“We can’t get past them without being seen, so we’ll have to let them go first and slip out behind them.” Shaker nodded his agreement and finished his beer.
When the girls started filing out the front door, we rose and slowly started making our way to the front door. By the time all of them made it outside, we were a few feet away. I only took a few more steps when one of the bouncers stepped in front of me. “Sir, I’m going to need you and your friend to come with me.”
“I don’t fucking think so. You’re not a cop and have no authority to detain me or keep me in this establishment against my will. Now, if you will kindly step aside, I have somewhere to be.”
He shook his head and grimaced. “I can’t let you leave, sir. Please cooperate and follow me.”
I turned to look at Shaker, who looked equally as pissed off as I was. “Fuck this shit,” I said and made to push my way past the bouncer.
“Hold it right there. Keep your hands where I can see them.” I knew without even turning around those words were spoken by an actual police officer.
I slowly raised my hands in the air and directed my attention to the two police officers ready to pounce should Shaker or I try to run. “What’s the problem, Officer?”
“Turn around and place your hands behind your back.”
Grumbling under my breath, I did as he said and cringed when I felt the metal cuffs bite into my thick wrists. I could easily get away from these two bozos and have the cuffs off in no time, but Phoenix would have my ass if I did that. Plus, I hadn’t done a damn thing wrong, so I saw no reason to commit a crime by running from a crime I didn’t commit, though I was getting sick of being arrested for something I didn’t do.
“We were called when someone informed the bouncers that the two of you were spotted putting something in a woman’s drink at the bar. Anything you want to tell us about that?” Dickhead Number One asked.
“Are you fucking serious? We haven’t even been at the bar. We got our drinks from one of the waitresses. Get the receipt out of my wallet, get her name, and ask her. Then, check your security footage,” I spat and nodded toward one of the cameras pointed directly at the bar.
They hauled us into an office near the back of the club. Shaker and I sat quietly while they reviewed the footage. While we were waiting, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. When I heard Shaker’s phone buzzing seconds later, I knew it had to be Phoenix calling. He was going to be pissed that we weren’t answering.
Almost an hour later, the security footage and our waitress confirmed our story. The police officers undid the cuffs and told us we were free to go. The club’s manager profusely apologized and offered us multiple free passes to the club which included unlimited free drinks. We took them, but I had no intention of ever setting foot in the place again.
We successfully made our way out the front door. “Call Phoenix back. I’m going to text Harper and see where they are.”
“Where in the fuck have you two been?” Duke bellowed from down the block. I looked up to see Dash and him rapidly approaching us.
“Where are the girls?” I asked. I didn’t have time for his shit.
“Shouldn’t you know that?” he spat.
“Yeah, but it’s kind of hard to follow them when the cops have me in cuffs in some club manager’s office over a bogus complaint. Now tell me where the girls are or so help me—”
Dash interrupted my threat, “Phoenix is with them at The Night Owl. They’re fine, but we need to get back there.”
“Why are the three of you here?” Shaker asked, breaking his odd silence of the night.
“Annabelle called Phoenix because she thought they were being followed. He thought she was referring to you two. When she told him to get you two in there ASAP, he knew something was wrong. He was already out the door when he was trying to get you on the phone. He called Duke and me to come look for you while he went to look after the girls,” Dash explained.
We were moving quickly, but when I saw the sign for The Night Owl, I broke into a jog. I knew Harper would be upset about some unknown person following them and Reese would be upset about my unexplained absence. I was consumed with the need to hold Harper in my arms and comfort my little sister. I pushed through the doors and shouted to the bouncer, “I’m with them,” pointing to the girls.
Reese and Harper were sitting very close to each other. When I reached them, I saw that they were holding hands under the table. Wrapping my arms around their shoulders, I pulled them both to my chest. I placed a kiss on top of their heads and asked, “Are you two okay?”
Reese squeezed my waist and pulled back while Harper remained in my arms. “We’re okay,” Reese answered. “We were a little freaked out at first, but we were more worried about you than anything else.”
I filled them in on why Phoenix couldn’t reach us earlier. Harper sat up and asked, “Do they know who made the complaint?”
I shook my head. “No, and we didn’t stick around to press them on it. As soon as we were free to go, we flew out of there so we could find you and call Phoenix. We ran into Duke and Dash, and they filled us in on everything we missed.”
We talked with Phoenix for a few minutes before he grumbled about a headache and declared it time to go. “I’ll pick you up at Ember’s house. You can’t ride on the back of my bike dressed like that.”
When I picked her up from Ember’s house, we went back to my condo and spent the rest of the weekend in bed. I didn’t want to let her leave Monday morning, but knowing that she would be back on Friday made it easier to say goodbye.
***
It had been a long week. From the moment Harper left Monday morning, I had been busy from sunup to sundown every day. When I got home Thursday, I cleaned up my condo before hopping in the shower. I planned to wash off quickly and call Harper before crashing for the night.