Page 5 of Rebel (The Royal Harlots MC #7)

Her eyes flicked up to him, wide and searching, like she was waiting for disgust that never came. Something in his chest tightened. She wasn’t broken, not by a long shot. No, Rebel was fire—all edges and scars, and she didn’t even see how strong she was.

“You’re not broken,” he told her, his voice dropping low.

Her lips parted, soft and uncertain, and for a heartbeat, he imagined leaning across the table and tasting her.

He hadn’t known her for a full day, but hell, if the pull between them wasn’t real.

His gaze fell to her mouth, lingered there, and the whole damn room seemed to slow down around them.

He started to lean in, and damn if she didn’t back away.

good. He needed to make sure that Jace was alone and free to talk before he’d let Rebel start asking him a million questions.

“Hello,” he answered.

“I only have a few minutes,” Jace said into the phone. “I had to move locations again, and so do you.”

“Wait,” Bolt insisted. “What are you talking about? We just got here.”

“Is he okay?” Rebel said, standing from the spot in the corner of the kitchen where she had been listening to half the conversation.

“What’s going on? Let me talk to him.” She held out her hand for him to give her the cell phone, and he turned away from her.

First, he needed answers from Jace, and then, Rebel could catch up with her brother.

“The Dead Rabbits know that you are FBI. They made you, and you aren’t safe there anymore. Which means that Rebel isn’t safe either. They still don’t know that she’s my sister, but I can’t chance them finding either of you. They won’t care who the hell she is if they find her with you.”

“How did they find out I’m a Fed?” Bolt asked.

He could almost hear his friend shrug. It was his go-to move, and that thought made Bolt smile.

“Probably the same way that they figured out that I’m a Fed.

I guess that your leaving for your father’s funeral sent up some red flags, and now, the dumb fuckers were able to put two and two together, and they came up with you and me being undercover Feds.

” He worried that his sudden departure would send up warning signs.

He worried that going back in might be a problem, but now, he worried that not doing just that had only put Jace in danger and blown his cover.

“Fuck,” Bolt said.

“Yeah, you’re getting it now,” Jace said.

“I need you to pack up and go into Savage Hell. Savage and Banshee are calling a special joint meeting. They’re going to figure out where you two need to go next.

Ryder will fly you to the new safehouse.

Don’t tell Rebel about any of this until you have her ass on the plane.

My sister is stubborn and will give you a fight if given the chance.

” Bolt knew exactly how stubborn Jace’s sister was.

Rebel was currently jumping around him, trying to take the cell phone from him.

If they weren’t in danger, he’d find the whole scene pretty damn cute.

Rebel reached for the phone, trying to grab it from his hand again, and he tugged it away. “Your sister wants to talk to you, man. She’s practically trying to rip my arm off.”

“No,” Jace shouted into the other end of the call.

“I can’t talk to her right now. It’s not safe.

Tell her that I love her and keep her safe, man.

Remember your promise,” Jace ordered. He ended the call, and Bolt sighed, doing the same.

He knew that Rebel wasn’t going to be happy with him, but when Jace made up his mind, there was no changing it.

And for some odd reason, he had made up his mind to keep his sister in the dark and avoid her like the plague.

“Why did you hang up?” Rebel asked.

“I didn’t,” he insisted, “Jace ended the call. He had to go. He said to tell you that he loves you and that he’ll talk to you as soon as he can.

” Her pout was adorable, and a part of him wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her pouty lips, but he also knew that was going against his promise to his best friend.

Rebel was hands off, and he needed to remember that, even if he found her irresistible.

“That’s it?” Rebel spat. “That’s all I get from him? I don’t even rate a conversation.” She sat down on a kitchen chair, and he hated seeing her so defeated; he couldn’t help what he said next to her.

“He wanted to talk to you, but he was called into a meeting with headquarters,” Bolt lied.

“He’s at headquarters?” she asked. He smiled and shook his head, carefully trying to figure out his next lie.

“No,” he said, “your brother is still on the run and can’t chance going into headquarters.

He had a Zoom call with them. I’m sure that he’ll call you when he can.

” She crossed her arms over her chest and settled onto his couch.

“Listen, if you need someone to blame, then I’m your guy.

I monopolized all Jace’s time, and you didn’t get your chance to talk to him,” he lied again.

“I knew that you didn’t want me to talk to him,” Rebel spat. She stood and looked around for the steps.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m going to find the bedroom, and I plan to stay there until you stop pissing me off. So, I guess that I’ll be up there for the rest of my life.” He wanted to laugh, but that wouldn’t go over well with her. No, she was good and pissed, and marching up the stairs like a little soldier.

He wanted to tell her that they were in danger and that she needed to get her shit together because they were leaving, but then he remembered Jace’s warning.

He needed to be stealthy about his next move with Rebel.

That was the only way to keep her from flying off the handle.

He needed to keep her safe, and if lying was the only way to do that, then so be it.

He was a big boy and could shoulder the brunt of her anger, even if that sucked.

“We’re leaving in ten,” Bolt ordered before she got to the top of the steps.

“What?” she shouted at him, quickly running back down the stairs, into the kitchen. “It’s nearly nine o’clock. I’m tired and want to go to bed. Where are you taking me?”

He wanted to avoid having to tell her that their location had been compromised.

If the Dead Rabbits knew their location, they would be there in no time.

He didn’t have time to discuss all of this with her if he wanted to keep his promise and keep her safe.

Jace said that the Dead Rabbits didn’t know that he was harboring Jace’s sister, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Rebel’s identity needed to remain a secret if he was going to keep his promise to Jace and keep her safe.

“We need to run back into Savage Hell. The Harlots and Bastards are meeting tonight, and I need to be there for it. I forgot all about it until now.” He left out the part about the meeting being about her and how to keep her safe.

The one thing he was sure of—he’d be the one to watch her and take her to the next safehouse, because there was no way that he’d let anyone else do his job.

Jace was his best friend, and he’d do anything for him, just as he knew that Jace would do anything for him in return.

“We only just left there. Why can’t you just tell them that you can’t make the meeting?

And while I appreciate you asking me out on a date and all, I’d rather decline your offer.

Thanks, though,” she sassed. He sighed and rolled his eyes, too tired to fight with her.

She gave him a fight at every turn tonight, and sooner or later, she was going to have to figure out who was in charge.

“It’s not a date, and it wasn’t a request,” he growled.

“So, grab your purse and get your ass back out in that truck.” Bolt pointed to the garage for good measure, and she laughed—actually laughed at him.

He didn’t bother to stand around and listen to her next excuse as to why he wasn’t going to go into Savage Hell for the meeting tonight.

Bolt had avoided serious relationships so that he wouldn’t have a woman telling him what to do, and he damn well wasn’t about to let Rebel start bossing him around now, no matter how fucking sexy he found her.

He grabbed his duffel bag and keys from the kitchen counter and walked out to the truck, slamming the kitchen door on his way out, for good measure.

He just hoped like hell that Rebel would be following him out to the garage, because time was ticking, and he needed to get back on the road.

He just wished that he could tell her what was really going on because knowing that the Dead Rabbits might be on their way to the safe house might just light a fire under her, and that was exactly what he needed right now.

Bolt sat in the pickup for almost five minutes, knowing that there was a good chance that Rebel might not follow his order to get her ass in the truck.

Hell, he had carried her to his truck earlier, when she refused to leave Savage Hell with him, and he’d willingly do it again if it meant getting to hold her close.

Jace was right about one thing, though—she was a stubborn little minx, and that turned Bolt on.

He was just about to give up waiting, walk back into the safe house, and toss her over his shoulder again when the side door opened and she stepped out.

She looked pissed, and he knew that he was going to pay for making her go to Savage Hell with him.

Hell, she was going to kill him when she found out that they were going to have to move safe houses, and this time, they were going to have to leave town.

Rebel didn’t seem like the type of woman who liked surprises, so this whole thing was going to be one giant cluster fuck.

“I want it noted that I’m doing this out of protest,” she insisted.

He couldn’t help his chuckle, “Noted,” he said.