Chapter 18 – Kaia
Axel stood still after Meggie left, then swiped away the tears on his wet cheeks and ran to the door. Opening it, he peeked out, then backed up and closed it before turning to Kaia and folding his arms.
As it went, Kaia shouldn’t fear Axel. He was a kid, small for his age, while Kaia was an ex-football player and much bigger. But Axel was already a violent little motherfucker. He’d bombed Diesel’s bathroom after beating his ass with a belt.
“What’s the matter?” Kaia asked cautiously, wishing Diesel had been fucking blown up. “We can go on that walk.”
“I heard,” he announced, anger blanketing his face.
Kaia swallowed, cleared his throat, and started to sweat. “Uh, what did you hear?” he asked, playing dumb.
“I already know you’re a real stupid motherfucker, different from CJ. You write that poetry. That’s an automatic upper over you.”
“Uh, one-up?”
Axel stormed to him and kicked him.
“Ouch, fuck!”
“Do not correct me or I’ll add another punishment to you.”
“I’m not sure—”
Axel’s little boot connected with his shin. “You know exactly what I heard. If I was Mom, I’d have Fia drawn and quartered like they did in Medieval times.”
Fuck.
“Axel—”
The moment Axel’s foot moved, Kaia scrambled back, out of his range.
Glaring at him, Axel lifted his shirt, dug into his pants, and pulled out his slingshot before fishing out a rock from a pocket. He placed the rock in position and aimed it at Kaia’s head.
“Do not move until you hear what I got to say.”
He wouldn’t hurt Axel, but he would try to disarm him the first chance he got. “I’m listening,” he said, eyeing Axel from head-to-toe.
“Diesel’s teaching me about what to do with enemies. You can’t get this from me because I won’t let you.”
“You’re smaller than me.”
“But I got the rock.”
Surrendering for now, Kaia held up his hands. It might humor the kid anyway. “I’m listening.”
“Reb’s really cool and I love her a lot. Fia don’t like Rebel, fuckface. You did the same thing with her those dudes do to those girls in the porn stuffs.”
Kaia squinted. “Uh—”
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear your raggedy fucking voice. Cuz you know what? Diesel’s lost his fucking mind and now you. No, first it was Rule, then Diesel, now you. All that does is hurt Reb, so half a dog, you don’t care about my sister at all.”
Offended beyond belief, Kaia stiffened. “I’m not a fucking dog and I’m insulted you called me that.”
“You’re not my problem. I don’t give a fuck if you got insulted feelings.
You’re going to hurt Rebel and that’ll upset Mom and that’ll make her leave cuz Dad’s King of Stupids, and you, CJ, Devon, Rory, and Diesel are his subjects.
And you are a fucking half a dog. Rebel’s the other half, fuckbag, cuz you don’t got the fucking sense to say you’re not Chi and she’s not Huahua. ”
Oh.
“I’m grown, Axel. I have needs.”
“How long you been grown, Kaia?”
“I’m almost twenty, so nearly two years.”
“Then you was fucking grown when you met my sister. And you was fucking grown when you and her became two halves of a little dog.”
“I made a mistake.”
“The first time when you trusted Diesel, yeah. This time? No.”
“You weren’t even there.”
“Rebel’s mad at Diesel. He’s not going to fuck with her again until she forgives him.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Do you make fucking sense?”
“I’m not Diesel.”
“Diesel’s one of a kind, so you aren’t. You still don’t make sense more than him.”
“I wouldn’t get Rebel to forgive me then fuck with her again. Unless you meant something else…?”
“I spoke those words. I meant them,” he said flatly.
“Then explain Diesel’s reasoning to me. Or do you know or even understand?”
“You can’t figure it out?”
“Can you?” Kaia shot back smugly.
“Please, motherfucker. I’m the one that asked the question. Why would I ask a question like that if I don’t got the answer?”
Fuck, he had a point.
“Diesel’s a perv with Reb,” Axel said. “She can’t be happy with nobody else if that motherfucker do stuffs to keep her upset.
That also keeps him on her mind. He’s revved it all up since you and Jana came, especially since Reb seems to like Jana.
That makes him dislike Jana. I wish I could teach her to stand up to him.
That’s the only way to act-counter Diesel.
He don’t like girls who give in and lets him do whatever he wants. ”
Kaia remained silent. He’d always been paid to do whatever a girl told him.
“I’m going to lower my slingshot. My fucking arms are tired. Don’t make me regret my decision. Diesel said sometimes you got to de…de…not be comfortable—”
“Deprive,” Kaia supplied.
“He used another word.”
“Deprivation?”
“That’s the one,” Axel said, lowering the slingshot.
Kaia closed his eyes in thanks, releasing the breath he’d been holding, anticipating Axel’s shooting that rock off.
“Let’s talk man-to-man,” Axel said, his face as serious as his voice. “Because I will kill you if Mom ends up leaving because of you. You’re nothing to me. Not even my friend, so I’m not going to give you a punishment that saves your life.”
“We’re going to hang out together the next couple days—”
“Don’t matter.” Axel climbed onto the bed and plopped next to him. “I gave you three chances. Strike one was that fucking poetry. Strike two was you calling Rebel half a dog. Strike three is this. You’re out of chances. If you do something else, you won’t survive.”
“You’re a kid. You can’t kill anyone.”
Axel shrugged. “Maybe, but Diesel’ll do it for me.”
That motherfucker sure would. A chill went through Kaia.
“This is what you’re doing. Whenever we have dinner, you’re asking Reb about that school, then you’re accepting Mom’s offer.”
“Rebel might not want me to leave.”
“Rebel might be upset now, but she’d be really hurt if she found out about Fia.
And Fia is going to make Rebel find out.
Mom might think she’ll keep it to herself, but those girls aren’t nice.
Most of them, anyway. Well, the younger ones.
They’re jealous of Mom and Reb cuz of Dad and Diesel.
You can’t go higher than being on the back of the president’s bike.
That’ll never happen cuz of Mom, so they don’t like her cuz they think she’s not letting them get to Dad.
And Diesel? Look at Rebel wrong and he goes psycho.
None of them will ever have his loyalty like Rebel, and that’s saying a lot cuz that motherfucker is barely loyal to her. ”
“You know all this how?”
Axel glowered at him, then pointed to his eyes. “Cuz I can fucking see. I grew up in the club and I hear a lot of stuffs. Maybe if you stop trying to be Chi and just be Kaia to her, you’ll open your fucking eyes too.”
“Those our pet names.”
“Cringe all around. You aren’t actual fucking pets, fuckbag. I would tell you to find new ones, but Rebel’s attached to that one. I gave her a bunch of new ones and she wouldn’t change Chi and Huahua.”
“I’m not following your advice. You’re confusing me.”
Axel slapped his palm against his forehead. “Oh, brother. Do a man got to do everything, even lend you my fucking brain? Rebel likes you, dickbreath. She will be sad you’re leaving but she’ll be happy Mom is paying for college for you.”
“You think?”
Axel rolled his eyes. “That’s why Mom told you to talk to Rebel,” he said irritably. “She knows Rebel.”
Kaia frowned. “Meggie played me?”
“You don’t get to be butt-hurt. You played Reb. Mom might’ve played you, but not too much since she’d be paying for your tuition and all your fucking expenses. Don’t be stupider.”
Fuck, Axel was right, but it still stung. “I don’t think she wanted me to know her game.”
“Probably not. If you tell her I told you, I’ll make you pay.”
“Then you shouldn’t have told me. Besides, I don’t have to ask Rebel a fucking thing. I can just decline Meggie’s offer.”
“I told you to grow your brain cuz you don’t got no sense. Somebody needs to do you a favor.”
“I wish you’d stop calling me stupid. I think I’m reasonably intelligent.”
“Four things you aren’t intelligent about and those are the most important if you really like being around us.”
“I’m listening,” Kaia huffed around a yawn.
“Rebel, Diesel, the club girls, and Mom. If you can’t figure them out, leave and never come back.”
In spite of himself, Kaia thought about Fia. How she didn’t deserve the wrath she might face because he’d been drunk and in need of a fuck. He didn’t want to leave. As much of a rough time as the guys gave him, Meggie, Rebel, Jana, and Bunny accepted him for who he was.
It never occurred to him that Outlaw would come to the club. His head had been filled with their spectacular sex.
“I see you’re thinking.”
“Not about what you said.”
Axel gave him a disapproving look. “Then what was it?”
He couldn’t reveal everything, so he simply said, “I didn’t think your dad would come to the club.”
Axel blinked. And blinked some more, fluttering his eyelashes with too much exaggeration to Kaia’s way of thinking. Suddenly, he roared with laughter, then stopped and glared at him. “You didn’t think Dad would go to his club?”
“I don’t ever remember him going so early on a Sunday.”
“You haven’t lived with us long enough to know all the different times Dad goes.
Although I still don’t understand why you slept with Fia, I see why you didn’t hide it right.
Which you couldn’t have because you did it in front of Diesel.
As soon as Rebel forgives him, he will find you and hold what you did over your hair for the rest of your fucking life. ”
“Uh, head?”
“Your hair is above your head.”
“My hair is on my head.”
“It’s still growing out of it, stupid.”
“I don’t care. That isn’t how the saying goes.”
Axel punched Kaia’s shoulder. “I’m tired of you motherfuckers correcting me about sayings that don’t make no fucking sense.”
“Not to you. Most have been around for a very long time.”