Playboy had texted me earlier that he would be over after dinner but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. Work had been quiet, and there hadn’t been any word on finding the guy who was with Billie Jean. I tried to keep my calm and remind myself I was going to find her. She was still alive. I could feel it.
“Call me when you get here. I’ll unlock the door for you.”
“I shouldn’t be too much longer.” The loud music from the club sounded in the background.
“Are you out smoking?” I laughed.
“Yeah.”
I rolled my eyes. “You need to quit.”
“You were the one who told me it was sexy.”
I groaned. I had. This morning I had followed him out to his bike to say goodbye, and he had lit up before leaving. I had been so mesmerized watching him light the cigarette and blow out a plume of smoke that the words might have slipped from my mouth before I realized.
“Anything you do tends to be sexy,” I muttered. That was the damn truth. Playboy just standing there breathing was enough to get me hot and bothered.
“Same goes for you, pretty girl. Even when you’re having a breakdown, I can’t help but think how beautiful you are.”
His words warmed my heart, and I sighed. “Are you sure you can’t leave right now?”
He chuckled. “I wish I could. Lock the doors, hit the bed, and I’ll call you when I’m at the door.”
“Bye, handsome.” I ended the call and tossed my phone on the bed.
I had been hoping Playboy would have been over a lot sooner, but at least he was coming. I flipped off the light and slipped under the covers.
I missed having Playboy in bed with me.
How quickly I had gotten used to having him around. Life had changed as I knew it, and I prayed to God that after we found Billie Jean that things wouldn’t go back to normal.
Normal was no Playboy.
I didn’t want normal anymore.
I wanted Playboy.
*
I blindly reached for my phone and put it to my ear. “Hmm? Are you here?”
“Raelyn?”
My eyes popped open, and I jackknifed up. “Billie Jean?” Oh, my God. OH, MY GOD!
“It’s me, Rae.”
“Where are you? What happened to you? Tell me where you are. I’m coming to get you,” I ranted. I threw back the covers and jumped out of bed with my phone pressed to my ear.
“I only have like a minute, Rae. Shut up and let me talk,” she whispered. Her voice was raspy, and I stopped in my tracks.
“Talk to me, Billie.”
“I messed up, Rae. I got into some trouble, and I can’t get out of it.”
Oh, my God. “Tell me how to help. I’ll do anything you need.”
“You can’t help. This is bigger than you and me. I need you to go to the Royal Bastards clubhouse. They’re the only ones who are going to be able to help me.”
“And tell them what?” I demanded. Billie Jean said she didn’t have much time to talk. I needed to get as much information from her as I could. I could tell her after she was back home that I already went to them before she told me to go there. “Where are you?”
“I don’t know. I’m here with another girl from the club, Memphis. I managed to smuggle my phone down here with me and hide it. Thanks to you bugging me to always have a portable charger with me, I was able to keep my phone on.”
She was with Memphis. They were both okay. At least, for now. “What am I supposed to tell the Royal Bastards?” I could rub it in her face when she was back home that I was right about always carrying a charger with her.
“Tell them I got in deep with Jester. I’m in a basement somewhere. They’ve kept us drugged, and today was the first day I’ve been able to open my eyes for more than a five minutes.”
“How are we supposed to find you, Billie Jean?” She was in a basement somewhere. Playboy was going to need a hell of a lot more details than that.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I saw one guy had a cut on it that said Devil’s Rebel. Just tell them that, Raelyn. I wish I had more to tell them, but that’s all I have.”
“Who took you?”
“Mac. Memphis and I are beat up pretty bad, but we’re fine for now. But we need to get out of here, Raelyn. I don’t know what they plan on doing with us.”
Who in the hell were Jester and Mac? Playboy had been right. There were things about Billie Jean I didn’t know. “I’ll tell th—”
Billie Jean gasped. “Shit.” The line went dead.
“Billie Jean!” I hollered. “Billie!”
Oh shit. Something happened. Had whoever took her found out she had been on the phone?
My phone rang in my hand, and I jumped. I dropped the phone on the floor and fell to the hard wood in the dark. I felt around under the bed and grabbed the phone. Playboy’s name flashed on the screen. I swiped right and pressed the phone to my ear. “She called me!” I shouted.
“Raelyn?” he called, confused. “Who called you?”
“Billie Jean! She just called me.”
“Holy fuck,” Playboy cussed. “I’m at your door. Let me in.”
I jumped up and flew down the hall. I fumbled with the lock and finally threw open the door. “She got in trouble with Jester, and she saw a guy with the Devil’s Rebels cut. Mac took her.” I had to tell Playboy before I forgot what Billie Jean had told me.
Playboy planted a hand on my stomach and pushed me into the house. He closed the door behind him and locked it.
“We have to go, Playboy. Now.” I tried to push him out of the way, but he wrapped his arm around me.
“Go where?” he asked.
Uh, well. “I don’t know, but we need to go. I think someone figured out she was on the phone. She hung up in the middle of my talking. Let me go,” I demanded.
“Calm, Raelyn.” He guided me into the living room and pushed me onto the couch. “Start from the beginning and don’t forget anything.”
I rattled off that I had been sleeping and answered the phone thinking it was just him calling to let him in. I tried to tell him word for word what Billie Jean had said. At least I remembered the important parts.
“Fucking shit,” he muttered when I was done.
“So, now we need to go.” I tried to get up, but he held me down. “Playboy,” I shouted. What in the hell was he doing? This is what we had been waiting for.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket. He swiped a few times and then there was a loud ring. He was calling someone.
The phone rang three times.
“What in the fuck are you calling me for?” Barracuda did not sound happy.
“Who is that?” a woman called in the background.
“Leona!” I gasped.
Leona shrieked.
Holy cow. Tonight was full of surprises. I had been trying to get out of Leona what had happened with Barracuda, but she was like a steel trap. Not telling me a single thing. Obviously, things had worked out pretty well seeing as she was with him in the middle of the night.
“Quiet, woman,” Barracuda grunted. “What the fuck are you calling me for, Playboy?”
“Billie Jean just called Raelyn,” Playboy replied.