Hot Ticket

“Need your girlfriend to hold you up, little man?” Jon said, sneering.

“That was so uncool,” Eric said. He touched Jace’s shoulder. “You okay? You’re bleeding.”

Jace nodded slightly, breathing hard as he worked to bury his anger. He had every right to be angry, and if there hadn’t been two cops standing right there, Aggie would have beat the shit out of Jon herself.

“Officer, can I take him on the bus and redress his wounds?” Aggie asked.

“He looks like he’s in pretty bad shape,” the patrolman said. “Maybe you should take him to a hospital.”

“I’ll be okay,” Jace murmured. He stumbled against Aggie. She grabbed him to keep him on his feet.

“Can I take him inside?” she asked again.

“Yeah, we’re done here. You’re free to go.” The officer pointed at Jon. “You better watch it, buddy. That wasn’t funny at all. Your friend had no business being slammed on the ground. It appears he’s hurt badly.”

“Sorry, sir.” Jon grinned cruelly. “It won’t happen again.”

The group made their way toward the bus, walking slowly behind Jace, who leaned heavily on Aggie. She wasn’t sure how he was still on his feet. She was going to kick the shit out of Jon.

“Let me help him,” Brian offered.

Brian took Jace’s arm and eased his weight off Aggie.

“I’m fine,” Jace said.

“You’re not fine,” Brian said. “And we’re taking you to a hospital. We’re not going to let you do a Trey and talk us out of getting you medical attention.”

“Hooray for socialized medicine,” Eric cheered.

“You have to be a Canadian citizen to get that benefit, idiot,” Sed said.

“I told you I was moving here.”

“Dave, ask that cop where the nearest hospital is,” Trey said to Dave as Brian helped Jace climb the steps. Aggie followed one step behind, prepared to catch Jace should he fall backward. He was scarcely able to lift his leg high enough to get up the steep steps.

“I’m not going to the hospital,” Jace said, his breathing labored. “It just knocked the wind out of me.”

“You’re bleeding all over the f**king place,” Trey said, one step behind Aggie. “Aren’t you already low on blood?”

“A couple pints,” Jace said. “I’ll be okay. Just need to lie down for a minute.”

And he did lie down—on the floor at the top of the steps.

Chapter 31

“Go on without us,” Aggie said. “I’ll get a car somewhere, and we’ll catch up in a few days. He won’t be able to perform anyway. Isn’t that the whole reason you brought AssHat Jon with you?”

“I’m not sure bringing AssHat was the brightest idea,” Sed murmured. “I know he played that whole drug bust like it was a practical joke, but if I know Jon, he was taking the focus off himself because he had something to hide.”

“He’s clean now, Sed,” Eric said. “He knows the band doesn’t tolerate illegal drugs on tour. We told him that before we asked him to come.”

Sed slapped Eric on the back of the head. “Get a f**kin’ brain, dude. Do you think he’d be honest about it? He wants to be onstage again more than anything. Why do you think he’s mean to Jace?”

“Jace is an easy target.”

Sed rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Aggie. “We have a show tomorrow night here in Vancouver. We can probably stay another night if we need to and still make it to our next gig in Edmonton. We’ll see if Jace is feeling better by then. If not, you two can catch up later.”

Aggie nodded. She supposed there was a reason that Sed led the band. He was a natural.

“It’s best to keep him in the hospital for as long as possible,” Sed said.

Eric chuckled. “A day, if you’re lucky. The doctor said all he needed was bed rest.”

“And no roughhousing,” Sed added.

Aggie’s eyes narrowed. “That was all Jon’s fault.”

“I’ll deal with Jon,” Sed said.

“Let Jace deal with Jon when he feels better.”

Sed looked down at her. For a minute she thought he was going to yell at her, but he nodded. “I’ll give him that.”

Aggie smiled.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got to rehearse right now. Jon’s a bit rusty.”

“Like a hundred-year-old iron gate in a bayou,” Eric muttered.

“Thanks, guys. I’ll give you my number in case you need to call,” Aggie said.

After they left, Aggie sank into the chair beside Jace’s bed. She watched him sleep for a while. She hoped he voluntarily agreed to stay in the hospital for a few days. She knew the stress of being around Jon was getting to him. Yawning, she decided to go for a cup of coffee and walked to the vending machine at the end of the hallway. Her phone rang. Thinking it was one of the band, she answered immediately.

“Are you talking to me now?” her mom asked.

“No.”

“Are you coming home soon?”

“No.”

“A regular customer of yours stopped by last night. Said he’d been trying to reach you at the club, but they said you’d taken an extended vacation.”

Probably a permanent one. Roy had been furious when she’d called and told him she wasn’t sure when she’d be back to work. Aggie set her coffee on the counter and leaned against a wall. Her mother always prefaced big revelations with noncommittal statements. “And you told him I was out of town, right?”

“He likes me.”

“Who?”

“Gary.”

Loser Gary? “You didn’t take him into the sanctum, did you?”

“Maybe.”

Aggie squeezed the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “Mom, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can really hurt someone.”

She laughed. “Isn’t that the whole point?”

“No. I trained under a professional domme for two years before I did any sessions on my own.”

“You could train me.” She sounded excited—for now. Aggie knew once she got into the actual work, it would hold her attention for about three hours.

“Aren’t you ashamed of what I do?” Aggie said.

“Ashamed? No, baby, I could never be ashamed of you. You’re only twenty-six, and look at all you’ve accomplished. You own a nice home. Have a well-paying job. Run two businesses. Have a man who loves you enough to take two bullets for you. You command respect. What do I have, Aggie? What have I done with my life? Nothing. You’re the one who should be ashamed. Not of yourself. Of me.”