Page 44 of Hell on Wheels
“Yes, well, that statement is exactly what I mean. Hopefully, your newmatescan appreciate your refreshing outlook,” I grumble as I toss back my drink.
Rogue’s mouth drops open, then she closes it as she looks directly at me. “You know what, Rebel? I think it’s possible they do. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be mated with them, you assmunch!” Her chair scrapes on the floor as she gets up and shoves it back, dropping her napkin on her plate and heading out of the kitchen without another word. Within minutes, the door to her room slams so hard we can feel it through the ceiling.
“Way to go, dumbass,” Angelo says drily. He spears a bite of the prime rib and continues to stare at me while he chews, then shakes his head. “Always sticking your fucking foot in your mouth.”
“Come on, guys! I’m not wrong. Most guys will be intimidated as hell by her!”
Archie pushes to his feet and walks over to me, his eyes flashing golden as he pokes me in the shoulder. “You need to learn how to treat people you love, dipshit. She’s had a hard week and you’re supposed to be one of her support people. Her best friend has lost her mind and her life got flipped like a pancake. Show some fucking respect.”
That said, he turns on his heel and stalks out. I hear his feet thump on the stairs and it surprises me to figure out he’s going to see how Rogue is. Usually, we all let her have her little tantrums and when she’s done, she’ll come down and watch TVwith us. This time, Archie got in my face and stomped off as petulantly as she did.
What the hellfire is going on?
“He’s right.” Damon stands, giving me a dirty look before he gathers several plates and carries them to the sink. He’s not looking at me, but I can feel the judgment from across the kitchen.
“Guys, Rogue and I bicker all the time. Why is everyone acting like I’m the problem? She’s just as guilty as me.” I gape at Javi and Angelo, who both slap me in the back of the head and pick up more plates to carry away.
I have no idea what everyone’s deal is, but if they want to take up for my flighty sister, that’s fine. The road is calling me and I have better things to do than coddle her damn fits.
“Fine. I’m out of here. You deal with her, since you all seem sosympathetic.” I grab my keys off the rack by the garage, only turning to send a parting shot. “And when her whims get us all killed, you can eat crow while we toil in some field for eternity.”
Accelerating into the curve, I speed along the hills where most of our races are held. My reflexes are good, but being a supe hones them. The feel of the scenery flying by is soothing; I’ve always used driving to calm my rage. It’s how I became a racer and why I knew escaping the confines of the walls closing in on me would help me focus. All the conflicting emotions inside me are makingit hard to get my mind wrapped around the details of the shit going on with my makeshift family.
And I sure as hell don’t mean Graciella and Odhran.
I’m not as angry at them as Rogue, but they’ve always treated me with more kindness and love than her. They could hold me up as an example of their philanthropy—the powerful orphan they took in as a child out of the goodness of their heart. It didn’t matter that my stepsister ended up with them the same way or that it was obvious they traded her real brother for an upgraded model. People see what they want to see and our adoptive parents are masters of illusion that way.
But I don’t trust them and I sure as fuck don’t have any romantic notions about why they kept either of us. That doesn’t mean I think they’re involved in this gang shit—they’re far too white bread, middle class supe to get into bed with the riff-raff. Their aim is to ingratiate themselves with the clean, rich folk like Javi’s parents; it’s why they put on such a good show. Graciella is a self-centered twat, but she wouldn’t deign to dirty her hands by getting into business with the mafia or drug dealers.
Then who?
Down shifting, I roar through the straight away at a speed well over the limit. My blood pressure is spiking because the next suspect on my list is that fucking cuntrag, Mina. Knowing she spent all those years cultivating my sister as an ego feed only to drop her like a hot potato when she found an additional source of fame sends me over the edge. I never liked her and definitely didn’t trust her, but Rogue loved hersomuch. She thought she’d found a twin flame—a sister—and she nurtured their relationship to the point I worried about it. I noticed Mina’s tendency to only praise Rogue when it served her; she’d tellpeople how amazing my sister’s performance was when she’d practiced a move with her or taught her something. There would be posts and showering of love when Rogue did well, but only if it wasn’t quite as well as Mina was doing. Everything she gave, she demanded some sort of payment for, and my sister was so damaged by our absent parents that she paid willingly.
If I could get away with sneaking in to slit her throat like a Society mark, I would.
Anger makes me take bigger risks, waiting to bank a turn or drift through a curve later and later. I know my skill and this area well enough to do this without concern, but I have to get myself in a more logical state of mind. Eventually, I’ll go too far; it’s happened before.
“She doesn’t have the contacts or the money to arrange something as big as this meeting thing,” I mutter under my breath. “Sure, she can get Rogue a beat down from her new teammates, but Mina isnotnearly as famous or adored as she’s convinced herself she is. She’s a flash in the pan, well known for a few out there stunts, but she’s not headed for stardom. Eventually, the culty folks will find a new obsession and she’ll be left with the handful of admirers she had to start with.”
So why did she choose to be so abusive in front of others? If it gets out, even if one minion tattles, she’ll be ruined.
The chutzpah her move showed tells me she’s convinced herself that she’s untouchable because of the Sickos and Beatrice Janssen. Their power comes from ties to organized crime—or so it's rumored—and they have violent tendencies. New members have to be jumped in and that includes being beaten to hell and back with team skate wheels. I blink when I remember a couple months before Mina’s big viral vid—she was supposedly muggedwhen she was leaving her job at the restaurant late at night. She had to miss several matches and Rogue was worried as fuck.
Mina wasn’t mugged; that much is clear now. She got jumped into the Sickos and she probably stayed as a spy for a while. They probably used their contacts to get her vids to take off—those girls take care of their own. Money from whatever the hell they’re into is how Mina could quit her day job and focus on the influencer garbage. All this crap is tied together and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t make me even angrier. This wasn’t a last-minute whim or accidental betrayal; the planning was months in the making and Mina didn’thaveto beat my sister.
She chose to serve her up on a platter.
She’s a Badass
Knock knock knock.
“Open up, Wheels.”
Silence is the answer, and I rest my forehead on the door. Rebel Kelly is my best friend in the world, but sometimes, he’s a fucking moron. He knows that backing Rogue into a corner never gets him results, yet he did exactly that downstairs. How he hasn’t worked out the truth, I don’t know, except he’s so damn busy pretending he hasn’t been in love with her for years that it’s damaged his brain. The clueless fool didn’t once stop to think about the fact that his beloved stepsister hasn’t been withanyonesince the attack but us. Even before that, she’d broken things off with Winnie months ago.
Exactly who did he think she’d mated with?
“Head up ass,” I mutter as I try to figure out how I’m going to get her to open the door without resorting to knocking it down. It was hard enough to get the lion to allow Rebel to live when he made our mate upset; now she’s denying us the duty of caring for her. The beast roars inside of me and I clench my fists to fight a shift I don’t want. “Calm, calm…”