I un-mistrial it?”
“No,” Grant said. “Once you declare it, it can’t be undone.”
“So just pretend we never had the trial. Okay?”
“All right. I’m listening.”
“You like law,” Axel said. “You told me.”
“I do.”
“CJ can use attorneys for different stuffs, too.”
“It won’t bring in money for the club.”
“You’re being stupid just to be stupid,” Axel told him. “If you want the club to make money that bad, just pay a big dues.”
“It wouldn’t be the same.”
“Not for you, but for the club. We’d still get money,” Axel said.
“You don’t understand.”
“I tried that line on Axel, Grant,” Cash muttered. “It didn’t work.”
“I don’t want to get boring, so I got to think of another way to answer.
Anyway, you just want to run a meth lab ‘cause that’s what you want to do.
If you build a fucking lab and you pay motherfuckers enough money not to fuck over CJ, it would still be your fucking lab.
You’d still run it cuz you’d be paying for it. The managers would answer to you.”
“It isn’t the same.”
“I see what you mean, Uncle Knox,” Axel said with a long-suffering sigh. “I can’t believe I’m about to use this motherfucker. Here goes.” He pointed to Johnnie. “Uncle Johnnie runs Dad’s lab. But it’s Dad’s. He got to approve everything. He’s just a mouse partner.”
Diesel squinted, and Christopher saw his wheels turning. That was good because Christopher didn’t know what the fuck Axel meant.
“A silent partner, Ax,” Diesel finally said. “Silent as a mouse isn’t the same.”
“It’s also another stupid fucking saying. Those motherfuckers aren’t quiet, especially when they are trying to get away.” Axel looked at Grant again. “Anyway, can you cook?”
“Basic things.”
“Only because Roxanne taught you,” Knox said tightly. “You’ve had servants most of your fucking life.”
“I can boil and fry eggs. I can fry bacon and prepare sandwiches.”
“Yeah, you’d blow the fuck up,” Ransom told him. “Meth has simple ingredients but it’s not simple to cook. You need experience for that.”
“And you don’t have it,” Axel said.
“I can learn.”
“I’m done with this fucking conversation,” Knox spat. “You’re changing your fucking mind or I’m fucking disowning you. I’m kicking you out of the fucking house. I’ll see you live on the fucking street before I allow you to waste billions of fucking dollars for nonsense.”
“You’re calling the club nonsense, Dad?” Grant demanded.
That’s what it sounded like, although Christopher suspected Knox referred to Grant’s intentions.
“Fuck you, Grant!” Knox snarled, dropping more ‘f’ bombs than Christopher had ever heard him say. “You know I’m not. I’m calling your dumb plans nonsense.”
“You pretend you understand me and then I tell you the truth and you turn against me, Dad.” Grant looked at CJ. “Talk to him. You know this is for you—”
“Don’t talk to CJ,” Axel said. “Talk to me. CJ would say okay because he wants motherfuckers to like him. He won’t call you a stupid fuckhead who don’t know what the fuck to do with his money. Even I fucking know outrunning a lab to a motherfucker who know about it is smarter.”
“It’s outsourcing, and how would that do anything except make me look like a fat cat throwing money around?” Grant asked irritably.
“Cuz you’d be a live cat, dick brain,” Axel told him with a snort. “Fat or skinny.”
Christopher and Bash snickered.
“It’s my money. I can do what I want—”
“Give it to me then,” Rebel said. “You want to waste your money to kill yourself, I have much better use for it.”
“You don’t even need the fucking money, Rebel,” Diesel snarled. “So stop propositioning this dumb fuck.”
“Propositioning Grant?” Rebel gasped.
“This is where CJ should step in,” Bash whispered. “That’s his little sister. We protect them.”
“Rebel got this,” Christopher said with certainty. “My girl just like me.”
“Listen up, you fucking fuck face jackass,” Rebel said, hands on hips as she faced Diesel. “I’m not propositioning Grant, so get your fucking mind right. I’m offering to help our cousin because obviously he doesn’t know what the fuck to do with his money.”
“Ask any man for money makes them think about fucking you,” Diesel retorted.
“Dude,” CJ said, shaking his head.
Axel cut his eyes at Diesel. “Only pervs think of that. Grant don’t want Reb.”
“All of this is ridiculous,” Grant said. “It’s my trust fund. I can use it as I please and it isn’t fair that you want to take it away from me, Dad.”
“If I was Uncle Knox, I’d disown you, too,” Rebel told him.
Grant opened his mouth.
Rebel raised his hand, halting whatever he’d been about to say.
“Think about it this way. If you planned to build a meth lab on club grounds and it exploded, you’d do more harm than good.
If you were lucky, you’d only fuck up that building and yourself, but that’s unlikely, so you’d incur other damages. ”
“I can—”
“Replace everything with your precious money,” Rebel snorted. “But why not use it wisely? You want to help CJ? Build a new, state-of-the-art clubhouse. Start a fucking school. Act like you appreciate what you have.”
“Do you appreciate the money you have, Reb?” Grant sneered.
“Okay, Grant,” CJ said. “You’re annoyed but Rebel’s just trying to—”
“Interfere,” Grant declared. “Rebel’s interfering in business where she doesn’t belong.”
“Motherfucker, you have one more fucking time to insult her,” Diesel snapped. “Before I break you in fucking two.”
“All I’m saying is Rebel’s crucifying me for how I want to use my money when she has money too and—”
“Yeah, but I’m not stupid with it. There’s no motherfucking way I’ll take my inheritance to run a meth lab.
Even if CJ asked me. I’d ask him if he’s lost his fucking mind.
And if I invested, I’d want to know the ROI.
You don’t just jump blindly into that. What is wrong with you? ” Once again, she looked at Tio.
Christopher swore Diesel growled.
“Jesus, are all you motherfuckers insane?” Rebel whispered.
“No!” Jana wailed, rushing to Rebel and throwing her arms around her. “You’re saying that because of me! I’m sorry about everything I said earlier. Just don’t hate me.”
“Still a pathetic cunt,” Tabitha said in an ugly voice.
Jana dropped her arms from Rebel and hung her head.
“Oh, my Godddddddd.” Rebel tipped her head back. “Leave Jana alone, Tabitha. You don’t get to call her names. She’s ours. You’re nothing but a loser who latched onto dickface for a come-up. Give it up. As I see it, you’re just as fucking pathetic. You’re holding onto a man who does not want you.”
“You think he wants her?” Tabitha grinned. “No, you think he wants you. You think you could go head-to-head with me?”
“Bitch, listen up, if I wanted Diesel, I’d get him and I’d watch him kill you or I’d do it myself. Lucky for you, I won’t be eighteen for three years. Otherwise, I’d show you just what a fucking threat I am and you can take that to the fucking bank.”
“You think you’re hot shit, don’t you?”
“Uh, no. I know it. When I look in the mirror, I see beautiful ivory skin, gorgeous golden hair, stunning blue eyes, and a perfect body. When you look in the mirror, that motherfucker cracks. I might be as ugly as you on the inside, but I’m exquisite on the outside and that makes up for a lot.
Again, leave Jana alone. Don’t fucking talk to me.
I’m tired of repeating myself. You’re a liar, a cheat, a stupid bitch, and a gold digger.
You pitched a fucking fit because Diesel fucked every club girl he ever fucking met. And you—”
“You don’t understand,” Tabitha screamed.
Rebel rolled her eyes. “I understand monogamy. I understand loyalty. As wretched as Uncle Johnnie is, Aunt Kendall is loyal to him and doesn’t want him killed.
He doesn’t deserve her. He deserves to die alone on a deserted island with nothing but sand.
No trees. Nothing to protect him from the sun. No fresh water.”
“Can I write that down in my book of death, Blonde Viper?” Axel asked.
“Is there a fucking deserted island as I described it?” Rebel asked.
“Grant, I got the first sensing way you can spend your money,” Axel said. “Make Reb’s death island.”
“Sensible,” Diesel corrected.
“I think we need one with plots of land to bury motherfuckers,” Ransom said. “Sand is too easy.”
“Not when you bake motherfuckers in the sun,” Ryan suggested.
Before anyone responded—without a motherfucking resolution for a goddamn thing—Celia walked in and announced dinner was served.