Rise Read online

  Hating the awkward silence, and in an attempt to show them I wasn’t going to let my very brief, very misguided history with the fourth member of their band affect me, I finally said, “Where’s Rafe?”

  “He’s, ah—”

  “Eva.” My name spilled from his lips in a single breath, and the ground seemed to fall away from beneath me as Rafe Hunter stepped into view.

  Same gray eyes and dark hair. Same worn leather jacket and holey jeans. Same tattoos disappearing beneath his t-shirt. My heart hammered against my ribcage, a frenetic symphony thrumming through me. But as I forced a weak smile, his expression grew dark, his eyes clouded with contempt.

  “We should get this thing over with if we want to get on the road.”

  “Chill, man,” Levi nudged his brother in the ribs oblivious to the icy stare Rafe had pinned me with. “We have time. Besides, they’ll wait for us.”

  “Lev’s right,” Damon added. “We didn’t make it to Eva’s rehearsals. I’m sure she’d feel better if we—”

  “Whatever. I need a soda. I’ll be in the meeting room.” Rafe barged past his band mates and disappeared through the doors, not sparing me a second glance.

  “I’d better...” Hud thumbed to the meeting room before taking off after his friend.

  “Did I miss something?” I asked, dread snaking through me.

  “Don’t mind Rafe,” Levi said. “He’s on his period.”

  “Levi,” Damon scolded.

  “What? He’s been walking around like a bear with a sore head for weeks now. If he had a problem with her coming on tour with us, he should have—”

  “Levi!”

  “What? Eva’s a big girl, she can handle it. Right, Country?” His eyes narrowed at me.

  “I...” Words failed me. I didn’t know what I’d expected when I finally saw the band again, but it wasn’t this.

  This felt like an ambush.

  Or a hostile takeover.

  I couldn’t quite figure out which.

  “You can handle it. Right, Walker? Because there’s a lot riding on this tour, for all of us.”

  “Levi.” Rafe appeared at the door, his lips pressed into a thin line.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” He started to move toward the door. “I hope you’re ready for this, Country, because you’re not in Kansas anymore.” His words were low, meant only for my ears as he passed me.

  “You okay?” Damon’s apologetic gaze burned into me as he remained in the hall with me.

  “I’ll be fine.” I barely met his heavy gaze.

  “Don’t let him get to you.” He squeezed my shoulder as he ducked inside the meeting room, leaving me standing there all alone.

  I knew Damon meant Levi. But it wasn’t the unpredictable Hunter brother I was worried about. It was the quiet, brooding one.

  Rafe had once looked at me like I was everything he needed. But today he’d looked at me with hatred in his eyes.

  Which made no sense since I’d done nothing wrong.

  Unless Alistair had lied when he’d told me the band was okay with me coming on tour.

  Unless Rafe really didn’t want me here.

  Rafe

  “So much for playing it cool,” Hudson whispered as we sat around the table waiting for Alistair and Riley to arrive.

  I ignored my best friend, letting my eyes flick over to the door again. Eva still hadn’t come inside. Maybe she’d decided this whole thing was the wrong decision. Maybe she was already on her way back to Lyme where she belonged.

  She wasn’t supposed to be here, coming on tour with us. Alistair and the label thought she was exactly what the band needed to rebuild the damage caused with our younger fans. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll might have been a big hit with our older fans but Levi’s stint in rehab had done us no favors with the 10-14 demographic.

  It was ironic really. We’d never set out to become a hit with the pigtail and bubblegum brigade, but Black Hearts fever had swept through junior high schools up and down the country. Parents hated us and their daughters worshipped us.

  “Maybe I should go check on her,” Damon suggested.

  “Nah, leave her.” Levi kicked up his legs, dropping his military style boots on the table. “She had to know what she was getting into when she agreed to do this thing.”

  I rose a brow and he said, “What?”

  “Riley hates when you do that.”

  “Riley needs someone to fuck the sourpuss right out—”

  “Don’t mind me,” Eva stepped into the room and sat in one of the empty chairs. I tried to ignore the fact she took the one furthest away from me. Even though it shouldn’t have, it stung.

  “I heard Ali is banging that.” Hudson leaned back, stretching his hands behind his head.

  “Ali and Riley?” Levi frowned. “No way. She needs it a little dirty in her life and Alistair is as straitlaced as they come.”

  “Not according to Susie.”

  “Oh yeah, and when did Susie tell you that?” Levi’s brow shot up.

  “When I was balls deep in her the other night.” Hudson caught my eye and he blanched, running a hand over his face. “Shit, Eva, I didn’t—”

  “Don’t worry about it. I can handle it.”

  “What’s up, douchebags?” Letty, our old PA, breezed into the room and took the seat beside Eva. “Miss me?” she asked, earning a rumble of inaudible replies. “Shut up, you know you did. Hey, I’m Letty,” her attention went to the quiet girl on her left. “You must be Eva.”

  “Hi.”

  “Don’t look so worried. I don’t bite. At least, I didn’t until I toured last year with these four.”

  “I... have no idea what to say to that.”

  “S’all good.” Letty grinned, sifting through a stack of papers in front of her. “I might be officially off your asses but don’t think for a second I’ll let you off the hook.”

  “Jesus,” Levi groaned. “Is it me or did the power go straight to her head?”

  “Hey, it could be worse... you could have had Riley riding your ass. But who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky with your new PA.” She smirked.

  Hudson smothered a grin while Damon shook his head. He was the most sensible person in the room, excluding Eva, but she looked like a fish out of water, her eyes darting between my brother and Letty as if she expected one of them to throw down at any second.

  “At least Riley isn’t a frigid bitch.”

  Hudson hissed at the same time as me and Damon barked, “Levi!”

  “You’re only bitter because I wouldn’t drop my panties for you. Newsflash, rock star,” her words were saccharine-sweet but her smile was full of venom, “I prefer my men with a little less arrogance and more stamina between the sheets, if you know what I’m saying.”

  “Burn.” Hudson couldn’t contain his laughter this time, his cackle filling the meeting room.

  “Fuck off, Let, you don’t know shit.”

  “Oh, baby, we’ve all heard you... give it to me, Levi. Oh God, yeah, just like... is that... it?”

  I pressed my lips together, stifling the laughter bubbling in my chest.

  “Fuck you. It was one time and I was wasted.”

  “Yeah, yeah, that’s what they all say.” Letty waved him off, offering Eva a warm smile.

  Before Levi could retaliate, the door swung open. “Ali, boy, all set?” Hudson grinned at our manager as he entered the meeting room with Riley.

  “It’s not me you need to worry about, Hudson.” He gave each of us a serious look, lingering on Levi. “You ready for this?”

  “Ready?” My brother scoffed. “I was born ready.”

  “It’s a grueling schedule.” Riley handed him a sheet of paper and began reeling off the first leg of concerts: Charlotte, Orlando, Houston, Dallas...

  “We know the schedule, Ali.”

  “You mean I know the schedule,” he countered. “I’d bet my bottom dollar you haven’t even looked at the damn thing.”

  “Ali,” I said q
uietly, really not wanting to pull my brother off our manager today.

  “Exactly. Why do I need to know the schedule when I have people like you to do it for me?”

  The air grew thick with tension. Levi liked to push Ali’s buttons and our manager liked to push back, but the truth of the matter was we needed Ali as much as the band needed Levi. And he was one of the few people left willing to work with us.

  “Well, this is entertaining and all,” Letty slammed her hands on the table and grinned, “but if all you’re going to do is argue like little old ladies, I’m stealing Eva away.”

  “Actually, I need her to stick around,” Ali said. “This won’t take long and then you can go.”

  Eva shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t want to imagine what she thought about being dropped in at the deep end of all this, but I couldn’t help it. Everything about her pulled me in. From her soft pink lips to her unruly blonde curls. I knew every blemish on her skin, every ticklish spot, every place that made her moan. But what we had shared in Camdena, the weekend of the Talent Showdown final, was finite. A moment in time we’d never get to experience again. I couldn’t be who she needed and she sure as shit couldn’t be who I needed. So here we were; two strangers who knew one another in ways no two strangers should.

  Lyrics started forming in my head. A riff my fingers itched to play. I didn’t sing vocals a lot for the band, but I did my fair share of songwriting. I’d always had an affinity for words; for the way they blended to tell a story… a memory… an emotion.

  “Yo, Rafe, care to join us?” My brother smirked across the table at me.

  “Uh, yeah, what were you saying?”

  “Alistair was laying down the rules.”

  “Rules?” I balked. “Since when did we have rules?”

  “Since we have Eva joining us.” Alistair glared at me. “You are to treat Eva with nothing but professionalism and respect at all times. She isn’t a groupie or a roadie... that means no cavorting—”

  “Not an issue,” she cut Alistair off. “I’m... not like that.” Her eyes flicked to mine, hatred burning in their depths.

  My stomach sank.

  “You wouldn’t be the first to fall for their charms, Eva.” Ali regarded her.

  In that moment, she seemed so young. Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe fame had aged us. Fuck only knew I felt years older than my twenty.

  “You don’t need to worry about me,” she said sharply.

  “Ease off, Ali, yeah?” Damon said. “We know the deal. Eva is off-limits.”

  “I still don’t see why she isn’t riding on our bus.” Levi huffed like a petulant child who had lost his favorite new shiny toy.

  The thought made my insides twist.

  “You want her to what?”

  “While you were distracted...” Damon’s brow quirked up as he said the words. “Levi suggested Eva could ride with us on our bus.”

  “No.” No fucking way.

  Eva sucked in a harsh breath. We all heard it. But I forced myself to remain focused on Damon. “She can’t ride with us.” The words echoed around my skull and I knew how they had to sound to her… but, fuck, it was bad enough having her here. But having her here and on our bus… hell no.

  “She is sittin’ right here, you know?” Eva scowled.

  “Rafe’s right,” Alistair joined the conversation again. “Eva, Letty, and a few other vital staff will be on the smaller Van Hool. Everyone else is on the sleeper buses.”

  “Sorry, boys, looks like you’re going to have to find someone else to attend to your every need this time around.”

  “When do we get to meet this replacement assistant you spoke so highly of anyway?”

  “You’re looking at her,” Riley said.

  “You?” Levi deadpanned. “You’re putting her in charge of us? What happened to Cruz?”

  Cruz was a good guy and a good friend. If Eva was getting Letty, we wanted someone we could trust, someone who had our best interests at heart. Someone like Cruz.

  “As I said in the email which you obviously didn’t bother to read, Cruz is attending to some urgent business. He hopes to join the tour for the second leg. Until then, Riley will be filling in.”

  “But Riley can’t stand us,” Hudson said.

  “I...” she flushed. “That is not true. I am a huge fan of your music and no one knows the schedule better than me.”

  “We’re not here to debate Riley’s qualifications. Management already signed off on it. She’s on the tour whether you like it or not.”

  Levi sank back in his chair, raking a hand through his messy hair, dragging his teeth against his snake bite piercings. Riley didn’t shrink under his severe glare. She was used to boys like us playing at rock stars. But despite her cool exterior, I wondered if she had what it took to be on the road. She seemed like someone who preferred the finer things in life. But maybe Hudson was right? Maybe she was banging Ali and couldn’t stand the thought of being separated from him for the next few months. Maybe she’d used her relationship with him to leverage herself onto the road with us. Whatever. Riley was just another person in a long line of people trying to bring us to heel and play puppets. But like everyone before her, she’d quickly realize while you could usually reason with me, Damon, even Hudson; my brother was a different matter entirely. If she wanted to try to pull his strings and earn herself a nice promotion or a pat on the back from boss man, then who was I to try to stop her?

  “So does that mean you’ll be staying on the bus with us?”

  I didn’t miss the look in Hudson’s eyes as he blatantly checked Riley out, probably planning all the ways he could seduce her. He’d been going through women like they were a dying breed ever since Camdena. Ever since his weekend with Eva’s best friend Molly. He swore it was only sex between them, but I knew Hudson, and I knew something was off.

  I had my own shit to worry about though. Like how to survive the tour with Eva being there while making sure my brother didn’t fall off the deep end again. Because although he was my big brother, I’d been taking care of him for as long as I could remember.

  “I, umm, well, no,” Riley tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes darting between Hudson and Ali. Jesus, she was already falling for the Ryker charm and he’d barely even spoken to her.

  “Riley will be on the other bus,” Ali replied. To anyone else he might have looked cool and collected, but I wasn’t anyone. I saw the slight set to his jaw, heard the way his voice hitched just a fraction. He was jealous and pissed. And if that wasn’t a shitshow waiting to happen, I didn’t know what was.

  “Brave move,” Levi said, “leaving us to our own devices.”

  “The label wants to trust you, Levi, but you need to work with us. You need to prove to us you’re in control… but until then, you’re stuck with me.”

  “What do you mean, we’re stuck with you?”

  “I mean, I’ll be on the bus. This bus.”

  “This is fucking bullshit.” Levi’s hand balled into a fist and slammed against the table. “We don’t need a babysitter.”

  “Don’t you?”

  Levi shot up off his chair, but Damon threw his arm out. “This could cause problems, Ali, not help the situation.”

  “It isn’t forever and trust me when I say I’d rather not be on the bus with you. Let’s get the first couple of shows out of the way and we’ll discuss this further. Until then, I’m taking one of the bedrooms.”

  Levi was practically foaming at the mouth, but thankfully, for all of us, he managed to bite his tongue and sit back down. I wondered if Damon was physically restraining him out of our sight.

  “I’m going to check in with Duke. Do not leave this bus. I mean it. Stay put and we’ll be out of here in no time.”

  “Yeah, yeah, Ali,” Damon said. “Go do your thing. We’ve got this.”

  “Grab us a drink yeah, Riley? Make yourself useful.” Levi gave her a wicked smirk that had Alistair straightening.

  “
Riley, with me, please.” She nodded and took off. “Letty, Eva, you too.”

  “Guess that’s our signal,” Letty said. “Come on, Eva, I’ll give you the tour.” The two of them followed Alistair out of the room.

  “You good?” I asked my brother as soon as they were gone.

  “They’re screwing us over, Rafe.” He drummed the table with his fingers. “Treating us like kids who need babysitting.”

  “Riley can be my babysitter any day of the week.”

  “Dude, she’s fucking Ali, you cannot go there.” Damon levelled Hudson with a hard look.

  “Says who?” He shrugged.

  “It’s your funeral,” I replied, turning my attention to Levi. “We play by his rules. This tour could seal our future, but we have to play by the rules.”

  “They didn’t sign us because we play by the rules. They signed us because they know we don’t play by the rules.”

  “Two shows. We do the first two shows and prove to Ali we’ve got this, that you’ve got this, and then he’ll back off.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” Levi snapped. “Him and me on this tour bus is a fucking disaster waiting to happen. I know he holds the cards, but I can’t have him breathing down my neck every second of the day.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “Fix it, Rafe. You need to fix it.”

  I’d been trying to fix it for the last ten years.

  I let out a heavy sigh, “I’ll talk to him, but you need to do your part too.”

  He gave me a weak nod. Levi had issues with authority. With people telling him what he could and couldn’t do. To outsiders, he looked like an arrogant, selfish guy with entitlement issues, but they were wrong. They were all so fucking wrong.

  “Okay, fuckers.” His expression morphed in a second. Gone was the suspicious glint in his eye, the lines of frustration along his forehead. It was replaced with a mischievous grin. “It’s time to celebrate.”

  “Now that I can get on board with.” Hudson clapped his hands on the table. “This is the first day of the rest of our lives. This tour is going to change everything,” he said. “I feel it in my bones, boys. It’s going to change every-fucking-thing.”