Rule

by L A Cotton

  I didn’t know what to say to that.

  “Damon’s right, we’re glad you’re here. Don’t let anyone tell you any different, okay?”

  Just then, the door swung open and Riley breezed into the room. “Oh, Eva, you’re back.”

  Letty threw me a bemused look.

  “Riley,” I said tightly. She was the last person I wanted to see.

  She pursed her lips. “Is Ali—”

  “Right here.” He beamed at her, quickly schooling his expression when he realized they had an audience.

  “I was hoping we could go over tomorrow’s schedule.”

  “Actually, I need to speak with Eva.”

  A flash of jealousy flared in her eyes. “I can wait.”

  “Why don’t you head downstairs and order for us and I’ll be there in ten?”

  Letty smothered a snicker as Riley swished her hair and stormed out of the room. If Alistair noticed, he didn’t let on as he came and sat down opposite me.

  “We’ll give you two some space. Let.” Damon motioned for her to follow, but she hesitated.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “Go. We’ll catch up after.”

  They disappeared, leaving me with Alistair. He loosened the collar on his shirt and relaxed back in the chair. “I did not see this coming, Eva, and that doesn’t sit right with me. It’s my job to know.”

  “But tryin’ to make it seem like there was somethin’ between me and Levi… what about that?”

  “It was good publicity.”

  “You told me I was here to tidy up the band’s reputation. You never said anythin’ about usin’ me.”

  Alistair let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand down his face. “I omitted some of the facts, but I think we’re both guilty of that.”

  “I agreed to do the tour for one reason: my parents. As far as I was concerned, Rafe wanted nothin’ to do with me.”

  He regarded me for a second. “I’ll cut to the chase. I need you to smooth things out with Levi. The band needs him.”

  “You want me to what?” Dread slithered through me.

  “Rafe is Levi’s anchor but he can’t be that for him right now, so I need you to do it.”

  “I’m not sure he’ll want to see me, not after—”

  “You’ll figure it out. Levi needs a friend right now, and that friend is you.”

  The air left my lungs. “I...”

  Alistair stood up. “Travis will take you to him when you’re ready. You’ll be safe.”

  Safe?

  What the hell did that mean?

  “Does Rafe know about this?” I asked, and Alistair levelled me with a look that made me regret the question.

  “Rafe is aware he doesn’t get to call the shots, Eva. I do. Cancelling another show is not an option. So I’m asking you—no, I’m telling you—you need to do whatever it takes to get Levi on that stage tomorrow night. Got it?”

  The weight of his words was heavy on my shoulders.

  “Look,” Alistair’s expression softened, “I know this is a lot. But you’re in this thing now, Eva. I have never seen Levi respond to anyone the way he responded to you. He trusts you.”

  He had trusted me. Before the truth came out about my cancer, and Rafe. Now I was just another person who had let him down.

  “Eva. It has to be you.”

  “I... okay. I’ll do it.” Not that he was giving me much choice.

  Alistair gave me a tight-lipped nod. “Good, Travis will be waiting whenever you’re ready.” He hesitated, his expression softening. “We have less than thirty-six hours before the lights go up. Time is something we don’t have right now. I’m counting on you, Eva.”

  It was my turn to nod.

  I’d ruined the band.

  Now I had to fix them.

  “So where are we going?” I asked Travis as we rode the elevator.

  After my conversation with Alistair, I’d taken a shower and then fallen asleep on the huge bed. It wasn’t until Letty came to wake me that everything came crashing back down around me.

  I had to go see Levi.

  Alistair was counting on me.

  “Levi and Johnson are at The Radisson. We’re meeting them there.”

  “Okay.”

  The doors pinged open and Travis hesitated, muttering under his breath. Then he stepped out and my eyes landed on Rafe.

  “Two minutes,” he said to my bodyguard, never once taking his eyes off me.

  Rafe stepped inside, taking the air with him. “Shit, Eva, I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t know Ali would—”

  “It’s okay.” I slid my hands up his arms. “I want to do this. I need to do this.”

  “Jesus,” he sucked in harshly. “I fucking hate this. I hate that you’re stuck in the middle of this. In the middle of us.”

  “There is no middle, Rafe. I’m yours. Nothing is goin’ to change that. But right now, Levi needs someone.”

  “And that someone is you.” He gave me a resigned smile.

  “Apparently so.”

  Rafe dipped his head, brushing my jaw with his lips. “You can be there for him, Eva. Lift him up when he falls and be a shoulder to cry on when things get hard, but you can’t save him. No one can.”

  The sadness in his voice made my heart ache. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what the two of them had endured.

  “Eva, we really should go,” Travis interjected.

  “Just a minute,” I said, and he backed off, giving me and Rafe some space.

  “Your heart is too pure for this life.” He touched his head to mine, stormy eyes holding me hostage. “If he hurts you, I’m scared of what I might do.”

  “Ssh. Don’t talk like that.” I slipped a finger to his lips. “I’m a big girl, Rafe. I can handle Levi. Besides, Travis will be right there.”

  “Call me the second you get done.”

  “I will.”

  I felt the urgency in Rafe’s voice, the sheer desperation. But I had to do this. Alistair was right—there was no other way.

  “Promise me, Eva.”

  “I promise.” My lips ghosted over his. “I should go. The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll be back.”

  “I’ll be waiting.” Rafe was rigid as I edged away, his eyes silently begging me to stay.

  “I love you,” I mouthed before forcing myself to turn around and head for the SUV.

  “Eva,” Travis said as he opened the door for me. I got in, catching a final glimpse of Rafe as the elevator doors closed.

  Less than an hour of being back and Levi was already coming between us. But it was too late to worry now.

  Another Hunter brother needed me.

  The Radisson was a beautiful hotel on the next block over. It was hardly worth taking the SUV but, as Travis had pointed out, I could hardly walk it.

  “He’s in the bar,” he said as we exited the elevator.

  “Of course he is,” I murmured, aware of the odd stare as Travis guided me across the foyer. The décor was opulent and a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. It reminded me of something out of the nineteen-twenties.

  “Johnson already cleared the clientele.”

  “At least we won’t have an audience then.” Sarcasm laced my words.

  Travis paused at the double doors marked ‘bar’. “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.” I motioned for him to lead the way.

  We stepped inside, and the first thing I noticed was the quiet. The second thing was the lone figure seated at the bar. Levi glanced over at me and laughed bitterly. “Alistair is sending in the big guns. He must be really worried.” He ran his finger around the rim of the glass in front of him.

  “How are you?” I asked, inching closer. Travis remained by the door.

  “Oh, you know how it is. My brother is a lying bastard and the girl I thought I could trust is also a liar... and as if that isn’t bad enough, they’re probably fucking each other all while laughing at poor little Leviathan.”

  His crass words made me flinch.
“It isn’t like that, and you know it. We made a mistake, Levi, a big one. But nobody is laughing at you.”

  “I know it, do I?” His eyes darkened. They looked almost black. Soulless.

  I didn’t like it.

  A violent shiver worked its way up my spine.

  “What?” An evil smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Do I scare you, Country?”

  He was baiting me. Trying to get me to play his game. But I wasn’t here to spar with him.

  “I’m not goin’ to do this with you,” I said, moving closer still.

  Levi shifted on the stool, his dark expression clouding with something else. “And what’s that, Angel? What are we doing? Because I can think of a whole list of things we can do. I’m game, if you are…” The wicked glint in his eye was one I’d seen enough times before.

  This wasn’t the real Levi. It was his front, his stage act. It was the person he hid behind when the truth got too much to bear.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I’m sorry,” I spoke louder. “I should never have withheld the truth from you.”

  “I’m going to need a little clarification, Angel.” He twirled the glass in the air. “Are we talking about the fact you lied about almost dying, or the fact you’ve been fucking my brother behind my back all this time?”

  “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

  “Yeah, well you can save your apology. Once a liar, always a liar.” Levi focused on the wall again, refusing to look at me.

  “You don’t really believe that?” I chose a stool, leaving one space between us. It was close, but not close enough to feel intimidating. At least, that’s what I hoped.

  “I know it.” He scoffed. “The people in my life are nothing but a sore disappointment. I don’t know why I thought you’d be any different.”

  “Levi, look at me...”

  A beat passed.

  And another.

  Levi stared down at his glass as if it held the secrets of the universe. Then slowly, he lifted his face to mine. “You think you’re special, Country? You think you’re going to talk me off this ledge?”

  “I’m not special,” I whispered.

  “He thinks you are. You’re good for him, you know? Rafe deserves something good. He deserves more than a life sentence of dragging my sorry ass around.”

  “Rafe loves you. He’d do anything for you, you know that.”

  “Except give you up.” His eyes locked on mine. He wasn’t making much sense, contradicting himself at every turn. Part of me wondered if he was drunk or high, but he didn’t seem out of control. Beneath all his anger he seemed... resigned. Sad, even.

  “Is that what you really want? You want Rafe to walk away from me? I know you’re hurtin’, and that’s on us. But I don’t believe for a second that you’d rather Rafe be miserable and give up his shot at somethin’ good, somethin’ pure, because you can’t bear losing him. I am not tryin’ to come between you… why can’t you see that?”

  Levi paled, guilt and confusion clouding his eyes.

  And my heart bled for the broken boy who had suffered so much.

  “Look,” I sighed. “We can’t change the past, Levi. I know that better than most people. But we can choose how we walk into the future. You’re Levi freakin’ Hunter. You’re one of the biggest rock stars on the planet right now.”

  “Alistair is good.” He let out a low whistle. “I underestimated him; I’ll give him that.”

  “This has nothing to do with Alistair, Levi. This is about you, me, and Rafe. He needs you, the band needs you. And somethin’ tells me, you need the band. You and Rafe are brothers, family. Nothin’, not even me, can come between that.

  “Maybe I don’t want it anymore. Maybe I’m sick of being everyone’s puppet.”

  “Levi, you’re not...”

  “They don’t get it. None of them get it.” Shoving his fingers into his hair, he began to pull on the ends. “They don’t know what it’s like… nobody knows what it’s like.”

  “So talk to me...” I got up and slid onto the next stool. Levi was breaking apart in front of me and it was a natural reaction to want to comfort him. I couldn’t help it. It was who I was.

  “I’m right here, Levi. I’m not goin’ anywhere, I promise.” I laid my hand gently on his hand.

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Angel.” He smiled sadly, but I didn’t miss the hint of warning in his words.

  “That’s not what this is.” My voice was unwavering. “I want to help, truly.”

  “You think you can be who I need?”

  Levi was still baiting me, still pushing. But I saw the defeat in his eyes. He was so close to losing it, to losing himself. He needed someone.

  He needed me.

  I looked him right in the eye and said, “Try me.”

  Rafe

  * * *

  The sound of footsteps woke me. My eyes strained against the darkness as I searched for Eva. “Ssh, go back to sleep,” she whispered. But I was awake now and she had my full attention.

  Pushing up on my elbows, I watched as she undressed in the shadows, flecks of moonlight bouncing off her milky skin.

  “What time is it?” I asked, a weird mix of jealousy and lust swirling in my chest. She’d been at The Radisson for hours. I’d wanted to go to her, to make sure she was okay. But Letty and Damon refused to let that happen, distracting me with beers and the promise that I could stay in Eva’s room and wait for her.

  If it wasn’t for her text to say she would be back soon, I would have fallen asleep not knowing whether or not she was coming.

  She pulled on an oversized band t-shirt and slipped in beside me. Silence stretched out before us as she curled up on her side, her eyes fixing right on mine. I mimicked her position, staring at the girl who owned my heart. The same girl who had spent the last three hours with my brother.

  “Rafe, I—”

  My mouth crashed down on hers as I rolled Eva beneath me, caging her body to the bed. Her hand slid up my chest, curling over my shoulders.

  “You’re mine,” I rasped, running my lips down her jaw, sucking the slope of her neck. Eva arched into me, hitching her legs on either side of my hips.

  “We should talk,” she whispered.

  “I don’t want to talk, Starshine. I want to do anything but talk.”

  Eva guided my face back to hers. “Rafe, don’t do this. Please.”

  “You think I like feeling like this? Imagine if it was me. Imagine if I’d just been with another girl, with your sister or best friend, talking to them, drinking with them...” My brow rose.

  “I had one drink. One.”

  Fuck. I knew I could taste liquor on her lips.

  My fucking brother was a bad influence on even the most innocent of souls.

  I dipped my lips to her ear, nibbling the skin there. “I trust you, Eva, I do. But I don’t trust Levi. He’ll use you to hurt me. It’s what he does best.”

  Her hands went to my chest, pushing slightly. “We hurt him, Rafe. We did that. The least we can do is try to fix it. And don’t you dare throw that in my face. Do you think it’s easy for me being around all your fangirls? The Die Hearts.”

  “Jealous, love?” It was a dick move. But I was angry and frustrated and so fucking powerless. Eva was the best thing ever to happen to me. The thought of losing her... it gutted me.

  My eyes shuttered as I inhaled a ragged breath.

  “Rafe, look at me.” Eva slid her palm against my cheek. “I’m not goin’ to do this with you. I love you, and I’m here for you, but I won’t be your emotional punchin’ bag. You have nothin’ to worry about where me and Levi are concerned.”

  “Don’t I?”

  Disappointment washed over her. “You think I would ever...” She swallowed hard, pain glistening in her eyes. “I love you. You.”

  A bolt of guilt shot through me, but I was drowning in doubt, struggling to keep afloat with the jealousy swimming in my vei
ns. I dropped my head to her shoulder, but Eva slid her hand under my jaw, forcing me back to her. “Do you really think I would ever do that to you?”

  “No, fuck, of course I don’t. I don’t know why I said it… everything’s such a mess. I’m a mess and I don’t know how to fix it.” My body began to tremble.

  “Ssh.” Eva’s lips found mine. Soft and gentle. The faintest of caresses. It wasn’t enough though. I needed more.

  I wanted to bury myself in her.

  To lose myself completely.

  “I need you, Starshine. I need you so fucking much.” My body vibrated with need as I stared down at her, brushing the hair from her face.

  “I’m right here, Rafe. You just have to let yourself believe it.” Eva looked up at me through hooded eyes, one of her hands drifting down my body. Her touch was like fire, burning my soul.

  Rocking back onto my haunches, I ran my eyes down Eva’s body. She looked so fucking perfect, spread out before me, a halo of blonde hair surrounding her.

  “What?” She smiled coyly.

  “You. Just you.” My hand gripped the hem of her t-shirt, pushing it up her body, revealing her black panties to me. I leaned in, swiping my tongue across her stomach. Eva sucked in a ragged breath, her fingers sliding into my hair as I continued a path up her body, pushing the t-shirt further and further until it was bunched around her shoulders.

  I gently palmed one of her breasts, flicking my tongue across the peak. “Oh God,” Eva breathed, her body restless beneath me.

  I wanted to take my time, to worship every inch of her. But I wasn’t sure I could wait.

  “I need inside of you,” I said, kissing the corner of my mouth.

  Eva nodded, love and lust glittering in her ocean eyes.

  Guiding her up, I pulled the t-shirt over her head, before climbing off Eva to rid myself of my boxer briefs. I sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching for her. She came willingly, crawling over me until she was straddling my lap. I loved that about her. My shy, quiet Eva trusted me implicitly, unafraid to let me love her.

  She slipped her hand between us, grasped my dick, and guided me into position. One hand on her hip, I braced Eva as she sank down on me. Lips parted, skin flushed, she stilled as I fought every instinct not to move.