Christopher
Meggie searched everywhere in the bedroom that she could think of, even under the bed.
She used the flashlight on her phone to check under the sofa.
She checked the refrigerator and the entertainment cabinet.
In the bathroom, she rifled through drawers, in cabinets, around the bathtub, under the sofa.
She did the same in her closet, searching through her many purses, trying to remember the ones she’d used in the past few days.
That hadn’t happened. Meggie had gotten distracted by Ryder and Ransom, taking turns to dance with her and tell her jokes. Then she’d helped the other women clean up. Whatever mess was made after the family cleared out would be up to the club girls to handle.
Most of the official Dweller girls were older and generally stayed away from Diesel’s parties. They’d shown their faces, offered birthday wishes, and left, unable to co-exist with the younger women slowly taking their places at the free-for-alls.
Nyx had been a thorn in Meggie’s side, but she was realizing Nyx wasn’t the only one who thought their word was law. Heidi was fast moving into that position.
Meggie didn’t like most of the new girls. Tennysee was about the only one she could tolerate, but she hung with Tauriel and Fia. She couldn’t imagine what any of them would do if they got their hands on Rebel’s videos. They’d overlook Harley and Mattie involvement. But Rebel?
Ryan needed beating every hour of every day for the rest of his miserable life.
Huffing, Meggie realized she’d been searching blindly, not focusing on anything in particular. Just rifling through cabinets and drawers, her mind wandering.
She was just about to head to her office and search when a knock came on her door. At first, she ignored it, lost in her emotions. She took her pill early in the morning, so she never brought her prescriptions to her office. Meaning if they were there, Christopher put them there.
That foolish, foolish man!
Growling, she thrust her fingers through her hair and huffed.
The knock came again. “Come in!” she ordered.
Rebel peeked her head in. “Is this a bad time, Momma?”
Meggie narrowed her eyes. Her daughter looked as if she hadn’t slept a wink, although she knew that wasn’t true. As soon as she got home from Diesel’s party, she’d gone to check on her, but Rebel was asleep.
Or had she feigned sleep to escape talking to Meggie? Maybe she needed space. Whatever drove her behavior last night at Diesel’s party…
“I-I can come back.” She started to back away.
“No, love,” Meggie said quickly and waved her daughter in. “I always have time for you.”
After closing the door, Rebel barreled to Meggie and threw her arms around her, almost knocking her off her feet with the force of her movements. It didn’t matter that Rebel was taller than Meggie by seven inches. She leaned into her, silently asking for a mother’s comfort.
“Talk to me, love,” Meggie encouraged, rubbing Rebel’s back and stroking her hair. “What happened?”
“Oh, Momma,” Rebel said, not in tears, but very despondent. “I don’t know where to begin.”
Meggie heaved in a breath, bracing herself for whatever Rebel would tell her. “Start with what Diesel did to you.”
“Oh, Momma,” Rebel repeated again.
Meggie’s heart sank. Taking Rebel’s hand, she led her to the sofa and sat down, then pulled Rebel next to her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Whatever you have to tell me.”
Laying her head on Meggie’s shoulder, Rebel shuddered. “I trusted him so much.”
“I know,” she said, keeping her dark thoughts at bay to help Rebel. Once she got the entire story, then she’d plan Diesel’s murder. “Talk to me. You can tell me anything—”
“Diesel—”
“Mom!” Axel yelled, pounding on the door, interspersed with a few kicks. “We’re hungry. MOM! Open up. A man needs to eat.”
“Hungry, MegAnn,” Gunner called.
Rebel’s shoulders slumped. “It’s okay, Momma. I shouldn’t have bothered you—”
“MOM!” Axel screamed. “Click up, men. Let’s storm Mom’s room.”
“Get dressed, Mom,” Ryder said. “We’re about to come in.”
Rebel recoiled, so Meggie jumped to her feet and ran to the door, throwing it open. Ryder, Ransom, and Axel stood in front of her door with their arms linked, preparing to kick. Gunner was just behind them, screaming happily.
“Give me twenty minutes,” she said, glad she’d showered and dressed. “I’ll be down to start breakfast.”
“You’re already late,” Ransom said.
“What happened to learning how to cook?” Meggie asked irritably, when she always tried to have patience with her children, but Rebel needed her. Yes, she was late preparing breakfast. However, they could’ve gotten yogurt or fruit to tide them over.
“Stand down, men,” Axel ordered, and unlinked his arms from his brothers. “What’s the matter? Why haven’t you come down?” He narrowed his eyes. “Did Dad do you something?”
“I’m fine,” Meggie swore. “Your sister and I are talking.”
“Fine,” Axel said with a long-suffering sigh. “I guess I’ll allow that.”
“What time is Bishop coming home?” Ransom asked. “Why isn’t he cooking this morning?”
“I gave him the day off,” Meggie said.
“And Diesel?” Axel asked. “He didn’t come home last night.”
“He’s probably with Jana in the treehouse.”
“Nope. We checked.” Ryder beckoned her forward. “We looked at the cameras because we thought Bishop left. Only Dad went out of the gate. Bishop and Diesel didn’t come home.” He leaned closer to her ear. “And neither did Kaia.”
Diesel, Bishop, and Jana staying out didn’t bother Meggie. Only one person at the club would tempt him into not coming home.
Fia.
“I see.” Anger flashed through Meggie, but she cleared her throat and nodded. “I’ll be down as soon as I can.”
Her boys nodded.
She hugged Ryder. “Thanks for your discretion, son.”
Ryder smiled. “Reb’s sad enough. It might be nothing, but Fia was there and rumor has it she likes Kaia and still hates Rebel.”
“Facts will be her gruesome death if she hurts Rebel,” Meggie said flatly.
Axel’s eyes lit up. “Fist bump, Mom.”
Meggie obliged, then sent them off and returned to the room, where Rebel had curled up on the sofa.
“I can help you with breakfast, Momma,” Rebel offered. “We can talk then.”
“It’ll never happen. Your brothers will take over the conversation.” Meggie sat next to Rebel again, wanting to find Kaia but needing to know about Diesel. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“Diesel set me up,” she started without preamble. “He was mad at me.”
“Did you insult Jana?” Even if she had, it didn’t give Diesel the right to hurt Rebel. Frankly, Rebel’s protectiveness toward Jana shocked Meggie. “I’ll talk to him—”
“I kissed Kaia,” Rebel admitted, and explained about the spin the bottle game, and her reasons for it.
She told Meggie how Diesel barged in, right after she and Kaia kissed.
“At first he was angry because I stole his bottle of champagne, but then he was livid because Kaia kissed me.”
If Kaia had spent the night with Fia after kissing Rebel…yeah, no. Anger burned into Meggie.
“I’m sorry, Momma. Don’t be angry with Kaia, and I see how red you’re turning.
” Rebel hugged Meggie again. “But Diesel was so mean. I trusted him. I…he convinced me to go to the natatorium. He told me…I knew…his words sounded like a threat. And…and they were. He lured me in there so I could see him and Jana together. He knew what happened to me…how hard it was for me to go in that room,” she sobbed, holding Meggie tightly.
Clenching her jaw, Meggie held Rebel close, her burning fury lessening just enough to sing a couple of lullabies to her daughter, the way she once did.
When Rebel calmed herself, she gave a play-by-play of how Diesel convinced her to go into the natatorium.
“Reb—”
Another knock came on her door. Irritated, Meggie released Rebel and went to the door.
“Hey, Mom,” CJ said when she opened it. “Axel said he’s already come upstairs, so maybe you’d start breakfast for me. Will you? We’re all really hungry.”
“You know how to cook, CJ.”
He grinned at her. “They don’t want my subpar cooking, though. They want the best.”
Meggie laughed and shook her head. “I’ll be there, potato. I promise.” Not waiting for CJ’s response, she closed the door and returned to Rebel. She knew what she had to do. “Pack, sweetheart. You and I are going to LA.”
Rebel straightened. “Really?”
“We’ll see Rule tomorrow and I’ll take you back to Rodeo Drive to shop Tuesday. In between, you and I can have some mother/daughter time.”
Tears brightened Rebel’s eyes. “Are you sure, Momma? You don’t have to leave on my account.”
“I most certainly do. We can unpack everything together without all the interruptions.”
Rebel got to her feet. “Okay. Thank you so much.” She hesitated, a rare occurrence for her.
“What, love?” Meggie prompted.
“I think we should invite Jana. She probably needs a little girl time, too. And we can finally buy her wardrobe since dickhead doesn’t seem inclined to.”
“I’m going away for you, sweetheart. You need me.”
“I do.” She swallowed. “A lot, but I feel so bad for Jana. As much as it annoys me to do so. I wish I could hate her just as I intended.”
“Relationships are complicated,” Meggie told her.
“It doesn’t matter what type they are. No one seems to remember feelings are involved even if it doesn’t pertain to romance.
If it is that important to you, I’ll invite her.
Just remember, my love. She’s grown. You are only on the cusp of adulthood.
She made the decision to attach herself to Diesel and his lifestyle.
I’m so proud of you for accepting Jana so readily.
She calls your daddy ‘Uncle Christopher. Would you have a problem if she calls me ‘Aunt Meggie’?”
“No, Momma.”
“Whether she comes with us, I will talk to her when we return about how she needs to stand up for herself. This trip is for you.”
“Thank you, Momma. I love you so much, and I’m sorry that I did that stuff on camera to make you ashamed of me.”