Page 216 of Rebellious

“Er, umkay.” He could almost feel her frown. “Isn’t he on the other side of the…uh, isn’t he a civilian?” she amended.

“Fuck no. Ain’t you heard me? He pretends to be law-abiding and philanthropic. He’s an arms dealer.”

“He wants you to run guns?”

Judging by the horror in her words, she was remembering how badly it had gone the last time he’d had a deal that seemed quite profitable on paper. Val had been in charge then, too.

“Not only that. He wants me to be the front man. Deal them, too. Drugs involved as well.”

“Oh.”

He hated how small her voice had gotten, and he hadn’t even told her the worst part.

“It was a deal for Bash. I took it.”

Silence met that announcement and she shivered, ducking her head underneath his chin and clinging to him.

“You stole it?” she said finally.

“Yeah, baby,” he said, unable to hide from her. “But I got my reasons. For Val. For us. The club.”

“Tell me.”

She didn’t adjust her body as he explained he justified his actions and detailed his intentions to include Bash in the profits.

“Mort right, though,” he finished, telling her about that conversation, too. “I’m riskin’ you and I’m bein’ a hypocritical motherfucker. I forced Diesel into that deal with that cunt instead of standin’ up for our kid.”

Lifting herself up, Megan pressed her fingers over his lips, the glow of the campfire casting her beloved face into shadows.

“Stop it, Christopher. Do I wish you would’ve found a way not to include a personal caveat in Bash’s deal? I do. We both know how Diesel despised Tabitha and regretted marrying her. It wasn’t fair to him.”

Christopher wilted inside and his entire body drooped.

“Don’t beat yourself up.” Disentangling herself from his arms, she sat up. “Your hands were tied. They threatened to vote you out. You had to do whatever to retain your position and save your life.” She drew her knees up and laid her cheek on them. “My God…I just hate…maybe, you would’ve survived or maybe not. What about Diesel and CJ? What about Mortician, Digger, Val, and Stretch, loyal to you? Torrin, Potter, Narci, Bishop…? Your loyalists make up half the club. Not everyone would’ve come out alive.”

“No,” he croaked, thinking of her, and how they’d begun to disrespect her. Rebel, on the cusp of womanhood, and drawing a new type of attention. Jo, just a helpless baby, but his. “Axel, Ransom, Ryder, Rule…”

“All in danger,” she acknowledged. “Rebel, Jo, and me—at risk. So, as much as I wish our son wasn’t part of that plea agreement, you did what you had to do.”

“I could’ve had Kendall talk to Bash about Lance Hart—”

“Do you really think he would’ve ceded control to you?”

“No, but I’m riskin’ you for fuckin’ money, Megan. Cuz my ego fuckin’ ass hurt.”

“You put your heart and soul into the club. Johnnie and his idiots didn’t care. They brushed aside your years of service and sacrifice to follow that genius. In one evening, they devalued the essence of you, Outlaw, the face of the Death Dwellers. The man who gave the club meaning and purpose. Their disrespect deserved an answer.”

“Death,” he said flatly.

“No, not now. Not until you regain the majority’s support. It’s still too risky for you and our boys.”

“And you and our girls.”

Megan stretched out next to him again and pressed her lips to his. “I know the owner of the club hasn’t been discovered, Christopher. I never agreed with the peace agreement.”

“I hated it too, though Kendall did an ace fuckin’ job on that.”

“She did, and she should be commended for how she handled the deal.”