Hot Ticket

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 fuckin’ 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.”

Aggie clutched the gold-painted plastic heart between her breasts and blinked back tears. “I had no idea you felt that way, Mom,” she said, her voice hitching. “You’re always saying how much you want to get me out of the club. I thought…” I thought you hated me.

“So will you train me to hit men?”

Aggie laughed. “Not a chance.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve specialized. If you really want to do this, you need to be trained by someone who’s good at everything.”

“Sounds hard.”

“It is hard.”

“Speaking of hard. You should have seen how hard Gary got when—”

“Don’t say it!” Aggie felt her face flush. She didn’t know she was still capable of blushing.

A gray-haired woman entered the room and fixed herself a cup of coffee. She smiled sweetly at Aggie, who returned her smile and turned to face the other direction.

“I can’t talk about this right now, Mom. I’m at the hospital with Jace.”

“I thought he was out of the hospital.”

“He’s back in. I can’t get him to rest.”

“Is that why you fell for him? He doesn’t do what you say?” Aggie could hear the amusement in her voice.

It was more complicated than that, but she didn’t want to discuss Jace with her mother. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve got to go. Promise you’ll behave.”

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

Aggie could practically see the woman’s mischievous smile. “Mom.”

“Be careful. Thanks for talking to me.” She hung up.

The elderly lady, who was adding sugar to her coffee, grinned at Aggie. “Challenging mother?”

Aggie snorted. “That’s an understatement.”

“I had one of those. You’ll miss her when she’s gone.”

If she ever left. Aggie smiled at the woman, collected her coffee, and returned to Jace’s room. He was fully dressed, including his leather boots, sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, tugging on the IV line in his hand. “I feel fine now.”

She sighed and sat beside him, knowing he would not be deterred. “Just let me finish my coffee.”

He nodded and stared at his knees while she took tiny sips from her coffee cup. If her mother didn’t give her a stress-induced heart attack, her boyfriend surely would.