EPILOGUE
REBEL
“Where the fuck is this guy? Didn’t we agree on three o’clock?” With a surge of frustration, I kicked the nearest pew. The ageing wood splintered with a loud crack.
Auryn checked his phone for any message that would indicate our guy was running late. “Chill the fuck out. He’ll be here. Pretty sure he wants this kidney.”
I glanced at the small cooler containing the organ. Kidneys were a hot commodity. Definitely in high demand. They weren’t the only organs in demand, of course, but they were the easiest to come by.
Too bad this was the only day we’d been able to schedule this meet up. Organs didn’t have a long shelf life once they were removed from the body. It wasn’t really something we could put off. Stray, Dom, and Casper had delivered the organ promptly after handling the removal.
I kept checking the time on my phone. I’d promised Storm that I would pick her up by four. We had big plans this weekend, starting tonight.
Summer was well underway. We’d spent the first few weeks after school let out moving into our new apartment near campus. Tonight was special though.
I hadn’t told anybody what I had planned. Auryn didn’t understand the reason for my impatience. As the minutes ticked past, I grew increasingly annoyed. We had a rule that nobody did a deal or went on a job alone. We always went together. I wouldn’t leave Auryn to handle this on his own. If something went wrong, it would be on me. I had to stick it out and wait until our guy showed up.
“Was that a car?” I asked, poking my head out of the church to check for a new arrival.
A black sedan pulled up near the building. Finally. My hand strayed to the gun tucked into the back of my pants. Usually these exchanges went smoothly, but we had to be prepared for anything. If this guy tried to fuck me over and ruined my evening, I would put a bullet in his head.
To my surprise, the man had come alone. After dropping a bag of cash on the ground, he held both hands out at his sides where we could see them. Auryn clutched the cooler containing the kidney, holding it hostage while I counted the money. When I nodded that everything was all good, he handed over the cooler.
“Thank you.” The man nodded, his expression neutral and unreadable. “Nice doing business with you.” Just like that, he turned around and got back into his car, driving away.
“I love when things go smoothly. You take the cash. I can’t bring that much with me where I’m going. I’ll check in with you later.” I waited until Auryn had safely driven away with the money before I got into my car and left the church behind.
As I drew closer to the apartment I now shared with Storm, a nervous twitch began in my stomach. What the fuck was that? I didn’t do nervous. In fact, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d felt nervous. This falling in love shit was no joke.
Storm waited outside in front of the building when I pulled up. She tossed her bag into the back before sliding into the passenger seat.
“Everything all good?” she asked. “Did you sell a bunch of drugs or maybe an exotic animal?”
She flashed me a teasing grin. That sparkle in her eyes went straight to my guts before diving down to my cock. This woman fucked with my head in the worst and best way.
“A kidney actually. Everything went well. No problems.” I pulled the car back into traffic, heading for the fancy restaurant on the south side of town.
I’d been there dozens of times with my family over the years. Reservations needed to be booked weeks in advance, and every plate cost at least three figures. Storm had never been there. She’d confessed to me one evening that it had been a personal goal of hers to be able to enjoy a meal there. I’d booked the place a while ago as well as a room in the five-star hotel upstairs. We would spend the night and then tomorrow we were flying out to the coast. To my family’s cabin.
Storm scrunched her nose up in distaste. “Ew, never tell me. I don’t really want to know the dirty details.”
I chuckled, reaching over to lightly chuck her under the chin. “That’s what pays the rent, baby. If it makes you feel any better, we make an effort to grab organs from shitty people whenever possible. As long as they meet the health requirements. CEOs that harm children with the toxins their companies produce. Politicians that break every promise. People that throw trash at the homeless and tell them to get a fucking job.”
Storm eyed me skeptically. “Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”
I shrugged, turning back to the road. “Maybe. I’m not going to pretend we’ve never done what we had to do to make a deal happen. We do our best to source our product from the degenerates of society. They’re less likely to go to the authorities.”
“So it’s really about keeping your own asses out of trouble.” Storm nodded. “I guess that makes sense. Still, I don’t want to hear about you carving organs out of people. This is supposed to be our special night.”
“Oh, it’s going to be more than special.” At least, I sure fucking hoped so.
Maybe it was too soon. Maybe we weren’t in the right place for that yet. Try as I might to talk myself out of this, it wasn’t happening. This woman was my everything, and I needed to make sure it stayed that way.
We went to the hotel first to check in and change for dinner. This place was dressy. Seeing Storm decked out in a long black dress that fell to her feet almost made me fall at her feet as well. There was nowhere else I’d rather be.
“You’re so damn beautiful. Never leave me.” I kissed her gently, careful not to ruin her lipstick.
“Where would I go?” she teased. “You look pretty damn good yourself, sir. You clean up well. You should do it more often.”
I glanced down at the suit pants and dress shirt I wore. Definitely not my usual style. “If it means seeing you wear dresses like that, I’ll do anything you want.”
“I’m so excited to eat at Riptide. I don’t even know what I should get. Do you have any favorites?” She ducked back into the bathroom, leaving the door open as she checked her perfect makeup.
“The lobster is great. So is the fettuccine. There’s not a bad thing on the menu. I’ll be having you for dessert though.” Entering the bathroom, I stood behind her, looking at our reflection in the mirror. God, we were perfect together.
Dinner went well. I told Storm to order anything she wanted. We decided on a few separate dishes that we would share so she could try different things. The candlelight setting and the prim and proper patrons seated all around us were definitely not my vibe. Storm ate it up though. Seeing her excited to be there, savoring every bite she took, made it all worth it.
The small box burning a hole in my pocket started to drive me crazy. I’d never been afraid to do anything before. Hell, I just sold a fucking kidney to some guy in the parking lot of an abandoned church. I’d murdered the man who went after my girl and killed her brother. Fearless was my middle name.
So why did my heart pound so fucking hard as we finished up dinner and returned to the hotel?
I called down to the front desk and asked them to send up a bottle of their best champagne on ice. What I really wanted was to chug some Jack Daniels. Since that would be neither classy nor mood setting, I stuck with the champagne.
“I’ve never had real champagne before.” Storm perched on the edge of the bed, watching as I popped the cork and poured a glass for each of us.
“To the most beautiful woman in the world. The only woman able to bring a wild fucker like me to his knees.” I clinked my glass against hers, waiting for her to take a sip. I drank from mine too and set it down on the bedside table.
Then I dropped down to one knee, pulling the ring box from my pocket. Sucking in a deep breath, I opened the box.
Storm lowered her glass, blinking a few times as she realized what was going on. Her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God, Rebel, what are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m asking you to marry me.” Holding her panicked gaze, I peered into her beautiful blue eyes, doing my best to be earnest. “I don’t really know how to do this. I really hope I don’t fuck it up. All I know is that I’m hopelessly in love with you, Storm. You’re mine, and I want you to always be mine. I want to always be yours too. Will you be my wife?”
The moments that followed my request were the most stressful moments of my entire life.
Storm seemed taken aback. She pressed a hand to her heaving chest, shaking her head in disbelief. “Is this really happening? Are you sure this is what you want?”
A smile stretched across my face. She was so damn adorable.
“I’ve never wanted anything more. Now please answer the question before the uncertainty drives me all the way to crazy.” I reached to take her hand, kissing the tips of her fingers.
Storm practically fell off the bed onto my lap. Slinging her arms around my neck, she kissed me several times, still clutching her champagne glass. “Yes. A world of yes. I am yours, Rebel. Forever.”
Trying to keep my traitorous hands from shaking, I slipped the ring onto her finger. Together, we stared at the sparkling diamond. The symbol of our everything.
“It’s so beautiful, Rebel. I think I can see my reflection in it.” Holding her hand up, she turned it toward the light, checking out the diamond from every angle. “I’m in awe.”
I hugged her tight, making her squeak. “Good. My mom helped me pick it out.”
“Really? She doesn’t think we’re moving too fast? Oh my gosh, I can only imagine what my mom will say. I hope she’s happy. She does really like you.” Remembering the champagne glass she still held, Storm drained the rest of it dry.
“My mom adores you,” I said. “She wouldn’t say it to my face but I know she wonders how I landed a girl like you.”
Storm snickered, playfully slapping my chest. “Sometimes I ask myself the same thing.”
“Funny.” I captured her lips in a kiss that spun my head. “I think it’s time we moved onto dessert.”
Gathering her in my arms, I threw her onto the bed. I plucked the empty glass from her hand and set it aside before pushing her skirt up to expose her tiny pink panties. I glanced up to find Storm still staring at the ring on her hand.
“It’s just so… wow. You know? Is this crazy? Are we ready for this? I mean I want to more than anything. It’s just that—”
Crawling up over her, I silenced her nervous rambling by crushing my lips to hers. Our kiss deepened until we were pawing at each other, tearing at one other’s clothes.
When she lie naked beneath me, I grinned down at her and said, “Maybe it’s crazy. Maybe I don’t care. We’re free to do whatever the hell we want, whenever the hell we want. Is that okay with you, Mrs. Kane?”
Storm answered me by reaching down to grasp my cock while biting down on my bottom lip. Seeing my ring on her finger made me need to be inside her. To claim her with every part of me.
I’d killed for this woman, and I would do it again. Anything it took to protect her. To make sure the world knew she was mine. I would go to hell and back for her.
If that meant putting my own life on the line for her, so be it. This was forever.
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