“You know what I mean. It’s not the same. I’ve had to…” Lukus let his voice drop off.
“What? Rein it in? Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” he countered.
“Fuck that. I feel sorry for the subs at the first show after this is behind me.”
Markus didn’t say anything, but he knew his friend spoke the truth.
Lukus closed the call. “Derek and I are about to leave here now. Meet you at the diner.”
Markus’s “Later,” fell on deaf ears as the call had dropped.
Today was gonna be a big day. He could feel it, and he always trusted his gut on these things.
Chapter Two
Tiffany
Tiffany glanced down at her watch as her best friend came crashing into the back office of the salon they owned together. Not bad. She was only ten minutes late today.
“Morning, Brianna.”
“I know. I know. I’m late for Mrs. Shriner’s cut and color. Let me just throw my stuff down and I’ll be ready to go.”
“It’s your lucky day,” Tiffany replied. “She called and is running a few minutes late herself.”
Brianna turned, a relieved grin on her face. “That is lucky! Now I might even have time to grab some coffee. I was running so late I had to leave home without it.”
Tiffany whistled. “Wow, you slept in late enough to skip coffee. You must have been up late.”
“I wish. More like up early.”
Having lived with Brianna for several years, Tiffany found that unlikely. The ‘don’t bullshit me’ look on her face must have conveyed her skepticism because Brianna continued.
“Markus had to get up early for a big day in court. I was a good wife and tried to send him off with a smile this morning… if you get my drift.”
“Oh, I get your drift, alright. It really is true love for you two. Only Markus could entice you to get up early. You hate morning sex.”
“I don’t hate morning sex. I hate… shit… never mind.”
“What?” Tiffany had been glancing through the appointment book but when Bri didn’t answer she looked up in time to catch a look on her best friend’s face she knew well.
“Oh no. Not this again.” Impatient with this topic, Tiffany added, “You have to tell him the truth.”
“I can’t,” she whined. “I love him too much. He won’t understand.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Yes, I do. This is all my fault. I was too honest with him when we first started dating.”
Tiffany laughed. “There is no such thing as too much honesty, Bri.”
Kennedy, their star employee, stuck her head in the cracked door to the office. “Mrs. Shriner just got here, Bri.”
“Okay, tell her I’ll be right out. I just need to grab a cup of coffee first,” Brianna answered.
“Got it.”
Tiffany knew better than to waste time arguing with Brianna today about being more honest with her husband. They’d been through it before too many times to count. They’d go through it again as many times as they needed to until Brianna eventually plucked up the courage to talk to her husband about the darker secrets in her past.
Sticking with business, Tiff added, “We’re booked almost solid today and I’m worried about walk-ins. I called Sydney and asked her to come in for a few hours this afternoon. She wasn’t crazy about the idea, but I know she needs the money for her honeymoon. She’s also working tomorrow all day.”
“Smart! Prom season is just starting. We’re gonna be busy.”
“Yeah, and this way we might actually be able to get a lunch in. Let’s do this!”
Several hours and many cups of coffee later, Tiffany’s back was killing her. She’d been on her feet non-stop for almost five hours, working through lunch and grabbing a few bites of a cold sandwich between clients. Glancing at her best friend across the room, she could tell Brianna needed a break as much as she did.
A few minutes later, the bell ringing on the door to the shop was a welcome sound. She expected to see their employee, Sydney, but Tiffany dropped the pile of folded towels she’d been carrying when she saw who was standing in the foyer of The Beauty Box. The smug look on the man’s face made her stomach churn—both anger and fear crashing in on her.
Anger won.
“What the hell are you doing here? Get out now before I call the cops!” she yelled as she stalked toward the tall man, waving her arm and pointing at the door. His expensive suit may fool others, but she knew the truth about the asshole hidden underneath.
“Tiffany, baby, you’re looking as hot as ever. Although you should really lose the smock. It does nothing for showing off that curvy figure of yours.”
“Cut the shit, Jake. You aren’t welcome here. Get out.” She felt all eyes in the salon turning her way as she was uncharacteristically rude to a patron.
“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” His devious smile highlighted his perfect, white teeth.
“We’ve never been friends.”
“Aw, that hurts. And here I thought you’d have learned by now how important I am to a certain someone in your life.” His veiled words brought her fear to the forefront, because she knew he still had the power to destroy more than one person in her life.
Grateful her best friend had gone to the back of the salon for supplies, Tiffany was desperate to get Jake Davenport to leave before he saw Bri.
“You’re as delusional now as you were years ago. Bri hates you, just like I do. And lucky for her, she’s not here so you can take your sorry ass out and don’t bother coming back.”
Jake’s smile didn’t fade, but when he reached up to take his sunglasses off, the chilled ice of his blue eyes was anything but friendly. Tiffany shivered as if that icy gaze could lower the temperature around him.
“That’s a naughty girl, Tiffany. You shouldn’t lie to me like that.”
“I…”
He held his hand up, finally letting his smile slip. “Don’t bother. I know Bri is here. She’s in the back.” He paused, nodding in that direction before letting a small smile return. “I’ll wait.”
“No, you won’t. If you don’t leave in the next thirty seconds, I’m calling the police.”
He moved like a ninja, grabbing her biceps and pulling her against him so fast it took her breath away. Tiffany struggled to free herself from his grip, but Jake overpowered her to whisper against her ear. “Don’t make a scene. We both know you aren’t gonna call the police. If you do, I’ll be forced to share a few special video tapes I’ve been keeping secure in my safe. You wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?”
She’d expected the threat. She’d lived with it for several years now. It didn’t make it any easier to keep her heart from thumping out of her chest. “You don’t scare me anymore, Jake. I’m done letting you blackmail me into silence.”
“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?”
Neither of them had noticed Brianna’s return from the back until she was standing next to them. “Let her go, Jake. Tiffany’s right. I told you last time, you’re never welcome here again. I warned you then we’d call the police.”