The Rocker That Needs Me (The Rocker...) (19 page)

“Do you think I would just let you walk past me without dealing with you?” I heard Layla saying. Her tone was so frosty, goose bumps popped up on my arms. “I don’t let little bitches like you hurt my family.”

Gabriella screamed in pain and I raised my head to find her on the couch where Layla had pushed her over. The little Italian was probably second guessing her choice of keeping her hair long as Layla wrapped it around her fist and shook Gabriella’s head like a rag doll while she screamed in her face.

“I will fucking end you!” Layla spit in her face. “Do you hear me, bitch? End you!”

Jesse pulled his wife off the other woman. “Okay, babe. I think she gets the point.” With his arms wrapped tightly around Layla’s waist, he pulled her back, but she was still kicking and swinging her arms in her determination to do just as she had promised.

Gabriella had a bleeding lip, and I saw a hand full of hair still gripped in Layla’s hand. Tears poured down Gabriella’s face. “I didn’t screw the Demon!” she screamed back at Layla once Jesse had her at a safe distance. “We didn’t even kiss.”

“Yeah, so that explains why you were naked in bed with him.” Emmie’s frosty voice came from across the living room, and I turned my head to see her sitting on the chair as if a cat fight hadn’t just taken place mere feet from her. Fuck, she was pissed. I could see the temper that went with that red hair of hers burning in those wild green eyes.

“I was drunk!” Gabriella excused. “I didn’t think about it when I was trying to get comfortable.”

One brow rose. “Why were you even here in the first place?”

“He could barely stand after the second bottle. Axton was off with his new flavor of the month trying to keep Liam from screwing with her. I felt bad for the drunken slob.” Gabriella wiped her bleeding lip with the hem of her shirt. “So I helped him home. Even as drunk as I was, I still wasn’t nearly as gone as he was.”

Emmie sat there staring at Gabriella for a full minute. Her eyes narrowed at the other woman, as if looking for any signs that she was lying. God, I hoped she wasn’t lying because I didn’t know what I was going to do if something
had
happened.

“Get out, Gabriella. Don’t look at any of my guys again or you will think that the beating Layla just gave you was a tickle compared to what I will do to you.”

The pain was fading now, so I saw the look cross Gabriella’s face. The bitch really didn’t know when to stop when she was ahead. I grimaced as she opened her smart-ass mouth. “What are you going to do, little miss perfect? Nothing, that’s what, or you would have done it when I told you that BS about your precious Nik…”

She broke off with a scream as Emmie went flying at her, nails pointed right for her pretty face. Gabriella tried to protect her face as Emmie’s fists swung back. The sound of slapping echoed in the room, and I saw another handful of Gabriella’s hair, gripped in Emmie’s hands this time. Emmie’s curses would have had a sailor blushing the way she spat them out.

“Emmie!” Jesse had given her a good two minutes before he tried to step in, but Emmie was too far gone in her rage. “Enough, Em!” He tried to pull her off the other woman but only got a scratch across his cheek to show for his efforts.

I wasn’t about to step in. Gabriella deserved everything she was getting. If she had been smart, she would have kept her mouth shut and left. Instead, she had opened that mouth of hers, and Emmie had been unable to control herself a moment longer. It had been more than two years coming, but the dam was now busted wide open, and Emmie wasn’t going to stop until she had it all out of her system.

It was Layla that put an end to the fighting. Still pissed at the other woman, she was none to gentle as she grabbed Gabriella by the hair and pulled her out from under Emmie. When Emmie went to follow, Layla put herself between the two of them. “She’s had enough, Em.” Layla’s calm voice broke through Emmie’s red haze. “She’s just a little crying ball of fur now.”

Layla pushed Gabriella away f
rom her, and she landed on her ass―hard. Layla pulled Emmie into her arms, rocking her. “It’s okay, Emmie.”

Finally, Gabriella played it smart and left. I didn’t give her a second glance as she brushed passed me. The door slammed shut behind her, but my g
aze was on the two women sitting on my couch.

“You really need to cut your nails, Em,” Jesse complained, and I got a good look at the scratch on his right cheek. It was about an inch long and bleeding.

“Fuck!” Emmie was full of remorse. “Oh, Jess, I’m sorry!”

“It’s just a scratch, sweetheart.” His gaze shifted to me. “In light of Gabriella’s confession, I’m glad I don’t have to stomp your fucking ass.”

Lana

My brain had shut down.

I left the apartment functioning on autopilot. I didn’t remember the ride down in the elevator or Kyle the doorman speaking to me. I had no recollection of hailing the cab that drove me home or walking into my apartment. The faint smell of smoke and booze and sex, that should have told me that at least one of my roommates had returned, was lost on me as I opened the door to my shared room and fell across my bed without bothering to shut the door.

For the longest time, I just lay there on my stomach, not feeling much of anything other than the slight discomfort coming from my back and the PMS cramps that didn’t seem to want to let up. I didn’t think about anything. I couldn’t. My mind was trying to protect my heart and had shut down as a safety mechanism.

The sky slowly lightened outside my window, but still I didn’t notice. Through the open doorway, I heard someone moving around the apartment. From the sound of the heavy footsteps, I could only assume it was Linc. The second pair of heavy footsteps told me he had brought someone home last night.

I blinked, realizing that I had been staring at the same spot for hours. My eyes were dry and hurt. My entire body was one big ache. I sighed and sat up. I think I liked the numbness better.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow in the doorway and turned my head to find Shane standing there. He looked pale, but his eyes were clouded with a mixture of emotions I didn’t want to think about. The man that I had dreamed of being my brother-in-law was giving me a concerned look.

“How are you?” he asked, his voice rough.

I shrugged. “I don’t really know,” I told him honestly. I was waiting for the anger to hit me, the rage and humiliation.

Mostly, I was wondering why I wasn’t crying. The man who was supposed to be my soul-mate, who had whispered that he loved me over and over again as he moved inside of my body, had been in bed with another woman. So why wasn’t I bawling my eyes out?

“Jesse and Layla are over there. They arrived with Emmie about an hour ago.” He took a few steps into my shared room. Big hands thrust into jean pockets, and he let his head fall back on his shoulders as he frowned up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, sis.”

I flinched. “Please don’t call me that,” I whispered.

“I… Yeah, okay.” We were both quiet for a minute. “Do you want me to go?”

I pushed my tangled hair out of my face before shaking my head. “No, Shane. You can stay.”

He looked relieved and sat down on the bed beside of me. “Want something to eat? Linc is making breakfast.”

“No. I’m not hungry. My stomach is a little upset.” In fact, I was fighting the urge to throw up. Damn shock! I was going to be a mess when it finally faded.

There was a light tapping on the open bedroom door, and I turned to find Harper standing in our shared room. “Hey.” Her voice was gentle, causing my chest to ache just a little more. “How are you?”

I shrugged. “I’m still not sure.”

“Want me to help you with your bandages?” She closed our bedroom door, and I saw that she had a new tube of A&D ointment in her hand. “You probably want some of this on it.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

Shane stood and Harper took his place, his hand grasping and squeezing hers for a moment before stepping away. I watched as something passed between them, but it was over and gone so quickly I couldn’t say what it had been.

Shane gave me a grim smile. “I think I’m going to go grab a bacon sandwich or something.”

When the door shut behind him, I pulled my shirt over my head and Harper started pulling at the tape that held the gauze over my tattooed back. I waited until the bandages were gone before speaking. “Are you in love with him?”

Harper, in the process of opening the new tube of A&D ointment, stopped what she was doing. Her brow furrowed, as if she was really thinking about the answer to my question. After a moment she sighed. “Maybe.”

I just nodded and turned back around so she could rub the ointment across my ink. I flinched a few times as she touched the sensitive, slightly welted skin. The tattoo took up most of my back. It really should have been done in two sittings, but I had wanted it bad and paid extra to get it done in one. Now…now it was just a reminder of a huge mistake.

“I never should have gotten involved with him again,” I whispered. “I knew that it would only end in heartache, and maybe that was why I was holding off on telling him I love him. He’s a rocker, something I should have always kept reminding myself of.”

“Ah, sweetie. I know you are hurting right now. But maybe…maybe he didn’t do anything. It could just be a misunderstanding.”

“Maybe…” I agreed, but without much enthusiasm. I had little hope for that possibility.

--

I didn’t leave my room for another hour and a half. By then it was nearly lunch time, but I was still feeling sick. The lingering smells of bacon and other breakfast foods turning my stomach, and I was fighting the urge to vomit more and more with each passing minute.

With the skin on my back still sensitive, I decided against a bra and put on a baggy tee shirt that belonged to Linc. His sleepover friend, who I learned Linc had met at the party he and Dallas had ended up at instead of going clubbing the night before, was still lounging on our sofa when I walked into the living room. Shane and Harper were sitting beside him watching television. The three of them, mostly the two guys, took up almost the entire couch, so I flopped down on the floor between Shane and Harper’s legs.

“Feeling better?” Harper asked, noticing my paleness.

I was breathing through my mouth to keep from gaging. “Not really. I might need a bucket actually.”

“Linc!” Harper yelled.

“What?!” His voice came from down the hall, probably his bedroom.

“We need your hangover bucket!” she told him.

I grimaced. Linc had a hangover almost every Sunday morning, but instead of sleeping it off he worked through his sickness. Most of the time that meant carrying around what we had deemed “the hangover bucket,” which he threw up in when he had to, and then he went on about his day. Dallas swore she could still smell the contents even after it was bleached Monday mornings. I hoped that wasn’t the case today.

Linc appeared with the little white waste basket. As he offered it to me, he frowned. “Want me to kick his ass?”

I offered him a small smile. “Nah, but thanks for the offer.”

He winked. “Anything for you, beautiful.”

The phone by the door rang, and I felt my stomach churn because I knew in my heart who it was. I ached to see my sister, and in truth Jesse and Emmie too. But I knew that Drake would be with them. As Linc moved to answer the phone, my stomach heaved and I emptied my dinner from the night before into the hangover bucket.

Shane’s hands were cool on my neck as he rubbed soothingly. A damp washcloth was put against my forehead by Harper, and I closed my eyes, fighting the next wave of sickness. When I thought I had control of it all, I raised my head.

“Shane, I don’t want them to see me like this,” I whispered.

He just nodded and lifted me into his arms. “I’ve got you, Lana,” he murmured as he carried me down the hall to my room.

From the edge of my bed, I heard the front door open. Through the open bedroom door, I could hear the feminine voices of my sister and Emmie. There was a long pause between greetings as Jesse spoke to Linc and his guest. Well, fuck! I had forgotten about the new guy.

“Shane, please make sure no one kills anyone while I brush my teeth,” I told him.

“I’ll do my best,” he promised and closed the door behind him.

Harper lingered. “Need any help?”

I shook my head. “No, but thanks. Can you help him? They all have territory issues.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” She sighed. “Yell if you need me.”

When the door shut behind her I stood and went into our shared bathroom. I scrubbed the taste of vomit out of my mouth and prayed that I wouldn’t have to do it again anytime soon. My hair looked like shit, and I pulled it up into a sloppy ponytail. As soon as I opened the bedroom door, I heard the raised male voices.

Linc and Drake.

I groaned, knowing that Drake was about to lose it. I should have introduced those two long before now, dammit!

“No way!” Drake yelled. “You are not the roommate. She said you were gay…”

“Dude, I am.” I reached the living room in time to see Linc point at the shirtless guy still sitting on the couch. “See? That’s the guy you saw me hanging out with last night. Remember? We talked for like twenty minutes last night, man. Me, you, Dallas, and Axton? Ring any bells there, man?”

“Of course he doesn’t remember,” I answered for him. “If he was inhaling Jack Daniels like I suspect he was, then he would be lucky to remember his own name today.”

“Angel…”

For the first time I let my eyes go to him. He was pale, his eyes bloodshot and glassy. I remembered all the signs of his hangovers. I wondered how long he had spent with his head in the toilet that morning and if Emmie had to help him shower.

“Don’t,” I told him. “Don’t ever use that word again.” It felt like poison now; him calling me
Angel
felt like a white hot dagger stabbing me in the heart.

“Lana.” Layla’s cool hands touched my arm, and I turned my head to meet my sister’s gaze. “Baby, are you okay? You look a little green.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Layla.” More than anything I wanted her to just hold me, to rock me in her arms the way she had when I was a little girl. But I knew that I had to deal with Drake on my own. Already, I could feel the tears that had evaded me for hours stinging my sinuses.

“I wish I could take last night back.” Drake’s voice had my head snapping around in his direction once more. He took several steps toward me, but my glare stopped him. “I know I let you down, Angel…”

“I said
don’t
.”

He faltered for just a second before clenching his jaw. “Nothing happened,” he informed me, sounding so sure.

“And you know this because you remember? You know that nothing happened?” I demanded, not believing him for a minute.

“No, I don’t remember anything from last night, Angel.” His shoulders drooped just a little. “But…”

“But nothing!” I pulled away from my sister and took a step in his direction. “If you don’t remember, then how can you be so sure that nothing happened?”

“Because your sister beat it out of Gabriella,” Jesse’s deep voice informed me.

“I… What?” I demanded, turning to face my brother-in-law. “She did what?”

Jesse had a look of pride on his face and a half-grin tilting his lips. “Yeah, I know. It was so hot. Between her and Em, I think the bitch is bald in a few places.”

I was sure if my world wasn’t falling apart right at that moment I would have laughed. My spit fire sister kicking Gabriella Moreitti’s ass? I would have paid money to see that! But I was in no mood to laugh. “She admitted that nothing happened and you believed her?”

Jesse shrugged. “She may have only been saying that to get Layla off of her. Not that it worked. I had to pull her off. Em, what was your take? Do you think she was lying?”

Emmie had been quietly standing by the door. Her gaze taking everything in, missing nothing. When her green eyes met mine, I saw that she really had believed the other woman.

“I doubt that anything happened. Drake hadn’t had a drink in months. That much liquor in his system...he was probably useless below the waist.”

My eyes closed as hope flowed through me, but it was short lived. One night away from Drake and our lives—our future together—was all washed down the drain. “It wouldn’t be the first time that he was that drunk and was able to function,” I whispered.

“What are you saying, Lana?” Layla asked, but I could hear in her voice that she knew what I was telling her. “You...?”

I didn’t answer her as I forced my gaze to meet Drake’s. “You can’t remember anything, but until you do, I won’t ever believe that you didn’t have sex with her.”

He swallowed hard. “I’ll never remember, Lana.”

“Yeah, I know. Just like you will never remember our night together.” His head snapped back as if I had punched him.

“Our night together?” He sounded strangled.

I knew that telling him now would only hurt him, but the bitch in me just didn’t care. I was hurting, and I wanted him to hurt just as much. I wanted him to hurt more! “The night before Jesse and Layla got married? The night you took my virginity? I’m sure that night is a blank hole in your mind. Probably why you don’t know why I was so shattered the next night when I heard you fucking some slut against the hotel room door that separated our rooms.”

“No!” He was in front of me in just a few steps, his grip on my arms so tight it was painful. “Tell me that it didn’t happen!” he demanded.

“I can’t.” I jerked out of his hold. There was no need to slap his face, not when he was already beaten from my admission.

“Are you done, now?” Emmie asked, calm as always. “Do you maybe want to pull out his heart and stomp on it too?”