Page 199 of Rebellious

“You and Diesel are family. If he overlooks Uncle Johnnie’s crimes because of that, he’ll certainly overlook whatever happens between me and you or me and Diesel.”

“There is no me and you. Get those fucking words out of your mouth. What don’t you understand about I like living. Me. You have nothing to prove and nothing to lose, Rebel. Not a thing. I do. Diesel does.”

Her damnable tears started again and she growled, swiping them angrily away. “I don’t believe—”

“Don’t,” he interrupted. “But let me ask you this. Something completely different. Suppose you aren’t destined to die? Then what? You’ll be stuck with a baby that you have to help grow up when you’re just a kid yourself. You still have so fucking much to experience. Don’t ruin it with a pregnancy.”

Up until recently, Rebel had feared pregnancy. She still did, but, like everything recently, her feelings were so complicated.

“You’re irreplaceable and unforgettable. We don’t need a child to remember you by. But you aren’t dying anytime soon.”

“If you say so.” Her response was lackluster, though she couldn’t help it. Bishop just didn’t understand her fear, so she dropped the subject. “What’s on your upcoming agenda?”

“A concert,” he said, rolling with the flow. He was so easy to talk to. “In three weeks.”

“Can I be your plus one? We like the same music.”

“You absolutely cannot be my plus one. That would be classified as a date.”

“I’ve never been to a concert before.”

“Not my fault. I can’t take you, Rebel.”

Smiling brightly, she pointed to her face. “How can you deny such beauty?”

“Very easily,” he said, laughing. “Even if your mom and dad said ‘yes’, I’d need eyes in the back of my fucking head to keep watch on you.”

“No, you wouldn’t. I wouldn’t be any trouble, I promise. If they say ‘no’, we can sneak there.”

His eyes rounded before he gave her a disapproving look. “This just proves you hear what the fuck you want to. I sneak you out of this fucking house, to a concert, and I’ll be sanctioned, beaten, and out of a job.”

“I’m not trying to get you in trouble. I just want someone to pay attention to me.”

“Reb.” Sympathy replaced his annoyance and the tension in his shoulders eased. “I’m here for you. I am. As much as I can be. I want to help you. You’re surrounded by brothers and rules. I know that gets exhausting. Us sneaking out together isn’t the answer, babe. It’s a recipe for disaster. Slow down a little. Take a breath. You haven’t even gotten to the best part of your teenage years. Sweet Sixteen and onward. Just trust me. Please. Youth lasts, but being a teenager is so fleeting. Don’t complicate it with sex and babies. You have all the time in the world for that.”

Once again, she dropped the subject. He was saying a lot of what Momma already told her. “Kaia got a little upset with me because I took off his earrings, but Diesel told me they weren’t real gold.”

“You should’ve found a magnet. Real gold isn’t magnetic. If it sticks to a magnet, it isn’t real gold.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“You can also put them in water. Real gold sinks. If it floats, it’s fake. Or just look for purity markings. Actual gold will always be stamped with 10K, 14K, 18K, et cetera. Or 417, 585, and 750, European numeric codes.”

“You know a lot about gold,” Rebel said, impressed by his knowledge.

Bishop glanced away before smiling enigmatically. “Shit I picked up along the way.”

“That’s good shit, though. It comes in handy.”

He slid off the stool, walked to the cabinet and took out a glass that he filled with water, then brought to her. “You’re wearing studs, so the marking is probably on the post. Take one off and throw it in the water. That’ll be easiest on our eyes.”

Without hesitation, she removed the earring and plopped it in the glass. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to vindicate Kaia or prove Diesel wrong.

The earring sank to the bottom of the glass and she clapped. “They’re real,” she crowed.

“They are.”

Bishop took the glass away, returning with her earring in the middle of his wet palm. She snatched it up and returned it to its rightful place.