The Rocker That Needs Me(64)

“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 from 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 gaze 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.”





Chapter 21


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.