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Derek looks at his band members and drops my hand. He heads over to the desk, and for the first time since we got in here, he actually looks sorry. His head and shoulders are slumped forward. “Please. I know I was idiot and acted carelessly and with no regard for them.” He gestures toward Brent and Aiden. “But please don’t punish them for my mistakes. I love this woman and I’m not giving her up. But I won’t be the reason they lose their dream. Remove me from the band and let them continue Crave without me.”
“There is no Crave without you,” Brent replies, slapping him on the back. “We’ll figure this out. Right, Dale?”
Dale nods. “There’s going to be some rough times and very specific rules, but we’ll see what we can do.”
“Thank you,” Aiden replies, shaking Dale’s hand.
Dale smiles at him and accepts. I can’t see Derek’s face, but he mutters something to Dale that I hope is a thank-you.
“Can we go to a conference room alone and talk?” Aiden asks him.
“Yeah, I guess you all have some talking to do,” Dale replies. “Go ahead and use the one attached to my office.”
“Let’s go,” Aiden says, leading the way to the room.
I sigh and follow the guys. I’m not looking forward to this.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
As soon as we enter the room, Aiden’s fist connects with Derek’s face.
“What the fuck?” I scream. I move to stand in front of Derek, but he steps in front me.
“You have every right to be angry, but can I please explain?” Derek asks. He’s holding his cheek where Aiden’s fist just connected. “We’ve been through so much together, and I would never hurt you intentionally.”
Aiden is pacing now, clenching and unclenching his fists. Brent comes over to me and places his arm around my shoulders, leading me away from Derek.
“Let’s just move you over here, just in case,” he tells me.
I keep my eyes glued on Derek. I’m scared right now. I’ve never seen Aiden so angry.
“What is there to explain? I’ve told you time and time again that my sister is off limits, and you didn’t fucking give a shit. You just fucked her anyway. Then you got her caught up in this media circus.” Aiden swings and punches Derek again. I’m not sure where the punch lands at first, but I see Derek go for his mouth.
“Guys, you can’t beat the shit out of each other. Remember, we need to play and all that…” Brent reminds them.
“The only one who doing the hitting is me,” Aiden replies.
Derek storms over to Aiden and holds his hands up in surrender. His eyes beg Aiden not to hit him again. “I didn’t do this to hurt you. I care about her. She’s not like one of the bus bunnies.”
That seems to tip Aiden over the edge. He hauls off and hits Derek in the stomach. “Fuck you. I know you. I’ve been there. I know how you operate. This isn’t going to end any differently than the rest. You couldn’t even fake a relationship with Serena. How in the hell are you going to do this with my sister of all girls? This is fucked, man. This is twisted. This is unforgivable.”
“Come on, you don’t mean that,” Derek pleads. “There’s no way you want to end the band over this…”
“How could I not? Look what you’ve done to her. Or would you like me to read the things that are being said about her online?”
This is not going well. I want to jump in and say something, but I know better. Aiden isn’t just my brother; he’s also my twin. I know better than anyone how to deal with him. There’s no helping Derek right now.
My phone rings and I look down at the caller ID. It’s my boss at Beachbody. “I have to take this.” I hold up my phone. “Can you please make sure he stays alive?” I say to Brent.
Brent just grunts in return. I head into the hallway and answer.
“Hello,” I say.
“Audrey, hi,” Tina replies. “I’ve been seeing some things online. Care to help me out with this?”
“I’m so sorry. He’s the guy I’m seeing.”
“The guy you stole from someone?” she asks me, her voice emotionless, like she’s simply checking questions she was supposed to ask me off a list.
