The next morning Rebel walked to the RV to take over the morning shift and heard good news.

“Justin’s alert and awake,” Christian said. “And his temperature is normal.”

“Really?”

“Rebel, is that you?” a deep voice bellowed from the back of the RV. “Get your ass in here.”

Rebel couldn’t stop from grinning. “Now that’s the Justin I know and love,” she told Christian.

“A pain in the ass who won’t take no for an answer?”

“Oh, you know Justin too?”

“What are you two talking about? Rebel, get in here.”

Rebel giggled, giddy with the knowledge that her friend was finally over the hump and on the way to recovery.

“He’s still weak and needs to stay in bed,” Christian said softly.

Rebel nodded. “It’ll be a bitch keeping him down. He hates sitting around.”

“I can tell.”

“Rebel!” Justin roared.

“Okay, okay. Hold your horses. I’m coming.”

“I’m going to leave for a little while. I’ve got some things to do. I’ll be back soon. Are you two going to be okay while I’m gone?” Christian said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rebel said over her shoulder as she walked down the hall, eager to visit with her friend. “No worries, I’ve got this.”

“Trevor.”

Trevor turned his head and looked back at Christian. “Hey.” He wiped sweat off his forehead and leaned back against the trunk of a tree.

Christian cut the engine to the ATV and stepped off.

“What’s up?” Adam gave him a chin lift.

Sebastian sat on the grass under the tree and gave a flick of his fingers in acknowledgement. All of them were sitting in the shade, sharing a water jug. They’d been working all morning, getting the little ranch house set up for habitation. None of them knew who was moving in yet, but it was a matter of time before some of them chose the house because of the space and the privacy. They needed to get it ready.

Trevor hoped like hell it was for him and Rebel. He considered this to be their future home. He hoped Rebel viewed it the same way.

“I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news,” Christian announced as he walked over.

Trevor took a swig of water. “Good news first.”

Christian put his hands on his hips. “Justin is awake and alert.”

Trevor’s jaw clenched. This was bad. He’d seen it coming, knew it was any day now. But…

“That is good,” Sebastian said.

“That’s terrible,” Adam answered.

Sebastian chuckled. “Why would that be terrible? The guy was on death’s door and he’s back and recovered. This is good. We can always use another set of hands here.”

“No, I agree with Adam,” Christian said. “Obviously, I’m happy that he’s well, but this is problematic. I mean, Sebastian, look at Trevor. He’s not exactly presentable to outsiders. Rebel’s only able to handle it because she’s falling in love with him.”

“What?” Sebastian frowned. “I don’t see any problem. So he’s got a few tats…”

“I’ve got a few prison tats,” Trevor groused.

“So he’s got a few prison tats…” Sebastian corrected. “Wait, prison tats? Like, you got them in prison? You’re an ex-con? What the fuck?”

“What planet have you been on?” Adam asked. “Didn’t you notice the swastika on his neck? Who has a goddamn swastika on their neck?”

“Well, yeah, when I first saw him I thought he was probably some kinda racist, Nazi-loving asshole, which is why I kept Josie and Phoebe away from here in the first place and kidnapped Rachel to keep her safe. But once you get to know him…”

Adam shook his head. “Exactly. But first impressions are first impressions.”

“Well, I’ve learned something new,” Christian said. “I’ve talked some with Justin these last few days, during the times he would wake up coherent in the middle of the night. Last night he told me before the end he was a DEA agent.”

They were all quiet for a minute. Trevor let Sebastian figure it out for himself. He gave Trevor a sharp glance. “Does Justin know that Rebel is your woman?”

“Does he?” Trevor asked Christian. “Does he remember me?”

“I don’t think he does. He never mentioned it.”

“Didn’t Justin try to choke you when he first saw you at Casa de Fruta?” Adam asked.

Christian’s eyes widened.

“Choke you? Damn it, this just gets messier by the minute,” Sebastian quipped.

“Yeah, he tried to choke me. He woke up in the RV and spied my tats right away and knew what they meant. He told me to keep the fuck away from Rebel and tried to get his hands around my neck for a minute before he passed out.”

“What tats set him off? I’ve been looking at you this whole time and I don’t see anything that makes me want to choke the ever-livin’ fuck out of you,” Sebastian asked. “I mean, the swastika is disgusting and I wish you could laser that off, but still…”

“This one.” Trevor pointed at his swastika. “And this one.” He pointed at the four-leaf clover. Both on his neck. “The swastika signifies my unity with the views of the brotherhood, a right of passage, I’ve had it since I was eighteen. But the clover, I got that in prison after I killed a man to prove my allegiance to the gang. It shows to everyone that I’m a charter member of the Aryan Brotherhood. Seeing them both together, Justin took one look and knew what these meant.”

Christian crossed his arms. “Huh.”

Sebastian cocked his head. “Have to say, it’s a good thing I didn’t know that when I first met you. I didn’t trust you at first either, but not knowing about your past gave me a chance to get to know you. I just assumed at first you were some white asshole neo-Nazi who probably spouted shit online in your spare time and was into tats to try and look tough.”

Trevor clenched his jaw. “I’m not a fucking poser.”

“Hey, man, it’s actually better to be a poser than prison bait.”

Trevor took a deep breath. He supposed he deserved that.

“And not once, this whole time, have I seen you treat anyone with less than respect, no matter their color or gender,” Sebastian said. “You’ve come a long way, man.”

Trevor swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Thanks.”

“Well, I’ve got to say this about Justin. I respect the guy—at least he was taking good care of Rebel.”

“My take on it exactly,” said Adam. “Makes me like the guy more. Sounds like if we can get him on our side and help him to see that Trevor isn’t the asshole he appears to be, that he’s made a complete three-sixty, then he’d be a great part of our team.”

“Thanks, man,” Trevor grumbled.

“No prob.” Adam grinned. “And this is exactly why I don’t have tats. I don’t want to be a walking advertisement or a living memorial. It’s just me and my muscles. Rachel digs that shit.”

Trevor flipped him off.

“Now, on to the bad news,” Christian cut in.

“Bad news? Wait, wasn’t that the bad news?” Sebastian asked.

“Nope, believe it or not, that was the good news. The bad news is that Justin’s awake, alert and walking around in the RV, alone, with Rebel. Right now.”

“Hold on, why is that bad?” Sebastian asked, then he turned toward Trevor. “Doesn’t she know you’re prison bait?”

“Does she?” Adam asked. “You told her everything about your past, right?”

Trevor took a deep breath and looked away, his gaze landing on the distant mountaintops. “No, she doesn’t know yet.”

“Christ,” Adam stood up, eyes hard. “You haven’t told her? What the fuck are you waiting for? Are you waiting for Justin to tell her first? What kind of fucked up plan is that?”

“It’s not exactly easy to tell your woman you were in prison for murder and you were a former drug lord and a member of an infamous, racist prison gang. You try doing it. The moment I tell her, she’s going to dump my sorry ass. What decent woman would want a man like that?”

“You have a chance,” Christian offered. “You tell her on your own, your way, you have a chance. She’s been with you all this time. She knows the real you. The man you are now.”

“Yeah,” Adam cut in. “But if you leave it to Justin he’ll tell it his way and you’ll look like the motherfucker who tricked her and lied to her.”

Trevor turned his head back toward the main house in the distance, imagining that this very scenario could be playing out right now. His heart shattered in his chest. “Fuck,” he muttered, and strode off toward the ATV.

“Where are you going?” Christian shouted.

“To take care of this. Now,” Trevor threw over his shoulder.