Untamed

Kellan shook his head and shushed me. I didn’t want to be shushed, so I asked him again, “Where you going? What’s going on?”

Kellan sighed, which ticked me off even more. It was a You wouldn’t understand so I’m not going to bother explaining sigh. I got those a lot. “Later,” he whispered.

Someone nudged me in the ribs, and I looked over to see Liam sitting on the other side of me. He was gri

“Where?” I said, doubting Liam knew anything.

I heard De

Just as I heard the pastor ask everyone to bow their heads in prayer, I snapped my attention back to Kellan and De

Chapter 8

You Wish You Were as Awesome as Me

A

The second the service was over, I grabbed Kellan by the elbow and dragged him outside. This could get ugly, and the pastor was already giving me evil eyes for swearing in his church. A crowd followed us to the parking lot, but I didn’t care. I had nothing to hide here. Kellan was the one deceiving everyone by accepting one-sided deals that excluded the foundation he’d been built upon. He’d be nothing without us, and he knew it.

Dropping his arm, I poked him in the chest. I hoped he appreciated my self-control, since I really wanted to slug him in the face. “What the fuck is going on, Kellan? You ditchin’ us? Think you’re all high and mighty now, huh? Well, who the fuck do you think got you this far!” I poked him in the chest again for emphasis.

Kellan’s face clouded as he batted my hand away. “It’s not what you think, so calm down.”

“I’m perfectly fucking calm!” I shouted.

De

His words pierced my veil of anger. “Rejected?” I asked De

He nodded, then looked around at the crowd of friends and family members watching the commotion with unabashed interest. “Maybe we could take this somewhere more private?” De

Glancing at the crowd watching, I met eyes with A

De

The big man nodded and instantly went into bouncer mode. “Everybody stays here,” he barked, moving around in front of the crowd. Crossing his arms over his chest, he added, “Don’t think I won’t bust your head just because you’re related.” One of my cousins sniggered and took a step forward. Sam’s eyes immediately locked onto him. “I’ll start with you, asswipe. Stay where you are.”

While Sam corralled my relatives, I stormed off with the guys. Once we were all sitting inside my car, I started in on Kellan. He put his hands up and interrupted me before I could say much more than “What the hell?”

“I didn’t ask for anything, I was simply approached with an offer.” Kellan was sitting in the center of the backseat, with Matt and Evan on either side of him. Glancing at the two of them, he repeated, “They approached me, and I said no.”

Matt’s brows furrowed. “Who approached you? With what?”

Kellan looked up at De

For a second, my only thought was, Holy crap! Another Battle Robots movie? Awesome! I love that shit. But then De

“They only wanted Kellan though,” De

With the look De

De

Matt and Evan seemed irked, but I was clearly the only one who was truly outraged. “Fuck. That. Shit. Kellan’s just one part of the band. He wouldn’t be king of the universe without us. In fact, if he did try to do a solo project, it would probably suck because we weren’t a part of it. We’re the Bags to his Douche.”

As one, they all turned to stare at me, wide-eyed. “What?” I asked, still steamed.

Matt shook his head, like he was clearing an Etch-A-Sketch. Evan turned away while De

His expression turned hard as he stared me down. “I’ve done things for this band that I’m not proud of, just for the sake of the team, so don’t you dare try to turn me into the bad guy here. I said no. I’m not doing it. End of story.” Looking pissed, he glanced between Evan and Matt. “Someone let me the fuck out of this car. I’m done talking to this idiot.”

Matt and Evan opened their doors simultaneously and stepped out. Kellan followed out Evan’s door and then dramatically slammed it shut behind him. He stormed off and Evan chased after him. Still looking like he was processing everything that had been said, Matt shut his door and walked away.

Once the guys were out of sight, De

“Has anyone ever talked to you about diplomacy before?” he asked.

“No. I’m not a fucking politician.”

He sighed again. “I’m just saying there are ways to talk to people that will get you better results than insults, swears, and belittling.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “You might try using your big words one day,” he said, his voice condescending.

Brushing off his hand, I slowly extended my middle finger. “That big enough for you? If not, I’ve got a bigger one.” I grabbed my junk and gave myself a good squeeze.

De

“Yeah, I know,” I said as he closed the door.