those days.
“Noah.” I propped my elbows on my knees and groaned. We were going to get so much shit for this. In fact, I wasn’t sure how they didn’t know yet. Zane’s detail should have been following him around.
As it was, I shouldn’t have left Teagan alone at my place. Not that anyone could get past the security in my building.
With all this bullshit, I’d end up with a bodyguard up my ass again. I wasn’t even sure where Cole had been last night when we’d left the club, but if we’d gotten a one-night reprieve, I doubted it would be happening again.
“What a clusterfuck.” I dug out my phone and winced at the text I’d missed.
Lila checking in on Teagan.
Wrong bandmate in trouble, ma’am.
I sighed and called RoseHill Bail. An hour later, I’d practically sold a kidney, but the paperwork was rolling. Once I’d gotten past Bail Matron Betty and her inch-high stack of forms to sign, they finally brought me back to the holding cell. I still had to go to the bail bond place, but luckily, it was right across from the precinct.
There were many locks and many security checks. Finally, I followed the officer down a long corridor to a room. No bars in sight. I probably shouldn’t be disappointed, but it looked more like a depressing waiting room than a jail. It was just a windowless concrete box. The steel door had a skinny window.
Zane was prowling the small space like a pissed off cat. I definitely couldn’t compare him to another more impressive animal because he looked like he’d been dragged behind a car.
He spotted me and stopped in his tracks. “What took you so long?”
“Good to see you too, Z.”
“I’m sorry, man. I’m just going crazy.” He jammed his fingers into the already spiked bedhead situation he called hair. There was a wide stripe of black along one cheek, and was that eyeliner? Or a shiner? His usual black jeans had some sort of substance on them I didn’t really want to identify. It was an unhealthy baby puke color mixed with brown chunks.
Oh, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt.
The officer pointed to a room with a dingy metal table bolted to the floor. “Sir, please go into that room so I can bring in the prisoner.”
“Prisoner?” Zane’s voice was shrill.
I went inside and sat down. He brought in Zane, his hands cuffed in front of him.
“Is that really necessary?”
The cop didn’t answer me. Instead, he just hooked him to the table with a parting, “No touching.” Then he went to stand by the door.
“Sorry, bud. Kisses later.”
“Fuck off.”
I gave him a hard look.
He blew out a breath. “Sorry.”
“What the hell happened to you?”
“I don’t know.”
I frowned. “Pardon?”
He lowered his voice. “I woke up here with no wallet and a number on my hand.” The cuffs jerked in the short ring as he flashed his palm at me with a smudged seventy-three scrawled in huge lettering, which happened to match his blackened fingertips. However, I was pretty sure those were courtesy of the Brooklyn PD.
He seemed to notice the ink on his fingertips and curled his fingers into a fist. “Fingerprinted like a common criminal.” He rattled the cuffs. “And these. Everything hurts, and my head feels like a piece of rebar was shoved through my brain.”
“Well, you had to be arrested for something.”
“I can’t remember actually doing anything.”
“Why didn’t you call Lila? She would have had you out of here way before I managed to. Do you know what I had to do to get you out of here?”
“I’m getting out?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“I’m sorry.” He tried to rub his head and was stopped by the cuffs. Resignation moved over his face. His usual chill demeanor was nowhere in sight. He was tense and obviously hurting. “Yes, thank you. I’ll pay you back.”
I had a feeling that showing sympathy wasn’t exactly the right way to go right now. I wasn’t entirely sure he wouldn’t turn into a blubbering mess, and I was not here for that in the least. “Damn right. I could have sold a kidney on the black market for what they asked for.”
Zane winced, but his spine straightened. “I don’t care. I’ll pay it. But I’m getting out of here, right?”
“They’re processing you.”
He tipped his head back. “Thank God.”
“You have five minutes.”
He glanced over his hunched shoulder at the cop. “He just got here.”
Stoneface just stared straight ahead again.
I leaned in, my voice little