Page 25 of Wrecked

He stayed close to the door. It was the only spot in the room where the overhead cameras wouldn’t catch sight of him.

“Angel?” Rebel whispered and a sound near the curtain drew his gaze.

Sixteen-year-old Angelina Noble came flying from her hiding spot toward him. Rebel caught her and hugged her close, pulling her with him back against the closed door.

There was a new bruise where fingers had gripped her throat. The marks were slight, but he saw them as she ran to him. His heart hurt and anger built.

It was weird. He had gone from not giving a shit about anyone, to wanting to protect this girl at any cost. Only getting her out of here wasn’t possible…not yet anyway.

Jimmy had a chain, much like a dog chain, around her ankle and a locater embedded into a collar around her neck. Jimmy wore the key to the collar around his neck like it was some fucking prize.

Yeah, it takes a real man to rape a sixteen-year-old girl, Rebel thought with derision.

“I thought you’d left me,” her voice trembled.

“No, I just had to do a job,” he assured her, running his hand down her thick black hair, he patted her back.

They stood the same height, so when she eased back, their eyes met. Her eyes were just as dark brown as his were and she had joked one time that they could have been siblings.

“When we get you out of here, you can be my younger sister,” Rebel had teased her at the time.

In truth, he was going to save her. Only, he wasn’t sure how the hell he could do it. The house was a fortress and she was heavily monitored.

If Jimmy knew he was in here plotting against him, the guy would have him killed. Of that, he had no doubts. And as much as Jimmy trusted him, Rebel knew that when it came to Angel, the guy was a demonic freak.

Rebel had seen Jimmy shoot one of the guards in the head when the guy looked too long at Angel.

She was Jimmy’s only weakness. She was his obsession. Two years ago, at the age of fourteen, Angel had been sold to Jimmy by her own crack-head father.

That was another thing Rebel and Angel had in common. They both had run-ins with the same type of sick fuck.

“I was also sold by the guy who stole me,” Rebel had told her that day.

“You were stolen?” She looked aghast.

“Yeah, twice. Then I was sold to a sexual predator.”

Angel had hugged him tightly and for the first time in a long time, Rebel let someone hold him.

Right then, though, he had a surprise for her. He dug into his back pocket and pulled out the used paperback romance novel.

“Oh my God, thank you!” She almost squeaked and clutched the used book to her chest.

“Of course,” Rebel smiled. “Hide that good, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Do you think Jimmy will let us go into the gardens after dinner?” she asked hopefully.

“I don’t know, maybe?” Rebel said. “I’ll try to make it happen.”

Several times after dinner, Jimmy had ordered Rebel to take Angel out to the gardens for some fresh air.

The men around the table had looked shocked. Rebel knew the only reason Jimmy trusted him with Angel was because during the interview for the gun-for-hire job, Rebel had confessed he was gay.

“Gay?” Jimmy had looked him over and Rebel tried not to react. “You don’t have the hots for me, do you?”

“Um…” Rebel didn’t want to offend the guy so he shrugged.

“I’ll take that as a yes?”

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