Chapter 2
Raelyn
“Idon’t know what I was thinking. I should’ve never let you talk me into going tonight.”
“I’m really sorry about all this. You have to know that.”
“Yeah, I know.” Haleigh lowered her head and pouted as she shook her head and grumbled, “But come on. Base jumping from the Hyatt Hotel on a Sunday night in Nashville. Who does that?”
“I researched these guys, Haleigh. They’re the best around.
Lots of people use them.” I wasn’t surprised that my best friend was upset, and in all honestly, she had every right to be.
I should’ve never talked her into tagging along with me on another one of my hair-brained stunts—maybe then, we wouldn’t be sitting in the back of a cop car.
“You saw how many people were in our group tonight. Some of them had already been several times this year.”
“Oh? And how many of them have been arrested?” she snapped.
“I don’t know. I didn’t really think to ask.”
“Well, maybe next time you should consider asking questions like that before you decide to parachute off the ledge of some hotel.”
“I get that you’re upset, but you have to admit, it was pretty amazing.
Seeing all those bright lights, feeling the wind rush around us, the roaring in our ears, the people and the cars, and the thrill of nailing that landing.
It was incredible. Oh, and remember how hot that Sean guy was?
He was checking you out the whole way down.
It was pretty incredible. All of it. Neither of us have ever experienced anything like that before! ”
“Yeah, other than a few sketchy moments when I feared for my life, it was pretty great. It would’ve been even better if the cops hadn’t busted us.”
“True.” I nodded my head out the patrol car’s window. “But if we didn’t get arrested, we would’ve never had a chance to see all these smoking-hot bikers.”
“Hot bikers?” She gasped. “Have you looked at those guys? They’re terrifying!”
“Yeah, that’s one of the things that makes them so freaking hot.
” I motioned one of my cuffed hands over towards the two men standing at the bar's front door, where we were parked. They were both incredibly attractive, but the taller one with dark, shaggy hair and olive-toned skin covered in tattoos was absolutely gorgeous. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“They’re totally smoking hot. They’re the kind of hot written in romance novels. ”
“They’re terrifying. I mean, look at them!
Their muscles are huge, and they have beards and tattoos.
And they’re wearing leather and biker boots.
” Haleigh was a beautiful blonde with curves in all the right places.
She could have her pick of men, which were generally preppy, business types with no personality and nothing like the two bikers who’d caught my attention.
“And on top of that, they look like they were in a bar fight, all covered in blood and dirt. I bet that’s why the cops had to stop here. ”
“Oh yeah, you’re probably right.”
Hoping to lighten the mood, I started rocking from side to side and sang the lyrics from Bad Boys.
“You seriously need help. Lots and lots of help.” When the hot one turned to look in our direction, I lifted my cuffed hands up to the window and gave him a playful wave. Haleigh’s mouth dropped open as she kicked me and gasped. “Oh, my God! Did you just wave at them?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s it,” she snapped. “We’re not friends anymore.”
“Oh, hush. You know you don’t mean that.” I looked up at the roof, checking for the name of the bar. “Hmmm. Stilettos. Yeah, we’ve definitely gotta come back here.”
“Come back here?” Haleigh eyes widened. “You do realize this is a strip club?”
“Well, yeah.” I shrugged. “I think it could be kind of fun to come and check it out. We can consider it another adventure for our bucket list.”
“You mean your bucket list, and after tonight, I think I’m over it.”
“What?”
“I love ya, Rae, but all this thrill-seeking stuff is wearing me out.” She let out a deep breath. “One minute we’re jumping railroad tracks, and then the next, we’re jumping off hotel rooftops and getting arrested. It’s just too much.”
“I thought you had fun when we did all those things, especially the night we went out on the tracks.”
“I did until you stayed out there too long and almost got yourself killed. I get that you have this crazy inner need to feel alive or whatever, but if you keep going at this rate, you’re either going to find yourself in a heap of trouble or end up really hurting yourself.”
The high that had been coursing through my veins immediately vanished, and I was left feeling like I’d just been reprimanded by my high school principal. I dropped my head and murmured, “Why is it that you suddenly sound so much like my father?”
“If I do, it’s only because we care so much about you. We’ve both seen this change in you, and neither of us knows what to do about it.” Her voice trembled as she went on, “You’re my best friend in the whole world, Rae. I don’t know what I’d do if something ever happened to you.”
“Nothing’s gonna happen to me, Haleigh.”
“Says the girl who’s sitting in the back of a cop car that’s parked at a strip club surrounded by scary bikers and fire trucks. I’d say plenty has already happened.”
I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t.
Mainly because I knew she was right.
I’d been so caught up in my own head that I hadn’t thought about the consequences of my actions, and now, we were both in a heap of trouble, and I had no one to blame but myself.
I couldn’t bear to look at Haleigh, so I turned and stared out the window.
I was drowning in the pits of my own despair when I noticed the hot biker had moved from the front door and was talking to one of the officers who’d arrested us.
They spoke for a moment, then the policeman gave him a quick nod and headed over to his partner.
Haleigh and I remained silent as the two officers got back into the cruiser and closed the door. As the driver started the car, he turned to his partner and said, “There’s something about those guys that I just don’t like.”
“Can’t disagree with you there.” He took off his hat and tossed it on the seat next to him.
“They wanna act like we’re stupid—like we don’t know something was up with that whole electrical fire bullshit.
Hell, I’d bet my entire paycheck that someone blew up the place on purpose, but honestly, I could care less.
As far as I’m concerned, they had that shit coming. ”
“Yeah, I don’t get it. Everyone knows they’re up to no good but always manage to stay under the radar.” The driver shook his head as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Maybe whoever was really behind all this tonight will have what it takes to finally take these assholes down.”
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t count on it.” He glanced over his shoulder at Haleigh and me, then asked, “What are we gonna do about these two?”
“I guess we get them back to the station and book ’em.” He leaned back in his seat and sighed. “Drunken halfwits pissing on pedestrians, crazy girls jumping off hotel rooftops, and blown-up strip clubs. I’ve about had enough of it tonight. I just wanna fill out my damn reports and get home.”
“You know,” Leigh gave me a scathing look when I leaned up to the metal partition and suggested, “you could just let us off with a warning and save yourself a lot of paperwork.”
The officer looked over his shoulder with a disapproving expression, then rolled his eyes and grumbled, “Not a chance, little lady. You and your friends caused quite a stir tonight, and a simple slap on the wrist isn’t gonna cut it. Not this time.”
“Not this time?”
“Last time your bunch pulled this mess, they promised it would be the last. I’m not playing this game anymore.”
“But we weren’t with them. We had no idea—”
“Doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.”
Feeling completely defeated, I sat back in the seat and remained silent as they drove us to the precinct.
Haleigh wouldn’t even look at me, much less talk to me, as they booked us and put us in a cell.
They gave us the option of making our one phone call, but we both opted to wait until morning, hoping our parents wouldn’t be quite as livid if we didn’t wake them up at two-thirty in the morning.
As the officer led us back to our cell, Haleigh and I quickly realized this wasn’t a one-small-cell-Mayberry-kind-of-town situation. It was much larger, with guests ranging from prostitutes to petty criminals, and it was hot and smelled atrocious.
Worst of all, there was no Andy Griffith to watch over us.
We were completely on our own.
Trying to keep some distance from the others, Haleigh claimed a spot on a bench away from everyone, and I followed quickly after. I sat down next to her, but I didn’t say anything. I knew she was mad and needed time to process, so I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
I wanted desperately to just fall asleep and put an end to this crazy night, but with all the other women talking and moving around, there was no way that was going to happen.
Since sleeping wasn’t an option, I let my mind drift, and it wasn’t long before I started thinking about how much my life had changed over the past year.
It all started with a tingle near my temple.
Then, months later, a faint pain behind my right eye.
When the dizzy spells started, I knew my fate had been sealed.
After my mother had died, my father did his best to pick up the pieces, but from the stories I’d heard, it wasn’t easy for him.
He was a new dad who’d just lost the love of his life and was trying to raise a newborn—something he knew nothing about.
Dad had been completely overwhelmed, and there were many times when he considered throwing in the towel and asking my grandmother to take over.
But then, Theresa, who worked with my dad, had come along.