Page 56 of Gang of Roses: Rebel

“Rain, give me the fucking gun,” he said louder.

“No.”

For a second, neither of us moved. The tension in the air was thick enough to choke on. Crow stared at me while I stared right back. Most people would’ve backed down, but Crow wasn’t most people. He stepped closer, and I could smell the motor oil and cologne lingering on his clothes. Although I had the gun in my hand, Crow never treated me like I was something to fear.

“Look at me, Rain,” he said firmly, but still low.

Damn him for using that tone. The one that always slipped past my defenses. Slowly, I turned my head. The anger was still there. But when my eyes met Crow’s, something else surfaced. As if he was worried about me instead of the damage I’d caused.

“Give me the gun,” Crow said firmly.

Finally, I handed him my gun. Then I turned around, walked over to my truck and climbed inside, ready to leave. Without looking back, I fired up the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, leaving behind the shattered glass, the screaming car alarms, and the pieces of myself I had just let everyone see.

Chapter 13

Cario “Crow” Domingo

Yellow evidence markers had been scattered across my parking lot like somebody had filmed a damn crime show out front. The police had finally left my shop after that fuckin’ stunt Rebel pulled, shooting at my cousin’s car like she was at a gun range instead of my damn business. Shorty knew how hard I worked to go legit and damn nearly ruined everything I’d spent years building because she couldn’t control her anger. I had been keeping my nose clean, paying taxes, hiring people from the neighborhood, and proving I wasn’t the same reckless nigga I used to be. One stupid decision could’ve brought all that crashing down. Twelve had been all through my place, asking questions and looking around like I was the one who pulled the trigger. That shit pissed me off more than anything. I didn’t bust my ass for years just to get dragged into somebody else’s fuckin’ drama.

Honestly, I was just glad my mechanics had gotten back to work. The last thing I needed was everybody standing around gossiping instead of making money. Still, every few minutes somebody stopped to talk about what had happened. Hell, the entire neighborhood probably knew by now. By tonight, the story would be all over social media, and by tomorrow it’d be ten times worse than what actually happened. Since I couldn’t control what people were saying, I focused on what I could control, my business. I looked around the shop, making sure things were finally settling down before approaching Tony, one of my best workers, to see if he could hold it down for a few minutes.

“Aye, Tony.”

He looked up from the engine block he was working on. “What’s up, Boss?”

“I need you to hold it down for a few minutes.”

Tony glanced around the shop before nodding. “I got it.”

“Make sure these niggas stay working. Every time I turn around somebody standing around talking.”

Tony laughed. “Can’t blame ‘em. Today’s been some wild shit.”

“Yeah, well, wild shit don’t pay the bills.”

“Fair enough.”

I pointed toward the service bays. “If anybody got questions, they can wait until tomorrow. We got deadlines.”

“Say less, Boss. I got the floor.”

Satisfied, I gave him a nod before heading toward my office. I needed a few minutes away from everybody before I ended up cussing somebody out. The second I dropped into my chair, I leaned back and closed my eyes for a moment to chill. Sadly, the peace and quiet lasted all of thirty seconds before a knock sounded at the door.

“Come in,” I called out.

A second later, Nico strolled into my office while I sat behind my desk, looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I had told that nigga a long time ago that messing with Julie was gonna bring nothing but problems, but he never listened. Men never did when a pretty face was involved. Now look at us. His car was shot up, Rebel was spiraling, and my business was caught right in the middle of the bullshit.

“What’s up?”

“Man, we need to talk.”

“About what, Nico?”

“About that crazy bitch Rebel. She gonna have to pay. My girl is shaken up.”

I let out a dry laugh and shook my head. “Fuck that. Nobody told you to date Rose’s friend.”

Nico frowned. “It just happened. We connected after everything and became friends. Why is that an issue?”