Just as Antonio was preparing to kiss Jackie again, his cell phone began to ring. He ignored it. He assumed it was the driver, reminding them he was on his way. But as soon as his phone stopped ringing, Jackie’s began to ring too. They stopped mid-kiss and looked at each other. Jackie grabbed her phone; it flashed,Cobb County Jail. Jackie stared at Antonio, who looked puzzled. Who in the world could be calling her from jail? Antonio nodded toward the phone, encouraging Jackie to answer. She put the phone on speaker.
“Hello?”
The recorded message began, “You have a collect call from an inmate in the Cobb County Jail. Will you accept the charges? Press one.”
Jackie pressed it, and before she could say anything, she heard PJ’s voice. “Jackie?”
“PJ! What the hell!” Jackie screeched, sitting straight up in bed. “Why are you calling me from jail? What happened? Oh my God, don’t tell me you got in a fight or something.”
“Nah, it’s some bullshit.” PJ paused. “Wait, you still in Savannah, right? Shit, is Antonio there too? Am I on speaker?”
“I’m here,” Antonio cut in. “What the hell is going on, PJ?”
“Listen, they say I was drunk and some other stuff. I don’t have my credit cards or nothing. Shit, I think they’re with my phone in the glove compartment of my ride. They better not have gotten a scratch on the Lambo. Can you all come bail me out?”
Antonio felt panic rising rapidly. He looked at the time on his phone. If he called the car now and headed to the jet, they could get to the jail in two hours. “Listen, don’t speak to anyone. Don’t sign a thing. Not even a fucking autograph, understand? We’ll get there as soon as we can. I’ll see if I can arrange bail.”
“And I’ll call an attorney friend,” Jackie said. “They’ll be down there too.”
“Aren’t you an attorney?” PJ asked. “Why can’t I just wait for you?”
“I’m not a criminal law attorney,” Jackie reminded him. “Shit, how the hell did this happen? Don’t answer that. Hang up. We are on the way.”
Jackie and Antonio stared at each other in disbelief.
“We gotta go,” they said in unison, hopping out of bed in a fury.
CHAPTER 41
Jackie’s stomach was in absolute knots. The fluorescent lights in the jail gave her flashbacks to the night she fought with Katrice. She wanted to bolt. She’d hoped by the time they made it back to Atlanta, PJ would have been bailed out. Antonio had sent the money as soon as they ended the call. They arrived in Atlanta about two hours later, but now—three hours since their arrival—there was still no sight or sound of PJ.
Antonio hadn’t said a word since they stepped inside the jail; his facial expressions vacillated between paralyzing fear and scorching rage. Jackie prayed that by the time that PJ was released, Antonio would be in a better headspace.
They finally heard the door buzz as her friend from law school, Dedrick Ealy, emerged from the back followed by PJ, who was wearing big, designer shades. Even with the shades, he looked like death warmed over. His clothes looked a mess, his shirt untucked, stained, and wrinkled. His locs were all over his head, not neatly pulled back as usual. He was staggering a bit, seeming to be unaware of where he was.
Was he okay? Sick? Jackie looked around and saw another visitor trying to slyly snap a picture. Jackie let out a breath. This wasn’t something she could control—by the time they set foot outside, this was going to be on every blog, every social media account, and definitely in that trashySports Ragztabloid.
Jackie stood and hugged Dedrick. He was one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the city; she knew he was busy. “Thanks for doing this for me.”
“You know I’ve got you, Jack. I wouldn’t have passed the bar without you.” He looked at Antonio and extended his hand. “Dedrick Ealy.”
