Man of the House(202)

She got quiet, and I stared at her. I wanted to say something, but I was worried about how she’d react. Still, she had a right to know, or at least she needed to be thinking about it.

“Listen, Janine,” I said. “You watched that shit, right?”

“No. I ignored that big brawl in front of me.”

“You’ve seen the way our clubs act around each other. The Rebels and the Demons, we’re oil and water. We don’t mix.”

“Maybe, but that’s what my marriage is supposed to fix.”

I shook my head. “Girl, that shit ain’t happening. And if it is, it’s not going to help.”

She didn’t answer at first. Then, finally, “Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s the damn truth and you need to start thinking about it. The Rebels hate us, and we hate them. You marrying Jetter won’t solve that.”

“They respect him. They’ll come around.”

“They won’t.” I sat up. “Listen to me, Janine. You have to help yourself here.”

“No,” she said, that fiery temper flashing. “You listen to me. I’m not wasting my time on this.” She stood up.

“You could be, and you don’t even know it.”

“I’m not. It’s going to happen and the clubs are coming together. Larkin wants it, Jetter wants it, and I’m helping it happen.”

“They don’t always get it right,” I said.

“They did this time.”

I could see the anger in her, hear it in her voice. I wasn’t trying to piss the girl off, but she needed to be prepared for all this shit to fall apart.

“Sit back down,” I said. “We can talk.”

“Forget it. I’m not interested in hearing it. I’m marrying that creepy asshole and making sure the Rebels get patched over, and that’s the fucking end of it.”

Before I could answer, she stormed out of the room. I heard her bedroom door slam shut.

The girl was a fucking spitfire, I knew that much, but I hadn’t guessed how pissed off that would make her. I wasn’t trying to push her too far, but I wanted her to realize that this might all come apart.

Still, I understood where she was coming from. She’d come far and seen a few things, shit she probably never wanted to see, death and violence. She probably felt like if it fell apart now, then she just wasted all her time on this, saw a bunch of shit that fucked her up for no good reason.

Maybe she was blind to the good that already came of all this blood and terror. I wasn’t sure I could make her see it, even if I wanted to.

I leaned back farther into the couch. My head was ringing with pain, and I didn’t have the energy to chase the girl down and make her see reason. I had to get my strength back anyway, in case someone tried some more shit.

I let her stew back in her bedroom. At least I had the couch, the wonderful couch that would never storm out on me.





29





Janine





I didn’t know why I’d reacted so strongly to what Clutch said out in the living room, but I was angry with him anyway.

I sprawled out on my bed, legs half covered with a thin sheet, and stewed. What right did he have to tell me that I was making a mistake? Even though he didn’t really say that, I could tell that was what he was thinking. I knew he had my best interests at heart, but it was still tough to hear someone I cared about tell me that my big sacrifice and important plan may not even happen or amount to anything.

I’d already put so much of myself into this. I’d seen and done things I’d never wanted to do, all for the good of the club. It pissed me off that Clutch could be so cavalier and act like all of that was for absolutely nothing.

I sighed and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Truth was, I knew I was getting mad because I was having those same thoughts. It wasn’t like he was telling me something new, something I hadn’t realized already.

But it was hard to hear. I didn’t want to be Jetter’s wife, but I also wanted to do something to help this war.

As I lay there, my phone started ringing. I reached over and picked it up, answering it on the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Janine.” It was Larkin.

“Hi, Dad. What’s up?”

“We have to talk.” He sounded pained, like he didn’t want to be having this conversation.

“Okay.” I sat up, worried.

“I heard you met with Jetter this morning.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it first. I figured it would just be easier for everyone if I went.”

He sighed. “It’s fine. Jetter seems very taken with you, though. I can’t tell if he’s lying or not.”