Zane (Inked Brotherhood 3)

Tessa is right to be worried about me. Even though she told me how Zane treats girls, I haven’t stopped a second to wonder whether I should keep away from him. Not sure I can.

“He’s been acting off lately,” Ash says, sipping his beer. “He said something about his dad being back home.”

“Crap. That’s never good,” Audrey says.

“Who are you talking about? I ask.

“Dylan.” Audrey frowns down at her own beer. It’s still full. “Without his mom, he has to take care of his two brothers, and his dad has mental problems, or so we think. Dylan won’t talk about it.”

“Need to talk about this with Zane,” Ash says, and I turn to look at him, to see if he’s serious.

Tyler is nodding, too.

“Zane isn’t exactly in the right state of mind right now to deal with this.” I look at Tessa for support, but she’s staring at something at the back of the bar and doesn’t seem to hear me. The guys give me skeptical looks.

“Zane’s the strongest of us,” Ash says.

“But his sister…”

“She’s been sick for a while now. What you saw, Zane getting shitfaced and vanishing from the world… It happens from time to time.”

Crap. “So he’s not worse off than usual?”

They share an uneasy look.

Rafe shrugs. “Sunday night when he wouldn’t answer the damn door or the phone… That rarely happens. But it has happened before.”

“And that episode at the park?” I ask.

“Yeah, what the fuck was that?” Ash whispers. “But even I don’t know half his triggers.”

I make a mental note to ask Ash about this later. No matter what he says, he seems to know Zane much better than Tessa.

“We should keep an eye on him anyway.” Tyler tugs Erin onto his lap and wraps his arms around her. “Just in case.”

“What do you think we’ve been doing, motherfucker?” Rafe raises his beer bottle. “Bottoms up.”

“Shush, Dylan’s here.” Tessa gets up and waves. “Here!”

Dylan stands above the crowd. Well over six foot tall, with shoulders like a lumberjack and pale short hair. Very short. As he approaches, I notice he’s lost the purple streaks and is now sporting a crew cut. The light catches on the silver hoop in his lip.

“What’s going on?” He bumps fists with the boys and bends to kiss the cheeks of the girls. When he reaches Tessa, he smiles and nods.

God, she’s so in love with him. Her eyes sparkle as she stares back at him, and her hands shake.

“Happy birthday, Dylan!” Erin and Audrey giggle as they clink their bottles and drink.

He raises his bottle in response. “Damn. I was hoping you forgot all about it.”

“As if we’d forget.” Tessa rolls her eyes. “Are you crazy?”

He’s a handsome guy, and I can see why Tessa has fallen for him. The boys tease him about his new haircut and ask about Zane. It sounds like Dylan dropped by Damage Control on his way here to convince Zane to come.

Not that I’m interested in this conversation or anything.

“Pisser said he wasn’t coming.” Dylan winks in my direction. “But when I told him Dakota would be here, he changed his mind.”

Holy shit. Tessa wasn’t kidding. I realize I’m gaping and shut my mouth.