Chapter 35

Thirty-Five

Regan

T he party tonight was one more that I would go to alone. My dad had texted me earlier that he wouldn't be home for a few more days, but for the first time, I didn't care if I had to go alone. I preferred it.

I clipped the diamond necklace around my neck. The pink heart pendant that Rook gave me hung perfectly with the string of diamonds. I pulled my shoulders back, taking a longer look at myself in the mirror.

For the first time in my life, I felt like a grown woman. I felt ready to not shrink back and not hide away. I wanted to be seen and feared.

And I would be.

Rook had made it clear I could handle being on top, and his words repeated in my head. I was capable of this.

So I headed to the dinner alone, but this time I held my head up.

I stepped out of the car onto the sidewalk, looking up at the flickering lights on the front of the sprawling mansion. I didn't know what I was doing anymore, or why I was here. It felt like my brain couldn't piece together what had just happened to me, so I just kept going through the motions.

I had nothing left. There was no other career waiting for me, no other family that would welcome me in. I didn't even know if I had enough talent in art to know if I could make that a career. I forwent pursuing it in exchange for helping my dad, and that wasn't going well for me now.

I might have Rook, but who knew how real all of it was for him?

I kept staring at the building. Another dinner for no reason, another dress no one cared about, diamonds that showed my wealth and hid every terrible, disgusting thing that was underneath. I ran my fingers over the pink heart that Rook had given me.

Everything he did felt special, like I was special to him, but his words still nagged at me. He was going to ruin me, and I think I was starting to realize that he meant he would take my heart and shatter it into a thousand pieces.

And he had been right. It would ruin me, because I was going to let it happen.

I started up the steps again, but I stopped when I heard the rumble of a bike engine. It was funny how I was recognizing them now, since I never cared to listen to them before.

The bike got louder, the rev of the engine making me turn to watch the road. Another few seconds went by before a dark bike rounded the corner, the hue of pink lights making my breath hitch. I didn't know if I would ever get used to Rook riding up to me.

Or kissing me. Or looking at me.

Every time it made my stomach flip, the small burst of excitement made it impossible to stay still.

He pulled up in front of me, cutting me off on the sidewalk. My smile fell when he ripped his helmet off, and I saw the scowl.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he asked.

"Hello to you, too. I was going to dinner." He swung off the bike and grabbed my arm, dragging me into the shadows.

"But why?"

"I didn't know what else to do," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. I didn't want to shy away from my decision now, and I didn't want him to think he could scold me for anything. "I was sitting around that house and I had nothing else."

"And you are happy with this choice?" he asked, still sounding mad.

"Maybe. I don't know. I have wasted a year of my life for this world. I can't give up all of that because of one thing."

"One thing? You can when he looked at you and said you aren't good enough."

My chest tightened. "I am good enough."

"I fucking know that, Regan. So again, why are you here playing dress-up for a man who said you aren't good enough to run his company, but good enough to parade around for appearances? One who apparently thinks you are pretty but have no brain."

I stepped back, the words hitting me hard. "Did you really need to say that?" I asked. "Do you really think I need to hear it again?"

"Considering you are still here being the obedient girl he wants you to be without getting anything in return, yeah, I think it needed to be said."

"And you're perfect? You never do anything you shouldn't? What should I be doing, Rook? I have nothing."

"You can have anything you want, and I've told you that."

"But only if I rely on you to give it to me."

"No, I will help you start and then you will get it all yourself. I'm not promising you a fake life on a silver platter like he has. I'm promising you a real life. One where some days it fucking sucks, and you don't sleep, and you're covered in blood, but after it all, you're on top. After it all, you run the world around you. It's a real life, Regan, not playing dress-up like a stupid doll."

"And real life isn't going around killing people whenever you're a little annoyed," I nearly yelled, and he glared at me.

"Sometimes it is if you want to stay alive."

A bike pulled up behind him, skidding to a halt. I assumed it was one of the group, but Rook looked from the bike to me, his eyes wide with worry.

"Go inside. Run," he said, nodding towards the door. "Now."

"Why? Who is it?" I didn't recognize the bike, but I didn't know exactly what bike everyone drove yet, and honestly, with helmets on, they all blurred together.

"Go inside, now. Find somewhere to hide out for a while."

"I'm not leaving. Tell me what's wrong."

He moved me back, pushing me behind his bike as he pointed towards the building. "I will tell you, but I need you to go."

The rider parked, lifting his shirt and pulling out a gun. I nearly laughed at the visual of this being the way we met, but none of it felt the same.

Rook moved in front of me, blocking my view, and I wasn't hurrying to look around him.

"I already know why you're here and I will pay you double," Rook said.

"What does that mean?" I whispered, but he didn't respond.

The rider made a noise, but I couldn't see what he was doing.

"Shit," Rook said, making me finally peer over his shoulder. The rider had taken his helmet off, smiling at me. He looked no different from Rook or his friends, but my hands still fisted into Rook's shirt as dread filled me.

"I don't need the cash as much as I need you dead," he said.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Are you killing us both or just me?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, pressing against him.

"Both. I at least get the most amount for the same job."

Rook stepped forward, keeping himself between me and the guy as he continued to move closer.

"Why are you walking towards the gun?" I hissed, hoping this meant he was going to shoot him first.

That hope died fast when I saw his gun strapped in a small holster attached to the bike.

The rider raised the gun, aiming it at Rook's chest, and my heart hammered in mine. I couldn't do this. I couldn't watch this.

It felt like Rook was all I had left. The only person on this planet that might care about me enough to put himself between me and a gun. I couldn't watch him die because of that.

I looked down at the gun again and back at Rook. He hadn't turned to face me even for a second, not taking his eyes off the rider.

"Even if you kill me, you aren't going to get what you want out of it," Rook said. "It's not like you can walk right in and take over what I've created."

"Maybe not immediately, but I can start."

"You're going to kill him?" I asked, feeling like I needed some confirmation before I crossed the line. Before I made a decision that I would never forget.

"You, too, princess," the rider said with an unsettling grin.

I grabbed the gun off the bike and stepped around to the back, closer to them. Rook was off to the side now, the rider diagonal to me and the bike as I raised the gun.

He smiled. The laugh that escaped him made me realize he wasn't scared of me. No one was.

"Already know you can't shoot, princess."

I couldn't, but I knew the logistics of it. I steadied my hand, taking one quick breath before I pulled the trigger.

The shot rang out, the quiet night around us breaking before settling eerily fast. The gun dropped as quickly as I had shot it.

Rook watched the guy fall, blood splattering onto us as my stomach churned, threatening everything I had eaten to come back up.

"What a fucking shot," Rook said, turning back to me. "Did you really just kill a guy for threatening to kill me?"

"I did," I said, dragging in hard, ragged breaths. "Aiden was right."

Rook's eyebrows jumped up. "About?"

"That is surprisingly easy to do when they are threatening something you care about."

He took three large steps in my direction, wrapping his arms around me to drag me against his chest. His lips found mine, the desperate, deep kiss making me forget for one second what had happened. He groaned, his hands sliding around the back of my neck to hold me closer.

"You look so fucking pretty, Rebel," he murmured. "You look so good, dripping in blood and diamonds. I told you, you're a fucking queen."

"You find this attractive?"

"Yes, unfortunately. I find my girl putting a bullet in someone's head to protect me sexy as hell. Sorry, buying me flowers or something doesn't get me off the same way."

"I can assure you now, you can expect more flowers than dead bodies."

"Then I'm going to need to kiss you a few minutes longer to make the most of this."

His hands roamed over my back, pulling me tighter against him as his kiss deepened. I felt the urgency in his movements, the raw desire he had for me, making my heart race. He pulled back slightly, just enough to look into my eyes, his breath hot against my lips.

"Every fucking time you surprise me, Rebel. Every time I think I've seen all you have to give, you do something like that and show me over and over how strong you are. You show me how much of a rebel you want to be."

His lips crashed back onto mine, his kiss demanding and wild. I wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the heat between us intensify. His hands slid down to my waist, lifting me slightly off the ground as he moved us against the wall for support.

He rested his forehead against mine, his breathing heavy. "We need to get out of here," he said, his voice softening. "There will be more of them."

"Then I would like to go because I don't ever want to do that again."

"I can't promise a situation like that won't happen again, and I would like to request that you do kill anyone who is trying to kill me. Preferably, at least."

"But that was terrifying. What if I can't?"

"If you want to rule the world with me, Rebel, you are going to have to stand on your own. Next to me, but on your own."

"So you lied? You wouldn't protect me?"

"Until my last fucking breath, but that isn't the point. You're strong, smart, and capable. You can't be a weak point in our lives, in mine. No one can think you're a pawn or a bargaining chip. They have to know they will die if they touch you."

"Or die if they touch you?"

He groaned, pulling me back into him. "Fuck, that's the hottest thing in the world. Yeah, they can know my little rebel girl doesn't like people trying to kill me."

"What if I don't want to kill people?"

"Then they at least have to know you're in charge enough to send someone else to kill them."

I shifted on my feet, the clear answer making me feel in control. "I can do that. At least, I think I can."

"I know you can, and it's not like you have to all the time, but I need to know you can when it comes down to it. You just proved you're capable, and I didn't even have to tell you to do anything. You did it yourself."

"If I had to choose who I had to watch get killed, it was him. I wasn't sure I could see something bad happen to you."

"I understand. I don't even want people to look at you wrong without wanting to break their limbs. Thank you, Rebel."

"I would say anytime, but I wouldn't mean it."

He laughed, wiping something away on my cheek, but I wasn't going to ask what it was.

"How about you agree to do it when it's a situation like that and I can't get to my gun in time?"

I frowned. "Depends on how mad I am at you that day."

The smile that broke across his face was heart-shattering. The man so willing to put himself between me and a gun, the one running himself into the ground to keep his friends and sister safe and happy, seemed shocked that I would do anything to protect him.

"Feel like taking me home now?" I asked. I really was covered in a lot of blood and there would be no way I could go to the party now. Not that I truly wanted to.

"Yeah," he said, running a hand down my jaw. "We have to talk."

"That doesn't sound great."

"Technically, it's not, but after what just happened, it's a lot better than I thought." He looked back over his shoulder at the guy slumped on the sidewalk. "I think I might have to take care of this before we go."

I didn't even want to look. Instead, I turned, leaning against the bike as I stared up at the building. "You do that and I'll wait here."

"Do you want to call your car back? I'll have to do what I can and then wait for the guys to get here for the rest of it."

"No, I'm good here. I can wait."

He leaned over the bike, kissing my neck once before his lips came to my ear. "I'll make it worth the wait, Rebel, promise."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep."

"I never make promises that I can't keep."