Page 5 of Rebel
“Well, that’s convenient,” she mumbled under her breath. “No, I am not taking the only bed,” Rebel insisted. “I’ll take the couch. Besides, I don’t plan on staying at the safe house for very long. As soon as my brother calls, I’ll be on my way.”
He shook his head at her, “You really are the most stubborn woman on the planet,” he said.
“You’re seriously calling me stubborn?” she asked. “You’re the stubborn ass here, Bolt.” Two bikes pulled into the parking lot, stopping their name-calling. Bolt quickly looked around and grabbed her hand into his own.
“What are you doing?” she shouted over the noise.
“I’m getting us both out of here. Those bikers who just pulled in don’t belong to the Royal Bastards or Harlots. I’ve never seen them before,” he said, tugging her to the pickup truck in the back of the lot.
“You know everyone who comes here?” she questioned.
“Of course,” Bolt said. “I’m one of the Bastard’s Enforcers. It’s my job to know everyone who comes and goes.”
“What’s an Enforcer?” she asked.
“Later,” he grumbled. “We can go over the roles in a biker club when I know that we’re both safe. Right now, I need you to get your ass in this truck.” He pulled open the passenger door of Savage’s truck, and she took a second to look in, deciding if she wanted to follow his orders or not. Apparently, she took too long to decide, because Bolt picked her up and practically tossed her into the cab of the truck, slamming the door behind her once she was in.
She watched as he rounded the front of the truck and quickly opened the driver’s door to slide into the cab. “Next time I give you an order, you follow it.”
She couldn’t help herself, giving him a mock salute. He didn’t seem to find her as funny as she found herself. “I think that you’re making more out of this than there needs to be. So two men you don’t know stopped for a beer. I’m sure that it happens, and it doesn’t mean that we’re in danger.”
“Oh yeah?” Bolt asked, nodding in her direction. “Then who’s that guy walking over to our truck?” She turned around and looked out of her window, squinting to make out who was walking toward them. She gasped when she realized that it was Kirk.
“Shit,” she breathed. “We need to go, now,” she almost shouted.
“You know him?” Bolt said, starting the old truck. It hummed to life, and she watched Kirk’s face as he realized that she was leaving. She wasn’t sure if he thought she’d be happy to see him, but judging from the look on his face, that was exactly how he was hoping their reunion would go.”
“I’ll explain everything once we get to the safehouse,” she promised. “For now, just get me out of here.” Bolt didn’t ask any more questions as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway, and she was thankful for that. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain Kirk stalking her to her brother’s best friend and partner, but she was going to have to come up with something within the next fifteen minutes, because Bolt didn’t seem like the kind of guy who liked to be kept waiting.
They had driven in silence for the first ten minutes of the ride back to the safe house. She knew that he was running out of time before Bolt would want answers from her—namely, who the guy was back in the parking lot of Savage Hell.
Kirk looked at her as though he knew her, and Bolt would be able to see hunger in the other man’s eyes. He would have questions, and she’d have to answer them.
Kirk was so much older than she was, but those kinds of age gaps were normal, right? She just hoped that Bolt wouldn’t think too poorly of her once she told him her story, but there was nothing she’d be able to do about it if he did.
“So, you gonna tell me who the guy was, or should I start guessing?” he asked.
“I’m guessing that you’re done waiting for me to want to talk about this,” she said. She knew damn good and well that he was done waiting for her to spill the beans.
“I saw the way that he looked at you,” he admitted. “You knew the guy?” he asked.
She nodded, “I know him,” she admitted.
“I take it he’s not a friend,” Bolt asked.
“No,” she breathed, “he is most definitely not a friend.” He pulled in front of the safe house and quickly looked around. “What are you doing?” she asked, mimicking what he was doing.
“I’m checking to see if we were followed,” he said. Bolt got out of the truck and ran up to the garage door, unlocking it and opening it. He got back into the truck and pulled in, quickly shutting the door behind them.
Rebel stepped out of the truck and grabbed her purse, following him into the house. “Do you think he followed us?” she whispered.
“I don’t think so, but I do need you to tell me who I’m dealing with here, Rebel,” Bolt insisted. She tossed her purse onto the kitchen table and sat down in one of the wooden chairs. She still wasn’t sure if she wanted to give him the answers that he had asked for.
She sat back in the seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “Remember when you asked me if I kept secrets from Jace?” she asked. God, that felt like days ago, and not just hours.
“Yes,” he said as though prompting her to go on.
“Well, I’ve had to keep one pretty big secret since our mother died,” she almost whispered.
