“How? I thought you weren’t supposed to record,” I said, crossing my arms. He stood up and went to the door, shutting it softly. It clicked into place, the quiet of the room making it echo.
“I called the owner and they’ve already found the culprit. A regular had brought their friend and now both of them have been banned. This has never happened before. They recorded the whole show and then somehow it got leaked and eventually sent to Cleo’s email. Fuuuuck—-” he groaned, stretching out the word.
“Who all has seen it? Did they just edit ours together or something? How bad is it?” I shot at him and before he could answer me, my phone rang inside my purse.
It was like a bucket of ice had been dumped on me. Mark.
Ethan and I looked at my vibrating bag and then back at each other. Gulping I took it out and saw that, to my relief, it was Derek. Answering it, I tried to be chipper and not give away anything.
“Hello?”
“Renee? Mark’s seen the video. We had just made it off the highway and then got stopped again. He got out of the car. He’s walking. I have no idea where he’s at or going.”
“Well aren’t you going to go after him?” I demanded. Panic and fear started moving in. Mark couldn’t walk all the way home. There were too many crazy people out there. He didn’t carry any sort of weapon. There was nothing to defend himself. That and the weather. It was raining. I doubted he had a coat. He’d freeze.
“I’m in a wheelchair, thank you very much. Adrian went but then came back after about five minutes. You know Mark, he’s gonna do what he’s gonna do.”
Thanking him for calling, I calmed myself and hung up. I explained the situation to Ethan who gave me a look that said, ‘what are we supposed to do about both of our spouses?’
Suddenly feeling drained I plopped down into one of his chairs and brushed my hair back.
“What did Cleo have to say about it?”
“She’s hurt. She tries really hard for everyone to like her and it feels like a slap in the face.”
“I have no idea what Mark is thinking right now. God,” I groaned, closing my eyes. This was a disaster.
We heard a door slam and both of our eyes darted towards the closed office. Ethan leapt up and tore the door open, running out to see who had come or gone. I joined him and we bumped into Dita. She looked exasperated.
“Cleo left. I couldn’t really stop her. I’ve never seen her this upset before.”
Ethan pushed past her and sprinted to the front door. Opening it, he swore.
“She’s gone. Dammit Dita!”
She flinched and apologized. I put my hand on her shoulder.
“It’s our fault not yours. Come on,”
“Are we going to follow her? She peeled out pretty quick, she’s probably already too far to find her.”
Ethan joined us as we piled into her car.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll find Mark. Two birds, one stone,” she commented, starting the car and leaving the premises. I exchanged glances with Ethan.
“If we find them both together, it will be more like walking right into a war zone.”
A war we started. I wish I could say unknowingly, but despite the club’s rules, there was always a chance this could get out. At the time though, I didn’t care. I needed that release. I glanced at Ethan again and he gave me a half-hearted, exhausted smile. I’m sure it was exhausting being married to Cleo. Well, either of them actually.
Ethan and Cleo were so alike it made sense that they’d be together. However, it constantly caused problems between the two. Both were so used to being in charge, being the frontmen of their bands. It was difficult for either of them to let the other take the reins. I gave Ethan a small, hopefully reassuring smile back, and returned my eyes to the road. We had to find one of them. I just couldn’t decide which one I wanted to face first.
After an hour of driving around with no sign of either spouse Ethan growled with frustration. The rain had turned from a drizzle to a downpour. We could hear thunder from time to time. The thought of Mark or Cleo out there was making everyone in the car even more stressed.
“This is getting us nowhere. Dita, pull over. I’m getting out. I need to take a walk,” Ethan said.
Before she could fully stop, he opened his door and hopped out. We called after him, but he ignored us. Dita asked me what I wanted to do. I thought for a moment and then told her to take us to Adrian’s.
Sure enough, even though Adrian’s vehicle was missing, hers was in the parking lot of the apartment complex. I got out and told Dita that she could take off and I’d get a ride from Cleo. She was hesitant, but eventually left. I pulled my spare key out and ran up the stairs to their place.
