Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
“No.” Dad’s jaw clenched. “I put her through enough. Almost losin’ you…” Blowing out a breath, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I never wanna hear your ma scream the way she did. Beg God, Big Joe, Dinah, fuck anyfuckinbody who might hear her, to save you.”
CJ’s stomach twisted at the thought of his mother’s distress, especially after the turmoil of the past few weeks.
“Diesel said we should get two silver platters and put lettuce and shit on it under Gail’s and Joplin’s heads, then present them to Megan.”
“Yeah, because Diesel’s a fucking psycho,” CJ snapped. “I hope you told him no.”
Dad shrugged. “Once he fuck them up, he storin’ their heads in the meatshack refrigerator until your ma tell me what to do.”
Uncle Mort and Uncle Digger exchanged glances. Uncle Digger looked a little sick. As well he fucking should, though CJ kept his mouth shut.
“Outlaw!” Uncle Mort said. “Didn’t Meggie get a fucking head from Cee Cee once? Wouldn’t that shit trigger her?”
Dad thought for a moment. “You right, Mort. I am gonna save their heads once Diesel finish ‘til I know where to send those motherfuckers cuz I think something else goin’ on.”
“It doesn’t matter, Dad. You’ve always taught me about fairness. Narci—”
“Been supplyin’ Diesel with fucking coke, CJ. Flirted with your ma. Fucked with you . I watched fuckin’ footage. I know what those motherfuckers been doin’.” He glared at Uncle Digger. “The way they talked about Megan. I can kill whoever the fuck I wanna and your ma not sayin’ shit.”
“Dad, you were just saying you want your sweet angel back!”
“Let her come back after I finish killin’.” Dad smiled. “Ain’t had this high a body count in fuckin’ years.”
Uncle Digger stumbled to a chair and sat, leaning forward and hanging his head. He laughed nervously. “I’m fuckin’ glad we family. If I accidentally talk about her, I won’t get fucked up.”
“How the fuck you accidentally talk about somebody, fool?” Uncle Mort demanded.
“Listen up, if you accidentally talk about my woman, I’m gonna purposely fuck you up.”
“You must’ve misunderstood Mom,” CJ said.
“Yeah, Outlaw,” Uncle Digger inserted on a gulp.
“Meggie a sweet, kind chick.” He grabbed some tissue from the box on the rolling table and dabbed his brow.
“Without her influence, you would kill if a motherfucker blinked wrong. But she know she keep you grounded, so…so…she’d never give you the freedom to kill at will. ”
“She did. You was there, motherfucker. You heard her,” Dad said flatly. Not caring that Uncle Digger looked on the verge of fainting, he turned back to CJ and Uncle Mort. “That fuckin’ doctor Johnnie and Rory dismemberin’ right now a new hire at the hospital.”
Jesus Christ, Dad had gone fucking insane.
“Fuck,” Uncle Digger said in a strangled voice.
“His name was Mason Hough. Stretch lookin’ into his records.
I ain’t able to find no link back to Bash,” Dad said in a pained voice.
“I just feel in my gut, that motherfucker playin’ fuckin’ games.
Whether he wanna do serious harm or he just wanna run fuckin’ circles around Johnnie, I ain’t too sure. ”
The statement lost CJ. “Why would he waste his time and resources just to make a fool out of Uncle Johnnie?”
“Cuz Johnnie a stupid motherfucker and Bash just wanna prove that fuckin’ point.”
That made sense. CJ trusted his father to figure it out.
“Dad, please don’t kill Narci, Potter, Bishop, and Torrin.
Please. Or Nyx, Fia, and Tennysee. Unless you prove they are in cahoots with Bash, they are innocent.
You’ve made the people truly responsible pay already.
When Mom sees I’m fine, she’ll tell you not to kill them, too. ”
“I ain’t too sure she ever will, son.” Dad glanced in her direction again. “We just pushed her too fuckin’ far.”
“So, what does that mean?” CJ asked. “You’re just going to kill indiscriminately now? Why don’t you just hand Mom a gun and let her fuck up motherfuckers?”
Dad and Uncle Mort exchanged thoughtful expressions.
“No! I’m not serious,” CJ cried. “Have you lost your fucking mind? This is Mom we’re talking about. She can’t be a cold-blooded killer. She’s not a cold-blooded killer. Only you can talk to her, Dad. We all know when things calm down she’s going to regret ordering the deaths of innocent men.”
Dad wasn’t convinced. It was written all over his face. Whatever Mom said, however she’d reacted had a profound effect on him. CJ could only appeal to his father’s sense of fairness.
“You don’t kill women. You don’t kill innocent men. No matter who tells you to do it. That isn’t you. You’re fairer than that.”
Dad gave CJ a severe look. “I kill any motherfucker who hurt or upset your ma. And, maybe, part of it’s guilt for how I hurt Megan with Torie.
Maybe, if I woulda killed that cunt weeks ago, I’d feel more mercy now.
Or, maybe, Megan wouldn’t be so fuckin’ crushed by what the fuck I did, how much I humiliated her, she wouldn’t want revenge.
After almost losin’ her life, almost losin’ Jo, puttin’ up with my fuckery, the unfuckinthinkable happened.
” He glanced at the ceiling. “I realized it was you before your ma. If she hadn’t fuckin’ collapsed, I probably woulda.
” He looked at CJ. “You her pride, boy. She just love you so fuckin’ much, and those bitches tried to take you from her.
They used you to hurt her. If I gotta kill a hundred motherfuckers to make it up to her, to make her feel vindicated , that’s what the fuck I’m gonna do and I ain’t givin’ a good fuck who the fuck it is. ”
He backed toward the door. “Mort, wake up Megan, while I go see how much longer CJ discharge papers gonna be. Tell her we rollin’ out soon.”
“Mom needs to eat, Dad.”
“I’m gonna feed her before I leave. Just give me a few minutes.” Dad turned and walked out .
“Mort, what we going to do?” Uncle Digger’s voice trembled. “Prez reverting back to the way he was in the year after he killed Big Joe.”
CJ couldn’t imagine his father as a careless and cold-blooded killer. Everything Dad did had a purpose. “How was that?”
“He just didn’t give a fuck about his life or nobody else’s.” Uncle Mort scrubbed a hand over his face. “Not until Meggie put him back together and saw the good in him.”
CJ glanced at his mother, now on her back, her face turned toward them. She looked peaceful, even with the circles ringing her eyes.
“Let’s get you home, CJ,” Uncle Mort said. “I’m going to talk to Meggie girl, then we just pray shit settle down for your momma and daddy. Otherwise, we all fucking doomed.”