Rule

by L A Cotton

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t want to cause any problems for the band or you.”

  “That is not the issue here.”

  Although the way he choked out the words would suggest it was part of the issue.

  “I think we deserve to know what happened.” Levi said coolly. He’d chosen to stand, towering over the rest of us like a dark, fallen angel.

  Alistair stared at my brother, indecision etched into the lines of his forehead. Usually, he would have told Levi to back down, to leave management issues to management. But something had him hesitating.

  Letting out a deep sigh, Alistair ran a hand down his face. “It came to my attention that Riley was working against us.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Hudson balked.

  “It means I believe Riley was behind numerous leaks, including the article about Eva, as well as the location of numerous private events.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Levi gritted out.

  “Wait a second, you knew?” He ran his eyes over each of us. “You suspected Riley was... and you didn’t come to me with it?”

  “She’s your woman,” my brother said, as if it was nothing. “We knew who’d you believe.” His hard stare found mine across the bus.

  “I...” Alistair stumbled over his words. “You knew?”

  “Everyone fucking knew.”

  “I see. Well, in that case then, you should probably know that, yes, me and Riley had been seeing one another for a while. She didn’t just betray the band, she betrayed me.”

  “I’m really sorry, Ali,” Eva said.

  He gave her an appreciative nod. “What’s done is done. Riley is off the team, and we’re... over.” He swallowed.

  “Off the team? So she’ll still be working for the label?” Alistair blanched and my brother straightened. “Tell me you’re not protecting her?”

  “It isn’t like that, Levi. But I love… I loved her.” Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

  “That’s some fucking—”

  “Levi,” I warned. “Let’s all just take a breath. Do we need to be worried about backlash? She was privy to things.... information about our personal lives.”

  “She made a few bad judgment calls, Levi. She isn’t—”

  “Listen to yourself.” Levi was furious now. “She fucked us over. She fucked Eva over, and you’re sitting there defending her all because you were fucking her?”

  Alistair shot up, the two of them glaring at one another. Tension crackled in the air, thick and suffocating.

  “Levi,” Damon moved beside him.

  “I’m okay,” his voice wavered.

  After what felt like an eternity, Alistair finally edged away, slumping against the wall. “You’re right, I’ll talk to management first thing in the morning. Riley signed the NDA’s like everyone else, but there’s too much at stake. I give you my word, I’ll fix this.” He glanced at Eva again. “I’m sorry I didn’t take it seriously enough when it first came to light.”

  “It’s okay.”

  It wasn’t, but nothing anyone said was going to change the fact the truth was out, and Riley was gone.

  Eva

  * * *

  Something changed after Riley left.

  No one saw her again. It was as if she disappeared into thin air. For a hot second, the guys had worried about who might take her place, but Alistair and the label decided that, with Phoebe’s help, Letty could handle things for me as well as the band.

  So that’s how it went for the next four nights. We performed in city after city, and afterwards we all climbed aboard the Van Hool and played cards or watched a movie or just hung out, talking about everything and nothing. Levi still didn’t participate much, locking himself away in the back bedroom, but there were rare occasions when he would sit with us.

  Rafe was always more relaxed during those moments. I would feel the tension melt away from his body. I knew how hard it was on him, the distance between him and Levi, but l also knew he wouldn’t stifle his brother. Not when everything seemed so calm.

  Part of me wondered if me and Rafe were the only two reasons he stayed away, or if Phoebe stirred something inside him—something he wasn’t ready to face. I’d caught him staring after her more than once. I even tried to talk to him about it, but every time he shot me down. I was a Tennessee girl through and through though, and we had enough tenacity to break through even the strongest of walls.

  “You should go talk to her.” I tipped my head toward Phoebe. We’d made a rare pitstop right outside of Cincinnati. It was early enough that the roadside diner was empty, save a couple of truckers who had no idea who we were. Even if they did, they weren’t going to whip themselves into a frenzy like a teenage girl.

  “You need to quit it, Angel.” He levelled me with a hard look.

  “She likes you too, you know.”

  “Nah.” He kicked the ground with his boot, spraying dust into the air. “She doesn’t like me. She looks at me and sees a project, something to fix. But there ain’t no fixing something as broken as me.”

  The others were inside. I could see them through the windows, goofing around as they ordered breakfast. I reached for Levi’s hand. “You’re not broken, Levi. Maybe just a little damaged. But we all have dents and bruises. With enough love and attention and time, though, they start to fade.”

  Taking me surprise, Levi yanked me into his arms, hugging me tight. “You make it so hard to hate you, Eva.”

  “You want to hate me?” I eased back to look at him, really look at him. He was so intimidating with his piercings and tattoos and blacker-than-night eyes. But behind all the steel and ink was just a boy who had learned to expect disappointment. A boy who had been abandoned by his father and berated by his mother.

  A boy who craved love and affection but had no idea how to handle his emotions.

  “You need to let people in, Levi.”

  “I let you in and you hurt me.”

  Guilt flashed through me as I sucked in shaky breath. “I know, and I’m sorry. We thought we were protectin’ you.”

  “I know,” he said the words so quietly I would have missed them, if it wasn’t for the fact I saw them form on his lips.

  He was growing. Changing. And a small piece of me hoped it was seeing his brother find happiness that had done it. If Levi realized someone could love Rafe, then maybe, just maybe, he’d realize that one day, someone could love him too.

  “You should talk to Rafe, Levi. I know he’s hurtin’ over this too. You’ve been through so much together, surely you’re not goin’ to let a small-town country girl come between you.” Gentle laughter spilled from my lips.

  “Just promise me, Angel,” he said, ignoring my words. “Just promise me, that no matter what happens, no matter how far we go, you’ll always be there for him.”

  My brows furrowed. “Levi, what’s goin’ on?”

  “Nothing.” He shook his head. “But Rafe always looked out for me. He was always there... and now, now I’m asking you to be there for him.”

  “I’m not plannin’ on goin’ anywhere,” I said, feeling like I was missing some piece of the puzzle. He let me go and started to retreat, but I snagged his wrist. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Who, me?” He grinned, and just like that our moment was over, and Levi the showman was back.

  “I hope you guys are hungry?” Phoebe approached us with a huge brown bag in her hands. “I got two of everything.”

  “I’ll be on the bus.” Levi spun on his heel and walked off, as if he couldn’t get away quick enough.

  “What’s his problem?”

  “Don’t take it personally, he’s...”

  “Avoiding me?”

  Phoebe had really found her feet around us. She was quick witted, and nothing the guys—especially Hudson—said or did seemed to faze her.

  “You have to be patient with him,” I said.

  She arched a thin brow, smirking. “It just so happens patien
ce is my superpower.”

  “Why does that not surprise me.” I chuckled as we walked back to the bus together, but before I could follow her on board, someone caught me around the waist, pulling me backward.

  “Got you,” Rafe breathed against my ear, curving his body around mine.

  “Seriously, you two,” Hudson grumbled. “Do you really want me to puke over my breakfast?” He climbed onto the bus, leaving me with Rafe.

  Turning me in his arms, he pushed me up against the side of the Van Hool. “Good morning.”

  “Good mornin’ to you.”

  Rafe slid his hand into my hair, kissing me in that familiar way of his. “You taste good.”

  “I taste like I just got done brushin’ my teeth.” I smiled; I couldn’t help it. He was different since Riley left. Sure, I knew he still carried a heap of guilt over Levi, but he was less tense.

  We all were.

  “Hey, are we all set for Saturday?”

  He nodded, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Letty called ahead to the hotel and made the special requests.”

  “Do you think he’ll like it?” The surprise party had been my idea, but now I wasn’t so sure. It seemed a little dull for a world-famous rock star.

  “He’ll love it.” Rafe dropped a kiss on my head. “I invited Alistair; I hope that’s okay?”

  “I guess he should be there, but I don’t know if after the whole Riley thing, it's a good idea.” I frowned.

  “I know, but I feel sorry for the guy. And I know it’s our night off, but he’s our manager. He should be there.”

  “You’re right. He’s been... I don’t know, sad, since Riley left.”

  “I guess she didn’t only screw us over, she screwed him over too.”

  “I still can’t believe they fired her.” Letty had heard from a friend at the label that Riley hadn’t taken too well to the news. She’d caused a huge scene before storming out of there.

  “I’m just glad she’s gone. We trust Letty implicitly and Phoebe seems genuine.”

  “You’ve changed your tune.”

  “What?” He shrugged, a faint smile playing on his lips.

  “Wouldn’t happen to have anythin’ to do with the fact there seems to be somethin’ there between her and Levi?”

  Rafe’s chest rumbled with laughter. “You need to stop trying to play matchmaker, Starshine. Levi’s in a good place. At least, he seems like he is. Don’t push for something he isn’t ready for.”

  “Fine.” I held up my hands, but Rafe pressed his palms against mine, pinning me against the bus and kissing me hard.

  “Hey, fuckers, we’ll leave without you,” someone yelled from inside the bus. I chuckled, burying my face into Rafe’s chest.

  “One day,” he said, tilting my face to his. “One day, it’ll just be the two of us and no interruptions.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  I liked it a whole lot.

  Rafe tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Come on, before I drag you around the back and do very, very bad things to you.”

  Old Eva would have blushed at his words, but new Eva... new Eva pushed up on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against Rafe’s ear, whispering, “Tonight, I want you to kiss every inch of me, Rafe. I want you to make my body sing.” I slipped under his arm and walked away, his heated gaze following me every step of the way.

  The next day, after another sell-out performance, we had finally arrived in Louisville, and I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Molly.

  “She should be here any second,” Letty said. “Oh, I think that’s them now.”

  One of the familiar black SUVs rolled into the underground parking lot. No sooner had it stopped, the door swung open. “Holy crap, Eva, look at you.” Molly rushed over to me, pulling me into a tight hug. “Damn, I’ve missed you.”

  “It’s only been a couple of weeks,” I chuckled.

  “It feels like forever. You have that superstar glow.”

  “Oh hush.” My cheeks burned. “I’m still the same old me.”

  “Are you?” Her brow rose. “Because from the texts you’ve been sendin’ me about... Rafe.” She mouthed his name, mischief glittering in her eyes. “I need details. All the glorious and gory details.”

  “Mol!”

  “It’s like getting blood out of stone,” Letty said from behind us.

  “Letty, get over here and give this girl a hug.”

  I stepped aside, letting the two of them do their thing. Phoebe hovered beside me, chewing her thumb.

  “You must be Phoebe.” Molly smiled, stepping toward us. “It’s great to meet you.”

  “Likewise. I love your hair.”

  Now that Phoebe mentioned it, Molly did look amazing.

  “I may have dressed up for the occasion.” She cast me a knowing look.

  “Well your efforts are in vain, Mol. The guys aren’t here.”

  “They’re not?” Her smile dropped.

  “Nope. They’re on distract Damon duty.” I checked the time. “We have around two hours to turn the suite into party central.”

  “Aren’t there people you can pay to do that?” She arched a brow.

  “There are, but this is way more fun.”

  “Turns out your girl is quite the party planner.” Letty’s words were laced with humor.

  “I’m not that bad.”

  “You had Travis go to the store to buy balloons.”

  “And chips and dip,” Phoebe added.

  “Don’t forget the piñata.”

  “You got a piñata?” Molly snickered.

  “I may have gone a little overboard. I just want it to be fun.”

  “Oh, it’ll be fun. Travis bought enough liquor to sink a ship.”

  “I didn’t ask him to do that.”

  Letty rolled her eyes. “He’s been around the band long enough to know how things usually go.”

  “It isn’t supposed to be anythin’ wild, Letty.”

  “Relax, Momma Bear,” she teased. “Everything will be fine.”

  Nervous energy vibrated in my stomach. I really wanted Damon to enjoy his party. I wanted everyone to enjoy it. No fangirls or drama, no jealous assistants, and definitely no paparazzi.

  Even world-famous rock stars deserved a little slice of normal every now and again.

  “Come on, let’s go up to the suite.”

  Travis followed us into the elevator, carrying Molly’s bags and was as quiet as ever.

  “It’s good to you see again, T,” Molly flashed him an eager grin.

  “Miss Steinberg.” He nodded.

  “Miss Steinberg.” She mouthed at me, waggling her brows. “You wouldn’t believe how excited I was to get out of the house. I love those brats somethin’ fierce, but there’s only so much a girl can take, you know?”

  “You have kids?” Phoebe gawked at her.

  “Kids?” Molly’s eyes grew to saucers, but then she roared with laughter. “Brothers. Twin brothers. A real pain in my ass too. My mom’s at work a lot so I guess they might as well be mine. My dad, he left...” she trailed off, and I reached over, grabbing her hand.

  “I’m so happy you’re here.”

  “Me too, babe.” We shared a knowing look. “Me too.”

  Rafe

  * * *

  “I still think we should have hit a strip club.”

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Damon clipped Hudson around the ear.

  “I could ask you the same thing. When was the last time you got any, huh?”

  “Fuck off.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Girls are practically lining up to sit on your dick and—”

  “Maybe I want more than a quick fuck with a girl I’ll never see again. Ever stop to think about that, huh?” Damon’s chest heaved with the weight of his words.

  “Shit, D, I was only busting your balls.”

  “Forget it.” He waved Hudson off.

  “Don’t do that...” Guilt shone in his eyes. “I was being
a dick, sorry. You really want that though? To be whipped like Rafe?”

  I gave him the finger.

  “I don’t know... maybe, one day.”

  “Shit, man. I didn’t realize. I just thought you couldn’t get it up or something.”

  Fenton and one of the other bodyguards smothered a snicker as we slipped into the back entrance of the hotel.

  “Nice, dickhead. Real nice.”

  “What about you, Levi?”

  “What about me?” My brother grunted.

  “Are you looking to settle down?”

  “What do you think?” He smirked. It was one of his trademark Levi Hunter smirks, the one reserved for fangirls and groupies.

  Only it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  And I couldn’t help but wonder where his head was at.

  We entered the service elevator. It had been strange spending the afternoon with the band, just the four of us. At first, it had been a little awkward, but we soon fell into old habits. Hudson had almost bailed when he found out we were going to watch a movie, and Damon moaned when we all stole his popcorn. It had been a welcomed reprieve from the fast-paced life of touring. Even if security had to arrange for the staff to let us sneak in through the emergency exit.

  “So, tonight…” Hudson ran a hand through his hair. “Tell me your girl has something special planned.”

  He was going to have a big disappointment when we got to the suite and realized we weren’t going out tonight.

  “Molly’s here. Are you ready to see her again?” I asked him.

  He released a frustrated breath. “I know she’s Eva’s best friend, but she’s really going to ruin my game tonight.”

  “You have game now?”

  “Fuck off. How would you like it if you were on the prowl and your ex-fling was there?”

  “First off, prowl? When the fuck did you become a lion? And second, ex-fling? Is that what we’re calling it?”

  Molly was more to him than just a fling. We both knew it. But if Hudson wanted to pretend different, then who was I to stop him?

  I pretended to check my phone, texting Eva the signal. She had gone to so much effort for Damon, it only made me love her more. The way she’d accepted my friends without question. She didn’t care where we came from or where we were going. She only cared about us: not the band, but the guys behind it.