Trix
WAKING UP, I roll over to find the other side of the bed empty. Knowing Boz is probably off somewhere doing something that he isn’t gonna tell me about, I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep. The sound of Smoking in the Boys Room by Motley Crue, my ring tone, hits my ear and I push myself up. My purse is lying at the foot of the bed.
Letting out a squeal of happiness, I crawl around Grim to the bottom of the bed and jerk my phone out. Seeing Boz’s name flash across the screen, I slide my finger across it and bring it to my ear. “How did your number get in my phone?”
The question pops out of my mouth, even though it doesn’t matter to me. Right now, I’m so happy to have my phone, I’d willingly list my number on a hundred telecommunications sales lists. I’d even be polite when I told them to fuck off.
“I programmed my number in before leaving it in the room,” he says with a chuckle. “Are you glad to have your phone back?”
“Hell yeah! I’ve felt naked without it!” I shout with excitement. “How did you get it?”
He mumbles to someone in the background before he replies. “Brew picked them up the night he took you. I’ve had them in my safe this entire time, but forgot until today.”
Before I can say anything else, he cuts me off. “I gotta go, Trix.”
“That’s fine. We talk all the time, so I’m hanging up and calling my dad,” I tell him, leaning back against the pillows and getting comfortable.
“I’ll be up to eat you for lunch,” he says, laughing at his own joke. “Later, darlin’.”
As soon as the line goes dead, I’m clicking on my dad’s name and putting it back to my ear. It only rings once before he asks, “Trix, princess, is that you?”
“Hey, Daddy,” I reply, a smile on my face. “Boz gave me my purse, so now I have my phone and all the rest of my shit.”
He’s quiet for a minute, but I can hear him moving around in the background. A minute later, he asks, “Boz around?”
“Nope, he’s off doing whatever he does,” I tell him, running my feet through Grim’s fur.
Suddenly, his voice goes hard. “Is anyone near you?”
“No,” I reply in a whisper, a chill working up my spine. “Why?”
“I want you to listen to me,” he orders, his voice firm. “Find a club whore named Sass. She has black hair with pink stripes in it and one of those ugly ass barbells through her nose.”
I have a feeling I know where he is going with this. If my feeling is right, my happy mood is totally blown. “Why do you want me to look for her?”
“She works at our club too from time to time, a bit of an airhead but a good girl.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I talked to her about what was going on, and she said she would help get you and Addy out.”
I should be excited at the possibility of freedom, but excitement is the last thing I feel. Dread is a better word. I’m not sure what is going on with Boz and me, but so far, it’s been wonderful and I am not ready for it to end.
“That’s not a good idea,” I tell him, trying to think of what to say. “It’ll be better if we stay put until this shit is settled.”
“You’re gonna do what I fucking say, little girl. No questions asked,” he growls into the phone. “You talk to Sass and get your asses home.”
For a second, thoughts of Addy’s parents and sister pop into my mind. They must be worried to death. Those two are definitely not the most caring parents in the world, but anyone would be freaking out if their child had disappeared, and I know her sister is freaking out.
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I wrap one arm around them. “Have you heard anything from Dr. and Mrs. Sloan?”
Even after being best friends with Addy for more than ten years, her parents refuse to let me call them by their first names. The one time I tried, her dad lectured me on manners for nearly an hour. When I teasingly called her mother ‘Mom’, she nearly had a heart attack. I was only nine at the time, and I was just goofing around. Still, Addy and I weren’t allowed to play together for a month.
“Why the hell would I hear from them?” Dad barks out. “You know the only one who gives a shit about her is Alex.”
Addy’s older sister, Alex, is more like a mom to her, even though they are only a few years apart. She’s the one, maybe the only one, who has ever truly loved Addy, other than me. Alex is a sweetheart, but her husband is a fucking douche bag.
Taking in a deep breath, I do my best to stay calm. “Considering their daughter is missing, I figured they may get in touch.”
“I don’t think they know. Even if they did, those two sleaze bags wouldn’t fucking care.” He lowers his voice again. “Alex called, though. She’s worried out of her damn mind. Even that son of a bitch that she’s married to gave me a ring. I told them both y’all had taken off to Alabama for a few days, until finals started.”
“Dad, you know finals were this week, right?” I ask, hating that Addy’s sister is so worried.
“I know they are, but neither of them did,” he says, then growls out, “Enough trying to change the subject, girl.”
He keeps right on talking, but I don’t listen. My mind is caught up on what he just said about Addy’s parents. Their daughter was kidnapped nearly a week ago, and they haven’t even noticed. How the hell can something like that happen? The thought of those two people being part of my best friend’s life makes my heart hurt like hell.
He’s still talking, when my mind starts to focus again. “Now you do what I said, and we’ll be waiting for you at the old shack, just a mile down the road.”
Even though my mind was on other things, I caught enough to know what he wants. “It’s not happening, Dad.”
“Why the fuck not? It’s the perfect plan. You’ll be out of there tonight!” he yells, completely losing his shit.
Knowing there is no choice but to tell him the truth, I lay it out there. “I’m not ready to leave Boz. There’s something going on between us, and I want to see where it leads.”
“When I get my hands on your ass…”
I cut him off. “You’ll give me a hug and bitch some more, nothing else. I’m a grown woman now, Dad. If I want to be with a man, it’s my choice.”
“What about Addy? Does she get a choice?” He asks, knowing I would never put my own wants before the wants of my best friend.
I take a deep breath while I wait for the answer to come to me. “Addy will know everything you said. If she wants to talk to Sass, she can.”
Before he can say anything else, a knock sounds on the door. A second later, Addy sticks a hand through the cracked door and asks, “Is it safe for me to come in? As sexy as Boz is, I don’t want to see his naked ass, especially while my BFF is fucking it.”
Thankful for the interruption, I tell her to come in, and then go back to my dad. “Gotta go, Daddy.”
Not waiting for a reply, my phone goes sailing across the room. When it hits the edge of the dresser and tumbles to the floor, I let out a silent prayer that the fucker is broken.
“Whoa, what’s got you so damn pissed?” she asks as she climbs onto the bed and gives Grim’s fur a quick rub down. “I thought you’d be as happy as me to have your phone back.”
“I was, but then I called my dad,” I tell her, covering my face with my hand. “It took him about thirty seconds to get on my fucking nerves. He found a way for us to get out of here,” I explain, letting her know what caused my anger. “I told him I didn’t want to leave Boz, and now he’s being a dick.”
Her head tilts to the side and she says, “Tell me everything.”