misunderstoodebook (19 page)

Coward gripped Johnnie. He was big, too. At least six feet and he weighed as much as a blue whale. The more Johnnie struggled, the tighter Coward’s hold became and the harder the punches of the other two became.

A fist landed against Johnnie’s temple and he saw stars. The other guy punched Johnnie’s jaw.
Fuck!
That HURT.

“Still wanna defend him?” Coward snarled.

A blow to the stomach sent shudders through Johnnie’s body. He was getting beaten to a pulp on Christopher’s behalf. Right then, he disliked Christopher intensely. His cousin had given up on school, given up on their friendship. He didn’t care how much Aunt Patricia, Johnnie and Zoann loved him. No, he was too focused on all the people who
didn’t
give a fuck about him.

An arc of steel glinted in the dull day, the only warning one of them had a blade. Not much frightened Johnnie, but dying scared the shit out of him. He twisted in Coward’s arm, yelping at the jab of the knife point in his shoulder.

“You answering this time?”

“Fuck off.” He spat a stream of blood, cringing at the thought of losing teeth. So far, so good, but if they kept beating his ass, he’d end up with a broken face and a bald mouth.

The boy who’d stabbed him twisted the blade and Johnnie bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying.

“You’re all fucking dead.” His words cracked and he decided the change in his voice that had started sucked big, hanging, elephant balls. It made him sound like he was about to cry. No matter that he was. His tone didn’t have to give him away. “Christopher and I are cousins. I’ll defend him, to the death if I have to. Just like he’ll defend me.”

“Is that so?” Coward asked and the other two boys sniggered.

“What’s going on here?” an authoritative voice interrupted, and Johnnie sagged in relief when Big Joe walked into his line of vision.

Coward shoved Johnnie out of his arms and stepped back, swallowing. Fear replaced his smugness. “N-nothing, sir.”

Having trouble remaining on his own two feet from all the blows he’d taken and the knife wound, Johnnie squinted at the big, blond man. He ran into him from time-to-time, mostly at his Grandda’s house. Johnnie suspected Big Joe was part of the reason Christopher was pulling away. No matter the man was a criminal, he had embraced Christopher and gave him guidance. Johnnie only wished it had been positive.

“That right, John?” Big Joe asked with a lift of his brow. “Nothing’s going on?”

Johnnie glared at Coward, realizing the two lackeys had run off, leaving the blue whale prototype to face the music alone. “What’s going on is between me and Coward.”

“Don’t call me a fucking coward, jerkoff.”

“Don’t look like it was between you and douche fuck here,” Big Joe commented without inflection. “From my standpoint, it was between you, him, and whoever the fuck was beating you to a pulp.”

Instead of answering, Johnnie asked, “What are you doing here? This isn’t your normal hangout spot.”

“You answer me and I’ll answer you,” Big Joe said in a hard voice, pulling a red bandanna from his head and handing it to Johnnie. “Press that to your shoulder, ‘til we get it seen to.”

“Leonidas and I got into it earlier and I invited him to settle the score after school.” Johnnie held the bandanna in place, not liking the sensation of his warm blood running down his skin or the bright red spreading on his shirt. “He didn’t come out to the meeting, so I left. They were waiting for me on the trail.”

“Stick to Coward,” Big Joe advised, his blue eyes twinkling. “Don’t ever give any fucks the impression you respect them more than they respect you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson with Christopher.”

“Douche fuck,” Big Joe called to Leonidas. “Get the fuck gone. I have business to discuss with Johnnie. If he ever challenge you again, walk the fuck away or man the fuck up and meet him on your own. We clear?”

Nodding with vigor, Leonidas swallowed and began backing away. Three yards away, he turned tail and ran.

Once they were alone, Johnnie eyed Big Joe. “You really have business with me or were you shitting him so he could leave?”

Big Joe started forward, motioning for Johnnie to follow. “I don’t shit around with little assfucks, okay?”

Johnnie nodded. “Okay.”

“You get respect by staying true to your word. Then motherfuckers know whatever you say, you’re going to do. If you can’t back up your words with actions, keep the fuck quiet in the first place.”

The wound in his shoulder throbbed, but the blood had already stopped, so the blade probably hadn’t gone too deep. “I kept my word, Big Joe. Coward didn’t keep his.”

The man shrugged and continued along the tree-lined pathway.

Big Joe had been a patched-in member for over two years now and he wore the cut with pride. Even Johnnie liked the Grim Reaper rocker staring at him with red eyes. “Where’s your bike?”

“At Logan’s,” Big Joe responded. “I wanted to talk to you on your own.”

“What about?”

Coming to an abrupt halt, Johnnie barely had time to stop himself from running into the man. He turned, his brows drawn together. He hooked his thumbs in his pockets and looked away before meeting Johnnie’s gaze again. “Two things,” he announced. “Let’s get to the easiest first. I’m leaving,” he announced.

“L-leaving?” Johnnie echoed, dread pitching through him. If
that
was the easiest, he couldn’t imagine Big Joe’s other news. “Where…um…why?”

“My girl expecting my baby and I’m heading to Seattle. That’s where Dinah’s from and that’s where she wants us to live.”

“What about Christopher?” Unless he was taking his cousin away with him, in which case announcing his departure
was
the easiest news to hear. “Are you taking him?”

A moment of silence passed, then Big Joe rubbed his eyes. “No. Can’t take him with me. Joey’s staying with his momma, too. But that’s one of the reasons I’m here. You and me both love Christopher, right?”

Not at the moment, but he shrugged. “Yeah. Okay.”

Big Joe set a hand on Johnnie’s shoulder, a pained expression crossing his face. “Sometimes, when you love someone, you have to protect them by keeping certain secrets and taking them to your grave.”

Bewildered, Johnnie remained silent.

“I admire Logan,” Big Joe went on, “except for his treatment of his family. Your cousin especially.”

“I’ve talked to Grandda about Christopher. Nothing I say matters to him. As for the rest of us, he loves us.”

“If you say so.”

Johnnie didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing, kid. What I’m about to tell you stays between me, you, and the birds in the trees. Got me?”

Johnnie hunched his shoulders, wincing at the burn of the knife wound. He was tired of standing up and could only ignore his aches and pains from the fight for so long.

“A while back, Logan got into a bit of trouble. Knowing him, he laid the seeds of contention. But everyone’s lives were on the line. All three of his children.”

“Grandda doesn’t have three children. Only my dad and Aunt Patricia.”

Big Joe heaved in a sigh. “No. He had three children. One of them died not long after you were born.”

A funny feeling settled in the pit of Johnnie’s gut and he tensed.

“Logan’s a good man,” Big Joe reiterated. “But even good men fuck up. Every time he looks at Christopher, he sees his fuck-up.”

“Christopher isn’t a fuck—“

“Didn’t mean it like you’re taking it. I’m just saying in Christopher your grandfather sees the mistake he made. Your Aunt Patricia was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Logan owed a family friend money and he took out his frustrations on her to settle the debt. Not that she knows. I’m guessing Logan didn’t imagine she’d end up pregnant.”

Speechless, Johnnie stared into the man’s calm gaze, his mind racing. He couldn’t wrap his head around the thought that his grandfather would allow any man who hurt his aunt to get away with it. Not Grandda. People gave him the utmost respect because he always did what he said he’d do and he always protected his family.

Over the past four years, Johnnie had gotten glimpses of Logan,” the founding member of the Death Dwellers”, but those moments were few and far in between. Even the eyeball situation with Rack had turned out to be false. His Grandda had explained that Rack liked to play practical jokes.

A man who had someone’s eyeball removed would be capable of using his daughter to pay a debt. A man like his Grandda would never do such a thing.

“The other part to this sorry tale is
your
mother.”

“My mother?” he echoed, confused.

“Yes. Logan’s other daughter.”

“A brother and sister can’t make babies together,” Johnnie snapped.

“And a brother and a sister didn’t,” Big Joe stressed. “A brother took his sister’s baby and raised as his own when the sister died.”

Johnnie blinked, tried to think of a response.

“What I’m saying is neither you nor Christopher had a choice in being born. A choice in who your daddy was. You two boys was real close—“

“It’s because of you we aren’t anymore.”

“Did what I thought was best. Didn’t want Christopher waking up one day and getting so jealous of you he’d ruin his relationship with you.”

“So you decided to separate us and ruin it yourself?” Johnnie scoffed.

“I decided to take him under my wing to give him some direction. Your grandfather took care of you.”

“He’ll continue to take care of me, but you’re leaving now, so Christopher is going to be alone all over again.”

Big Joe rocked back on his heels. “Not true. He wasn’t alone before we met and he won’t be alone now. He has you and you have him.”

“I’m in school. He’s dropped out. I’m loyal. He isn’t. I have a family who loves me. He doesn’t.”

“In other words, you’re better than him?”

Johnnie turned Big Joe’s wry question over in his head. Grandda always said he was better than Christopher and wasn’t he being proven right? Christopher would end up being nothing when Johnnie intended to become the head of a corporation. He straightened to his full height, sure in his belief. “Yes. I am.”

Big Joe cocked his head to the side. “Then I suppose this conversation is done,” he said after a moment. “Can’t deal with a little asshole who places himself above lesser mortals like me and Christopher.”

For some reason, this entire conversation unsettled Johnnie and rubbed him the wrong way. He detected so many things left unsaid, but was in no mood to find out what. He scowled. “I didn’t seek you out. You came looking for me.” He stalked around the man and headed toward the open field that backed up onto his grandfather’s property.

Years later, all the pieces to the puzzling conversation clicked into place. At that time, though, justifiable anger almost blinded him.

Big Joe caught up to him and grabbed him by his wounded shoulder, spinning him around.

“Ow!” Johnnie snarled, shoving him back, pain and fury rushing through him. “You big dick, that fucking
hurt.
”

Instead of releasing him, Big Joe squeezed tighter, drawing more blood from the wound. “You ever put your fucking hands on me again, I’ll leave little fucking pieces of you all over the fucking place.” He shook him. “Got me?”

His pride already stung from Leonidas and he had a mixture of betrayal, hurt, and rage at Christopher and
for
Christopher. Now, Big Joe was there, using his size and strength to try and intimidate him.

Johnnie glared at him, ignoring pain so intense he almost trembled. It felt as if Big Joe was digging into the knife wound.

“I said I had
two
things I needed to tell you.”

“I’m through talking to you.”

Big Joe narrowed his blue eyes,
still
not releasing him.
Ass. HOLE.

“Logan’s not in the best frame of mind right now, Johnnie, boy,” he began.

“Nothing new there,” he bit out before he thought about his words, then snapped his mouth shut. Grandda didn’t act mean on purpose and it was betrayal of the worse kind if he spoke badly about him.

Big Joe chuckled. “You little smart ass.” He lessened his grip on Johnnie’s shoulder and heaved in a sigh. “More than normal is what I’m trying to say.”

Johnnie concentrated on making the pain go away. “Why?” he mumbled, drawing in deep breaths.

“Your dad—“ He heaved in another breath and Johnnie flinched at the sorrow blooming in Big Joe’s face. “Your grandfather—“

Grandda had been arguing a lot lately with Johnnie’s dad but Simon was his son. Grandda would overlook Dad’s fighting and thefts from Grandda’s safe, wouldn’t he? He’d heard Dad explain the reasons to Grandda. Two years ago, Johnnie’s mother had been killed and Simon had wanted to forget his wife’s death, so he’d made investments. Not wise investments, though. And not legal ones. He’d needed to repay his debts. Dad had told
everything
to Grandda. He wouldn’t have…Grandda demanded respect, so he might’ve seen Dad’s stealing as disrespectful. He might’ve have killed...No,
he
wouldn’t have…which meant—

Johnnie lunged for Big Joe. “What did you do to my father?”

“Nothing,” the man snarled, shoving Johnnie away without breaking a sweat, although he looked ready to break
Johnnie
.

“Then where is he? The way you started, I thought something had happened to him.”

“Something happened to him all right.” Big Joe’s gaze flickered over him, before he pulled out cigarettes.

Johnnie noticed the man’s bloodied fingers and realized it was
his
blood staining the biker’s hand. “Where’s my father?”

“Dead, Johnnie boy. Simon’s dead. He attacked Logan this morning and your Grandda had no choice but to kill him.”

Chapter 13

Johnnie got on the road and headed out of Hortensia as fog and light mist rolled in. Perhaps, going to Long Beach right now was beneficial. Operations at the medical laboratory needed checking. As one of their legitimate fronts to launder club money, Johnnie kept the books.

Turning his head to steal a glance at Kendall, he quickly refocused on the road, disappointed at the shadows swallowing her features, making him unable to discern if she slept or not. It didn’t matter. He was damn near committing treason on her behalf. Christopher expected them to get rid of all their enemies. He didn’t want anything touching Megan.