Page 91 of Tease
Beau and Skyler also won their fights. I want Kailey here, at every fight, for however long I decide to do this. Not having her here made me sadder than I predicted it would. Seeing Brittney close to the cage, watching her guy fight—being his biggest supporter—reminded me how much I need Kailey with me. Now that I’ve got her back, I’m game for whatever she wants to do. Move back home? Sold. Stay in Chicago? Done. She’s endgame for me, always has been.
I grab my phone out of my duffel bag and don’t see any notifications from Kailey. My group chat with Steffan and Greg has notifications, telling me good job and that they watched my fight together. I don’t bother opening the chat. I go to call Kailey instead. It rings twice, then goes to voicemail. That’s odd. I try one more time; same thing happens, so I leave her a message.
“Hey, baby, it’s me. I won the fight and am looking forward to talking to you when you get off of work. Call me when you can.”
I throw my phone back in my bag and head to the showers. Beau’s already in there singing, “We Will Rock You,” at the top of his lungs.
“Hey, man, good fight out there.” He arches an eyebrow at me. “You need to give a better show though. Knocking your opponent out too fast ruins it for the fans.”
I let the water pour down my back. “Uh-huh, I’ll think about that next time.”
“You do that, so the manager won’t chew your ass out.”
“The joys of being on a team... Everyone’s got an opinion.” I grin at him and roll my eyes.
“Race ya!” Beau says as he shuts his shower off. He swipes a towel off the rack and runs to the lockers. He’s such an idiot, but I really have come to like him a lot. I rinse my hair and body, taking my time, knowing nobody is waiting for me.
Once I’m back at my locker, I see Beau has his phone to his ear, and he’s making a weird face.
“What’s up, man?” I say while putting my shirt on.
“I got this weird message from Adam at Darla’s Pub. And now I can’t get ahold of Ajani.”
“What’d it say?”
“Here, listen for yourself.” Beau holds his phone up and hits the speaker button.
“Hey, Beau. It’s Adam, one of the bartenders from Darla’s. I don’t know if this is a big deal or not, but, uh, I saw KC and Ajani here tonight. And they were with people I’d never seen before. The girls got drunk, like overly drunk, and had to be helped out to their car. I tried to talk to Ajani and got pushed away by some guys. Then I turned back around, and KC and Ajani were already gone. Just wanted you to know, I got a weird vibe, man.”
I look at Beau. “What the fuck? Do you think it was her dad’s men?”
“Oh, fuck no. Everybody knows Carter’s men.”
I grab my phone and call Kailey, and again, no answer. “I can’t get through to Kailey either.”
Beau’s on the phone, talking to someone. “Well, find out before Carter does!” he snaps, then he hangs up.
“Who was that?”
“One of Carter’s men. He said Ajani got rid of her tail earlier. It’s not unusual for her… She hates being followed, so the guy wasn’t concerned. But now, no one knows where she is.”
“Okay. So, how worried should we be?” Stomach acid is starting to rise in my throat. “They couldn’t have been taken. They’re too smart for that. Maybe they got drunk and went home and passed out for the night.”
Beau’s hand rushes to his hair, running through it, panic laced all over his face. “I don’t know, Jared. Usually, I can get ahold of Ajani. Shealwaysanswers my calls.” Beau closes his eyes and rests the back of his head against the locker, slowly starting to pound against it.
“We’ve gotta get back there tonight.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Beau stops at the door. “Let’s not tell Brittney about this yet.”
“I’m sure she’s already left with Skyler.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But just in case it’s nothing... I don’t want the girls to act like we’re crazy boyfriends or something.”
“Oh, boyfriends? Plural? As in me and Kailey, and you and Ajani, huh?” He slams the door in my face. “Hey!”
“I don’t have time for this right now. Let me call a guy who has a private plane. He owes me a favor.”
