Page 12 of Ruptured

As a Donovan, it was in Rory’s nature to be a self-righteous coward. As a Caldwell, he needed to tap into the loyalty so much a part of Uncle Christopher. Of CJ, Axel, Ryder, and Ransom.

Of their grandfather. Dad had taken the worst of Cee Cee Caldwell, but Rory preferred his legacy to Logan Donovan’s.

Mom drew in a deep breath. She was a tall woman; she still loved her heels. She’d relented slightly on cooking slop passing as health food. They had less squid ink and more brown gravy. Rory smiled. Mom would forever be Mom, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her. It frightened him so much that Dad’s behavior could lead her to suicide.

But no.

She wasaccepted. She didn’t need Dad’s approval. Her kids and her family would hold her up. Lolly and Aunt Meggie would go to war on Mom’s behalf. Aunt Zoann would beat a motherfucker to the ground for her. They were strong women, who looked up to Mom as much as Mom looked up to them.

Mom ran her fingers through her hair, adjusting the thick mass to one side, so it streamed over a shoulder. She joked that Aunt Meggie finally looked twenty-five. Well, Mom finally looked thirty-five. An ‘It’ girl whoseemedto have it all.

Except real true happiness. Except a husband who still placed her on a pedestal.

Rory flicked away his cigarette. “What happened to you, Dad?”

He wanted his father back. Mom’s sadness was pervasive. Rory didn’t want that for her or for himself. He especially didn’t want it for Mattie. She’d been through enough.

The sound of footsteps reached him and he tensed, but he refused to look up. He wouldn’t give the motherfucker the satisfaction.

“Like father, like son.” Easton DeLuca snickered. “Same thing happened to Johnnie, the day I met him. My father just snuck in.”

Mom flicked off the light, walked into the hallway, and closed the door behind her. He’d need to leave, so he couldn’t linger. If she didn’t find him home or at the hospital, she’d worry.

Rory shoved his phone into his pocket. “What does Bash want, DeLuca?”

“You already know.”

“The club. Aunt Meggie dead. But there’s no proof that any of his claims are accurate.”

“He has fucking documents.”

“That my mother is researching, and she hasn’t found a fucking thing.” Rory glared at the motherfucker—his cousin. One of several, since Bash spread his seed as much as Cee Cee Caldwell. “But what does he wantnow? Why areyoulurking?”

Today, Easton wore a suit and tie. He was so much more refined than Bash. More handsome and elegant. A man who could blend in anywhere.

“Why do you think?”

“Personally? To fuck with my father. Which we discussed when I found you in his office. But there has to be another reason. Are you here to kill Aunt Meggie?”Hecouldn’t findevidence nor could Mom. Neither could he dismiss what he’d been told.

If DeLuca was sent to kill Aunt Meggie, Dad was dead. As he should be as the motherfucker who introduced her to her killer, despite how much the thought devastated Rory.

DeLuca glanced away. “He wants me to,” he admitted. “But…” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I…even if I agreed with killing women and children…I couldn’t killher. In my time around Bash and Cleaner, I’ve met a lot of women. She’s one of the fiercest and she just adores her husband.”

“A husband who is a psycho.” Rory thought of Diesel and the photos he’d sent of Joplin and Gail. First,evidence. He hoped Diesel didn’t send mass texts. Second, horrific even by Rory’s standards. “She has a son who is even more of a psycho.”

“What the fuck do you want me to do? My allegiance is to the Scorpions. I could’ve told them I was meeting you—”

“First? Fuck you. You aren’t here to kill me. Second, why give them your allegiance, DeLuca? We’re your family, too. If that’s what you need, choose us. Help me save Aunt Meggie so I can save that idiot.”

DeLuca snickered. “Johnnie, I assume?”

Rory didn’t answer.

“I want to meet with CJ. Bring him to me—”

“Fuck you. Fuck no. You’ll never ambush my cousin.”

“Those are the terms, kid.”