“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.