Page 50 of Rebel

I hurriedly pulled up my pants and got in the car. Hightailing it back home, I went straight up to my bedroom. Shame filled me at the thought of my actions. Such a stupid thing to do in the heat of the moment.

Pulling out my phone, I went to River’s message and promptly blocked his number. There was clearly a war going on between the Kings and Venom. A war that I was now caught in the middle of.

Whether I liked it or not, I had to choose a side. I knew that I would choose Rebel each and every time. He better not make me regret that.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

STORM

By the time Rebel showed up that night, I was falling asleep. Somehow, I’d managed to doze off while making a fruitless attempt at doing schoolwork. Even though my instructors had told me to take a few days off to deal with our family loss, I insisted on staying caught up. If I didn’t work on my studies, I would wander the house in a haze.

Once I let him in, he surprised me by pulling out a bottle of pills. Right away I grew wary.

“What is that?” I couldn’t hide my suspicion.

“Don’t worry. It’s for me, not you.” Rebel waved away my unspoken concerns. “It’s a little something that puts the brain in a sleepy state that makes it hard to lie. I’m going to take it, and you’re going to ask me any question you have. I want to prove to you any way I can that I didn’t kill Chase. Hopefully, then we can move forward, put this behind us, and focus on the real killer.”

I frowned, studying the small pill bottle in his hand. “Are you sure this is a good idea? Is it safe?”

Rebel shrugged. “Safe enough to be prescribed to people for motion sickness and other shit. It’s all good, pet. Don’t worry about it.”

Spying the glass of water on my night table, Rebel popped a pill into his mouth, chasing it down with some water. Somehow, I doubted this was a great idea, but he’d already taken the pill.

“Now we wait.” Sitting on the edge of my bed, he patted the mattress beside him. “Better get your questions ready. Make sure you really want the answers.”

I wasn’t sure if this kind of thing really worked. If it did, what would I ask him? And like he said, did I really want to know the truth?

Of course I did.

We passed the time by researching the drug he’d just taken. I learned that, even though truth was not guaranteed, it had been known to cause one to speak freely without holding back or lying. I suppose that sounded promising. Providing there were no strange side effects to worry about. Rebel didn’t seem to be concerned with that though.

When enough time had passed for the drug to take effect, Rebel seemed much more relaxed. Calm in a way that I had never seen before. His eyes were heavy lidded, but he didn’t seem to have too much trouble staying awake. Propping himself against a pile of pillows pushed up in front of my headboard, he motioned for me to start asking questions.

At first, I didn’t know where to start. Although it may have seemed obvious, I felt overwhelmed. Clearing my throat, I took a deep breath.

“Did you kill Chase?” I asked. My pulse pounded as I realized I was afraid of the answer. There was also no way of knowing if this drug was the real deal. I had to take a lot on faith here.

“No. I never laid a hand on him. Neither did any of the Kings.” Rebel’s tone was calm and even, albeit a little dopey and tired.

“Do you know who killed Chase?” I pushed forward, knowing that no matter what happened, it would either strengthen this strange bond I’d formed with Rebel or destroy it completely.

“Not a clue. After I hooked him up with some blow and molly, I never saw him again that night.” Rebel had no problem making eye contact as he answered my questions.

I paused, toying with the next question that lingered on the tip of my tongue. I almost didn’t ask it but knew that this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

“Do I mean any more to you than a convenient next door fuck?” There, I’d asked. My trembling fingers almost gave me away, so I tucked them under my thighs.

Rebel blinked a few times, a strange smile stealing over his lips. “Yeah, I should’ve known you would ask me questions like that. Of course you mean more to me than just a convenient fuck. Would I be here otherwise?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure what to believe anymore when it comes to you, Rebel.” I nervously tucked a lock of hair behind an ear, twisting it between my fingertips. “Moving on. Do you have any feelings for me?”

His strange smile grew. “Hell yeah. I have a lot of feelings for you. Right now I feel like getting you on your hands and knees and finding out how many times I can make you come.”

“Don’t dodge the question. You’re supposed to be telling the truth here.” I wagged a scolding finger at him.

“I am telling the truth. I honestly want to do that.” When I continued to stare at him in stony silence, he rolled his eyes and added, “Fine. Yes, I have feelings for you, Storm. I don’t always know what they are, but I know that I have no intention of letting you go. Happy?”

That one word was a loaded question all its own. I gnawed my bottom lip, asking myself the same thing.

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