I stood at the window and watched my best friend hop into her brother’s truck, the sun shining brightly in the sky. Gorgeous weather was what I loved about living in California, but all the sunshine was doing to me right now was making me wish Ace was here with me now.
I missed him, a sentiment which happened more often than it ever did in the past. Or maybe I just dismissed the feeling before because I refused to give into the notion. But since he’d been shot, I held this innate swirling feeling inside me to be with him as much as possible. I believed part of it was fear he’d disappear from my life altogether, but moreover, I realized my feelings for Ace ran deeper than I wanted to admit. It was unfortunate something so drastic had to happen in order for me to come around to the thought of finally committing to him.
To us.
A gentle squeeze on my shoulder startled me and I released a small yelp. Zoe came into my peripheral view, her hand over her heart.
“I thought you saw me. Sorry.”
“Lost in thought, as is the case these days.” I returned her smile. “Everything okay?” I looked toward the hallway.
“Yeah. Everything is good.”
“So, tell me. Who is gonna be waiting for you after your appointment?” My perfectly manicured brows did a little dance, making her chuckle.
“Whoever do you mean?” She moved toward the small refrigerator in the corner of the room and pulled out a bottled water.
“You know exactly who I mean. Big, sexy biker. A guy who’ll piss off your dad if he knew something was going on.”
“Tripp’s married.”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny. I’m talking about the even bigger one.” Zoe held her hands almost a foot apart. “First off, I have no idea how well either of those men are endowed, and I don’t want to.” Zoe’s hearty laugh combined with the widening of her eyes made me giggle, something I rarely did.
Braylen walked in on us, grinning before even knowing what we were talking about. “You’ve gotta be talkin’ about either Ace or Brick. And from the flush on your cheeks,” she said, pointing to Zoe, “it’s Brick.” Her stepdaughter didn’t answer, only grinned wider. “I’m done warning you against what will happen if your father finds out. You two are grown. You’ll have to deal with the consequences as they come.” Zoe rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything in rebuttal. “Speaking of, I talked to your dad about an hour ago, and he said he’ll be here to take us back home when we’re finished.”
The door opened before Zoe could respond. “Hi again.” Lisa, the woman I’d taken care of earlier, stood near the counter, flashing Braylen and Zoe a strained smile when their glances met. She’d changed into a long-sleeve shirt, which was a strange choice because it was extremely warm out, even for as late in the day as it was.
Her demeanor seemed a little off, but perhaps she was socially awkward or maybe she was up to something, although I couldn’t for the life of me fathom what that could be. Not giving in to my paranoia because of my recently heightened anxiety, I stepped forward and placed my hand on her arm. She jerked slightly before plastering her grin back in place.
“Did you find a wallet? I think I might’ve left it here.”
“Not that I know of but let me check.” I searched behind the desk, then at each of the stylist stations as well as the shampooing and drying areas. I found nothing. Lisa remained near the door, looking out the window when I walked up next to her, startling her as Zoe had done to me moments before. “I didn’t find anything. Maybe you lost it after you left.”
“Can you check the back rooms? I really need it.” With each tick of the clock, her behavior became more suspicious. The inside of Transform was cool, but a bead of perspiration glistened on her brow. Her darting eyes put me on alert, but again, I didn’t have any justification for my impending rattling.
Braylen stepped forward. “No one turned in a wallet. Sorry.” Our eyes met, Braylen’s brow lifting in either annoyance or reservation. “But you can leave us your information and if by chance something turns up, we’ll give you a call.” She immediately looked to Zoe and said, “Your father just called. Marek, Stone, and Brick will be here any second. They’re right around the corner.” By the looks on our faces, Zoe and I shared the same confusion. Why would all of them be coming here? Just to escort us home? And why Marek and Stone? If anything, I would’ve thought they’d send Kaden, possibly have Lincoln come back as well.
Lisa’s eyes widened quickly before she glanced back out the window. “I gotta go,” she mumbled before darting out the front door.
“What was all that about?” Zoe touched Braylen’s arm to get her attention off the fleeing woman. “Why would all of them be coming here?”
Braylen finally peeled her eyes from the window and back on to her stepdaughter. “They’re not. I just had a bad feeling something was about to happen and figured if she thought four of our guys would be here any second, whatever they had planned wouldn’t happen.” She could’ve been speaking in a different language for all the sense she made. She didn’t bother to explain anything before flipping over the OPEN sign to CLOSED and locking the front door. “Call your other client and reschedule.”
“But she’s gonna be here in like five minutes,” I protested, still unsure of what was going on.
“I don’t care. Just do it.” It wasn’t like Braylen to be so stern and unyielding, but I didn’t argue, the alarm in my head shoving my stubbornness aside and telling me to listen. “I guess I’m not doing your hair either tonight.”
“That’s fine. Another time.” Zoe left me and followed Braylen toward the back, leaving me to tamp down my rising nerves. The locked door helped some, but I wouldn’t be completely calm until I was home and with Ace.
Lost in the thought of being wrapped up in his arms, my cell vibrating against my butt startled me. Hoping it was the man I’d been thinking about, I reached around and pulled my phone from my pocket, swiping the screen after seeing his name pop up.
“Where are you?” No time for formalities. I needed to see him and hoped he was calling me to tell me he was on his way here. But static was the only sound that greeted me on the other end of the call. “Hello?” No answer. “Ace? Can you hear me?” Still no response. “Because I can’t hear you.” I waited several seconds, but still nothing. “Hello?” After determining we had a bad connection, I hung up and called him right back. It rang once before going to voice mail. With my finger hovering over his name to dial once more, I couldn’t stop the uneasiness from swirling in my belly. Between Braylen’s odd behavior and not being able to talk to Ace when he called, I didn’t know what to think, my anxiety cresting until I was consumed with thoughts I’d rather not entertain.
33
As I lay there, taking air into my lungs, then releasing each breath slowly, I looked up at the ceiling, pricking my ears to my surroundings. But the only sounds I heard were groans, only I didn’t know who made them. They could’ve been coming from our guys or from theirs. Hell, they could’ve been coming from me, but in my current state of fogginess and confusion, I couldn’t readily tell.