“How did your friend find out?”
“She was processing the privacy clauses and happened to glance down at them. She wasn’t able to read that much but she got the jest of it all.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me and filed that new information in the back of my head for another day. Right now I had to focus on getting through the Mayor’s Ball.
“Thank you, Jeremy.”
My phone beeped, indicating I had another incoming call. I pulled it away from my ear to see that Kace was calling me. There could only be one reason why Kace was calling me while he was watching over the girls while they had their fun.
Goldie.
“I will talk to you later, Jeremy. Please arrange those items we talked about.” I didn’t let him respond as I kicked over to the other incoming call. There was a loud beat playing in the background and a lot of drunk screaming which irritated me instantly because all I wanted was to hear what Kace had to say but I could tell it was going to be difficult.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Goldie.” With that one little word, I felt my heart drop and my pulse start to pick up. I sat up in my chair and placed my head in my hand, trying not to pull out every last strand of my hair.
“What’s wrong? Is she okay?”
“She was knocked out by some big guy. I didn’t see it coming because he was nowhere near her until she tripped and fell into him.”
“What did he do?” I asked, pressing my other ear, hoping it would help me hear Kace better.
“Knocked her in the head, she flew to the side and hit her head on the corner of the bar. Diego is taking her to his place now. She’s going to be okay, we have a doctor coming over to check on her and stitch up a cut in her hairline that she obtained when she hit the bar.”
I stood up and started for my door when I heard Kace say, “Don’t, dude. Sit back down. You can’t see her.”
“Why the fuck not?” I asked angrily, not liking being told what to do.
“There was a…” his voice cut out.
“What?” I asked while raking my hand through my hair.
“…was a…” he cut out again.
“Fucking Christ,” I screamed into the phone. “Get out of the goddamn bar!”
Kace was silent as I listened to the bar music fade out and then the slam of a car door.
“I’m being followed, dickwad,” Kace said.
“Shit. Did they know you were with Goldie?”
“I’m pretty sure. When she went down, I kept my distance but I was still in the same bar as her. They could probably put two and two together.”
“I knew this wasn’t a good fucking idea. Why did I let them go out there?”
“Because they need to have lives too, Jett.”
I blew out a frustrated breath and itched to throw something against my wall but refrained.
“What were you saying in the bar when I couldn’t hear you?”
Kace took a deep breath and then said, “There was a note tucked into her shirt.”
“What did it fucking say?” I grew angrier every minute.
“It basically issued you a warning. Next time, he won’t be as nice. You have to choose, Jett.”
“Fuck,” I said as I sat in one of the chairs in my office and placed my elbows on my knees and sunk down. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” I asked dejected.
“Well, you need to stay the fuck away, that’s for damn sure. If they see you leave your place now, they’re going to know where you’re headed and it will blow everything. You need to keep your space.”
“I can’t keep my fucking space when my girl is fucking bleeding out of her head and could possibly have some kind of concussion. Fuck, Kace!”
“Getting mad is not going to do anything,” Kace pointed out. “I know that you’re itching to…” Kace cut out for a second as I heard him mumble a curse word.
The sound of shattering glass echoed through the phone as I heard Kace grunt and swear some more.
“One more move and I’m going to blow your fucking head off,” came a distant voice. My breathing grew silent as I tried to listen to what was happening. “Tell your friend that his precious little slut isn’t the only one we can harm.” With that, a gun shot went off, sending a blinding noise through the phone.
A sickening feeling crawled up my spine as I stood and paced my office. I knew better than to start shouting through the phone, in case they could hear me or they picked up his phone. There was a light moan in the phone, indicating that Kace was hopefully still alive.
Bile rose to the top of my throat as my heart sank for the two most important people in my life.
“Fuck,” Kace mumbled over the phone. “I’m going to be home late tonight, sweetheart,” Kace said in a groan.
“What the fuck? Are you okay, Kace?”
“Bastard shot me.”
“Where?” I headed for my bedroom and started pulling out all the dark clothes I had, I was sneaking the fuck out.
“In the arm, grazed my skin but I’ll need stitches.”
“Christ. I’m coming to get you.”
“Stay the fuck where you are,” Kace spoke with anger. “I swear to God, Jett, you have to stay there. It’s the only way this is going to work.”
I sat on my bed and felt deflated, useless, helpless. I was mad at myself, for letting this go too far, for being too stubborn about Lot 17. I should have given it up earlier and then none of this would have happened.
“I’m going to call him. Tell him Lot 17 is all his. I don’t want to deal with this bullshit anymore.”
“To hell you are,” I heard Kace say as his car started. The fucker was going to drive himself to the hospital. “If you do that, you’re showing so many weaknesses that now it’s Lot 17 but later on it’s something else like your club. You can’t give him that. I’ll make sure Diego takes care of Lo. You hold strong, go to the Mayor’s Ball and fuck his shit up afterwards.”
“Will this ever stop?” I asked, showing vulnerability.
“I don’t know but what I do know is that I can’t drive and talk to you with a shot arm at the same time. When I’m done at the hospital, I’ll see you later. We’ll find a way to pay back that dickhead for what he did to Lo.”
For once, I wasn’t jealous of the protective instincts Kace had over Goldie because at this moment, I was glad that I wasn’t alone when fighting for the one person that could bring me to my knees. I was glad to have someone in my corner.
***
Sleep eluded me as visions of Goldie being hurt ran through my head over and over again. It wasn’t until three in the morning that Kace got back to the club. He sent me a quick text that he was just scraped, had a couple of stitches and is bandaged up. I met him down at the entrance of the club and helped him into his room even though he said he didn’t need it. The idiot shouldn’t have been driving in the first place but trying to control him was like trying to calm a raging bull. He did whatever the hell he wanted.
Because of the pain Kace was going through, we didn’t get to talk much about what happened but what he said to me still resonated through my head. It was now four in the morning and all I could hear was Kace saying, “Don’t be stupid and let your emotions get the best of you.”
How could I not? In a short amount of time, Goldie has wiggled her way into my heart and has planted herself there. A numb feeling crawled through my body, turning my heart cold and my mind black as I continued to keep my distance from Goldie, knowing damn well that she was hurt.
This time, my dad went too far and what I feared the most was that after Lot 17 was acquired, would this all be over? If he didn’t get Lot 17 it sure as fuck wasn’t going to be over, not after what my dad displayed today.
I pulled on a pair of casual sweatpants as I slipped out of bed. Sleep was no use, I couldn’t even begin to fall asleep with so many thoughts running through my head so instead, I paced my room. I pulled on my hair, the back of my neck, I punched my wall a couple of times and finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I tossed a T-shirt over my head, grabbed my keys and headed for the passageway that led to the streets of the Garden District without being detected. At least I hoped. If my dad knew about the passageway and informed his minions of it, I was going to be fucked.