Rebel (Renegades 2)

He tugged the door open. Whitney grabbed it before it closed. “Wes—”

The roar of the motorcycle cut off Whitney’s words, then faded into the distance.

Whitney stepped inside, closing the front door and meeting Rubi’s eyes as she stared blankly down at the door. “I’m sorry. ”

Rubi was transported back in time, to the countless times her father had left her standing at the door, watching his taillights disappear into the distance, a nanny standing nearby with soothing words. They felt as useless now as they had then.

Disappointment and pain and failure coiled into the hollow space of Rubi’s heart. “Me too. ”

Twenty-Nine

Wes pulled onto the gravel drive feeling as confused and hurt as he had when he’d left—three hours ago, not one as he’d promised. And he was pretty sure that would make a resolution with Rubi even more difficult, because she hadn’t responded to any of his texts and hadn’t answered when he’d called to tell her it was taking longer than he’d expected.

He parked the bike and pulled off his helmet. The house was quiet, making Wes wonder if everyone had already gone back to the hospital. He hoped they had. It would give him and Rubi time and room to talk—hopefully less on edge than this morning. He climbed the stairs knowing he’d jumped that bridge toward living together too fast. And right after he’d hit her with the whole I-love-you thing. He had to find a way to slow down, he just… She had a way of making him feel frantic, like he had to grab hold of her hard and fast or risk losing her.

Pausing on the landing, he scraped a hand through his damp hair. Lexi’s words had been swamping his brain from the moment he’d left the house.

“It’s not something someone who’s had a normal upbringing would understand. ”

“Jax is doing a damned good impression of a saint. ”

Wes pushed the front door open, unsettled with a new light shed on an insecurity he’d never had before. But he was far more a saint than Chamberlin ever was. And if Jax could handle Lexi’s issues, Wes could sure as hell handle Rubi’s.

The house was silent. Wes closed the door and peeled off his jacket, hanging it on the hall tree.

“Hey. ”

Whitney’s voice turned him toward the formal living room where she sat on the pillows in a bay window, a mug in her hand.

“Hey. Where is everyone?”

“Mom took Tori and the girls on a shopping diversion. Dad’s in the barn playing with his new program. ”

“Is Rubi upstairs?”

“No. ” Whitney drew out the word. “She’s not. ” She patted the seat next to her. “Come sit down. ”

Alarm brought him farther into the room, but he didn’t sit. “Where is she?”

Whitney looked down at her mug and scraped her lip between her teeth, then returned her gaze to Wes’s. “She went home, Wes. ”

“Ho-me?” His voice cracked, but the surge of emotion in his chest overwhelmed his embarrassment. “What do you…? She left?” he said in disbelief and dread. “She went back to LA?”

Whitney remained solemn. And nodded. “I’m sorry. ”

Shock, anger, hurt, they all burst like firework

s at the center of his chest, twining to ignite his temper. He raked both hands through his hair and paced to the opposite side of the room. “Motherfucking sonofabitch. ”

His mind pinged, never staying on one thought more than a second. He turned on his sister, planted his hands at his waist. “When?”

“I have to give her credit,” Whitney said, her voice sad. “I thought she was going to walk out that door as soon as the sound of your bike faded, but she waited. She waited for an hour and a half, Wes. ”

His anger flashed into guilt, and it filled him until it swam in his vision like a green tide. “But I texted her. I told her I’d be longer than I thought. I tried to call, but she didn’t answer. I convinced the police Dillon was a bigger problem than they thought and—”

“You’re missing the point. ”

Anger and pain made his temper flash. “What point?”