“Shut up! You’ll look like you were being attacked unprovoked, fucking cock-sucking mother fucker. If I ever see him out, I’ll sucker punch him myself for doing this to my favorite men,” Lunar states.
I smile, loving the protective mother-hen instinct she has going on for us.
“Well, hopefully, it won’t go live, and we’ll have nothing to worry about,” I say.
“Yeah, ’cause Tillie would love to clean up this mess,” Lunar murmurs.
And with that, my stomach flips, but in a very bad way.
***
The sound of my cell ringing wakes me.
My nose fucking aches, and my head is pounding so much the incessant ringing is like a sledgehammer to my skull. I struggle for my cell, and when I finally find it, I pick it up and place it to my ear. “Mm,” I murmur as a hello.
“Okay, first… are you okay? Is anything broken?” Tillie’s concerned but beautiful voice soothes my aching head instantly.
“Nothing’s broken. I’m fine. A little sore and bruised. A dented ego maybe, but everything’s fine…” I pause. “Wait, how do you know?”
“Because it’s all over the entertainment news, Ryan. Debt Money posted a clip of him‘taking it to the man’as he put it, and it’s gone viral. People have identified you and Danger in the clip and tagged you. Debt Money came out saying he thought you guys were locals, not celebrities, and he has publicly apologized. I don’t think it’s good enough, though, and his apology is more of a ‘well, if they weren’t there, this wouldn’t have happened’type of thing. Very insincere and definitely fake. Everyone’s commenting, saying how the apology is a joke and how we should take action.”
She’s talking so fast I can barely keep up. “Take action?” I question.
“I’ve talked it over with Oliver, and if you and Danger agree, we’re going to sue Debt Money and the men who attacked you. I’ve already contacted the police with the footage. The two men who hit you… unprovoked, I might add, as the video shows complete evidence, they’re going to be charged with assault and battery. We can’t let them get away with this.”
Opening my mouth wide, I smirk slightly, then nod. “Okay, I agree. Let’s have them charged and sue their asses. Make people realize that they can’t treat people this way.”
“Exactly, Debt Money has apparently been doing this for a while, but it’s never been caught on video like this before. Whoever uploaded the video obviously was only supposed to upload the punch, but they uploaded the whole thing, showing the entire incident.”
“Well, thank you, Harmony… or Melody… whichever dumb blonde it was,” I say.
“Huh?” Tillie murmurs.
“Never mind… how’s Vegas?”
She exhales. “It’s good, things are progressing well. Looks like a deal will be made with Zaria. Ryan, I was so worried when I saw that video, though. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Warmth encases me that she’s so concerned, and it makes me feel so fucking good that the pain in my face almost completely disappears. “I’m good, I promise… wishing you were here, though,” I say honestly.
She’s quiet, a little too quiet, for a little too long. My heart pounds as I wonder if she’s changed her mind about us.
“You mean that?” she says so quietly that I barely hear her when she finally breaks the tension, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Of course… I miss you.”
She sniffs, and my chest squeezes at the sound. I hope like fuck she isn’t crying. I’d hate it if I’ve upset her.
“I miss you too. I thought… I thought from our last call, things were, well, different between us.”
Exhaling, I run my fingers through my hair. “I was a dick, Tillie. I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry.”
She sighs and is quiet again.
“When are you coming home?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“This afternoon.”
“Can I pick you up at the airport?”
