Chapter Seven – Ryan #3
“Is that what the fuck you’re focusing on, Rory?
” Devon asked. “Dude, your priorities are serious fucked.” Shaking his head in disapproval, he turned to Ryan again.
“Aunt Meggie and Aunt Bailey are cousins, and Cee Cee Caldwell was a fucking charter member of the Death Dwellers. There might not only be a target on Aunt Meggie’s back, but also Aunt Bailey’s.
Rebel’s.” He gave him a pointed look. “Harley’s.
If you couldn’t fix your mouth to explain shit, you could’ve showed Uncle Christopher and Uncle Mortician the websites. ”
“You’re a fucking liar, Ryan,” Rory cut in. “My dad told me he removed the information.”
“As his dutiful son, of course you believe him,” Devon said sarcastically.
“Shut up, Devon,” Rory snapped. “I tried to confess to CJ, but he was distracted by the Terrible Triplets. If he hadn’t been they would’ve let mice gnaw my dad to death. After that, I never worked up the courage again…” His voice trailed off and his eyes widened.
So did Ryan’s and Devon’s.
“Those three can’t ever know,” Rory said faintly. “Ever.”
“What about CJ?” Devon asked.
Unlike with the Rory situation, he’d consider this personal.
“We need to deconstruct this one at a time,” Devon said, setting his phone next to him. “First, call Willard. Ask about Molly.”
Bleakness filled him, so Ryan couldn’t think of a reason not to follow his brother’s orders. Once he dialed Willard’s number, he placed it on speaker.
“What, cuck?” the overgrown motherfucker demanded.
Once, Ryan had thought him so fucking cool and brave. He’d actually admired him. “Where’s Molly, Willard?”
He snickered. “Around.”
“If I don’t get proof of life in the next hour, the videos end.” Realizing Willard might mention Mattie, Ryan held his breath, then quickly thought of something else to say. “If you want to lose the closest you’ll ever come to a girl like Rebel, that’s on you.”
Willard huffed. “Molly’s here.”
“When am I getting her back?” Ryan demanded, unable to meet either Devon or Rory’s eyes, but feeling the heat of their gazes lasering him. “And if she’s there, I need fucking proof.”
“Where’s my momma? Tell me that, then maybe I’ll send you proof.”
Ryan was so fucking tired of Willard’s games. Humiliating Harley had graduated to almost all of Ryan’s female cousins. Now, he wanted to know his mother’s whereabouts, which Ryan absolutely couldn’t reveal.
“Fuck you,” he snapped. “I’m not playing this game with you. Our deal was for the videos in exchange for Molly’s return. I’ve kept my end of the bargain. You haven’t kept yours.”
“Hold on, twat face.” Indistinguishable sounds traveled on the phone for a moment or two, then a door creaked open.
“Get out, Willard.”
DeLuca?
Ryan shifted, discomfort swirling in him.
“Ryan wants proof this cunt is still alive,” Willard grumbled, “so wake her up.”
“Get the fuck out. I’m not waking her up. She’s in too much pain.”
Ryan swallowed.
“Hold on.” The conversation was background noise, then Willard spoke directly into the phone again. “Taylor?”
“What’s wrong with her?” Ryan demanded.
“None of your fucking business. I’ll send you a photo of her and screenshot the metadata to prove I took it today.
She’s alive and if you want to keep her that way, don’t stop those fucking videos until I say so.
And I’m warning you if you tell anybody, she’ll die a gruesome death,” he spat, then the line went dead.
Neither Ryan, Devon, nor Rory spoke until the photos came through. When it did, they crowded around his chair to see. She was pale and skinny, bloody bandages in three different places on her body.
“They shot her,” Ryan whispered, devastated all over again, his mind racing. “Because of me. I haven’t sent any videos in a couple of days.”
“She looks really bad off, Ry,” Devon said softly.
Rory stumbled to his seat. “I thought…never mind.” He drew in a sharp breath, tears brimming in his eyes. “We…what…my dad…send me that picture. My dad has to help now.”
“What don’t you get about your father, Rory?” Ryan snarled. “That motherfucker isn’t going to help.”
“He wants to be seen as a hero. This is one way to do it,” Rory insisted, intentionally blind where Johnnie was concerned. “He will achieve something that no one else has. Not even Uncle Christopher.”
“Send it,” Devon encouraged Ryan. “It can’t hurt. Rory might be able to get through to him.”
Doubtful, but Ryan capitulated, then asked, “What now?”
A new sense of purpose seemed to fill Rory as he jumped to his feet. “I’ll call you as soon as I talk to my dad,” he said, and rushed away, slamming the front door shut a moment later.
“Do you think he’ll figure out Mattie’s involved too?” Devon asked after a moment of silence.
Glancing away, Ryan shrugged. “He doesn’t ask the right questions.”
“Or, maybe, he’s a little too trusting.”
“Maybe.”
A heartbeat passed, then Devon said, “You never told us what Willard does with those videos.”
“He shows them at the clubhouse bar.”
“Goddamn. Like, seriously?”
“As a heart attack.”
“That’s lame, but you do know how strict child pornography laws are? I’m sure there are tip lines. We don’t have to tell anyone. We can call in an anonymous tip.”
“That would lead right back to me,” Ryan said bleakly. “I use a VPN to send most of the videos, but in the beginning, I sent one or two on my phone. Besides, I’m sure there’d be a shootout. Bash wouldn’t just allow law enforcement onto the property.”
“Why’d you do all this shit, Ryan? Was it even worth it? What the fuck was your end goal? Was it to be in line for Prez? Drive CJ away? Drive CJ insane? What?”
“With Aunt Meggie, Johnnie wanted to drive her away. To save her life. Instead of going to Uncle Christopher, I just didn’t care. I thought it was poetic justice. Everything was always about CJ. He was like the Second Coming.”
A half smile tipped Devon’s lips. “In a way, he was. The second coming of Outlaw. But that’s just it. How people saw him and treated him wasn’t his fault.”
“He didn’t have to eat that shit up. Be good at every fucking thing. Football. Dancing. Fighting. Mario Cart. Charisma. Popularity. It was all so effortless.”
“Wouldn’t you have eaten it up if you were in his place? I would have.”
“You’re jealous of him, too.”
Devon shook his head. “No, bro. How fucking hard is it to live in Outlaw’s shadow?
I wouldn’t want that for all the perfection, or money, in the world.
Think about his bloodlines. The legacy handed down to him.
Grandson of Big Joe Foy and Cee Cee Caldwell.
Legends, all three of them, whether good or bad.
I’m perfectly happy as Dad’s son. I’m perfectly happy taking on a role that supports CJ, but I’d never want to be him. I’d fold under the pressure.”
Ryan considered his brother’s words. “So would I,” he finally admitted. He blinked away his tears. “And I actually like CJ. He isn’t a bad guy at all. Not like me.”
“You aren’t bad, Ry. You’ve made bad choices that’s hurt a lot of people. Did you know they were going to try to kill CJ?”
“No! I swear I didn’t.”
“Would you have done anything differently if you had?”
Ryan opened his mouth to say of course, but Devon held up his hand.
“You wouldn’t have because they still would’ve used Molly against you. You would’ve let him die in hopes of saving her.”
“I wouldn’t have,” Ryan denied, but he knew he would have. The moment he discovered Tom had taken Molly, he regretted his decision and wanted to correct that mistake.
“Everyone’s alive, Ryan,” Devon said quietly. “Even Molly for now, although that can change at any time. You have to work as hard as possible to get her back as soon as possible if Uncle Johnnie doesn’t come through.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
“I’m not,” Devon said, sighing. “That’s Uncle Johnnie, after all. Self-serving and bitter.”
Ryan flushed.
“Yeah, that was a fucking dig because I am angry and I am disappointed that you went so far. But you suffered too. At Eliza’s hands and, now, with the guilt eating at you. I tried to look into what I found on the web. I didn’t know where to start.”
“Aunt Kendall’s handling it.”
“Do you know if Bash plans to move on Aunt Meggie soon?”
“I haven’t heard anything, but my relationship with the Bart brothers has fallen apart, so they wouldn’t clue me in. Neither have I been to Salt Lake City in a while.”
“Mom’s coming back, isn’t she?” Devon asked, jumping from one subject to the next.
He looked shook up and out-of-sorts. “It’s still so fucking early in the morning.
Dad left an about hour ago. I was out back with Hogzilla.
You’re walking around like a zombie. What will we do if she decides she’s better off without us? ”
“Mom loves us.” Of that, Ryan had no doubt. He’d never forget his mother begging for his life. “Aunt Meggie just needed support.”
“Do you think she’s coming back?”
“I hope so,” Ryan said quietly. “She’s a good aunt.”
“I think so, too. What do you think made her leave? It couldn’t have been because of whatever video Uncle Johnnie had you send. How many weeks ago was that? She didn’t leave then, so why now?”
“Do you think Uncle Christopher actually cheated?”
Devon shook his head. “Never. I might be wrong, but have you ever seen how he looks at her? He adores her. I’m thinking it is either because of CJ or Rule, and Uncle Christopher keeping something from her.
Again, I could be wrong, but she’s been so unhappy that CJ won’t go to school.
Honestly, school isn’t the same without him. ”
“No, it isn’t. Neither is football practice.”
“You need to talk to him, Ryan. Once Aunt Meggie’s back. You might be the only one who can get through to him. Tell him that he can’t join the fucking club until he’s eighteen—”
“I’m sure others have already told him. He wouldn’t want to hear it from me.”
“You’re probably right,” Devon grumbled.
“You can tell him if he doesn’t come back to school, you’ll be walking across the stage and he won’t since you’re both in the same graduating class.
You can remind him that even though you two aren’t bitter enemies any more, you always thought you’d have to sit through him graduating first.”
“That might work.”
“You have to try. He needs time away from the club to put everything into perspective. Focusing on school and football could be just what he needs because, for the time being, the club only represents bad memories and trauma.”
“He has to get over that. If he wants to be president, he’ll always have a target on his back. If he can’t come to terms with that, then he shouldn’t be Prez.”
Another sigh escaped Devon. “I wish we could help him.”
“Me, too, Dev,” Ryan croaked.
“You have thirty days to try to fix everything, then you have to tell. Dad, Uncle Christopher, Uncle Mort, whoever. And I’m giving you thirty days in the hopes that Molly will return before then and you can leave that part off.
I’ll just have to ignore how much you’ve fucked over Rebel, Harley, and Mattie. What you’ve done is foul.”
“Are you trying to make me feel better?”
“Words are cheap. No matter what I said, could you feel good about yourself after this fucking travesty?”
“No.”
“But if Molly’s back in thirty days and the cameras are removed, it’ll be our secret.
Either way, though, you have to tell someone so you can save Aunt Meggie.
No more bullshitting, Ryan. Enough suffering has gone on with all the secrets and lies.
Rory won’t say anything because of his dad and you won’t say anything because you’re afraid.
Meanwhile, time’s wasting and the clock’s ticking.
Thirty days is risky. However, you can’t unfuck all you’ve fucked overnight. ”
“What if Molly isn’t back? What then? If I reveal Bash’s plans and she’s still alive, he’ll certainly kill her.”
“Molly’s a sweet girl, Ry,” Devon said quietly and bowed his head, thinking for a moment before looking at Ryan again.
“But she is just a girl I’ve known for a little while.
Aunt Meggie is our aunt. I, for one, want to be a part of the club when I’m older.
Sometimes, that calls for tough choices, even as a regular member.
This is one of those times. If Molly has to die to save Aunt Meggie, then that’s how it has to be.
After all, who handed her over in the first place? ”
Not wanting to hear anymore, Ryan got to his feet and walked away from his little brother without another word.