Page 73 of Rebel

“Yeah,” I finally answered.“I’m good with it.”

He nodded, understanding the weight behind my words.“Keep her safe.From them and from herself.”

“I will.”

He squeezed my shoulder once, then followed the others out.I sat alone in the harsh fluorescent light, mentally preparing for what tomorrow would bring.Not just violence; we’d all seen enough of that to be numb to it.But witnessing Rio confront the men who’d shattered her world.Being there as she either found healing or lost herself completely in revenge.

I thought of her methodical preparations, the steady hands checking weapons, the cold determination in her eyes.Maybe this wasn’t about healing at all.Maybe this was about restoring balance to a universe that had allowed such cruelty to go unpunished.

Outside, I heard the distinctive rumble of Rio’s motorcycle starting up.Likely heading for a long ride to clear her head, to steel herself for tomorrow.I hoped she found whatever peace was possible before the storm broke.Any other man here would be out there telling his woman to get her ass back to the house and sit tight.I couldn’t do that to Rio.Was it a risk?Sure.But I also hoped she’d just ride around the compound.If she did venture out, I had no doubt she was armed.

I gathered my notes from the meeting and stood, switching off the harsh overhead lights.In the sudden darkness, tomorrow’s actions seemed both more real and distant.Twenty-four hours from now, two men would be facing judgment for crimes they thought they’d escaped.And Rio would either be free of their shadow or bound even tighter to the trauma they’d inflicted.

Either way, I’d be there.That’s what family did.

Chapter Seventeen

Rio

The door to Ellis’s apartment gave way with a single kick from Renegade.I stepped inside, knife already in hand, my heartbeat steady despite what I was about to do.The stench hit me first -- cigarettes, sweat, and fear.Ellis’s eyes widened when he saw me, panic setting in.Good.The asshole remembered our previous conversation.I wanted him to know exactly why I was here.

“What the fuck?”Ellis backed up, his hand instinctively reaching toward the coffee table where a pistol lay.

Rebel moved faster, snatching the gun and tucking it into his waistband.“Nuh-uh.You won’t be needing this.”

I took in the cramped apartment.Dirty clothes piled in corners.Fast food containers stacked on every surface.The blinds drawn tight.A fitting hole for a rat like Ellis.

“Private Ellis,” I said, my voice unnaturally calm.

He swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing in his skinny neck.“Look, Rio, I don’t know what you think --”

“She thinks you drugged her, asshole,” Renegade said from behind me.“She thinks you held her down while your buddy Denton took his turn.And then you took yours.You may have gotten a reprieve last time, but now it’s time to pay the price for your crime.She let you go before, and yet here you are.You were supposed to be in prison.Not living a new life.”

Ellis’s eyes darted between the three of us.Me with my knife.Rebel leaning against the wall, looking bored but alert.And Renegade, blocking the door.

“That’s… that’s crazy talk,” Ellis stammered.“I never touched you.”

I took a step closer.This fucker!Was he really going to pretend none of it happened?What the hell!“You’re right.You didn’t touch me.You wore gloves, and a condom.”Another step.“You didn’t want to leave evidence.”

“Look --”

I flipped the knife in my hand, the blade catching the dim light from the single lamp in the corner.“I gave you time to tidy up your life, make any preparations.I hope you used the time wisely.”

“You got no proof,” Ellis blustered, but his voice wavered.His eyes kept tracking the knife in my hand.“Didn’t even show up for the hearing.So who’s to say anything ever happened to you?”

“You think I don’t know you were dishonorably discharged?”I asked.

He sneered.“What of it?Doesn’t mean it was all about you.Like I said, you don’t have any proof either of us touched you.”

“Don’t need proof,” I said.“Not anymore.”

His back hit the wall.Nowhere left to go.“Listen,” he said, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace.“There’s been a misunderstanding.We can work this out.”

“Work it out?”I laughed, a cold, hollow sound that surprised even me.“The way you ‘worked out’ what to do with me when I couldn’t fight back?”

I saw the moment he realized talking wouldn’t save him.Hadn’t worked for him last time, but I’d already learned this one wasn’t all that smart.His eyes hardened, and he lunged at me, trying to grab my wrist, to wrestle the knife away.

I sidestepped.Easy.He was nowhere near as good as me.Without drugs in my system, I had the upper hand.I slashed, opening a line across his forearm.

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