Page 9 of Hell on Wheels

I blink at him, my mouth hanging open. He has to be joking. Go home and stay with a house full of hovering big bro wanna-be dudes? There’s no way in Hades—I’ll end up maiming one of them.

“I don’t think…”

Angelo holds up his hand, giving me the signature Gemini glare they inherited from their father. “It’s that or take your chances with the Kellys, brat. You’re shit out of options.”

At least he didn’t say ‘because you don’t have any friends left.’

“Fine. But you idiots don’t get to boss me around. If you haven’t noticed, I’mnotRebel’s pig-tailed sibling anymore.”

“Oh, we’ve noticed,” Archie grumbles.

What in the name of Mab does he mean bythat?

Just The Way You Are

Wheels let us help her get up and gather up all the shit Florissa said she needed—with a promise to return all of her equipment once Rogue was finished healing. Unfortunately, her acceptance of our solution to her safety problem ended there. She fought with Angelo over which car she was riding in until Javi cajoled her. When we got to her apartment to pack her bags, she growled every time someone helped despite being one-armed. Her screeches when she found Rebel dumping her lingerie into a bag could have awakened the dead. If I didn’t dig the hell out of her, I would have strangled the shit out of Rogue by the time we got home.

That woman needs someone to tie her down and paddle the brat right out of her.

I’d happily volunteer for the job if I could get her alone without Rebel losing the fucking plot. The two of them have been dancing around their shit for years, and now they’re old enough to admit it. Even the twins are growing weary of our friend’s willful blindness about her. Javi swears he continues to label her ‘little sister’ to keep himself from acting on his attraction, and she tells him to stop because deep down she knows how they feel about one another. All of us have waited patiently for him to declare his feelings, and it’s gettingreallyold. This stay in our house might shake something loose for one of us; I’m glad I thought of it.

Not that I’m going to tell Rogue it was my idea. I don’t want to get punched in the nose.

“Why are you so quiet?” Rebel grunts as he turns onto our street. “Usually you talk my goddamned ears off the entire way home.”

I arch a brow at him, and when he doesn’t bite, I sigh. He and Rogue are two of the most stubborn Fae I’ve ever met despite not being blood related. “If you’d quit antagonizing Rogue, this will be aloteasier on everyone. You can’t boss her around like a child, even if it’s because you want to protect her. She’s nineteen, Reb.”

He huffs, taking the turn into our massive driveway harder than necessary, so I get jostled around. “I don’t antagonize her. She’s a pain in my ass.”

Adroa, save me from this clueless idiot.

“Fine. Take it easy on her. How about that? She’s fiercely independent because of your parents, and we’ll never be able to keep her safe if she’s running off all the time to spite you.”

The engine purrs as he lets it idle in his parking spot in front of Angelo’s massive garage. My friend is quiet while he considers my words, and I watch the twin pull up in his ‘71 Hemi ‘Cuda, Rogue perched on Damon’s lap. They made Javi drive Damon’s matching car and, because he’s the peacemaker, he complied. Rogue throws her head back and laughs at something Angelo says and finally, Reb speaks.

“She’s the most important person in my life, Arch. I won’t fail her again, even if she hates me for it.”

Okay, now I’ve had it.

“Dude, the only way we have a snowball’s chance in Hades of keeping Rogue safe is if she’s comfortable here. For her, being self-sufficient is a way of life, and you need to curb your dickish control freak shit. If we want her tostay…” I glare at him as I put emphasis on that word. “... and we alldo—you gotta let her spread her wings. Metaphorically, I mean.”

Whipping his head around, he pins me with an angry glare. “What do you mean,we all do?”

Sighing, I shake my head and open my car door. “You’ve reallygotto pull your head out of your ass, man. Think about it for a while, and you’ll figure it out.”

I roll out of his tiny car and jog over to the ‘Cuda, holding my arms out so Damon can hand Rogue to me. She thumps my shoulder, bitching about being able to walk on her own, but it’s half-hearted. If she truly wanted down, she’d do a lot more than swat me. The twins hop over the sides of the car and Javi does the same, all three of them grabbing Rogue’s things as they follow me inside. Rebel stays in his car, and I let him—he has some serious thinking to do.

“I still cannot believe your father bought the five of you this freaking house,” Rogue grumbles at Angelo.

He shrugs and winks at her. “Luca believes in rewarding his soldiers,cara mia. Damon and I handle different things—some legal and some less so—but they value us as employees of the Gemini empire.”

“Don’t forget he giveth, and he taketh away,” Damon grumbles under his breath. “We’ve paid in blood for this place, so I don’t begrudge receiving it.”

Luca Gemini is a sociopath, but the house is amazing; she’s right.

Rogue looks up at me, yawning. “I’m gonna need to sleep for a bit. The meds Florissa gave me before we left are kicking in.”

“Take her to her room.” The voice from the doorway is Reb’s, but his tone has changed.

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