Page 19 of Gang of Roses: Rebel

Rebel laughed. “We grown.”

“I know,” Jenay teased. “That’s why I said it.”

The twins laughed before making their way toward the exit. Then Rebel and I stood there watching them leave until the front door closed behind them. The second they were out of sight, I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding. That’s when Rebel looked over at me.

“You good?”

“Yeah.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You sure?”

I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Yeah. Why?”

She smirked. “I don’t know... you seem a whole lot happier now that they gone.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Man, shut up.”

She bumped my shoulder as we started walking toward the door together.

“Mhm. That’s what I thought.”

Rebel rolled her eyes, but I caught the corner of her mouth curling into a smile before she took another bite of her wing. We hung out for a while to eat more wings, laughing and talking like we always did. No matter what, Rebel and I always had a good time together. She knew me better than anyone else. I shared everything with her, and not once did she judge me. That’s why I always said she had a nigga’s heart for real, solid, loyal, and willing to ride through whatever life threw our way.

Once we finished eating, I tossed a few bills on the table, and we headed toward the door. We hadn’t made it three steps when, out of nowhere, that same clown Rebel had brushed off earlier reached out from the bar and grabbed a handful of her ass. Before I could even react, Rebel snatched the empty beer bottle sitting in front of him and swung without a second’s hesitation. The bottle exploded against the side of his head with a sickening crack, showering the bar with glass and beer. That bitch-ass motherfucker staggered backward, cursing as blood trickled down the side of his face. I guess he thought he was gonna walk away without dealing with any more consequences. When he tried to regain his balance, I caught him by the front of his shirt. With one hard jerk, I ripped him clean off his feet and flipped his ass across the nearest table. The table exploded beneath him, sending plates, glasses, and silverware crashing across the floor.

Gasps rippled through the lounge as people scrambled out of the way. A waitress nearly dropped her tray while somebody pulled out their phone. Even his boys froze for a second, looking like they couldn’t believe somebody had just folded their man across a damn table. I walked over without saying a word, grabbed another fistful of his shirt, and yanked him halfway off the broken table until we were face-to-face.

“You got one free lesson tonight. If I ever hear you put your hands on her again...” I leaned in until only he could hear me. “They’ll be identifying your body instead of treating your injuries.”

I shoved him back onto the splintered table hard enough to make what was left of it collapse beneath him. The lounge had gone damn near silent. Ignoring every pair of eyes on us, I turned my attention to Rebel.

“You good?”

She looked me over for a second before nodding. “I’m good.”

I gently brushed a loose loc away from her face, making sure she was straight. “You sure?”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “I’m sure.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed two security guards finally making their way across the lounge. I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders, already getting ready for whatever was about to happen. Rebel caught the look on my face. Normally, she’d be the first one adding fuel to the fire, but this time she surprised me. She reached over and gripped my arm.

“Crow,” she called my name.

I looked at her. “It ain’t worth it.”

For a second, I just stared at her. Hearing those words come from Rebel, of all people, caught me completely off guard. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and together we headed toward the exit.

“We probably ain’t allowed back in this bitch anymore.”

Rebel burst out laughing. “Damn. Those wings were good too.”

“They were,” I chuckled. “Guess we’re banned now.”

“Worth it.”

“Oh, it was definitely worth it.”

She bumped my shoulder with hers as she smirked.