I spent five days in the hospital before I had enough. Zane, my brother and sister, and the doctors all argued with me. I needed to stay longer according to them, but I was done. Done being confined with machines and tubes and whatever else surrounding me. I was sick of nurses coming in and out of my room. There was absolutely no talking me out of it.
When he realized I wasn’t giving in, Zane had the private plane ready to go in a couple of hours. Maddox took a personal plane as well which has left me wondering who the fuck is Maddox Masters really because I had no clue he could access something like that so easily.
I sit on the sofa while Maddox goes to help Zane and Jax. Dane takes a seat across from me. His eyes are hard and angry. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on Tori?” he asks gruffly.
“Because I didn’t want you leaving the tour to come and rescue Cara. You couldn’t have done anything about it.”
“It’s my job to watch out for my sisters. It’s my job to keep you safe.”
I want to grab his hand but it fucking hurts to move. I soften my tone and my face instead. “Dane, you’ve done that. You sacrifice everything for Cara. Me too. Now it’s your job to do what’s best for you.” He’s shaking his head in disagreement, so I keep going. “You are twenty-nine years old and sometimes it’s like you’re eighty-nine. No one would ever guess looking at you, but I know how much you’ve given up for Cara. Even for me. Go live your own life. Make your band successful. Find a girl. Do what makes you happy.”
He drops his head into his hands. My brother comes off as an arrogant ass sometime when it comes to me and Cara. Sometimes I think he’s trying to make up for lost time. Sometimes I think he blames himself that we were all separated for so long. “I don’t know how to turn it off, Tori. How am I supposed to just stop worrying about the two of you? Especially when shit like this happen while I’m gone.”
“It would’ve happened regardless. If I had told you, you would've dropped everything trying to hand it. You could’ve gotten yourself killed. Those guys weren’t just random thugs.”
I watch as he takes several breaths. Then he looks at me with those dark eyes accusing. Suddenly I feel the urge to shrink back. “Were you going to tell me you slept with Maddox?”
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“Yeah, apparently everyone knew but me.”
“It just happened, Dane. It was one time. We were both drunk and hurting.”
“You were hurting because of the asshole you’re moving in with.”
“I was hurting because I fucked up. Because I hurt him. I do not need protection from Zane. If it weren’t for him and his family, Cara and I would probably be in a lot of trouble right now.”
“You don’t think getting shot is a lot of trouble?” he fumes. “They’re involved in some shady shit Tori.”
“I know what they’re involved in, Dane. And if it weren’t for that, things would’ve turned out differently. I love Zane. I didn’t want it and fought it as hard as I could, but I do love him.”
“And he loves you so much that he has you leaving everything you’ve ever known,” he scoffs.
“I’m leaving because there is nothing in New York holding me anymore. It was people keeping me there not the place. And besides, the alternative is him leaving everything he’s ever known.”
“Fuck, Tori,” I sigh. “I just found you and now I am losing you.”
“What the fuck Dane?” I laugh then wince because it hurts. Fucking hell, it hurts. “I’m not leaving the planet. We will still see each other and talk every day. Besides, you need to focus on becoming the huge rock star you always wanted to be.”
He shakes his head again but he’s finally smiling. And that’s the face I love so much. My brother is so much more than people realize. “So, after everything I taught you, you’re going to work in Sebastian Delrie’s shop?”
Now I’m grinning too. “How fucking cool is that?”
“Pretty fucking cool,” he says still grinning. “A little weird knowing everything I know about him now, but cool.”
Zane comes over placing a kiss to my cheek while Maddox and Jax take a seat around me. “Anyone want a drink?” Zane asks.
“You know what I want,” Jax tells him. “Just one though. I need to get back to Zoey.”
“Whatever he’s having,” Maddox says.
Zane and Jax give Maddox a strange look. I wonder what’s up with it, but I don’t ask. Not now anyway.
“Same here,” Dane tells him.
Zane returns a few minutes later with four drinks for the guys and a bottle of water for me, making me pout. “None for you as long as you’re on pain meds,” he says without hesitation.
“Actually, I’m pretty tired. Think I’m just going to bed,” I tell them.
