Renegade (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) by Mellie George

Jessie say, “See? I told you,” and she pointed
toward a large pool table in the back of the bar. My eyes roamed for a moment
before they settled on Kris, who was leaning over the table and lining up his shot,
Jake, who was sitting on a stool by the wall, and Ryder standing next to him.
He was holding his pool cue upright in one hand and taking a drink of his beer
in the other. Seeing him relaxed, laughing, and having a good time with his
friends made me feel happy. It also made me a little sad…ever since he met me
he had devoted almost every waking moment to me and suddenly I felt guilty that
he’d been missing out on ‘boy time’ with his friends.
    Looking
up from the game, Ryder’s eyes locked with mine and he winked. “Hey gorgeous!”
he shouted over the music. “Get your sexy ass over here and be my good luck
charm.”
    I
smiled and walked over to the pool table As soon as I reached him he pulled me
close, bent me backwards, and planted a deep kiss on my lips. Once we were
upright again, I giggled and said, “Hi there rock star.”
    “Hey
Evie,” he answered, kissing me quickly one more time. “Did you have fun with
your girls today?”
    “I
did,” I answered. I turned my head toward Jake and said, “Hi Jake. It’s nice to
see you again.”
    “You
too, Everleigh. How’s your tat healing?”
    “It’s
okay. It stings a little but I’ve been applying my A&D ointment regularly,
I promise.”
    He
smiled and his lip ring caught the light. “Awesome.” His eyes roamed around and
when they landed on Danni, his mouth split into a wide, seductive grin. “Who’s
the cute blonde?”
    I
felt myself tensing as I watched him undress Danni with his eyes. He was
exactly the kind of trouble she was on the lookout for…the kind I needed to
keep her away from. “That’s my best friend,” I answered in a warning tone.
    Ryder
barked out a laugh. “Dude, are you really going to try to get into her pants a
day after you were checking out my girlfriend’s tits while you were doing her
tattoo?”
    Jake’s
eyes widened and a look of mock innocence crept across his handsome face.
“What? I know I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell with Everleigh because
she’s taken so why not go for her hot as hell single friend?”
    My
eyes narrowed at him. “What makes you think she’s single?”
    “The
way she’s looking around the room like she’s looking for trouble,” Jake
answered.
    Before
I could reply, Danni came walking over to us. “Hey, Ryder,” she said smiling at
him. Her eyes landed on Jake and she smiled even wider. “Who’s your friend?”
    “Danni,”
I protested.
    Jake
stood up off his stool and towered over Danni’s tiny frame. He held out his
hand and said, “Jake Riggins. What’s your name, beautiful?”
    Danni
placed her hand in his and said, “Danni Sharpe. Nice to meet you.”
    “Nice
to meet you too.”
    “So,
are you the ‘Jake’ that did Ev’s tattoo last night?” she asked, slightly
cocking her hip and twirling the end of her hair.
    “Guilty
as charged,” he said, winking at her.
    “She
showed it to me today. It’s beautiful, you are very talented. Maybe you can
tattoo me sometime.”
    “Absolutely,”
he said, taking a step closer to her. “Guys, play on without me.” I started to move
toward them but Ryder held onto me as Jake continued talking to Danni. “Do you
want to come with me and check out the band?”
    “Sure,
I love Eternal Down,” she said. He placed his large hand on the small of her
back, leading her toward the stage.
    When
they were gone I turned to Ryder and poked him in the chest. “Ryder, why the
hell did you do that? I thought we were on the same team here!”
    “We
are, Evie, but Danni is a grown woman and can take care of herself. Besides, I
don’t think she’s the kind of girl that will sleep with a guy the first night
she meets him.”
    “You
don’t understand. She was on a mission tonight to find a random guy so she
could try to