His Assurance (Assured Distraction Book 3) (18 page)

“Very funny. Where is she?” Journey asked.

I repeated the information to her, and she took off through the doors followed by her posse. I didn’t know where they thought they were going since she didn’t wait for me to tell them where. Walking down the steps, I saw them looking at a phone.

“Hey, follow me, we are going to the 10th Street building. It’s this way.” They turned did and as I had asked.

“Let me ask the questions, please,” I said to them. The jailer would not be happy to hear her barrage of questions from this irate group.

I looked at the woman behind the desk who never looked up from the computer. “May I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, I was told that Lola Reitzell is here. I want to bail her out.” I reached for my billfold. The jailer typed something and started reading.

“Not going to happen tonight. She’s being arraigned tomorrow morning, and then if she can get bail, she’ll be let go until her hearing.”

“She has to stay here all night long?” Journey stepped to the desk and asked. So much for letting me do the talking.

“Yes, she will. She can see the judge at eight. But looking at her record here, I doubt they are going to turn her loose even then.”

“What do you mean her record? She’s been arrested before?”

“Yes, but hasn’t gone to trial for that one, yet.” I turned and raised my eyebrow at Journey.

“What?” I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. What other things did I not know about Lola? Maybe my instincts weren’t too far off. Then it dawned on me.

“Wait, does this have to do with what I saw on television with the Air Marshal? She said it was no big deal. She said it was all a mistake. I assumed that had been straightened out already.”

“Get real, Gunner. It’s the government. They’ll stretch that out forever. The lawyer’s still working on it all. That’s all I know about it.”

“So you’re saying she’s already out on bail? She can’t get out on bail a second time, Journey.”

The officer finally spoke up. “According to the notes, she wasn’t arrested tonight. She’s waiting for someone to come and verify her identity. She was picked up at a house on the lake for breaking and entering. Claimed she belonged there but had no form of ID. Let me call the arresting officer. Take a seat over there. I’ll call you when he’s ready.”

We walked to the waiting area and sat down. “You know we are supposed to be having a wild time with rockstars right now, don’t you?” Ivy informed the girls.

I forgot I was supposed to be at that party. I would be getting a text or call any minute from an angry Peri.

“Y’all can go. I’ll wait and bring her with me.”

Journey looked at me like I was crazy. “She’s not going anywhere with you. You shot that possibility out of the water, remember?”

“Wait, Journey,” Addie spoke up. “She said that it was her fault, not his. Maybe she’s changed her mind.”

“Right. I still doubt she’ll be willing to do anything with someone who calls her out on one little mistake.” I listened to them talking about me like I wasn’t even there.

I jumped in with my own comment. “When this is over, we are going to talk, Journey. I want it all out in the open. Do you think y’all can talk her into staying for at least a few days?” I would listen, but she needed to spill her guts about all of her mistakes and lies this time.

“Who knows? If she’s made up her mind to go, she’s going no matter what I say to her,” Journey said.

The arresting officer walked in and called us over. He pulled his phone out and looked at his notes. “Do you know Lola Reitzell?”

“Yes, that’s my sister,” Journey stated, stepping forward.

“Do you have an ID?”

“Yes, I do.” Journey produced her driver’s license.

He looked over the rest of the group. “And are any of you the homeowners?”

“No, my parents rented the house for the week for my birthday, officer. We have a contract for it inside the house.”

“Where’s the key to this house?” he asked, and Journey promptly produced the key ring.

“I have the remote for the garage door in the car, too.” I could see the officer finally putting the circumstances together.

“Okay, then I guess she is free to go. We found her trying to break into the house, and she had no photo ID on her, and no way to prove who she was or what she was doing at that house. I’ll let the proper people know, and she’ll be out shortly.”

“Thank you, officer,” the group of girls offered him.

We went to the seating area again to wait. “You don’t have to wait, Gunner. We will bring her with us or take her home,” Journey informed me.

“No. I want to talk to her, tonight. I’m not going anywhere until I see her.”

It wasn’t long before we saw Lola bouncing on her toes behind the barred door until it slid open. She rushed to her sister and hugged her close. “Thank God you got my message. They were going to arrest me for breaking and entering and maybe a few other things.”

Lola turned and saw me, obviously surprised. “What are you doing here, Gunner?”

My first instinct was to wrap her in my arms and reassure her I was there for her, but I knew she would think I was sending all kinds of mixed signals. I settled for standing back and talking. “We were all worried about you, Lola. Even if we have our differences, I would never want to see you sitting in Travis County Jail all night.”

“Really Gunner?” The look on her face said it all. She didn’t trust my motives. Not that I blamed her after the way we parted.

“No, Lola. I wouldn’t.” I stepped between the girls to stand in front of her. “Do you think we can talk?” I looked around me, and the girls were anxious to hear what I would say to her. “The girls are anxious to get to the party, and I need to make an appearance. If you go for a little while, we can find a quiet place to talk.”

The James Gang faces were back on, and ready to defend if needed. Lola saw them watching us when she looked around me. “I suppose we can since you were kind enough to come down here, but don’t get your hopes up, Gunner. I don’t like being accused and convicted without even having a chance to defend myself.”

“That’s fair, Lola, and you’re right. I should have talked to you about it all before I took off.” I tried to wrap my arm around her shoulder and steer her out, but she wasn’t ready for contact yet. She stepped ahead of me, and Journey hooked her arm through Lola’s.

“Uh, Lola?” She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me.

“Yeah?”

I put my head down between theirs, so only she and Journey could hear me. “Did you know I can see one fine ass cheek since your shorts seem to be missing the right panel of fabric?”

She stopped and bent down to look at her shorts. Journey leaned back and saw what I was talking about. “What did you do, Lola?” Journey tried to pull the fabric back together, but it wouldn’t work.

Lola looked at me and then at the rest of the girls, giving us a smirk. “It’s a long story, but don’t think that officer is all innocent. He got a handful of butt cheek when we were going over the fence, and I do believe he enjoyed the handful he said he didn’t squeeze.” With that, she put her hand over her butt and walked off down the sidewalk.

The five girls and I look at each other, and it was too funny not to laugh. Lola never looked back.

Loud music poured from the building when we arrived at the door. Gunner talked me into riding with him over to the celebration, but we only exchanged unnecessary small talk. Nothing was discussed or settled in my mind. I wasn’t sure we were ready to spend time together. He located a hoodie in the truck for me to tie around my waist, so I didn’t half-moon the world. After being assured I looked fine for the party, I glanced at the waiting crowd and saw most of the people came from ACL in an array of clothing choices. I was over it all at this point. I only agreed to go because I ruined the girls’ night with a stupid mistake, so I didn’t want to add to the situation by complaining.

A lengthy line outside the door of the venue only heightened the girls’ excitement, and Gunner and I smiled at their squeals. He showed his face and the roped corridor opened. The sea of people parted impressing the girls and the royal treatment made coming to the party worth it. My anger with Gunner hadn’t changed, but I wanted Journey to remember this birthday as a special one, and a party of this magnitude offered that.

Journey and the girls flew in and made a bee-line for the bar when the main doors opened to the packed club. A massive amount of work went into turning this place into a huge celebration with the streamers and confetti floating down from the ceiling at short intervals. Loud music filled my ears, and I was not sure I was going to last too long in here with my mind still hovering around the turmoil.

“It’s really loud!” Gunner shouted in my ear, but I still barely understood him.

“Yeah, almost too loud for me after the evening I’ve had.” I was sure the look on my face expressed exactly how I felt.

“Let’s go to the VIP area. Maybe we can find a place away from the speakers, and it’s not so loud.” He wrapped his large hand around mine, and this time, I didn’t pull away. As we climbed the steps to the second level of the building, he spotted another set of steps leading to the next level with glass partitions used to block some of the sound. He nodded in that direction, so we took them. Thank God. I’d had enough of the revelry in the few minutes we were there.

We stepped up the top step as a huge doorman opened the glass doors. A nod at Gunner revealed the man’s understanding that Gunner was supposed to be there. His eyes roamed down my body, taking in the ridiculous way I had a hoodie tied around me. I knew he judged me not worthy of entering, but Gunner didn’t stand there long enough for me to be embarrassed as he tugged on my hand.

“I needed to change before we came, Gunner. I’m not dressed appropriately to be in this section,” I quietly told him.

“It’s my party, and you look beautiful.” He never gave it another thought.

“Yeah, tell that to the bouncer back there. He was ready to kick me out.”

“Fuck him. He has no say so where you’re concerned.” Gunner led me to a table surrounded by the rest of AD.
Oh God, please open up that hole in the carpet, I’m coming through
.

A beautifully styled pin-up girl stood and greeted me with a welcoming smile. “Hello, I’m Peri, and you must be Lola.” She offered me her hand on the end of a fully decorated arm.

“Hello. Yes, I’m Lola. It’s nice to meet you, Peri. Gunner has told me what a great job you do as their manager.” I wanted to make a good impression with the band, but right now I couldn’t remember why. I found myself staring at a group the gods had favored with a level of gorgeousness that only few could rival. Five guys who stole my breath.

Next, I looked into the most unusual aqua eyes and dark hair on a woman. She moved in beside Peri, introducing herself as Chandler, before pulling me in for a hug. “I’m from Texas and not good with a handshake.” She laughed when she looked at Peri.

“It’s very nice to meet you both. I’m sorry I’m so underdressed for this occasion. I had a little mishap with my shorts on a pole, and they ripped.” I immediately realized that made me sound like a stripper, and I could feel the heat as it rose up my face. “Oh, wait, not like a stripper pole. It was more like a rod, on a fence, with a spike.” Now I sounded like an idiot to these two women.
Did I say carpet open up? I meant floor open and swallow me into a deep, black hole.

“Don’t be silly. You look great. We’ve all been out at the festival at some point today,” Peri said. “Please come and sit with us. We want to hear all about you and Gunner.”

“No,” Gunner spoke up. “We are going to sit over there.” He pointed to an empty table in a private corner.

The girls looked at the two of us, and I knew they were waiting for an explanation, but Gunner didn’t offer one. Instead, he turned and walked off, still holding my hand, so I was forced to follow. I looked back at them and shrugged my shoulders.

He stopped at the side of the booth and motioned for me to get in first. “Gunner, that was rude. They were being nice and trying to include us.”

“Don’t care right now. I want to talk with you and only you. I want us to kiss and makeup, Lola. I’m sorry I was hasty in forming the wrong opinion of you. I should have waited for you to explain the situation. Of all people, I should know better than to make snap decisions. It’s happened enough to me before.”

I was surprised he told me that. “Okay. I suppose I do owe you an explanation. Where do you want me to start?”

“From the beginning, please. I remember looking up from where we were sitting in the backstage holding area and seeing two beautiful women walk through the doors. Seemed to me your friend was dragging you in there. Now take it from there, please.”

“
JeanMarie
did drag me there, but I think I need to back up further, so you know the entire story about me.” This was going to take some time, but I knew if he was going to understand truly, I needed to tell the whole story.

“My mother is American, and my father is French. They met when he was in Houston doing some business, and she worked for the company. They married and had my brother, my sister, and me. We were all born in Texas; my mother insisted, and my father couldn’t say no to her. That makes us all have dual citizenship.

“After we were born, though, my parents wanted my sister and me to live in France, and then my mom and I came back here for my last year so I could graduate because I wanted to go to the University of Texas. My brother went to uni in England and then to Yale for law school. He’s currently acting as CEO for my father’s business. Journey wanted to go to college in Paris, so she lives there now.”

“That makes perfectly good sense, so how did the story get all mixed up?” At least he was willing to listen, which gave me hope this might blow over.

“My father decided to run for an important government position and won the election. He is a senator in the French Parliament. Since he cannot run his business and do that, my brother is working in his place. I feel like the only reason my arrest occurred is my dad’s political position.”

“But why did you get arrested, Lola? Someone’s managed to keep that pretty quiet. Maybe your dad’s position has actually helped you in this case.”

“This douche sitting next to me tried to molest me in the airplane restroom, and when I defended myself, he turned it all around and blamed it on me. It was his word against mine, and when I produced a French passport, they ran a check on it and found out my father’s connections to the government.”

“Wait. They thought you beat up a grown man?” He said it like he didn’t believe a word I said.

“They sure as hell did. Laughable, huh? He was bleeding. I bit his finger and then I punched him in the nose, so he was bleeding in two places. Did I mention I’m claustrophobic? I was coming out of that bathroom almost in a full-blown attack, and an Air Marshal tried to detain me, but I fought him and ended up on the ground in handcuffs.” I knew it sounded bad, especially the abbreviated version I told Gunner.

“So you went to jail on a French passport and the media assumed you were French?”

I nodded my head, and he looked at me like I was a crazy person or something.

“Okay, so that explains the arrest situation, Lola, but it doesn’t explain why you lied to me in the beginning.”

“Yeah, I guess it doesn’t. So, my dad wanted me to stay in Paris a while when I returned after college, and I decided to go to work at the hospital there. I’d been living there a while already, Gunner. I was immersed in the language and spoke French full-time. My father and brother hardly ever spoke English, and no one at the hospital did.

When we would go out, naturally we spoke French, and it was kind of fun to talk to Americans because some guys think French is such a sexy language.” I slipped into my French accent with such ease that I think he didn’t even realize I did it.

“STOP! Don’t talk to me like that.” I guess he did realize it.

“Sorry, but you see how easy it is, Gunner.” I stopped there, not wanting to add to the problem.

“But you did that the entire time we were together, Lola. What was I supposed to think?”

Hmm… how could I answer this? “That maybe I was a sexy French girl who wanted to be with you?” It sounded ridiculous to me now. “I know how crazy it sounds now, but you can have any girl you want by simply tipping your head to security. Why would you want to choose me? I thought I had to be something different to keep you attracted to me.”

“I would have wanted to be with you anyway, Lola.” He reached out and pulled me into him. “I didn’t want to be with you because you had this incredible French accent that could drive a man wild with the purely sexual sounds that come with it. And I didn’t want you because you had this gorgeous long dark hair that’s now blonde. Maybe I was attracted to the outer things, to begin with, but after our time together, I liked you for you, Lola.

“Most of the girls we meet want one thing, and that’s to be able to brag that they’ve had sex with someone from the band. Hell, most of them don’t even care which one of us it is. You weren’t like that. When you had the chance to go to a hotel room, you chose to take me where you would normally go. I liked you treating me like a normal guy, not just the guy women think I’m supposed to be. That’s one reason I never talk to girls once I move on. But you, you were different. We spoke off and on for a long time. That’s a first for me. I even kept your number because I couldn’t get you out of my head after we left Paris.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just that after I had started the whole charade, I didn’t know how to change it. I never expected to hear from you, much less see you again.”

He took in a deep breath letting it out slowly as though he was trying to decide if he was ready to forgive me.

“Lola, I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions about everything. I get that you got yourself into something you didn’t know how to get out of because God knows I’ve done it a million times myself. Please tell me, though, are there any more secrets you’re keeping from me? I don’t want any more surprises.”

“There are no more surprises, Gunner. I promise.” I launched myself at him, wrapping around him. “I’m so sorry for all of the problems I’ve caused us when we should have been having fun.”

“Yeah, about that. Are you going to stay now? I would love for us to spend more time together.”

“Sure, I’ll stay if you want me to. I want to spend time with Journey before her break is over, and she returns to Paris. I think I can manage to divide my time between the two of you.”

“I can handle that. As a matter of fact, I think we should stop dividing our time in this loud party and have some alone time.” He stood and pulled me out from behind the table. As we passed the rest of the band, they called to us to rejoin them, but we had other things on our mind. We waved to them and left.