“Dirty country skank,” the girl yelled, “I bet she’s fucking all four of them.”
The blood drained from my face. “Ignore them,” Letty said. But it was easier said than done. I knew there was a price to pay for my rising fame. Not everyone was going to like me or my music or my story. Only knowing it and having it shoved in your face were very different things.
“Screw ‘em, babe,” Molly said, still nestled into Hudson’s arm, looking far too comfortable... and smug.
Travis led us back to the VIP area.
“What happened?” Alistair came over to us.
“There was an incident,” Travis started but our manager cut him off. “Of course there was. Who do I need to pay off this time?”
“Actually,” Hudson stepped forward, sliding his arm from around Molly’s shoulder to take her hand instead. “Some girls came up to Eva and Molly. Die Hearts, I assume.”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Rafe and Levi appeared.
“We need to bail.”
“What are we waiting for then?” Levi said, as if it was that simple.
“What, no third degree?”
“Nah,” he said flatly. “It doesn’t have the same appeal when you’re sober.”
“Fenton is bringing the van around to the side entrance,” Travis said.
“Where’s Damon?” I asked.
“He went to take a leak.”
“I’ll radio his guy and tell them to meet us.”
I moved closer to Molly, aware Hudson still had her hand in a death grip. “Is it always like this?” her voice quivered as she smoothed her hair.
“Not always. Sometimes we stay in and watch movies.”
“So rock-and-roll.” We shared a nervous laugh. “I can’t believe this is your life now. You can’t even dance in some exclusive club in Las Vegas without bein’ spotted.”
“Kinda comes with the gig, Mol.”
“I know,” she said. “I just… wow.”
“Should I be worried about that?” I whispered, dropping my gaze to where she held Hudson’s hand.
“I want to be strong, Eva, I do, but...”
“It’s okay, I get it.”
No one would ever understand more than me. The only difference between me and Molly was she got to go back to the hotel and be with the guy consuming her every thought.
I didn’t.
As if he heard my thoughts, Rafe approached us. “Are you both okay?”
“Yeah, it just made it real, you know? I’m not stupid. I know they’re sayin’ all kinds of things about me, but it was just white noise then.”
He lifted his hand as if he was about to reach for me, but at the last second, he thrust it into his jean pocket, his stormy eyes silently saying all the things I wished he could say.
“You can’t let them in, Eva,” Hudson said. “That shit will drive you crazy.”
I glanced over at Levi. He was quiet, his eyes cold and assessing. “Is he okay?” I asked Rafe.
“He’s struggling a lot with his emotions right now.”
“Because of me?” The second the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. But Rafe—selfless, steadfast Rafe—didn’t flinch.
“Yeah, but he’s okay. If he wasn’t, I’d be standing over there and not here with you.”
My brow rose and Rafe let out an exasperated breath. “He wanted me to check on you.”
“Oh.”
“I see what you mean,” Molly leaned in, whispering, “So intense.”
Rafe frowned but our security team decided it was time to move. They escorted us through a network of closed access halls before a rush of cool air hit us.
“What happened?” Damon asked the second we reached him.
“Some Die Hearts started shit with the girls.” Hudson didn’t stick around, pulling Molly toward the minivan.
“Are you okay?” Damon asked me.
“Yeah, I’d just forgotten how cruel girls can be to one another.”
“Jealousy is a powerful motivator, Eva.”
“Probably didn’t help that Hudson was down there dancing with her again.” Levi brushed past us and got in the van.
“One thing is for sure, Eva,” Damon smiled, “There hasn’t been a dull moment since you joined the tour.”
When he put it like that, I didn’t know whether it was good thing or a bad thing.
I woke to the sound of voices. Sitting up, I tried to get my bearings. Molly was beside me, her dark hair fanned all over the crisp white linen. She must have crept in after her and Hudson got done reacquainting. After we’d arrived back at the hotel, I’d gone straight to bed. Part of me felt bad for cutting Molly’s night in Vegas short, but Hudson had made it pretty clear he was more than willing to keep her company.
From the stream of sunlight pouring in through the window, I figured it was morning. “Wake her,” someone said from outside the door.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” another voice said.
“Eva,” Levi yelled, his voice fraught. I leaped out of bed and rushed to the door. It swung open and I came face to face with the eldest Hunter brother.
“Is it true?” he ground out.
“Is what true?” I treaded carefully, my mind immediately going to Rafe.
Me and Rafe.
We’d been super careful since the other night on the bus. Stealing glances here and there, and we’d barely even spoken last night.
“There’s an article online about you, is it fucking true?”
“Levi, back up, let her have some space.” Letty tried to usher him away, but he refused to move. I peered around them and found the whole band sitting there in our suite.
“I’ll move,” he gritted out, “when she tells me the truth. Is. It. True?”
He knew.
Levi knew about me and Rafe. It was the only explanation for his angry morning wake up call.
Steeling myself, I rolled back my shoulders and calmly said, “What did it say?”
Letty caught my eyes, her expression grim. But there was something else there, and it looked a lot like, ‘I told you so’.
“They said you’re sick,” Levi choked out the words, his eyes wild and hands restless. “They said you’re... dying.”
The world went from under me and my hand shot out to steady myself on the wall.
“Eva?” Letty said. “Okay, Levi, back the hell up.”
“It’s true, isn’t it? It’s fucking true. You’re just like the rest of them,” he was agitated, pain and anger swirling around him like a dark vortex.
“Levi,” someone said. “Come on, man, you need to calm down.”
“Calm down,” he roared. “You want me to calm the fuck down? She’s fucking dying and you want me to calm—”
“I AM NOT DYIN’.” My chest heaved, my heart galloping like a band of wild horses.
“Y- you’re not?” Levi blinked at me.
“See, man, we told you to let her explain things, but, oh no, you had to go and jump off the deep end.” Hudson threw up his hands and then jabbed a finger at me. “You’ve got some explaining to do, Angel.”