Rolling to my side,I reach for my phone and check the time. It’s eight in the morning. I touch the side of the bed. It’s cold. He hasn’t been here. He promised he would come back here to me, and he hasn’t.
I could be thinking a million different things, but all that comes to mind is that something is wrong. Something has happened. With everything that’s been going on with Dante and me, something feels very off.
Throwing the covers off my body, I place my feet on the floor and stand up straight, then reach down onto the bed for my phone. I check the notifications again, trying to see if I missed something with my initial blurry-eyed glance.
But there’s nothing.
I tug on a pair of sweatpants over my panties and also pull a hoodie over my head to cover up the fact that I’m braless and open the bedroom door. Looking left to right, I almost expect to see someone walking around, maybe even Axton, but there’s nobody and nothing.
Slowly, I begin to move through the hallway and make my way down to the main room. That’s when I see a couple of girls standing around at the end of the bar talking to Shocker. They are clearly club girls. Whores is what they call them, but I don’t like that. I’ve been called a whore enough to know that it doesn’t feel good.
The girls lift their heads when they sense my arrival, but they don’t say anything otherwise. I’m okay with that. I’m not sure what the dynamic is supposed to be with them. I don’t know what the rules are or how any of that goes, so right now, I’m good just staying away.
“You okay, darlin’?” Shocker asks.
My brows snap together, and I bite the inside of my cheek, rolling the skin around a few times as I try to think of how to put this without sounding like a harping girlfriend. But I’m concerned. Axton isn’t one to say something and do the opposite. At least he’s never been one to do that before.
“Has Piggy come back from work?”
Shocker’s brows furrow. I’m sure my expression matches his because I am confused. “I haven’t seen him. He was supposed to come here after his shift?” he asks.
“He said he’d be here at five this morning at the latest. I woke up, and he wasn’t there. He probably just went home.”
My last sentence comes out in a mumble under my breath, because I don’t believe it even as I say it. I don’t believe a word of it. What I do believe is that something is wrong. I can tell by the way Shocker stares at me, then he flicks his gaze over my shoulder and jerks his chin.
Slowly, I turn around and see Bullet walking through the door. “Isn’t it a little early for you to be coming into the office?” I ask. But my unasked questions are clear:What are you doing here?And where is Axton?
“Normally, yes. But I had some schedules to work on. I came in to do that, but the way both of you are looking at me, I’m wondering what the fuck is going on.”
I start to tell him that it’s Axton, that he isn’t here, when Shocker speaks first. “Piggy was supposed to come here after work. He hasn’t. I texted him a few minutes ago, and he hasn’t responded.”
Bullet shifts his gaze from Shocker to me, his gaze searching mine. “You call him?” he asks.
“I didn’t. I just came down here to look for him when I woke up and he wasn’t next to me in bed. I’m just worried. He said he would be here.”
Bullet doesn’t say anything immediately in response. Instead, he takes his phone out of his pocket and slides his thumb around a few times before he brings it to his ear. Something about him making a call causes my spine to straighten.
“Can you make a loop, see if you can find Piggy or his patrol car? I’m heading to the bakery right now.”
He ends the call, then jerks his chin. “You wanna come with me or stay here and wait for him?”
Axton told me to hang around here for safety. I debate going, because I really do want to, but I don’t want to put myself in danger. Instead of attempting to explain my jumbled-up thought process, I decide to tell him that I’m going to stay here.
“Probably a good call. Why don’t you wake up your girl? That way, you got someone for company.”
I wonder if I need someone. But I don’t ask him. Instead, I turn and rush back to the hall and toward Heidi’s room. I know she’s probably still asleep, especially since we both have to dance tonight.
I ball my fingers into a fist and gently knock. The door flies open, and I stare at a fully-dressed, makeup-faced Heidi. Shegives me a smile, but it fades almost instantly when she takes in the expression on my face. I’m sure I look as scared, nervous, and frazzled as I feel.
“What’s wrong?” she demands.
“I don’t know where Axton is. He didn’t come here after work like he said he would.”
She presses her lips together, making a pout. “And none of the guys here know where he is?” she asks.
“No, they don’t. Bullet just left to go and look for him.”
There is a moment of silence during which she shakes her head once before she steps out of the room. “Okay, first things first. You’re going to take a shower. When he does come back, he doesn’t want to see you looking freaked the fuck out.”
