Page 62 of Bulletproof
“It’s gonna take that long for a tow truck, right? Plus a ton of paperwork or whatever else you nice officers do when you’re not out apprehending the bad guys.” Derek gave them his most charming smile.
Travis let out a short laugh. “Suck up.”
Derek had no shame about his pathetic begging, and dismissedTravis’ teasing remark with a poke in the ribs. “We’re heading out to Tucson in a few hours.” He continued to plead with the cops. “We got a show tomorrow. My manager is gonna have my ass. Please. Give me a break here. I’m gonna call him right now.” Derek moved slowly. “I’m just taking my phone from my back pocket. See?” He held it up and quickly punched in Felix’s number, regretting every secondof the conversation he was about to have.
The cop exchanged a glance with his partner. “You’ve got 15 minutes.”
“What the hell kind of trouble are you in now, Derek?” Felix’s tone was pure stress and irritation, which was about to catapult to hysteria.
“Don’t freak out. It’s not that bad. I have a little situation here.”
“Spit it out.”
“Um. Me and Travis went out for a bite to eat and we couldn’t get a cab so I took the tour bus.”
“Youwhat? Have you finally lost your fucking mind? You’re not authorized to drive the tour bus!”
“We’re just a few miles down the road at this all-night diner. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Did you get into an accident? You’re not an insured driver, Derek. Pleasetell me no one got hurt.” Panic made Felix’s voice take on a wild pitch.
“No!” God, it really could have been so much worse. Maybe Felix wouldn’t fly off the handle after all. “We played a song for some fans in the parking lot, and the cops came because of the noise.”
“Oh, good grief. Don’t tell me you got arrested. Don’t tell me you’re in jail. Oh, good Lord.”
“Calm down. We didn’t get arrested. But neither one of us has a bus driver’s license. We need Mike down here to drive the bus back to the hotel or they’re gonna impound it.”
“Oh my God! It’s 4:00 in the morning. That poor man has to be up in a few hours to drive to Tucson. That’s really inconsiderate. I can’t believe you were that irresponsible.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’tknow I needed a special license.” The guilt trip hit Derek like a punch in the stomach.
“You are so full of shit. You’re smarter than that. And so am I.”
There was no fooling Felix. “OK. I didn’t think about it. That’s all.”
“I’ll be right there. Donotlet them impound that bus.”
“Thank you, Felix.”
“You can thank me by being moreresponsible. And if I find out that Travis was behind this, I’m going to hand him his ass.”
“It was all me. It was my idea.”
Felix ended the call.
“Is he pissed off at me?” Travis asked.
“He’s just got his nuts twisted. Don’t worry about it.” Derek let out a sigh and addressed the cops. “My manager is on his way with the bus driver.”
Fans still lingered and gawked, even though the cops told them to go home, and Derek and Travis stood in silence while they waited for Felix.
“You’re really the guitar player from Bulletproof?” one of the cops asked.
“Yeah. Do you know my band?”
“Only because my son went to your concert the other night and has been talking about it nonstop. Do you mindif I get a photo and an autograph?”
Travis laughed and shook his head, openly mocking the cop.
