Misappropriate (26 page)

              “Fuck me,” Christopher whispered. “She realized what type of man I am and ducked out on me, John Boy. Took my son.”

              His boys all shifted, uncomfortable, looking from one to the other, beginning to agree that she was going to be a no-show.

“Keep it together, Outlaw,” Johnnie said under his breath.

If she’d used this opportunity to leave Christopher, it would destroy him. He thrust his fingers through his hair. Megan wouldn’t fucking do this to him. She loved him as much as he loved her, so if she wasn’t marching the fuck down the aisle…it was because she didn’t have a choice in the matter. A boulder of anxiety pressed in on Christopher’s chest, something unsettling him. Everyone had already marched to the altar, even the flower girl. Not the ring bearer, though. The ring bearer…CJ…aided by Val...because a seven-month-old couldn’t hold a motherfucking thing. Nor could he walk.

So where the fuck was Megan? CJ? Val?

              The three hundred guests were beginning to get restless, too. Murmurs and movements was rippling through the pews, harping on his nerves like chirping birds. And that fucking organ music. Fuck him. Megan was gonna get her Wedding Song, he should’ve requested Insane Clown Posse in the meantime. He’d prefer to hear
Another Love Song
play on repeat, rather than having this boring shit pounding through his fucking brain.

              Johnnie narrowed his eyes. “Where the fuck is Val, Christopher?
She
might’ve ducked out on you, which is as unlikely as the sun falling from the sky by the way, but
Val
wouldn’t.”

              John Boy had the same fucking idea as Christopher. And it wasn’t as if Val would run away with Megan and CJ, so what…Holy motherfuck him. How could his head be shoved so fucking far up his ass? This situation stank of…Cee Cee. Sebastian Fucking Caldwell.

              “Come with me,” Christopher ordered. He kept his back to the wedding guests and pulled his nine from the holster beneath his jacket. Removing the silencer from his pocket, he attached it to his piece as Father Wilcunt spluttered in outrage.

              “Mr. Caldwell!” the priest began.

              Christopher shoved the gun in his pocket. “You! Shut the fuck up. And if you go one fuckin’ place before I get the fuck back, I’m gonna fuckin’ gut you.”

              Johnnie nodded to Digger and Mortician. “Go with him,” he ordered. “If something’s happened, we don’t want a bloodbath in the church.” As they hurried down the three steps of the altar, Johnnie turned to Father Wilkins. “Please. Bear with us. I hear the church daycare needs a few renovations.”

              The priest glared at him, but nodded. Assured that that had been taken care of, Christopher rushed down the red carpeted stairs that led to the altar and headed down the aisle, the fury in his eyes discouraging anyone from disobeying him.

              After all her bitching about the guys not wearing their cuts, it came down to this—Megan pacing in the small dressing room. Actually, it looked like a storage closet with a hastily thrown in floor-to-ceiling mirror.

              She sighed. Something else courtesy of Christopher’s persuasions.

              CJ giggled at the mooing of a terrycloth cow when he slapped the toy attached to his bouncer in an arc of farm animals. Christopher had wanted her to find one with motorcycles. Even if they’d had such a toy, Meggie had refused. CJ’s motorcycle and gun lessons would arrive soon enough. He was already well on his way to cursing sixty-nine ways to the moon. She was sure his first word would be one of Christopher’s favorites, ‘
fuck’
or
‘motherfuck’
.

              She peeked out the blind for the thousandth time, wondering where Stretch could be, strands of organ music reaching her even from where she was located in the church. It must’ve been really loud in the sanctuary and driving Christopher insane.

Hopefully, the guests found the noisy music entertaining while they sat through the delay.

Retrieving her and CJ’s cuts was a simple matter of getting to the house, lifting them from the counter and getting back here.

She looked with longing at her beautiful wedding gown. Christopher was going to be livid, but she was a woman and women had every right to change their minds. Especially pregnant ones who were worried about puking all over their silk and lace.

Instead of wearing the cut over her gown as she’d intended, she wore a black vinyl cat suit with thigh high boots. Tasteless, yes, but vomit could be wiped away from vinyl. This was supposed to have been the outfit she wore to go to the airport, but after throwing up three times before heading to the church this morning, she’d given up on her dress.

Not completely since it’s staring at you and tempting you to wiggle into it
. True, but, her mother was already seated, and Bunny, Gypsy, Farrah, Lacey, Bailey, Zoann, and Ophelia were already at the altar. Yes, she’d made some last minute changes to her bridal party, but her wedding would really be the big one she’d always dreamed of.

So why not wear her gown?

A knock sounded on the door.

“Finally,” she grouched and snatched it open. She sagged in relief when she saw Val, her new leather cut with the Death Dwellers’ rocker and the words
Property of Christopher “Outlaw” Caldwell
in one hand and the tiny cut for CJ, designed much the same way as hers but for the words:
Little Man, Son of Outlaw,
in the other
.

“What the fuck, babe?” he managed, examining her up and down and sideways. “You in that shit and we in this bullshit?”

He sounded pissed and she couldn’t blame him. She shrugged before stooping down to lift CJ out of his bouncer. She giggled because even he wore a tuxedo. Placing him in Val’s arms, she put his miniature cut on him and stepped back, beaming with pride. She couldn’t wait until Christopher saw this. “I’ve been throwing up all morning and I didn’t want to ruin my gown.”

“Tough shit,” he growled and glared at her. “Hear me, Meggie? We ain’t doing this shit again, so I’m thinking you should put your gown on. After all this bullshit, you’ll be disappointed to see yourself in pictures with
us
dressed up and you not.”

The same thought had crept into her head. “Too late now. I’d need someone to help me into the gown and button me up.”

He grunted. “You know, babe, sometimes you’re too fucking blonde for your own good.”

“Matthew Ryan Taylor!” Meggie chirped, planting her fists on her hips. “Did you just give me a read using a blonde joke?”

The edges of his mouth kicked up and his eyes twinkled. “Did you just call me by my Christian name?”

She poked her tongue out at him and he barked a laugh. He scratched behind his ear. “I gotta admit, babe, you look hot as a motherfucker.”

“And I gotta admit, Matthew, you still know how to go all pervy on me.”

He laughed again and held CJ in a one-armed snuggle while holding his free arm out to her. “Ready, babe?”

“Yes, Val. Both me and the boys are ready.”

“
Boys
?” Val snorted. “Give him another son and he’s gonna be impossible to deal with.”

“Just be prepared,” Meggie warned, though she was uncertain since it was too early to tell. According to her mother, she would have a girl because of all the morning sickness. “Now, go. Take my son and march him down the aisle to his daddy.”

“I’m surprised that motherfucker ain’t come storming out here when he didn’t see me with Little Man when that little flower girl marched in.”

“We’re in church, Valentine,” Megan sniffed. “Have some respect.”

“Don’t give a fuck. I have this fucking monkey suit on for you. That’s about as much as you get from me, babe.”

“God, you guys are impossible. Just go. Because you’re right. Christopher is going to cause chaos any minute now.”

“Fuck! I forgot the little pillow thing in my saddlebag.”

“Really, Val? We’re already ten minutes late.”

“I know, babe, and I promise you Stretch is gonna be hurting for being late with those cuts, but I’ll look fucking ridiculous just carrying Little Man down the aisle without his pillow.”

“Okay,” Megan huffed in frustration. “Just hurry up. The pillow isn’t so important since Johnnie has the rings.”

CJ gave her a gummy grin and she kissed his cheek, the black hair on his head curly, his bright green eyes hard to miss.

“Uncle Val is silly, huh, my little potato?”

He smiled at her and grabbed her nose.

“Daddy’s is going to cause a riot if we don’t hurry. Maybe, I should walk down the aisle with you myself? We don’t need a silly old pillow. What do you say?”

“I say stop calling me silly, Meggie.”

She laughed at Val’s mock irritation and he shoved CJ into her arms, then turned. Blood sprayed on Meggie and Val dropped to the floor. A gun with a silencer attached cut off her scream when Cee Cee shoved it into her mouth.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the dick bruiser and my grandson.” He smiled at her and held out his free hand. “Give him to me or you’re going to be missing the back of your head.”

And he’d take him anyway. Meggie’s heart banged against her chest. Val’s blood dripping down her cheeks and mingling with the tears in her eyes. She hadn’t heard a sound since he’d dropped to the floor. She didn’t even know where he’d been shot. Was it his head? His heart?

“I’m counting to three, Meggie.” He slid the release back and Meggie shook.

She’d prefer to die than just hand over her son.

“Two.”

Reaching out, she flattened her palm against Cee Cee’s chest and his gaze fastened to hers. She didn’t know if he wanted to look her in the eye as he blew her head off or if her touch affected him.

He uttered ‘one’ moments before and still hadn’t pulled the trigger, so she took that as a good sign. Another tense heartbeat went by before he pulled the barrel out of her mouth.

“You want to say something?”

She wanted to say so many things, none of which she had time for, and most of them to Christopher. She settled for the next best thing. “If you let me put CJ in his bouncer and we leave him here, unharmed, I’ll go with you.”

Interest flickered in his eyes and he glanced at the swells of her breasts, the indentation of her waist, the vee between her legs.

“Take that cut off. You’re nothing to my son but a fucking liability, cunt. Bitches are only good for cleaning, fucking, and popping out kids.” He pointed the gun at her head. “Put my grand boy in and let’s get moving.”

Right now, Meggie couldn’t think of how she’d get out of this latest situation. Probates were in the parking lot, guarding the cars and motorcycles, but, if Cee Cee so readily agreed to take her, he must have a contingency plan.

Crouching down, she slipped CJ into his bouncer and his little face screwed up in preparation to cry. She kissed his forehead and Cee Cee slapped the side of her head, grabbing her shoulder and yanking her to her feet. He shoved her forward and she stumbled over Val, his big body cushioning her fall. She saw then he’d been shot in the bridge between his shoulder and neck. Blood was pooling beneath him. If someone didn’t find him soon, he’d bleed out and die.

“Back off from him, now.”

Getting to her feet, Meggie slipped her cut off. She was pregnant again, just like when Snake got to her. One of these days, she or her baby wouldn’t survive. She only hoped today wasn’t that day.

Cee Cee pushed her again. “Walk real close to me,” he ordered. “Don’t want none of the boys seeing this gun planted against your back.”

As big as it was, she wasn’t sure how it would escape notice. The moment Meggie stepped out of the utility closet, CJ released an ear-splitting wail. Not that anyone would hear him with that woman banging on that God-awful church organ.

“Loud little motherfucker, huh?” Cee Cee asked with a snicker, slamming the door shut. “Walk. Your pretty head is going to be a nice reminder to another bitch who’s trying to weaken one of my boys.”

This. Was. NOT. Fucking. Happening. A. Fucking. Gain.

And on his motherfucking wedding day.