Clenching my jaw because his jealousy was ridiculous and pissed me off, I swiped my thumb over his name and called him. He let it ring four times before picking up. Was he really being this childish?
“What?” he snapped.
“Don’t act like that, Dev. You have no reason to be jealous.” I tried to be reasonable, tried to keep my voice calm so that he would realize that being jealous of Zander was about as stupid as him being jealous of my brothers or even his son. Zander was simply a friend.
“You let him put his hands on you during the ceremony, Nat. You avoid me and then as soon as we leave you jump into the same vehicle with him. What the fuck do you want me to think when you do something like that?” he demanded.
I lifted my free hand and pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting a headache on top of everything else that the universe seemed to be throwing at me today. “I want you to think that I wouldn’t avoid you unless I was trying to protect your dumb ass. I didn’t even realize Z was riding in this van until I’d already been on it. So chill the fuck out!” I yelled the last two words and hung up the phone before I started screaming. That wouldn’t accomplish anything but make my headache worse.
I turned my phone off and put it in my back pocket then leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. I just needed a little time to calm down without everyone blowing up my phone with text messages about something that I couldn’t even deal with until the vans stopped.
The van drove on and I tried to calm my breathing, hoping that would help with my headache. It didn’t. I was pretty sure that I could actually feel my pulse in my eyelids when I heard someone’s phone start chiming. When Zander snorted, I lifted my eyes open to look at him. “What now?”
“Dev says he’s sorry.” Zander lifted his amused eyes from his phone, but there was a seriousness in their depths as well. “The dude is a mess, Nat. Turn your phone back on and talk to the poor bastard.”
“He can stay sorry until we get back. I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.”
Linc suddenly grabbed my wrist, his fingers moving over my pulse. “Natalie, your heart is racing. Your face is flushed and not just because you’re pissed off. Your blood pressure is probably off the walls. No wonder your head is hurting.”
“I’ll be okay in a little while. Just leave me alone.” I closed my eyes again and did some yoga breathing. By the time the van pulled to a stop in the parking lot just outside the venue where the guys would perform the next day, my heart rate had calmed down considerably and I couldn’t feel my pulse beating behind my eyes anymore.
That all changed the moment the door to the van opened and Drake jerked Zander out of the vehicle by his shirt. Damn. Zander landed on his feet, but from the force of Drake’s shove he staggered back several steps. I rushed to get out, putting myself between my oldest brother and my friend.
“You fucking bastard,” Drake roared, trying to move around me to get to Zander. “My sister is not some fucking toy that you can play with. You and Devlin think it was funny to make a bet about who could nail her?” His face twisted in disgust. “What the fuck, man?”
“Drake…” Lana tried to grab his hand but he stepped away before she could touch him. Zander walked backwards away from him, but Drake followed. I had no choice but to follow Zander or Drake would have already been throwing punches.
The last van pulled to a stop behind the one I’d just jumped out of. I turned to watch Shane open the door, but Devlin was at the back of the bus. “Let’s go, motherfucker.”
I watched as Devlin climbed out of the van, looking almost calm as he straightened to his full height and faced his friend. I was torn between wanting to save Zander and needing to save the man I loved.
“It’s okay, Nat.” Zander touched both my shoulders, stopping his retreat from Drake. “Go on and deal with Dev.” He blew out a resigned breath. “I should have had the guts to face your brothers before now.”
I didn’t have time to give Zander a pat on the back for finally taking responsibility for his stupid actions. Shane was already yelling at Devlin and Devlin wasn’t backing down.
“My sister was the chick from the bet you told me about, wasn’t she?” Shane demanded.
“Yes,” Devlin answered through gritted teeth. “But—”
He didn’t get the chance to say anything else before Shane was punching him in the face. Devlin stumbled back a step, but otherwise didn’t move. I rushed forward to try and get between them but strong arms wrapped around me from behind before I could reach them.
“Jesse.” I kicked my legs out behind me, trying to get free. I knew it was him simply from the ink on the arms around me. “Let me go. Shane is going to hurt him.”
“It’s nothing he doesn’t deserve, Nat,” Nik assured me while standing beside the bald drummer. “Looks like Dev understands that, too. He’s taking it like a man.”
Tears filled my eyes when Shane punched Devlin again. Still Devlin didn’t back away. When the third hit connected with his mouth, I couldn’t hold back my cry and struggled against Jesse’s hold even more. “Stop it!” I screamed. “Shane, please.”
“He treated you like shit, Nat,” Jesse grumbled. “Why would you want him to stop?”
I kicked my legs harder and connected with Jesse’s shins, but he still held onto me. I’d barely fazed him. “Because I love him!” I cried.
All around me everyone seemed to stop at my confession. The crowd of rockers, roadies, and wives didn’t say a word as they watched the drama that we had created. I heard someone grunt from somewhere behind me, followed by the distinct sound of Drake cursing. Shane and stared at me with a glare on his face, but my eyes were on the man behind my brother.
Devlin stood statue-still, blood beading on his lips, his eyes wide in surprise. “You…” He swallowed hard and cleared his throat before trying again. “Y-you love me?”
Jesse’s hold on me relaxed enough and I pushed free of it. I pushed Nik out of my way, then shoved Shane back before finally turning to face Devlin. “Of course I love you, you idiot.” I lifted a trembling hand to skim my fingers over his bleeding lip. “Why did you just let him hit you like that?” I demanded.
He caught hold of my hand and pressed his lips to the center of my palm. “Because I deserved it. Letting your brother hit me was the least I could take for hurting you the way I did.”