Free REBEL: #4.5 The Beat and The Pulse by Amity Cross Page B

to lunge for her. Push her outta the way and take the bullet for her. I didn’t give a shit about her motives for being at The Underground. I didn’t give two fucking shits because I saw something between us that was worth saving. Worth taking a bullet for. She saw through my bullshit, through my past, and she saw the real me. That was worth risking my life.
    She pulled her hands free and her blue eyes fixed onto Simon. With one swift movement, she was up out of the chair and going for his gun.
    Fuck, no!
    I let out a roar as Simon tensed, his finger squeezing against the trigger. The rest happened like a slow motion sequence in a movie. Her right hand shot up and grasped his wrist, shoving the gun upward. There was a deafening bang as it went off, the roof shattering as the bullet passed through the plaster. For a sickening moment, I thought she’d been hit, but Charlie was in full flight, her left hand slamming down onto the ditch of Simon’s elbow. As he buckled forward, her knee slammed into his groin, and his grip dislodged from around the gun.
    It clattered to the ground, and Max scooped it up as Charlie brought her knee down…then back up into Simon’s face.
    Holy fucking shit. She hadn’t needed me at all.
    Simon fell to the ground in surprise, blood streaming from his nose, and Max stepped forward, aiming the gun directly at the guy’s head.
    “Get out of here,” Max snapped at us. “This is between us.”
    Charlie glanced at me, then to Max. “But—”
    “This is your free pass,” he snapped at her. “We will have a little chat later, you and I. For now, get out of here, and be thankful you have your life.”
    I held out my hand for Charlie, and she stumbled backward, obviously torn considering her job. She wanted to call it in.
    “Charlie,” I urged. “You have to forget about it.”
    When she still hesitated, I grabbed her hand and hauled her from the room, and it wasn’t until we were out in the hall that she seemed to snap out of it. She walked easier, following me out of the house and onto the footpath. Without a word, I led her down the street, unlocking the car and easing her inside. Rounding the front, I climbed into the driver’s seat, and as soon as my door closed, I reached out, desperate to touch.
    “Fuck, Charlie.” I held her in my arms, my heart pounding.
    “I’m okay, Rebel,” she murmured. “I’m okay.”
    Pulling away, I settled back into the driver’s seat, unsure as to where this was going next. There were so many things we hadn’t said yet and even more that we both had to explain.
    We sat in the car in complete silence. A part of me was listening for a gunshot that would signal the end of Simon, but it never came. We never saw Max, either, but it was none of our business. I didn’t want my hands in that argument—those stains would never come out.
    “Rebel…”
    I glanced at Charlie in the passenger seat. Her shoulders were stiff, her hair hanging forward over her face. Reaching over, I threaded my fingers through it and tucked it behind her ear. That was better, I could see her blue eyes this way.
    “Charlie about—”
    Her eyes widened. “Don’t—”
    “Don’t what?” I asked. “Let my balls drop off because my girl could get out of a dicey situation on her own?”
    “Guys don’t usually like that,” she said with a shrug.
    “What, blokes have dropped you because you’re too tough for them?”
    “Something like that.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Pussies.”
    “Kane—”
    “They think they’re tough for dropping you? Shit, all that does is make them insecure pussies. Those men weren’t good enough for you.”
    “ Kane .”
    I glanced at her, frowning at the forceful tone in her voice. “What?”
    “You’re not mad at me?”
    “For what?” I asked, knowing exactly what she was getting at.
    She cast her gaze away, obviously ashamed. “I lied to you.”
    “You wanted to crack The Underground,” I said straight up. “That’s why you were