Chapter Thirty-One—Matilda #2
“In his own way,” Mattie conceded, just as Daddy loved everyone. “I just wish…I wish I’d handled his attitude better.”
“We both could’ve handled our shit better, Matt,” Ryan responded. “Stop beating yourself up.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good. So are you ready to leave?” Ryan asked. “We came to force you from your seat.”
“You can fucking try.” Smiling, she tossed her hair over her shoulder, relived to get back on track—the boys in the family trying to strong arm the girls to their way of thinking.
“I want a second biscotti.” She hadn’t enjoyed the one she’d paid for.
It was stale. “Kaia, be a doll and order me another one, please.”
Kaia hesitated. Clearly, he didn’t want to offend her. Nor did he want to lose face with the guys. She didn’t care, since she had to help his dumb ass to keep his stupid secret. She was sick of dummies.
Before he decided, CJ walked up.
Mattie beamed at him. “Can I know the contents of your lurve letter from a certain smitten teacher?”
He flipped her off, and she giggled.
“LeBan sent you a note?” Ryan’s eyes widened. “Dude! Legend.”
“Woof, woof,” Narci barked.
“That’s my dog,” Bishop said.
“What does she want?” Diesel asked.
CJ glanced at her.
Resting her arms on the table, Mattie leaned forward. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”
“This is dude talk.” Ryan pointed toward the open entrance, soon to be closing and shuttered with a security gate. “Out.”
“Nope. This is my table, so find your own and leave me in peace. I was minding my own business.”
“Mattie’s one of us. It’s cool,” CJ announced. “Ember wants to cook dinner for me tomorrow.”
“She’ll show you her collection of crochet pieces,” Diesel said. “Compliment her decent cooking skills and she’ll reward you with her excellent oral skills.”
Maybe Mattie wasn’t one of them. She was the only one who frowned. She also reassessed her goodwill toward both Diesel and Kaia.
Because, frankly, who hadn’t Diesel slept with? He was a next level man whore with questionable judgment. If Kaia wasn’t as raggedy, Mattie wouldn’t have been so concerned about him and Rebel. Fuck, a mongrel with a passel of bitches and puppies was better than Diesel.
CJ grabbed a chair from a nearby table, placed it next to her and sat. “My Nintendo Switch is upstairs. I bought you and Rebel one,” he whispered to her. “Rebel was setting hers up when I left. Why don’t you yours? When I come back upstairs, I won’t beat the two of you too bad at Mario Kart.”
“What do you have to talk about?”
“Nothing,” he said cheerfully.
“Will you tell me if I ask really nice?”
“We’re planning a surprise.”
Mattie perked up. “For who? I can help!”
Grant tugged her hair. “I guarantee you can’t, Matt.”
At the sight of Daddy breezing in. Mattie tensed, her contentment fleeing.
Though Daddy didn’t always succeed at playing nice, she couldn’t imagine his reaction at finding her surrounded by boys…men…boys and men.
She slid down, praying for the ability to disappear into thin air or have the floor open up and swallow her.
Greeting the bikers protracted his arrival. By the time he arrived at the table and noticed her, she was almost hyperventilating.
He froze.
Fearing humiliation but knowing she couldn’t stop his vitriol, she pasted a smile on her lips. “Hi, Daddy,” she said, opting for cheeriness, but falling short of her goal. She sounded frightened.
“Mattie,” he said with a nod. “What are you doing here? I thought you were at the hospital to be with Rebel and Megan.”
“I-I am. But…but I wanted a biscotti and a cappuccino.”
His brows lifted and his mouth tightened. He’d never believe she hadn’t sought out any of the guys in her company, even her cousins.
“A biscotti and cappuccino,” Daddy echoed.
She nodded.
“You couldn’t take it to the room?”
Licking her lips, she shook her head, unable to detect his mood. She didn’t know if he felt any pain from his missing fingers or if he needed to rest. A tremble surged through her. “Any particular reason why, Matilda?”
His questions sounded innocuous, but she knew better. “I needed a moment to myself.”
Her father glanced at all the guys except CJ and Bishop, then back at her. “Unless my eyes are deceiving me, you aren’t alone.”
“It’s because we were trying to get the table from her, Uncle Johnnie,” Ryan volunteered. “Convince her to leave.”
“Did I ask you, nephew?”
Although Ryan glanced away, anger wafted from CJ.
Daddy smirked. “You have something to say to me, CJ?”
“Fortunately, no, uncle. I’m in great pain answering you.”
“You’re a disrespectful little motherfucker.”
“And you’re a fucking asshole, so we’re even.”
Mattie gasped and laid her hand over CJ’s, offering silent support and cringing at Daddy’s glacial glare.
“So fucking high and mighty, nephew.” He sounded just short of adding tsk-tsk and transferred his glower to Diesel. “I had a very interesting conversation with your wife recently.”
“Good for you,” Diesel said, bored.
If Mattie had heard the rumors about Diesel’s violence against enemies, Daddy had, too. Two things came to her: Diesel considered Daddy the enemy and Diesel wanted to kill her father.
Badly.
The savagery in his gray eyes frightened her.
“Talking to her might be good for me,” Daddy barked, “but I’m sure it’s bad for you.”
“I’m done with that cunt,” Diesel said, not falling for the bait. “Talk to her for the rest of your fucking life. I don’t care.”
“You should.” Daddy smiled. “Call off your little brother or I swear to Christ I’ll tell Christopher about you and Rebel.”
Diesel cocked his head to the side. “What about me and Rebel?”
“Don’t pretend you’re fucking ignorant,” Daddy sneered. “You know what the fuck I mean because you flaunted Rebel in front of Tabitha.”
Diesel stiffened and balled his fists at his side. “Are you fucking implying I’ve slept with Rebel?” Fury layered his outrage.
CJ stood. “You know what, Uncle Johnnie?”
Daddy really thought he had one up on CJ. He couldn’t even detect the exasperation Mattie clearly heard in her cousin’s voice.
“What, nephew?”
“I won’t ask you why the fuck you met that bitch for her to say any fucking thing about my little sister, but you’re a jackass to believe a woman as untrustworthy as her. You know Rebel. You don’t know Tabitha from jack, motherfucker, so fuck you and your stupidity.”
“I’m an officer of the fucking club!” Daddy roared, on the verge of an apoplectic fit. “You talk to me with such disrespect and you have repercussions. A fucking stomping.”
Lightheaded at the violence brewing around her, Mattie covered her mouth with her hands.
Somehow, the place got even quieter. Everyone shifted. Except Diesel. He planted himself next to CJ, a Caldwell boy to the bone at that moment.
“Yeah, well fuckhead, luckily, I’m not a fucking member,” CJ said, not intimidated in the least. “This is family business, not club business. You fucking touch me and I’ll lay you the fuck out.
Don’t fuck with me. I’m sick of you, Kaia, and motherfucking Diesel.
You all want to fuck with Rebel and she hasn’t done a motherfucking thing, you bunch of fuckheads.
” He glared at Diesel. “I wonder where that cunt got that idea to smear Rebel’s name, you stupid motherfucker. ”
“Not from me, CJ,” Diesel snarled, not showing CJ the grace he’d given Mattie. “Watch your fucking accusations, motherfucker.”
“Fuck you,” CJ barked, toe-to-toe with his brother. “You didn’t fucking discourage her. You’re leaving Tabitha and she’s still playing her fucking games because she sees a fucking child as competition. Rebel’s over her crush, so tell that bitch to fuck off.”
Mattie appreciated CJ’s quick fudging of the facts, while still reading Diesel. What she didn’t like was how everything, every blessed situation, turned into a fist fight or a war of words. Mostly because of something her father instigated.
In case he didn’t realize it, he couldn’t win against CJ and his brothers. They might try to kill each other, but they’d quickly band together to defeat an outside enemy.
And Daddy definitely counted as that.
“Get the fuck upstairs now, Matilda,” Daddy ordered.
Arguing would do her no good, so Mattie jumped to her feet and hurried away, glad she’d escaped so easily.