Page 27 of Juno

She knew that was true—and it was all because of the man sitting next to her on the hospital bed. “Thanks for being my knight in shining armor,” she said.

“Any time,” he agreed, “but for the record, honey, you are no damsel in distress.” Juno could see that now. She was stronger for going through everything these past few months, and with Saint by her side, she’d be able to handle anything that life could possibly toss her way. They were a team now, and she wouldn’t change that for anything.

The End

What’s coming next from K.L. Ramsey? You won’t want to miss Rebel (Royal Harlots MC book 7) is coming in 2025!

Rebel

Rebel Harris wasn’t sure how she had gotten herself in the latest mess that she was in, but sitting behind bars really drove home the fact that she had royally fucked up. She was in town to visit her little brother, and she almost made it to the bar that he told her about in his last text message. That was almost ten days ago, and her brother never went radio silent for that long—especially with her. It was just the two of them since their mom died three years prior and she needed to find him. Not just because she had promised her mother that she’d take care of Jace, but because she couldn’t imagine not having him in her life. Rebel worried the worst had happened to him, and that’s why she was currently sitting in jail with no bail available until her court appearance in the morning.

She didn’t mean to be going forty-eight over the speed limit through town, but she was. Sure, she had always had a lead foot, but her anxiety over Jace had taken over her common sense and apparently her ability to find the brake petal. At first, she thought that she’d be able to outrun the cop who was tailing her with his lights flashing in her rearview, but that turned out to be one of her biggest mistakes. She didn’t outrun him in her crappy little car, and all she accomplished was pissing officer moody off enough to put her in cuffs and toss her into a jail cell for the night.

Rebel used her one phone call to text her brother again, telling him about landing herself in jail, and if he got the message, to please help her out of this jam. She really didn’t know why she had bothered to send the text since Jace hadn’t responded to any of her messages in ten days now, but she just couldn’t give up hope that he was alive and well somewhere and just ignored her. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened. Rebel had found herself in hot water a lot over the years, always leaning on her little brother to bail her out of trouble. Maybe he was finally sick of her bullshit—or maybe he was in trouble this time and she wouldn’t be able to help him while sitting in a jail cell. The only good thing she had done was to keep Jace in the dark about why she was there each time that he bailed her out.

After her mother passed, and Rebel agreed to take care of her little brother, she realized that she had to be able to work to put food on the table and clothes on the growing boy’s back. She was only eighteen, but old enough to be Jace’s legal guardian. So, she quit high school during her senior year and started looking for full-time work, but no one wanted to hire her to work between the hours of eight in the morning and four in the afternoon, while Jace was in school. She knew that she’d never be able to afford a sitter, especially while earning the minimum wage. That was when Rebel decided to answer an ad for a local strip club. She got the job and went home every night feeling dirty, but she could afford a babysitter for Jace and all the rest of the things that he’d need to grow up. When things started getting tight with their finances, she had to make some hard and fast choices. That was when she began accepting the offers that came in nightly for men she danced for. She’d make them get a hotel room and meet them after her shift. Rebel gave them an hour of her time, and they paid her one hundred dollars in cash. After some time, she had a few regulars set up, and going home to her innocent little brother became harder and harder.

As Jace got older, she worried that sooner or later, he’d figure out her secret, but she was able to keep him in the dark until he graduated from high school and moved out to go to college. He had gotten enough money in scholarships that he was able to pay for his schooling. He’d come home once in a while, but for the most part, she was on her own. She kept her job, but meeting Johns in a hotel room was a thing of her past. Rebel found a way to stop dancing and when she found a decent job at a little clothing boutique downtown, she felt like things were finally going her way—until Jace went radio silent for ten days.

The cop who booked her walked back to the holding cell she was in and unlocked it. “I guess it’s your lucky day. Someone is here to bail you out, so you won’t be sticking around until morning.”

“Is it my brother?” Rebel asked.

“I have no clue who the guy is. How about you come with me, and you’ll find out soon enough,” the officer said. Rebel stood and followed the officer out of the holding cell. She hoped that Jace was standing on the other side of the door as they walked into the station, but her hope was quickly dashed. She looked around the room, trying to find him, but he wasn’t there.

“So, who bailed me out?” Rebel asked.

“That guy over there,” the officer said, pointing to a big guy standing in the corner of the room. He was casually leaning against the wall as though he had nowhere better to be. He had on a black, form-fitting T-shirt; his arms covered in tattoos, making Rebel wonder what he had underneath his shirt. She was always a sucker for a man with tattoos. The guy had a beard, and she never really cared for them, but on him, it worked.

“Come with me and we can get you out of here,” the officer ordered. She wanted to protest and tell him that she needed to know who was bailing her out, but doing so might land her back in the holding cell. Rebel decided that getting out of there was worth having to go with a complete stranger, even if he looked like her could snap her in two if he wanted to.

She followed the officer out to the hallway where he handed her a plastic back with her name on it. Her wallet, keys, and a few other items were inside—but her purse was missing. “Where is my purse?” she asked.

“I’ll have to check with the arresting officer, but this was all that was checked in,” the officer said.

“It was brand new. I just got it last week,” she insisted.

“And if it was in your possession when you were arrested, it would have been in that bag,” he said, nodding to the plastic bag still in her hand. She quickly opened it and checked to make sure that everything was still in her wallet. She was relieved to see that everything was there, but it irritated her that her new purse was missing.

“Leave it alone,” a man said from behind her. “I’ll get you a new fucking purse, but we need to get on the road.” She turned around to find the big guy who had been standing in the corner, minutes earlier, right behind her.

“That’s not necessary,” she insisted. “I can purchase my own purse. It’s a matter of principle. If the officer who arrested me took my purse, then he should have to replace it.”

“Now wait a minute,” the officer releasing her shouted.

“Sir, I forgot to give you this. All her items wouldn’t fit in one bag, so I put her purse and a few other things into this second bag,” the clerk from behind the desk said. He handed it to the officer before he could continue with the rest of his lecture, and Rebel smugly took it from him.

“Thank you,” she spat. She really didn’t mean it, but she also knew that accusing the arresting officer might land her in more trouble than the speeding ticket she was currently facing.

“Yeah,” the officer grumbled. He handed the guy behind her a few papers and told him that she had to appear in court in one week. He promised to text the guy the details and sent them on their way. Honestly, Rebel couldn’t get out of that building or away from those officers fast enough. She had almost forgotten to find out who was bailing her out.

They walked out into the cool night air and she stopped dead in the parking lot. She turned to find the big guy looking a bit confused. “Did you forget something?” he asked.

“Nope,” she said, “I’m just wondering who the hell you are and why you bailed me out. The only people who knew that I was in there were the officers and my brother, Jace. Care to tell me who you are?” Rebel didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she was free and capable of taking care of herself from there.

“Jace sent me,” the big guy said. “My name is Henry, but everyone calls me Bolt.”

“Well, Henry, that is a very strange nickname,” she said. “How did you get it?”

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