Page 16 of Rebel

To her credit, she did scan the parking lot. She hadn’t spotted me yet, and I was too busy watching her to notice that high beams until it was too late.

Car tires squealed and then the engine groaned loudly as a dark sedan sped up in the direction of Nikki and her friend Mia.

“Nikki,” I called out just as the car barely missed them.

“Watch it asshole!” Her friend Mia shouted angrily and tossed her hands in the air.

Without thinking I moved my bike forward quickly just as the car’s reverse lights appeared and the asshole backed up fast as fuck. The car slammed on the brakes hard enough to jolt the whole vehicle before they took off, tires squealing again. “Fuck!” My heart raced in my chest, and I realized it was fucking fear. I was worried about Nikki and I usually reserved that feeling for my brothers. My family.

“Logan?” Nikki’s voice pulled my gaze from where the car disappeared down the street. “What are you doing here?”

“Shit, are you both all right?”

“Yeah,” she answered but the way she wrapped her arms around herself in that protective gesture told me she wasn’t. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard Thrash’s call, and I was worried.”

Her frown relaxed into a smile. “Thanks.”

“How do we know you didn’t set this up?” Mia the ball-buster crossed her arms and glared at me. “It’s awfully convenient, you showing up here tonight when this happened.”

Ignoring her, I turned back to Nikki. “Did you post the video?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t. I’ve gotten a few threatening emails this week, but I blew them off because I haven’t done anything.”

“You got emails?” Mia shouted the question at her friend and got in her face. “You didn’t say a word.”

“There was nothing to say because I haven’t done anything.”

“Yeah,” I growled. “Well Thrash thinks you did, and that’s about all the evidence he needs to convict you. Any specific threats?”

“Slow painful death. Sexual torture. Drug overdose. The usual.” Her attempt at brushing off the threats didn’t fool me. There was a tightness around her eyes and the pulse in her throat fluttered wildly.

“Nikki, I’m serious. He thinks you’ve talked, which means you have a target on your back. I’ll make sure you get home tonight and then we can talk.”

She shook her head. “Not home. Not yet. How about we grab a bite to eat?”

I frowned but tabled the questions I had until later. “Fine. Does she need a ride or an escort,” I reluctantly asked and aimed my thumb at Mia.

Nikki’s lips twitched as she turned to Mia. They stared at each other for a long time, having a silent conversation I couldn’t figure out. A moment later they hugged, and Mia whispered something to Nikki, who responded with an easy smile. “I will. Talk later.”

“Count on it,” Mia said to Nikki in a firm tone, but her angry scowl was fixed on me before she walked off.

“She seems nice.”

“She is,” Nikki assured me. “She’s just protective.” She pointed to a green hatchback at the other end of the parking lot. “That’s me.”

“Don’t park this far away from the door anymore.”

She bristled at my tone. “You’re not my boss, Logan.”

“I’m not, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.” I sighed and pushed my bike as I followed her. “You know how easy it would be to grab you over here? Or worse, would any of your colleagues hear you scream if you were injured?”

“Okay,” she shouted and threw her hands up in frustration. “Got it, no more parking over here.”

I dropped my bike’s kickstand and grabbed her shoulders, turning her so we were face to face, which was a real fucking problem because she was so damn pretty up close like this. “I’m sorry Nikki, I’m not trying to scare the shit out of you.”

She laughed. “That was younottrying? Somehow that’s more terrifying.”

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