by Rebel Hart
Copyright © 2020 by Rebel Hart
Photo by Regina Wamba
Cover by Robin Harper of Wicked By Design
www.RebelHart.net
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
RED THORNS
1. Dani
2. Max
3. Dani
4. Max
5. Dani
6. Max
7. Dani
8. Max
9. Dani
10. Max
11. Dani
12. Max
13. Dani
14. Max
15. Dani
16. Max
17. Dani
18. Max
19. Dani
20. Max
21. Dani
22. Max
23. Dani
24. Max
25. Dani
26. Max
27. Dani
28. Max
29. Dani
30. Max
31. Dani
32. Max
33. Dani
34. Max
35. Dani
36. Max
37. Dani
38. Max
39. Dani
40. Max
RED ROSE
1. Dani
2. Max
3. Dani
4. Max
5. Dani
6. Max
7. Dani
8. Max
9. Dani
10. Max
11. Dani
12. Max
13. Dani
14. Max
15. Dani
16. Max
17. Dani
18. Max
19. Dani
20. Max
21. Dani
22. Max
23. Dani
24. Max
25. Dani
26. Max
27. Dani
28. Max
29. Dani
30. Max
31. Dani
32. Max
33. Dani
34. Max
35. Dani
36. Max
37. Dani
38. Max
39. Dani
40. Max
RED QUEEN
1. Max
2. Dani
3. Max
4. Dani
5. Max
6. Dani
7. Max
8. Dani
9. Max
10. Dani
11. Max
12. Dani
13. Max
14. Dani
15. Max
16. Dani
17. Max
18. Dani
19. Max
20. Dani
21. Max
22. Dani
23. Max
24. Dani
25. Max
26. Dani
27. Max
28. Dani
29. Max
30. Dani
31. Max
32. Dani
33. Max
34. Dani
35. Max
36. Dani
37. Max
38. Dani
39. Max
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Rebel Hart
RED THORNS
Red Thorns Crew - Book 1
1
Dani
“I still don’t know about this dorm room situation,” Mom said.
“Honey, she made her choice. We agreed to let her make her own decision,” Dad murmured.
“But the apartments we saw were beautiful. And she’d have her privacy.”
“Rena, stop it.”
“Just try to talk to her, Peter. Please?”
I sighed. “I can hear you two, you know.”
Mom smiled at me hesitantly and Dad shook his head. As I rolled my last suitcase out the front door of our beautiful two-story home, I didn’t let their conversation dampen my spirits. I was excited to be rooming with my best friend, Hannah. I’d met her during orientation last year when we were both freshmen. And we seemed to latch on to one another. She was peppy and loud, with a boisterous laugh and curves that made every available boy on campus come over and talk to us just to get in good with her. She loved big costume jewelry and clothes that were a size too small. And through it all, we helped one another get through the tumultuous insanity that was freshman year of college.
I was lucky to be rooming with her again for our sophomore year.
“There she is, my future human resources professional. I’m proud of you, princess.”
I smiled. “Hi, Daddy.”
I set my suitcase beside him and leapt into his open arms. I’d taken general studies courses all throughout last year before I ended up declaring a human resources degree. And while it wasn’t the sparkling medical degree or business degree my parents wanted for me, they supported me nonetheless.
Kind of.
“Well, just know you can change that major at any time,” Mom said.
“Rena,” Dad murmured.
I patted his back. “It’s okay. Really. I promise.”
“So we have a surprise for you!”
Dad held me by the shoulders and gave me that ‘oh, shit’ look he always got whenever Mom sprang something on him.
“We do?” Dad asked.
“Yes. We do. We’re going to campus to help you unpack!”
I nodded slowly. “Thank you, Mom. I really appreciate it.”
She placed her hand against my car. “Oh, you don’t have to thank us for something like that. Plus, I’ve been dying to know how this car drives.”
“I think your mother wants to drive it herself,” Dad murmured.
“Well, can you blame me? I mean, look at it. Sure, it’s not the newest model. A few years old. But the pearl white paint is pristine and the leather seats are heated. Heated, sweetheart. Oh, this Range Rover is a dream.”
I giggled. “At least you know what to get her for Christmas, Daddy.”
He cleared his throat. “All right. Let’s heave this last suitcase into the back and get on the road, then.”
“Oh, can we stop by that coffee place just out of town? I never get over there and they have the best iced mochas in West Bloomfield!”
I looked over at Dad. “Yeah, Daddy. Best iced mochas ever.”
He grimaced. “Why would anyone put coffee and chocolate together?”
“Come on, you two! Quit dragging!”
“Shouldn’t I be the one to make this dri--?”
Mom snatched the keys from my hand and bounced her way into the driver’s seat. I’d never seen her so peppy before. Or happy. And I knew the worse it got, the more worried she was growing. I still didn’t know why me living in the dorms again made her so nervous. But I didn’t question it. For Dad’s sake, and my own.
“Let’s get you to campus, then,” he said.
The ten-hour drive to Ann Arbor was excruciating. But it didn’t squelch my excitement over the new year. I had a major, specialized classes to take, and with a lot of my required classes out of the way that meant I could really dig into my studies. Really focus. And if I played my cards right with some summer courses, I’d be able to graduate a semester early.
Something I knew my father would take pride in, since he’d done it himself during his own college years.
“So, how’s Hannah?” Dad asked.
“Oh, please tell me
you’re rooming with her. I don’t know if I can take you rooming with another stranger like that,” Mom said.
I smiled. “Yep. She’s my roomie. I’m really excited, too. We already know how we want to set up our dorm room.”
“Oh? Have you already seen your room?” Mom asked.
“Yep. We requested the dorm building we were in last year because of its central location on campus.”
Mom paused. “The really rundown building?”
Dad took her hand. “Honey, take a breath. She’s our college girl now. She’s not in pigtails anymore.”
Mom ripped her hand away. “I know that.”
I leaned forward and kissed Mom on her cheek. While I was a Daddy’s girl, I knew Mom was struggling more with this than most. I knew it was a culture thing, too. With my father being Korean, he understood the value of letting children go when it came to their education. Being thankful for their grown-up state and encouraging them to reach for the stars. It’s what his parents wanted for him, and that was how he was raised.
My mother, on the other hand, was a typical American helicopter parent.
“Take before and after pictures for your mother. You know she’ll like that,” Dad said.
I smiled. “I wouldn't have it any other way. You can give us some design tips, Mom.”
“Oh! That would be lovely. Are you allowed to paint the walls?” she asked.
“Oh, boy,” Dad murmured.
I snickered. “I don’t think we can paint the walls, no.”
“What about pictures? Can you hang pictures?”
“I think the walls are painted cement blocks. So that might be hard.”
Mom’s eyes bulged. “Cement blocks. Okay. Great.”
I threw my head back in laughter as the smile plastered on her face slid slowly into an expression of disgust. With my mother being the forefront interior designer of our town, I could only imagine the horrors rushing through her head right now.
“Hey, it could be worse,” Dad said.
“Don’t you say it,” Mom glowered.
“She could have shiplap scuffed up underneath some molded carpet.”
“You said it! Why would you say it!? You monster.”
I laughed until tears crested my eyes as my parents kissed in the front seat.
I took naps in the back seat until we finally made it to campus. I mean, we didn’t get there until almost nine o’clock at night. But we made it and we were alive. Most everyone else had already shooed their parents away so they could go do other things on campus. I texted Hannah as we pulled onto campus. I heard music coming from one of the dorm buildings and groups of students were rushing around in packs to and from the cafeteria. The University of Michigan firmly welcomed me back with its newly-installed lit-up sign and directional arrows pointing me to my dorm.
As if I didn’t already know where to go.
“Finally!” Hannah squealed.
I threw the Range Rover door open and leapt into my best friend’s arms.
“Oh, I missed you so much over the summer,” I murmured.
“We have to drop your stuff and get dinner. I want to tell you all about Europe,” she said.
The revving of an engine caught my attention and I pulled away from Hannah. As the two of us held hands, I felt someone wrap their arm around my shoulder. I looked up at my father as we all stared out toward the main road, watching as a couple of lamp posts flickered with the need for a new bulb.
“What’s that racket?” Mom asked.
“Motorcycles, I think,” Dad said.
The rumbling got louder. Bigger. Stronger. I felt my ribcage shaking as a motorcycle peeled around the corner. There was a group of them. A large group of them. I counted four. Five. Seven. Eleven.
“How many of them are there?” Hannah murmured.
My eyes slid over their bikes. Some were stark black. Others had red racing stripes. It was intriguing, too, how their eyes raked over campus. There was a man at the front and a man at the back. Almost like a pack of wolves. And as my eyes slid along their leather jackets and torn-up denim, my curiosity piqued.
Not that it mattered.
“Well, don’t I feel better,” Mom said.
“Honey, don’t,” Dad said.
“Let’s get you upstairs, shall we? We’re on the top level with a great view. And a corner room, so there’s a little extra space,” Hannah said.
“Yes,” I hissed.
“Goodie,” Mom said flatly.
“Are there elevators?” Dad asked.
“Actually, yes. There is one. Though it takes a while for it to come downstairs sometimes. Since there’s only one elevator servicing the whole building,” Hannah said.
“I don’t mind the wait,” Mom said.
“I’ll wait with your mother. You girls take up the lighter things,” Dad said.
The engines continued revving off in the distance as Hannah and I hauled things out of the car. I had all sorts of things to take upstairs. Snacks I packed. Outfits I wanted to hang up instead of pack away in my dresser. Decorations for my desk and sheets for my bed. Hannah helped me get everything up to the top floor while Mom and Dad stayed downstairs with my four small suitcases.
And when I walked into the dorm room, it felt like home.
“Wow, this is bigger,” I said.
“See? Told you. Now, let’s put these snacks in the little pantry I’ve got made up. I already stacked my mini-fridge with sodas and cold coffees. So we should be good to go for the first week or so,” Hannah said.
She helped me make up my bed and rearrange my things. I wanted my desk in the corner near the window, because she was right. The view was outstanding. As I gazed out the window, I saw those bikers come back down the street, revving their engines as if they were trying to alert campus to their presence.
The guy at the front of the pack pulled off to the side.
Huh.
“We’re here!” Mom chimed in.
“We made it. You weren’t kidding about that elevator,” Dad said.
I pulled away from the window and took the suitcases from them. I saw Mom looking around the room with a wary eye as Dad rubbed her back. And when my stomach growled out loud, Hannah giggled.
“Do you want us to get a hotel room and come help you tomorrow?” Mom asked.
“Honey, she’s got it from here,” Dad said.
“I mean, we could grocery shop for you.”
“Rena.”
“Pick up a few things.”
“Reen.”
“I could pick up some decora--”
I threw my arms around my mother’s neck and held her tightly. And when she wrapped her arms around me, I felt her sniffle. She shook with the force it took to hold back her tears, and I stroked her back lovingly. I knew she was going to miss me.
Just like I’d miss her.
“I love you so much,” she whispered.
“I love you too, Mom.”
“We are going to get a hotel for the night and rent a car to get home, so if you need us, call. Otherwise, you girls have a fantastic start to your semester,” Dad said.
Then he pulled Mom away from me and softly guided her to the door and down the hallway to the elevator, where they finally disappeared.
“Is that car downstairs yours for the semester?” Hannah asked.
I grinned. “We should go find a parking spot for it. I’ve already secured a pass.”
“Holy shit. This is going to be awesome!”
“I got it in the mail two weeks ago. Let’s go!”
With Hannah’s hand in mine, we raced down the stairs. With my parents nowhere in sight, we rushed over to the pearl white SUV and pulled the doors open. I felt the hairs on the nape of my neck prickle and turned around, leaning my back against the open door. When my gaze wandered across the street, I saw him.
In his leather jacket. And his black denim jeans. With his boots, and those long legs straddling his puttering motorcycle. A cigarette dangled from hi
s lips.
“You coming?” Hannah asked.
It was dark, but I could’ve sworn he was staring at me from beyond the puffs of cigarette smoke. Underneath the flickering lamp light, I caught flashes of him. Flashes of tan skin and broad shoulders. Brown hair. Or was it black?
“Come on, the cafeteria closes in an hour,” Hannah implored.
Maybe he’s a student?
The more the man stared at me, the more I felt myself blushing. My cheeks burned and my neck heated. Even my hands began to tremble a bit. I cleared my throat as the soft smell of cigarette smoke finally graced my nose. But it wasn’t until Hannah stepped in front of me that it snapped me from my trance.
