Chapter Forty-One
If the rest of her life depended on explaining the movie, Rebel would drop dead then and there.
Kaia had been waiting for her in front of the movie theater, dressed in a striped button down, gold chains, including— sigh —a choker, hoop earrings, and black skinny jeans, along with Doc Martens.
The moment Momma swerved to a stop and their detail swarmed, Kaia threw his cigarette aside and walked to the curb. Rebel had texted him what to expect, apologizing for all the weirdness. To her, the date would’ve been better without babysitters, but that was life as her father’s daughter.
Then, Kaia opened her door, assisted her out of the sportscar, and kissed the back of her hand.
“Fuck,” he breathed.
“I’m Rebel’s mom. Megan Caldwell.” Momma introduced herself before Kaia said more as she stopped next to Rebel. “Take care of my daughter.”
Still staring at Rebel, Kaia nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I sure will.”
Momma hugged her. “We’ll pick you up from J’s at eleven.”
We meant Momma, Daddy, or Diesel. We foretold an impending disaster. Rebel didn’t want her father or brother to intimidate Kaia, especially if their date went well.
“Diesel isn’t picking us up, is he?” Or worse. “Neither is Daddy, right, Momma?”
“I’m reserving an Uber, Mrs. Caldwell,” Kaia cut in.
Uncertainty crossed Momma’s face
“Please, don’t say no,” Rebel begged. “Please, allow Kaia to bring me home in an Uber.”
“Your normal curfew’s ten, Reb,” Momma said. “I’m extending it an hour as it is.”
“Can it be midnight this one time?” she asked.
“Our reservation at the restaurant is for eight.” Kaia smiled at Momma. “It’s Valentine’s so it might be crowded. Even if we’re served our meal within forty-five minutes, we still have to eat, Mrs. Caldwell.”
“Which is why I said eleven.”
“But—”
Momma raised her hand, interrupting whatever Rebel might have said. “Text me,” she instructed. “Keep me posted and I’ll let you know if I’ll extend your curfew and allow Kaia to bring you home in the Uber.”
A few minutes later, Pike, Huck, Zephyr, and Sparrow were escorting Momma away in a blaze of smoke, chrome, and roars. Although Kaia didn’t seem to notice Bishop, Narci, Torrin, and Potter in the shadows, Rebel did .
Yet, throughout the movie, Bishop and the guys made themselves scarce.
She felt their gazes, though. They were somewhere in the theater, laser focused on her, even in the darkness.
When she walked out because she really needed to pee and to make sure popcorn wasn’t in her teeth, the four bikers converged from different rows and followed her, hot on her heels.
Fucking dummies. If they weren’t well known in the area, someone would’ve called the cops. Bikers with tattoos, wearing their cuts, and following a girl alone couldn’t have looked lawful.
It was so fucking annoying, but Rebel was only grateful that her father and brothers hadn’t decided to accompany her on her date.
They were probably tracking her to high hell.
She’d considered asking Mattie to disrupt any signals, but Rebel wanted her date to go smoothly.
She was certain she wouldn’t only have her detail with her if she’d fucked with the trackers.
As she walked toward the bathroom, she noticed the attention the male theater workers and some moviegoers roaming the hallway gave to her. She offered little waves and added an extra sway in her hips.
When the movie ended, Kaia escorted Rebel outside. Once again, she didn’t see the guys, but she felt their presence. She marveled at how such big men hid in plain sight.
Realizing Kaia was taller than her even in her pumps made her heart pound and butterflies swoop into her stomach.
All through the ride to the restaurant, Kaia kept her hand in his. Every now and then, their rings bumped. Hers was gold and diamond, a Christmas present from CJ, while Kaia’s was heavy and silver, drawing attention to his tatted fingers.
“To keep me balanced,” he explained .
“That’s so…so deep ,” she murmured.
“I can get you one.” He kissed her palm and a shiver went through her. He fit his hand to hers. “Your hand is so slim. Delicate.”
Dazed, Rebel smiled. She hadn’t seen Kaia in person since the day they met. Nothing compared to gazing into his purple-tinged blue eyes up close. From a distance, she curtailed her longing to pull the pins from his dark hair and feel its softness for herself.
The only guy as beautiful as Kaia was Diesel…
She drew in a harsh breath and looked out of the backseat window of the moving car. Whether Diesel ever took her on a date was a moot point. She was experiencing her first one. So far, it was everything she’d ever dreamed of, though there was something bittersweet about it not being with Diesel.
Besides, he was no longer the Diesel she knew and loved with all her heart.
Her Diesel wouldn’t break into her room against her will and watch her like a creep.
Her Diesel had some honor and morals. He would never accost her or assault her or order her outside to stand in cold weather in the middle of the night to “observe” her.
He would never remain silent while CJ drank lean.
Just thinking about it made her so very sad. Many would say he was giving her what she’d asked for. She’d paraded in front of him without clothes. She’d teased and tempted him. In hindsight, she wasn’t sure what she truly wanted.
It certainly wasn’t Diesel dead, which was exactly what his current recklessness would get him.
Whether she liked it or not, he was also married.
She hated Tabitha, but that was who he chose.
She’d witnessed her parents’ marital problems because of Torie.
Though she still believed her father engaged in untoward behavior, he had been distraught.
Torie was just a fling. Momma, his wife , trumped his side chick.
Which was what Rebel would be for Diesel.
It didn’t matter if they waited until she was sixteen, eighteen, or twenty-one.
Unless he divorced that bitch, he would walk away from Rebel once he tired of her. Or if his wife discovered their affair.
She shuddered, thinking of Daddy. Momma forgave him, although he was the reason she’d become a little cold.
Rebel still hadn’t completely forgiven her father, though she’d tried.
She’d idolized him, especially the way Momma was always first in his life.
She didn’t know if she’d ever look at him in the same way.
“Are you okay, babe?” Kaia spoke close to her ear.
His breath tickled her nape.
Forcing herself to smile, Rebel looked at Kaia. Every few feet, streetlights flooded the car and illuminated his handsome face. “I’m fine. Just hungry.”
He smiled, leaned in, and brushed his nose against hers. For a breathless second, she thought he intended to kiss her on the lips. It disappointed her he didn’t, yet her nose tingled from the contact.
In the restaurant, Rebel found D. Elliot on duty. Her favorite waiter looked gaunt and tired, though he tried to act his normal, jovial self as he sat them at a four-seat table in the middle of the floor. Rebel had an excellent view of all corners of the place.
The moderate crowd shocked her. She didn’t have experience with a Valentine’s date, but she’d expected a packed restaurant. She easily picked out Bishop, Torrin, Potter, and Narci huddled together at a table near the window.
Searching her mind, she tried to think if she’d heard their bikes as she rode in the Uber and realized she hadn’t. They’d beaten her to the restaurant .
Bishop raised his glass to her, and she swallowed, nodded, and glanced around.
A handyman with a thick beard, trucker’s cap, and dark glasses sat at the bar.
One table over to where she sat, a little old guy with a red beard and white hair—also a handyman—worked on a puzzle in a crossword book, barely paying attention as he lifted a glass of iced tea and drank.
Directly ahead of her, roughly four or five tables down, two more bearded and capped handymen looked at a menu.
She picked out a fifth and sixth handyman at separate tables.
“What the fuck? Is there a handyman convention in town?” she asked, giggling.
Kaia and D. Elliot laughed, shifted, and exchanged unreadable looks.
“I thought you at least had to wear something other than work clothes to J’s,” she said.
Another nervous laugh escaped D. Elliot. “Mrs. Harrington said to seat them tonight, but not to make it a regular occurrence.”
Rebel studied each man, dressed in gray jumpsuits, unconcerned by the happenings in the restaurant. “That was sweet. Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be spent alone.”
She thought of her mother, so gorgeous, but spending Valentine’s Day alone because Daddy had something else to do. Club business according to CJ. Even if he hadn’t told her, she’d overheard her father and brothers discussing today in the mancave.
Maybe, she should’ve canceled her date to spend it with Momma.
“Is Mrs. Harrington the manager?” Kaia’s voice interrupted Rebel’s thoughts.
“No,” she said. “She owns the restaurant. Joan Harrington. She’s also Pop’s mom.”
Confusion knit Kaia’s brow. “Who’s that?”