Page 46 of Rebel
“Sit,” he said, gesturing to the closed toilet lid.
I obeyed, too tired to maintain my usual defiance.He kneeled before me, taking the cloth from my hand and wetting it again under the tap.His movements were surprisingly gentle as he cleaned the cut on my forehead, his other hand tilting my chin to get a better angle.
“That Army fucker do this?”he asked, his voice deceptively casual.
“Paperweight to the head,” I confirmed.“Could’ve been worse.”
His jaw tightened, but he continued his ministrations in silence.I studied his face as he worked -- the concentrated furrow of his brow, the tightness around his eyes that betrayed his anger, the three-day beard growth along his jaw.The man who’d upended my life and offered me something I hadn’t known I wanted.There were still things we needed to discuss.
“You did good,” he said finally, reaching past me for the antiseptic in the medicine cabinet.“Not many could take on two Army soldiers and walk away.”
“I had motivation.Not to mention, I went through the same training as Ellis.Denton may have learned more with his higher rank, but at the end of the day, his balls could be crushed as easily as any other man’s.”
He huffed a laugh, dabbing antiseptic on my cut.I clenched my teeth against the burn.“Yeah.Remind me never to piss you off.”
The silence stretched between us as he finished with my forehead and moved to my split lip, his thumb ghosting over the injury with uncharacteristic tenderness.Something shifted in his eyes -- a darkening that had nothing to do with anger.
“Anything else need attention?”he asked, his voice lower now.
I hesitated, then turned one hand palm up and the other palm down, revealing scraped knuckles on the left hand and a deep cut across my right palm.Not that I remembered where I’d gotten it.Without comment, he took my hands in his, cleaning each abrasion with careful precision.
“This will scar,” he murmured, tracing the line across my palm.
“Add it to the collection,” I replied.
His eyes met mine, and I saw understanding there.We all had scars -- visible and invisible.In the Devil’s Boneyard, scars were currency, proof of survival.
“Your turn,” I said, nodding to the gash on his arm.
He shook his head.“I’ll get it later.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”I took the cloth from him and gestured for him to sit on the edge of the bathtub.“Fair exchange.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he complied.“Yes, ma’am.”
I focused on cleaning his wound, using the task to distract myself from the intimacy of the moment.Rebel wasn’t just a hookup or casual fling.We’d been circling each other for days, the attraction undeniable but complicated.
“You’re thinking too loud,” he said, breaking into my thoughts.
I glanced up to find him watching me, that knowing look in his eyes that always made me feel transparent.“Just processing.”
“Tonight?”
“Everything.”I pressed a fresh bandage over his cut, securing it with tape.“Finding Ellis and Denton.The fight.Being here.”
“Regrets?”His tone was neutral, but I caught the subtle tension in his shoulders.
Did I regret it?The violence, the danger, the knowledge that I’d crossed lines I once thought immutable?I should.The Rio from before would have handed those men over to the police or Army.She’d have believed in justice.But that Rio hadn’t known what it felt like to have a target on her back, to be hunted by men she’d thought she could trust.That Rio hadn’t experienced the security and belonging the Devil’s Boneyard offered, complicated as it was.Just the same, I hadn’t been able to pull the trigger.I’d changed, but maybe not as much as I should.
“No,” I said finally, the truth of it settling in my chest like a weight.“No regrets.”
Rebel’s expression remained unreadable, but something in his eyes softened.He caught my hand as I withdrew it from his arm, his thumb running over my battered knuckles.“Good.”
We sat in silence for a moment, the small bathroom suddenly feeling too intimate, too charged.I broke away first, standing on legs that felt steadier than before.
“I should go home and shower,” I said.“Get the rest of this off me.”
He nodded, rising fluidly despite his injuries.“Let’s head out.”
