Chapter Fourteen
R ebel dipped his face into the high collar of the black down jacket and inhaled.
The scent smelled like Crow—woodsy, spicy, and fresh.
Enclosed in Crow’s SUV, wearing the man’s jacket, Rebel felt surreal.
“Where are we going?”
“I rented a room in a hotel not far from Lincoln’s place.”
“Oh.”
“Do you stay at Lincoln’s?”
“Sometimes, not all of the time,” he said.
“So, if you’re gone for a night or two, he won’t come looking for you?”
“No. And he would never come looking for me. He has people who do that.”
“Does he ever come out of there?”
“Once or twice a week. Either to meetings or to the club.”
“So that’s when we’ll kill him,” Crow said, pulling into the valet of a massive hotel.
Rebel gaped, he couldn’t help it. He’d never stayed in a hotel this expensive in his life.
“You have a room here?” He gulped.
“Yeah, come on.” Crow handed the keys to the valet and walked through the lobby.
Rebel tripped over himself to keep up and stepped inside the elevator doors when they opened. It took them up to the eighteenth floor.
Crow flipped a key card at the door and ushered him inside.
The room had a king-sized bed, a sitting area with a fold-out couch, a small kitchen, and a massive bathroom including a Jacuzzi.
The wall of windows drew him over and Rebel gazed out at the city’s lit-up skyline. After a moment, he turned away from the view of Los Angeles and back to Crow.
Damn, Rebel couldn’t even imagine sleeping in a place like this and he’d bet it cost a shit ton of money each night. The nicest thing he’d ever slept in was a local motel once when Tanis had given him to a visiting CEO. It hadn’t been a good night.
“Rebel?”
He shook himself and gazed at Crow. The man’s blond hair was loose and it barely touched his shoulders when the man cocked his head like he was doing now. Those blue eyes were on him and, for some reason, Rebel’s words dried up, but he managed to croak one out.
“Yeah?”
“What’s the name of the club Lincoln goes to?”
“Station Sixteen Forty,” Rebel answered, confused. “Why?”
“Aren’t you paying attention?”
“What?” He had started to feel stupid like he had missed something along the way.
“That is where we will take out Lincoln,” Crow said slowly.
“Why?”
“You said you needed my help to kill him.”
“No, I said I needed your help, but it’s to save someone.” Rebel licked his lips.
“Save someone?” Crow echoed blankly. “Who?”
“Angel. She’s sixteen. He’s holding her captive.” Rebel’s breath was coming fast and he felt like he was running while standing still. “He’s beating and fucking her.”
Rebel couldn’t tell what Crow was thinking, but he did recognize the flash of anger and contempt that swept over the man’s face.
“I promised Angel I would save her,” his voice cracked and he waved his hands.
“And I don’t know how to rescue her,” Rebel admitted even though it fucking sucked that he didn’t have the knowledge nor skills to get her out.
Crow seemed to understand his feelings and approached him slowly. Placing a warm hand on his shoulder, Rebel felt the strength all the way to his stomach.
He didn’t know why he was reacting to Crow so much this time around, but he was. Maybe it had been that last time he had been taken against his will and this time he had come voluntarily.
This time he was hyper-aware of Crow’s bigger physical frame, making him feel small, but also protected.
“Can you get me in?” Crow asked and it took a moment for Rebel to comprehend.
He shook his head. “No, you’d have to do an interview.”
“Is he hiring?”
“Not at the moment.”
“Okay, then we catch him at the club,” Crow said and turned away from him to pull the black long-sleeved shirt over his blond head. The muscles on the man’s back were miles wide and ripped. Crow had tattoos of black tree branches littering his back, going down one side and up and over both arms. On his right arm birds took flight.
Rebel was impressed by the sight and stepped forward to touch his fingers lightly to one of the branches.
Crow froze beneath his touch and Rebel yanked his hand away, taking several steps to put distance between them.
Where the fuck had his courage gone?
“We can’t go to the club,” he scowled, reaching for the ever-ready anger as a shield.
“Have you ever gone before?”
“Every week,” he admitted.
“Let’s make a game plan in the morning,” Crow said, walking into the bathroom. “For now, call room service if you’re hungry and then we need to get some sleep.”
The shower flipped on and Rebel tore off the jacket and hurried over to grab the menu from the desk.
The next morning when Rebel came awake, he rolled over and sat up in the bed just as Crow came out of the steamy bathroom.
The man pulled on a light blue dress shirt from the closet and shrugged into it while gazing at him.
Rebel was sorry to see the muscles and tattoos covered up.
“So, when we hit this nightclub, I go in as your boyfriend,” Crow said while buttoning the shirt, covering his chest from view.
“Wait…what?” Rebel gaped when the words registered and his eyes flew from the man’s hands to his face.
“We’ve known each other a few months,” Crow began with humor in his blue eyes.
“Just brief encounters,” Rebel teased.
“That’s just semantics.”
“That’s a fact,” he snorted.
Crow smiled and Rebel’s stomach jumped. “And we reconnected over the past two days.”
“Like old lovers?”
“Mhmm,” Crow agreed and sat on the edge of the other bed to put on his shoes. “Now get dressed.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Hurry up.”
Rebel raced into the shower and grimaced as he changed into yesterday’s clothing.
A half an hour later, they ended up in a very exclusive men’s clothing store and when Rebel balked, shaking his head, Crow linked their fingers together.
Caught off guard by the move, Rebel found himself pulled inside the expensive store that held more than just clothes—it was also connected to a hair salon.
“He needs everything,” Crow said and handed a black credit card to the assistant manager.
Store clerks rushed to get Rebel set up with anything Crow wanted and that included new briefs, socks, shoes, and everything in between.
Crow was picky, so it took almost three hours and by the time they were done, Rebel was starving.
He’d long since given up protesting because there was no stopping Crow.
The man ordered it all delivered to their room at the hotel except for the outfit Rebel now wore.
A pair of classic fit black pants molded to his legs and made his ass look good, if he did say so himself. Combined with a burgundy twill dress shirt and matte leather lace-up boots, Rebel felt like a million dollars. Crow selected a thigh-length wool coat in dark gray and slipped it over his shoulders.
Although he was sorry to see the jacket Crow had lent him go, this one fit like it was made for him.
Turning for the entrance, Crow caught him before he could reach the door and guided him into the salon.
Rebel’s coat was removed and hung up and he was pressed into a chair.
“Don’t cut it too short, but give it a trim and conditioning,” Crow said and sat in one of the large waiting chairs. A woman hurried over and poured him a glass of champagne.
Crow left it on the table and Rebel noticed the guy didn’t take one sip. Now, if that had been him sitting there, he would have tossed that sucker down quickly.
Usually, he took the scissors to his own hair or his mother—or Dory had done it for him. He shoved thoughts of her away.
“He has such a small frame and delicate build,” the young woman said, gazing at him with a smile in the mirror. She ran her hands through his dark curls. “We don’t want to lose any of the length.”
She led him to a bowl where she washed and conditioned his hair and then back to the chair to snip at his shining black hair. The way she cut it had the curls falling around his head, making his eyes look bigger.
Damn, he looked good and his eyes met Crow’s in the mirror. The flash of something in the man’s blue eyes triggered butterflies in Rebel’s stomach.
He knew without a doubt that Crow found him attractive. Even though the guy said he wasn’t his type. Maybe he could change Crow’s mind?
Whoa…shut that off right the hell now , he silently scolded himself. There was no way he was getting involved with Crow.
He looked away.
But the idea that they could be something more just wouldn’t quit.