If there was one thing I learned about the justice system, it was that it certainly didn’t matter who you were or how much money you had. If they didn’t want to let you go, you weren’t going anywhere. In spite of all my arguing with the chief of police and his little minions, I was going to be stuck down at the station until they were good and ready to release me.

Three hours after the incident.

It was bad enough that I was stuck down there for hours on end. It was even worse knowing that Kennedy and Mitch had been together while I was being hauled off. I was told they weren’t needed after they’d given their statements and were free to go. Though I was fairly certain they’d have run off together to discuss the craziness of what just happened, I knew I had to keep myself cool, calm, and collected.

If I were to fly off the handle again, I knew they’d lock me up behind bars without any hesitation whatsoever. They weren’t worried about who I was or the things I had to do that day. Everyone was riding high on the fact I was now in custody for the third time in almost as many years.

I wish I could say I was humiliated, but the fact of the matter was that I didn’t really give a fuck about being down at the station. If I were perfectly honest with myself, I didn’t care about anything but where Kennedy was and what she was doing.

I wanted to be able to talk to her, but until I was free and clear of these assholes, I was going to be stuck in the waiting room with the rest of the lowlifes who’d been brought in for petty crimes. Most of them were hammered drunk or on some kind of meth.

Though I wish I could say it was all bad, I did find some enjoyment in watching as they panicked, each one trying to get a hold of someone to come down and bail them out of the situation they’d found themselves in. Some were in for small things like driving without insurance. Others for much bigger offenses, including one man who was talking to himself and looked like he might chew his own face off. I couldn’t say that I blamed him, however. I’d gladly have smoked whatever to help the time pass a little quicker. My hand hurt and I had a pounding headache.

But, all of that aside, I really just wanted to get out of there. I had to find Kennedy. I had to talk to her. I couldn’t remember the last time in my life when I was so genuinely worried about what was going to happen with a relationship.

I had to admit, it felt good pummeling into that asshole, and if I had the chance I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Little weasel motherfucker. But, I’d make sure the next time that Kennedy wasn’t around to see it. With all the time I had on my hands, I could spend plenty of it thinking about how I’d love to get back at him for landing me in here once again.

I hoped to God I never saw him again. I found it better to avoid people I’d gotten into fights with in the past rather than try to pretend there wasn’t any residual tension between us.

It was a lot easier than fighting the urge to get into another scuffle with them.

“All right, Mr. Baxter. I think we have all we need. But, you’re only being released under the condition that you behave yourself. If we receive any more complaints in the near future, you’re going to find yourself in a whole new world of hurt.” The deputy handed me the paperwork and I forced a polite smile.

A world of hurt? Really? What a pathetic departing lecture.

“Are there any court dates I’m going to have to make?” I asked with a dry tone to my voice. Those were annoying, especially when I was on tour. The first time I got into trouble with the law I flew back from across the country to make a court appearance, only to fly back to the city I was in later that same afternoon to put on a show.

“Not at this time. Neither Mr. Borg nor Miss Stevens wanted to press charges, but I’m warning you, it’s not going to take much for you to find yourself in deep once more.” The deputy gave me a look, and I nodded as I grabbed the paperwork and left. I smirked to myself as I walked out of the building, thinking of how tough the man had tried to sound.

I wasn’t afraid of going back to jail. It’d be nothing more than an inconvenience, really. Nothing I couldn’t handle. But, I knew that it was far easier to get along with the police than it was to antagonize them, so I merely grabbed my things and left.

I had tried to call Kennedy several times from the station, but she’d refused each call. I wasn’t using my cell, but I knew she’d know it was me. It was clear she didn’t want to talk to me.

I’d just leave her alone for a while and let her cool off. No doubt when she was feeling better she’d get a hold of me once again. At least, I hoped she would. Though Kennedy seemed to be a lot saner than many women I had known in the past, there was always the chance she could go crazy on me – it wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong about a woman I’d only recently gotten involved with.

With Kennedy, I could openly admit that I didn’t know her well. I just knew that I liked her. I liked her far more than I had liked any other woman. She was perfect in practically every way, and I wanted to fix things between us. Even if I had to admit I was wrong – something that I hated doing – I was willing to do it to make sure we were alright.

But, that was all going to have to wait. In the meantime, I would stop by and see what David had to say about all this. I was sure it wasn’t going to be pleasant, but with that in mind, I was going to go through with it anyway. I walked inside the studio and glanced around, surprised he wasn’t waiting to ambush me at the door.

I walked tentatively into the studio, ignoring all the other staff members. There was no one in the building I really wanted to talk to. I didn’t know what to expect from our interaction, but I imagined it wasn’t going to be the most pleasant conversation we’d ever had.

I didn’t even bother knocking on his door as I burst through. I got the impression he was waiting for me to arrive, and from the way he came back at me, I could tell he’d also given extensive thought to what he wanted to say.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” he shouted.

I slammed the door closed behind me. “Have you talked to Kennedy?” I ignored his question.

“She was in here earlier and told me what was going on. She told me everything that happened, just so you know.”

I raised my eyebrows as I looked at him. “You mean what we’ve been doing for the past few weeks? Big deal. I need to know where to find her.” I didn’t care what he thought about us or what we were doing. As far as I was concerned, he could fuck off and mind his own business about all of it.

“You know that goes explicitly against the contracts that we have between all the staff in this facility.”

I shook my head. “What the fuck are you talking about? Just tell me where she is before I get pissed.” I was losing my patience, being treated like a fucking child. David’s job existed because of me. Not the other way around. He needed a reminder.

“Fuck if I know where she’s at. I’m shoving all this blame on her to save your ass. I fired her.”

“You did what?” My hands clenched into fists at my sides.

He stared down at my fists then back at me, trying to compose himself. But he started to tremble a little. “I, umm, said I fired her. I’m going to put up a new ad in the paper, hopefully sweep this all under the rug, and move on with whatever options we have left.” He turned his attention back to the paperwork in front of him, clearly trying to avoid eye contact.

I walked up and swiped all the papers off his desk. “You work for me.” My words came through gritted teeth.

“You’re bound by contract, Bryce, just like the rest of us. I know you liked her, but you’re going to have to move on from this one. Let me do my job as well as you do yours, at least on the stage.”

“Maybe you’re not hearing me correctly. She will be a part of this. She’ll be a part of my life. Get her back, now!”

“What’s done is done. I already cut her the final check and she’s out of here. Why don’t you go home and get some rest, and we’ll sort this out in the morning?”

My jaw clenched. “Fuck you.”

“What?”

“I said fuck you. I’m not doing it. And I will make your life hell, and will burn both of our careers to ash if I have to.”

I wanted to run my fist straight through his goddamn face. Suddenly, Mitch didn’t matter anymore. I wished it was David who’d taken the beating instead. But, there was nothing I could do about that now. With a final sneer, I turned and walked out of the studio.

“Bryce. You walk out of here and you’re going to face some serious legal repercussions. You can’t just break a contract like that. You get back here. Fuck you Bryce! Fuck you!” David shouted after me.

“Sue me, bitch!” I held up a middle finger as I walked through the door. I told myself to keep going. If I were to turn around, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from beating the shit out of him. He’d think he owned me more than he already did. I’d figure out what I was doing legally later.

For now, I had more important things on my mind.