I shrugged. “Lana’s not picking up her phone.”
“Maybe it’s dead.” He was punching in something on his phone and seconds later it chimed with an incoming text. “Dallas says that she’s with her, that Lana is okay, but unable to answer her phone right now.”
I jerked the phone from my friend’s hands and stared down at the screen. Seconds later, I typed in a message asking Dallas if Lana was coming over tonight. In the last month we hadn’t spent one night apart. It chimed and I felt my heart move to my throat. “She’s too busy to come over,” I read aloud.
So it was true. Lana was avoiding me. What was I going to do if she broke up with me? But even as the thought left my mind, my emotions switched gears and the hurt and grief were pushed to the back as anger tried to consume me. She was too young, something I had known all along. Our relationship was too much for a little girl like her. Proof of which was her childishness in avoiding the issue instead of facing it full on.
The need for a drink nearly consumed me, and I pulled out my own phone once more to call Shane. He picked up after five rings. “Hey.” He sounded distracted.
“I…” The sound of several females laughing in the background alerted me to the fact that my brother was probably off doing only God knew what. He had been really good the last few weeks so I decided to let him have his fun. “Never mind. See you later.”
“Okay. See ya, bro.” And he hung up.
“Want to grab some dinner?” Axton asked from my left. “I’m starving.”
I shook my head, still lost in my emotions and the overwhelming need for a bottle of Jack. “I think I’m going to just head home.” To an empty apartment, to lie on a bed that would smell like Lana, to memories that would drive me up the wall because I was sure that she was giving me the boot.
Axton gave me a strange look. “Are you okay? Want to come over to my place? Liam is in town and staying with me.”
The thought of seeing Liam Bryant, lead bassist of OtherWorld, actually distracted me from some of the hurricane force emotions raging inside of me. I hadn’t seen my friend in months, maybe as long as a year. The man was a crazy bastard that liked to live hard and partied harder.
Which was why I wasn’t surprised when the penthouse was full of people when Axton and I arrived a while later. It was only after seven but the party was in full swing and I doubted that there was an end in sight. Axton took a look around his living room, taking in the girls on the sofa practically having sex with some guy that looked high as fuck. Across the room a group of people were playing strip beer pong. Music was blaring so loud that the walls vibrated and the booze was flowing like water.
The urge for a drink, which had been hitting me hard all evening, punched me in the gut. I knew that if I didn’t leave right now I wasn’t going to be able to fight the temptation for long. Axton shot me an apologetic grimace. “Sorry. I had no idea he was going to pull this shit.”
“It’s okay.” But I wasn’t so sure if it was. My gaze kept going to the bottles of whiskey just a few feet away.
“Let me find Liam and tell him to get these people the fuck out of my house and we can go grab something to eat.” He turned and disappeared into the crowd of partiers.
I stood there, nearly frozen in my attempt to keep my feet from carrying me toward the bottles of liquor. That voice, the one that was my need for the alcohol, screamed that we needed to grab a bottle and start chugging. The one that normally said that I couldn’t was so quiet I couldn’t even hear it over the noise of the party…
Someone bumped into me and I turned my head to find Gabriella Moreitti standing next to me, looking just a little unsteady on her feet. I reached out to keep her from falling over and she fell against my chest. “It’s a Demon,” she murmured. “Oh, good, it’s the fun one… No wait. It’s the drunk one.” She sighed. “I was hoping it would be the fun one. I really need to get laid!”
I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or herself. “I don’t think my brother would take you up on the offer,” I told her, stepping back and releasing her once I knew she wasn’t going to fall over. “He knows that Emmie would cut off his balls.”
Gabriella grimaced. “Ah, yes, the sainted Emmie.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t want to upset her.” Laughing, she stumbled away.
I watched her go then looked around for Axton, but there was no sign of my friend. Muttering a curse, I pulled out my phone and punched in Lana’s number. It went straight to voicemail, and I threw my phone across the room. It bounced a few times then disappeared into the crowd.
Two more minutes and still no Axton. The smart thing to do would be just to leave, get myself out of the way of temptation…
Lana
I didn’t get home until late. After the afternoon spent with all my friends as they watched my back turn into a work of art, we had all decided to grab a late dinner and then we split up. Dallas and Linc had gone clubbing, a typical Saturday night for those two. As much as they bickered and picked at each other, Linc and Dallas loved each other, and Linc couldn’t relax at the club unless Dallas was with him. I wasn’t sure, because I hadn’t ever gone with them, but I thought that maybe Dallas helped Linc find suitable guys.
Harper and Shane went to a late movie. It had been sweet watching those two all afternoon and evening. My worry that Shane was only playing around with my best friend was put at ease for the most part since I could see the way he looked at her when he thought no one was watching. He didn’t ogle her, didn’t try to disrespect her by undressing her with his eyes whenever her back was turned. The biggest pass I had seen him make toward her all evening was trying to hold her hand as we had walked to dinner from The Ink Shop.
I was home alone and really kind of exhausted on top of having some bad PMS cramps. It took a lot out of a person to have your back inked to the degree mine had been inked today. But it was well worth it. I was thrilled with the results. In the bathroom, I pulled off my top and tried to angle my back to get another peek, but it was bandaged. With a happy sigh, I left my shirt off, finished stripping and went back into my room that I shared with Harper and lay down on my stomach, hoping that the cramps would go away soon.
Within seconds I was asleep…
Hours later I turned over, reaching for Drake to snuggle up to. When I didn’t feel him my eyes snapped open and I saw that I was at home instead of at his apartment. My stomach tensed up and I reached for my phone. I should have told him what I was doing. I should have told him myself that I wasn’t going to get to see him yesterday evening.
I had wanted him to see my tattoo right away, hoping that it would tell him what I couldn’t say out loud yet. Instead, I had let Shane talk me into letting the ink set over night before letting Drake see the masterpiece on my back.
Heart racing, I pulled up his name and hit connect. When it did nothing but ring until it went to voicemail, I glanced at the clock between my bed and Harper’s. Two o’clock. Biting my lip I hit redial and was sent to his mailbox again. Three more times―nothing. That wasn’t like Drake. He wasn’t the heaviest sleeper. My repeated calls should have woken him up.
Without giving it much thought, I turned on the lamp and then remembered Harper, but she wasn’t even in her bed. Not wanting to go down that road, wondering if my best friend was out getting nasty with the man I wanted as my brother-in-law, I started pulling on clothes. I had to get to Drake and tell him why I hadn’t called. I missed him like an amputated limb, and my chest was already feeling like there was an elephant sitting on top of it.
The air was muggy as I hailed a taxi. I climbed in and gave the driver Drake’s address. The city was calmer this time of night, and the man didn’t have any trouble getting me there quickly. Still, I couldn’t help feeling anxious. When the yellow car pulled to a stop in front of Drake’s building, I tossed the guy a few bills, not caring that I had just tipped him out the ass, and rushed inside.
The doorman behind the desk gave me a welcoming smile when he saw me. “Mor
ning, Miss Daniels.”
I gave him a small smile. “Hey, Kyle,” I greeted the hulking man. The security here was amazing, something I was sure that Emmie had made sure of before buying the apartment for Drake and Shane. But even if it hadn’t been, the muscled man that stood guard over the lobby on the nightshift would have made intruders think twice before attempting anything.
The elevator came quickly when I called for it, and I waved at the doorman before stepping inside. The closer I got to his floor, the more nervous I got. My palms were sweating and my heart was racing. Dammit, it had been less than a day since I had left him sleeping in what I had come to think of as our bed, but I felt as if I hadn’t seen him in months.
Using my key, I unlocked the apartment door…
Shane was standing in the living room. He jerked around as soon as he heard the door opening. I raised a brow at him. “I thought you would be with Harper.” Worry for my friend suddenly made me freeze. Harper hadn’t been at home!
“She’s here,” he assured me. “In the bedroom…”
“Shane!”
“No. Nothing happened.” But I could see from his eyes that something had happened…
But what?
“Don’t play games with her, Shane,” I told him as I tossed my keys on the coffee table. “She’s not like your usual women.”
“I know that, sis…” His gaze kept moving down the hall and I watched as his jaw clenched so hard that I wondered if his teeth were going to break. “You should go,” he said without turning his eyes away from the hall that led to the bedroom.
Drake’s bedroom.
“I just got here. I missed Drake.” I started toward the hallway that led to his room. “I’m tired, Shane. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“No!” He moved so fast my head spun. Shane stepped in my path and grasped my arms. “I think you should just go home. I’ll make him call you. You guys can talk then.”
“What is your problem?” I pulled my arms free and pushed against him to get him out of my way. “I’m not up for games, Shane. Really, I love you, but I’m tired. My back aches and I just want to snuggle up to Drake.” He wouldn’t move out of my way. I pushed at his chest, but he was unmovable.
“I’m telling you, Lana.” His eyes were dark, a mixture of emotions swirling in his blue-gray eyes. “Go home.”
My stomach tensed as I saw rage, disappointment, and worry among the emotions in Shane’s eyes. I stopped trying to get around him. “Is Drake alright?” I demanded.
Shane grimaced. “That’s a matter of opinion. Right now he’s sleeping. In the morning, I plan to kill him.” He reached out and his fingers gently pushed my hair away from my face. “Don’t hurt yourself by going in there.”
The first crack started at the bottom. I felt the pain in my heart but it wasn’t enough to make me fall on my knees. “I need to see it.” Whatever ‘it’ was. But with Drake that could be anything. “Please, Shane. Get out of my way.”
He closed his eyes, as if mentally debating with himself over the decision to move or not. After a long moment he finally nodded and stepped to the side. My fingers shook as I reached for the doorknob, I could feel Shane standing just behind me, and I sucked in a steadying breath as I opened the door.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I stepped into that bedroom. The smell hit me first. Sweat and liquor mixed with some expensive perfume. My eyes zeroed in on the bed. Drake was asleep on top of the covers, completely naked. He was turned on his side, his pillow under him…
And a naked Gabriella Moreitti with her ass snuggled up to Drake’s crotch. The crack in my heart tore upward, but I was numb. I felt like I was having an out of body experience, like I was watching everything happen from a distance. My body felt cold, my eyes oddly dry. There was no rage, like I was sure there should have been. No murderous craving for vengeance. Without realizing it, I moved to the side of the bed where Drake was.
He groaned when I leaned over and kissed is cheek. “Goodbye, Drake,” I whispered.
As I straightened, he stretched out and turned on his back. Even as I turned away his eyes opened. “Is it morning yet?” he asked, a slur to his words even now. “Come back to bed, Angel.”
I didn’t turn around as I moved toward the door and met Shane. His face was clouded with emotions, but I saw the tears glazing those beautiful eyes of his. I knew that he was hurting for me. As I went to move past him he pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
I didn’t raise my head to meet his eyes. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” I assured him and stepped back. “I…I’ll see you around, Shane.”
“Angel?” Drake was waking up more now. I closed my eyes, trying to draw strength from deep down as I finally turned and met his gaze.
“Bye, Drake,” I said in a dead voice and walked away.
Chapter 20
…Emmie…
I wasn’t completely asleep when my phone rang.
Nik was playing with my hair, his fingers stroking through the ends in a way that was both soothing and arousing. It wasn’t too late, just after eleven, but I had learned that with a baby eleven was late enough.
Nik’s dick was twitching every now and then against my ass. I wasn’t sure if he was just teasing me, or if he was going to try to get me to turn over and let him prove all over again that he worshiped my body. I was also unsure as to whether or not I would let him. Mia would be up at the crack of dawn wanting a dry diaper and some breakfast.
But still, this was Nik. He was worth feeling sleep deprived.
That thought was just crossing my mind when my phone went off. Nik sighed and kissed my cheek as he reached across me and picked up the phone from my bedside table.
“It’s Shane,” he informed me with a frown.
“Answer it,” I told him, still clinging to that pre-sleep phase.
“Hello?” Nik paused and I could feel the tension filling his body.
That tension was all I needed to wake up. Something told me I wasn’t going to like the reason for Shane’s call. It was after two on the East Coast, so I was sure that whatever was going on wasn’t going to be amusing. He knew better than to call after nine my time because of Mia’s bedtime. The look on Nik’s face confirmed my suspicions. His blue eyes were on fire with a temper that looked close to boiling over.
Nik kept listening for a long moment and then, without another word, he gave me the phone. Muttering some curses that I would have smacked him in the back of the head for saying in front of our daughter or Lucy, he started pulling on clothes.
“Shane?” I greeted.
“Emmie!” Shane sounded strange to me. A mixture of emotions in the way he said my name. My heart clenched because whatever was wrong was bad. Very bad. “Emmie, I need you.”
“What’s going on? Are you okay? Is Drake?” Fear made me grip the phone tighter. “Lana?”
“I… Drake got drunk at a party at Axton’s. Liam is in town and he threw a party without Axton knowing about it. Axton invited Drake over after work yesterday and… He started drinking again, Em.”
I bit my lip. “That isn’t the end of the world, Shane. We all knew that he could have set backs. All we have to do is show him that we love him and support him through…”
Shane cut me off. “Emmie, that isn’t what I’m calling you about!” He paused, blowing out a frustrated sigh. “Drake is passed out in his bed, Emmie. And he isn’t alone.”
“Don’t tell me he got Lana drunk too!” I pushed the hair out of my face, already imagining the fit that Jesse was going to throw as soon as he heard about Lana’s partying with Drake…
“It isn’t Lana.” The words came out soft, as if he was trying to break something major to me. I wasn’t all that worried about myself right then. Drake had cheated on Lana. Oh, fuck! Jesse was going to kill him!
“Gabriella Moreitti is in bed with him.”
My head snapped back as if Shane had physically slapped m
e. No. No. NO! “I don’t believe you,” I whispered. I thought I was rid of that stupid bitch when Axton told me he had called things off with her. He hadn’t reverted to his old ways and let her back in his life after the last bitchy trick she had pulled months ago. Now…
“I swear to you, Emmie. I witnessed it with my own eyes. They are both naked and in bed…Lana just left…”
“Lana! Why the fuck wasn’t she with him in the first place?” I demanded.
“Because she was with me all afternoon yesterday getting ink. She wanted to surprise him with… That doesn’t even matter right now, Emmie!” he exclaimed. “Don’t you dare put this off on Lana. She’s destroyed right now!”
I sucked in a deep breath, trying to gain control over myself. I couldn’t keep blaming Lana for Drake’s mistakes. Everything she had ever done had been to help him, even if I hadn’t seen it that way at the time. Lana was the best thing to ever happen to Drake.
And now he had completely fucked that all up!
Not even I could fix this for him.
“He’s still passed out, Emmie. Both of them are.”
“What do you want me to do, Shane?” I asked.
He blew out a long breath full of frustration, disgust, disappointment, and rage. “If you can’t come take care of this, then no one will. Because if I have to do it, I will kill him. Lana is… I think she needs Layla.”
“How pissed was she?” I know I would have been tearing the place apart if I had found Nik in the same situation. And Lana, she was as big a firecracker as I was when it came to raging.
“That’s just it. She was all calm. Her eyes were all dead, and she even kissed him goodbye before leaving. She wasn’t herself. I’m worried about her. Please, Emmie. Come help me.” His voice was broken.
“I’ll be on the next flight out.”
“Thank you, Emmie.”
“I have to go. I love you.”
“Love you, Em!” And he hung up.