“He’s gotta see his woman,” Brick uttered. I didn’t bother correcting him.
We were two steps outside when my cell lit up. Chelsea’s name flashed across the screen, and because it’d be helpful to know where we were headed, I answered.
I didn’t get the chance to say anything before she started in on me. “Who the hell do you think you are having someone follow me? That is a major violation of my privacy. You told me we were done, so why do you think—”
“Shut up, Chels!” I yelled, needing to raise my voice over hers to get her to hear me. “Where are you?”
“Don’t worry about where I am. You don’t have the right to know anything about me anymore. You decided that when you walked out—”
“Fuckin’ hell, woman! Tell me where you are right now, or I swear to Christ you’re gonna—”
“Fuck you,” she spat down the line, hangin’ up on me before I could finish my sentence, let alone get her location.
“I’m on it,” Kaden chimed in, dialing Riley before we took another step. Twenty seconds later, he hung up. “She’s at the salon.”
We were on our way minutes later.
20
“Ugh! I swear to God, if he was right in front of me, I’d….” My words trailed off because I didn’t know exactly what I’d do to Ace. Slap him? Punch him? Tell him to go fuck himself? Demand to know why he asked someone to follow me when he was the one who ended things between us? Obviously, I meant zilch to him if he could walk away so easily, so why bother with the shadow? “Ugh!” I grumbled again, slamming the hairbrush on top of my station.
“Looks like you’re gonna get your chance to tell him off in person.” Riley pointed toward the parking lot when I picked my head up to look at her.
“Did you tell him where I was?”
She hesitated before answering, “No.”
“Let me rephrase. Did you tell Kaden I was here?” At least she had the decency to avert her eyes. “Traitor.”
Her response was a halfhearted shrug. I’d filled my treacherous best friend in on what happened with the guy in the truck, the shadow put on me for a reason I still didn’t know. And then when I called Ace to find out why, he didn’t answer. Instead, he demanded to know where I was, which was when I ended the conversation abruptly. Some might say rudely.
My client had called me when I arrived earlier, letting me know she was going to be late, and since I didn’t have anyone else scheduled for another hour and a half, I told her that was fine. And thank God, too, because I was ready to blow, which wasn’t professional. Riley’s client, Henrietta, was so old I doubted she could hear anything we said. Plus, she was under the dryer, a level of noise to drown out what I was sure was gonna be a very heated argument. Or maybe I’d give him the silent treatment. See how he liked that.
The bell above the door chimed and my body went rigid, heat swirling through my veins while my heart went into overdrive. Brick walked in first, followed by Kaden, then Ace, who headed straight for me once his buddies moved to the side.
Today was a slow day customer-wise, which was why Braylen wasn’t in yet and why Riley and I were the only two stylists here. But seeing the heat in his stare as he approached me made me wish we had a full house.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked, grabbing my upper arm and pulling me close. “Going after a guy you don’t know? Trashing his truck? He could’ve hurt you. Or worse.” I hadn’t noticed when Ace first walked in, which was only seconds ago, but he didn’t look well. His usually sun-kissed skin was pale, and he looked unkempt. He either needed to trim up his scruff or shave all together, and his hair was sticking up on the sides. His movement toward me had been purposeful and stern but slower than I would’ve expected, given his anger toward me. And I’d seen him wince twice already.
Ignoring all the oddities, I fired a question back at him, refusing to explain my actions. “What is wrong with you?” I yanked my arm from his hand and took a step back. “Why would you tell someone to stalk me? Don’t want to get in trouble for doing it yourself? You’ve got a lot of nerve.” I crossed my arms over my chest, ready to hold my ground.
“Give him a break, Chels. He’s only lookin’ out for you.”
I turned to face the giant biker, my arms falling to my side. “I don’t need for him to look out for me. I can take care of myself.”
Brick sighed. “There’s shit goin’ on. Just stop givin’ him a hard time.”
“Stop givin’ him a hard time?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard. I swung my eyes to Ace, who looked worse than when he first barged in here. Ignoring the odd feeling swirling in my belly, I focused on my fury. “You need to go. Call off your watchdog and leave me alone.”
I moved to step away, but he caught my arm again, only this time he didn’t pull me close. Instead, he dragged me through the salon, down the hallway and toward Braylen’s office, slamming the door behind him after shoving me inside. He blocked the door so I couldn’t escape.
“Move.”
“No.”
“Move,” I repeated, my breathing amped up and matching his. Although, his breaths were choppy and every other one was accompanied by a faint groan. “You gonna kidnap me now? Or are you gonna have someone else do it?”
“Shut up,” he growled, taking a step closer, the spark of a grimace disappearing a second later.
“No.”
“You have no idea what’s goin’ on. So, until we handle it, you’re gonna tell me where you are at all times. And you’re not to go anywhere without someone with you. If it’s not me, then it’ll be Rez, the guy whose truck you damaged, or one of the other guys.” His lips snapped shut, and he inhaled deeply before pushing the air from his lungs, his eyes fluttering closed for two seconds longer than normal.
Again, I ignored my gut and dismissed the signs something was wrong with him. “Are you insane? Did you hit your head? There is no way I’m telling you my every move, and I sure as hell ain’t gonna have someone follow me around.” I took a quick pause. “This is some sort of stalker shit, isn’t it? I didn’t take you for that guy. What? I tell you I don’t want to be in a relationship with you, and you go all ‘If I can’t have you, no one will’?” I couldn’t stop rambling, my anger and sudden nervousness colliding and shoving the words from my mouth. “I’ll call the cops. I’ll start carrying pepper spray and a Taser, and if someone gets hurt, then I’ll just tell ’em it was self-defense.”
“Chelsea! Shut. The. Fuck. Up!” I flinched. And I would’ve yelled back had it not been for the sudden spot of blood seeping through his T-shirt. Come to think of it, it was odd he wasn’t wearing his cut.
I breached the short space between us and reached for his side. “Why are you bleeding?” All anger disappeared from my voice, replaced with worry. Ace moved back before I could make contact and walked around me.
“Fuck!” He lifted his shirt and looked down, the blood spot spreading and getting darker beneath a wide bandage. “Now I’m gonna have to listen to Addy’s mouth.” If I wasn’t mistaken, I thought I saw him smile but it was gone so fast, I might’ve imagined it.