His Loyal Rebel - Debra Kayn Page 0,37

with her other hand. "What is wrong with you?"

Angie rushed her, shoving her against a nearby table. "Nobody wants you."

She straightened her arms, holding Angie back as her sister tried to grab her again. "I haven't done anything."

"You're such a bitch." Angie slapped out at her.

Deflecting her sister's hands, she raised her arms. "I'm a bitch? You're the one who's gone crazy."

Aware of the others in the room drawing closer, her embarrassment turned to anger. All the times she was accused as the troublemaker. The one who made things difficult for the family. The one who couldn't get along. The one which caused everyone heartache.

She grabbed Angie's hair and fought back. Everyone would blame her for the fight anyway.

Angie screamed, hitting Twyla harder. It was all she could do to protect her face from her sister's fingernails.

She struck back to keep Angie from hurting her. Her sister wouldn't stop until she'd expelled all her anger out on her. Her misplaced anger.

She hadn't done anything. Unless living with Big was a crime—which it wasn't.

Angie's fingers stuck in Twyla's hair. She cried out at the sharp tug on her scalp.

Then, Angie was gone.

Twyla put her arms down, breathing heavily, and raised her gaze, expecting Angie to hit her again and found Ringtail standing between her and her sister.

Ringtail's mouth hardened. "You good?"

Overheated, angry, and out of breath, she nodded, swiping her hair away from her face. She glanced at Angie, who held on to Ringtail and cried. Her sister was unbelievable, but she wasn't surprised to see her playing the victim. Angie always acted as if everything was Twyla's fault.

She backed away from everyone staring at her and bumped into a chair. Turning, she fled the room. In the bedroom, she quietly shut the door and paced the small area. After everything changed that morning between her and Whip, he'd probably come back inside and tell her to leave because of the stupid fight.

Why couldn't Angie let her be to live her own life? She wasn't competing for anyone's attention. Good Lord, they were adults.

Inhaling deeply, she tried to shake away her anger. Every time she tried to be happy and break away from her past, another sign showed up, telling her she was better off on her own.

The door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang. She startled, and then her body sagged in embarrassment at the sight of Whip.

He frowned, gazing up and down her body, before striding forward and hooking her neck, tilting her head higher. "Angie attacked you?"

She blew out a noisy breath in disgust. "A sister squabble."

"About?" He stroked her cheeks as if to assure himself that she was unhurt.

She shook her head. Her sister's problem with her wasn't important. If he wanted to know why they fought, he could ask Angie and get her view of whatever problem her sister had with her. She'd given up understanding Angie's reasons a long time ago.

"Can we get out of here for a little while?" She looked around for her purse and realized she'd dropped it in the scuffle. Her chest tightened. There were kids in the building.

She rushed out of the room and hurried to get her purse. The responsibility of holding on to Big's pistol was more than she could handle at the moment.

Spotting the leather bag, she retrieved the purse, checking the zipper to make sure it was closed. If one of the kids had gotten ahold of it and found the gun, she never would've forgiven herself.

"Hey." Whip turned her around and studied her. "You're not okay."

Her eyes burned, despite not wanting anyone to see her falling apart. She would never let Angie know that she'd gotten to her. "I need...I need..."

"Let's get out of here," he mumbled.

She nodded eagerly and grabbed on to his hand. Outside, she hung the strap of her purse over her head and let the heaviness settle at her hip.

Whip walked her to her car. "Where do you want to go?"

At the moment, she only wanted to get away from everyone. "Can we go back to the cabin?"

Though her reasons for going to the cabin the first time were insane and extreme, she wanted the security Whip gave her. The urge to take him away so that nobody could ruin what they had together pounded through her veins.

His gaze intensified as he waited for her to explain. Finally, he kissed her forehead and whispered, "Yeah, sis. I'll take you."

She got in her car. Following him away from the drama,