I had so much admiration for the woman sitting next to me. It took a lot of courage for her to set her pride aside the way she did. Something she’d said didn’t sit right with me, though.
“We don’t have to prove you innocent, Rebel. We need to find who killed him, and make sure they’re brought to justice. If we’re unable to do that, Hammer will still advocate that there isn’t evidence to prove you killed him. Once the court hears who Possum was affiliated with, that alone should be enough for reasonable doubt.”
She looked away. “Might as well leave me in jail.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because if you or someone else can’t find out who killed him, everyone is going to think I did. They’ll think that for the rest of my life.”
“Let’s take this one step at a time. The first thing you need to do is get ready for work.” I got out of the truck and went around to open Rebel’s door. When she climbed out, I trapped her between the vehicle and me. “I’m going to kiss you.”
“You are?”
I nodded. “Yes. As long as that’s okay with you.”
She smiled. “I don’t know, Edge. As you said, I do need to get ready for work.”
“Afraid that once I do, you won’t want me to stop?”
“Something like that.”
I kissed her long, deep, and hard—the only kind of kiss I could give Rebel. When I took a break and rested my forehead against hers, she ducked under my arm and rushed over to the door. That she couldn’t get in reminded me I needed to take care of getting her into the security system before she went to meet Tee-Tee. If it came down to it, I’d call the cook myself to tell her why Rebel was late. The bottom line was, she wouldn’t be able to get into the dining hall unless her profile was input.
11
Rebel
I had no idea what to wear. Not that I had a lot of choices. While I appreciated the clothes Shadow had lent me—given me—they weren’t at all my style. I wasn’t complaining, but for now, jeans and a collared shirt would have to do. If Tee-Tee wanted me to dress another way, she’d let me know. The woman had never been shy about expressing her opinion.
I didn’t tell Edge, but when I looked into her eyes earlier, I didn’t see anger or judgment or even distrust; I saw warmth. That’s the reason I said I wanted the opportunity. It wasn’t solely the job. I wanted the opportunity for Tee-Tee and me to be okay again—as much as we could be.
When I walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, I didn’t see Edge. I still had over a half hour before I needed to be at t
he dining hall, so I grabbed a glass of water and sat down at the breakfast bar.
As soon as I did, Edge walked out of a door off the kitchen that I hadn’t noticed before.
“There you are,” he said.
When he leaned in and kissed me, I wondered why I hadn’t asked Tee-Tee if I could start tomorrow. It wasn’t like I’d forgotten his earlier promise to “take care of me later.” How could I? The man had left me on the edge of an orgasm that I knew would be powerful, maybe the most powerful of my life.
“I mentioned earlier that I need to set up your profile in the security system.”
I nodded, not knowing what that entailed but sensing some trepidation on Edge’s part. He motioned for me to follow him through the same door he’d come out of. When I did, I saw an elaborate computer setup with several monitors.
He pulled out one of the chairs. “Have a seat.”
Once I was seated, he set a trackpad by the keyboard. “Put the fingertips of your hand on this.” Edge shook his right hand, again like it had fallen asleep.
He flexed his fingers, put his hand on mine, and adjusted the way my fingertips rested. “Hold them like that and look right here. Keep your eyes open.” He pointed to the screen. “Okay, you can relax,” he said a few seconds later.
“What is this?”
“The system Decker developed uses facial-recognition software for the most part. There are certain areas, though, where the security is more complex, so you’ll need to scan your palm and fingertips.”
Edge turned the chair and looked into my eyes. “I know this feels intrusive, and I’m sorry for that. However, I can assure you that everyone who sets foot on the ranch has to go through the same process. It’s more in-depth if they’ll be working here.”
I wasn’t sure whether I believed him or not. Staring into the computer had felt like having a mugshot taken, and putting my fingers on the trackpad felt like being fingerprinted. It made me feel as much like a criminal today as I had the day I was arrested.