by Becca Van
“Are you here to get your haircut?”
“If you think you’re up to it.” Emmy smiled.
Tami frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, because you’ve had a bit of a shock.”
“Understatement of the year,” Tami muttered.
Emmy giggled. “We’ll wait for you out front.”
“’Kay,” she replied distractedly.
“Are you okay, baby?” Zayn asked as he clenched his fists tightly to prevent himself from grabbing her and pulling her back into his arms. He wanted to haul her up against him and slant his mouth over hers. Once he’d kissed her breathless, he wanted to sling her over his shoulder, race toward the truck, and get home so he could strip her down and feast on that soft, sexy body. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair with resigned reluctance. His mate had clients waiting on her, and he and his brothers needed to open their own store up again.
For the first time since they’d relocated to Ambrose, Zayn wished they didn’t have any obligations. He wanted to spend every waking moment he had with his woman, but they needed to ease her into their life, not hit her over the head with a sledgehammer with all the information at one time. He didn’t want Tami to have any excuse to turn her back on him or his brothers.
It’d break his heart into pieces if she decided to leave.
“I need to…” Tami pointed toward the salon.
“Go and do what you need to, baby,” Zayn urged. “Once Karter and Jace have changed back and dressed, we’ll leave by the back door so we don’t disturb your customers.”
“There’s a back door?” Tami glanced about.
“Yes, baby.” Zayn grasped her arm, guided her to the doorway, and then pointed to another door at the end of the small hallway. “That door leads to a narrow alley that runs behind your shop. If you turn left, you’ll end up in the parking lot between the pub and the motel. If you turn right and follow the laneway to the end, it’ll take you to the side street off of Main Street.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Tami.” Zayn cupped her cheek, leaned down, and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He so wanted to devour that sexy mouth, but if he started, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop, and they still needed to tell her that she was their mate. He didn’t want to make a move on their woman until all the cards were laid out on the table. Tami needed to make an informed decision without any persuasion on his or his brothers’ behalf.
Zayn wanted her to want them for who they were, not because they’d seduced her or cajoled her into agreeing to be theirs.
* * * *
Tami had no idea how long she stood in the small hall staring after Zayn, even though she couldn’t see him. He’d entered the break room again and had closed the door. She guessed for privacy so Jace and Karter could change back into their human forms and dress without being ogled by the other women. Though she had no idea how they’d be able to see them since there were walls in the way. Her mind was racing around in circles as well as going off on ridiculous tangents. Now she had images of the women using x-ray vision to stare through the walls at the guys’ sexy, naked bodies. Tami shook her head and pushed that ludicrous thought aside before turning on her heels and hurrying out to greet her customers.
“Are you still with us, Tami?” Dusty asked as she rubbed a protective hand over her pregnant belly.
Tami nodded. “I think so. Are you sure you want me to cut your hair today?” She met each of the women’s gazes before continuing on. “I’m still a little shell-shocked and could end up making a mistake. I don’t want to send any of you home bald or have your men angry enough to come after me.”
“Mates,” Kenzie said.
“What?”
“Our men are our mates, and we’re theirs,” Emmy said.
Tami blinked and then shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s lucky you have us to explain everything,” Pixie said.
“Yeah,” Dusty agreed. “If left to your mates, you’d still be in the dark twelve months from now.”
Tami had just picked up a pair of sterilized scissors. She almost dropped them when she heard Dusty’s declaration.
“Shit, Dusty. She’s gone as pale as a ghost. She obviously didn’t know.” Pixie rushed over to her, clasped her elbow, and guided Tami toward a chair. “Sit.”
Tami obeyed the tiny woman’s order without argument.
“Do you want a glass of water?” Emmy asked.
She shook her head and finally managed to speak even if her tone was a little high-pitched. “Mate?”
“Just sit there and breathe while we explain everything to you,” Dusty said, plopping into an empty workstation.
“None of us knew that shape-shifters existed either until we met our mates,” Emmy said. “We all ended up in Ambrose trying to escape from evil men or terrible situations we found ourselves in.”
“Emmy was the first to arrive, and she was attracted to her guys straight away,” Pixie said. “I came next and was so in lust with my mates I was practically drooling every time I looked at them.”
“As soon as I met my bears, I fell in love, but it took a while for my head to catch up with my heart,” Dusty said.
“I arrived a few months ago, and I was scared out of my mind since I had the American leader of the Chinese Triad after me,” Kenzie explained. “We’ve all been in danger, and if it wasn’t for our mates and the other shifters in Ambrose, none of us would be alive today.”
“When a shifter meets their mate, the attraction is electrifying and instant. They have a hard time controlling their animals since the primal instinct is to claim that one special woman meant for them right away,” Emmy said.
“Yet none of them did.” Pixie smiled. “The men are strong and would never have taken away our freedom of choice. The guys in this town can be overbearingly authoritative, but that’s understandable since they’re all alphas.”
Dusty nodded. “They can be smothering at times but only because they love us so much and don’t like the thought of any of us being in danger or getting hurt.”
“They might be big, rugged, and muscular, but they all have hearts of pure gold underneath those domineering attitudes,” Kenzie said.
“Mates?” Tami shook her head.
All four of the other women nodded in unison. If she hadn’t been so shocked, she would have laughed at the humorous sight. Tami didn’t think she could take anymore. She pushed everything she learned since she’d woken that morning from her mind, rose, scissors still in hand, and gazed at the women. “Who’s first, and what are you all having done?”
Dusty held up her hand. “If the others don’t mind, I’d like to go first.” She grimaced and patted her protruding belly. “Juniors very active, and since the room inside of me is limited, he always seems to kick and roll onto my bladder. I swear I’m peeing nearly every half-hour.”
The other women laughed. Tami smiled. She’d always wanted to have babies but hadn’t thought she’d ever find anyone to settle down with. If what these women had told her was right, she could have three men all chasing after her.
After draping a cape over Dusty and combing her hair out, Tami met the other woman’s gaze in the mirror. “What do you want done?”
“Actually, I want a whole new haircut. With the baby coming, I’m not going to have the time or the inclination to be doing my hair every morning. I still want to be able to put it up if I want, but I want it shorter. I’m just not sure how I want it styled.”
“Do you trust me?” Tami asked.
“Yes,” Dusty answered with a smile. “Have at it, girlfriend.”
For the next few hours, Tami cut, styled and blow-dried the women’s hair. When she was finished with her last new customer and her newfound friends, she was tired but happy with the results, and from the way the other women were admiring themselves in the mirrors, they were happy, too.
“I can’t believe how different
I look.” Dusty giggled. “I love what you’ve done, Tami. My hair was always so damn straight, but now I have waves.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
“We all do,” Emmy said as she and the other women walked toward the desk. Tami followed them. “How much do we owe you?”
“Nothing.” Tami shook her head. “Your first cuts on are the house.”
“That’s no way to run a business.” Pixie frowned.
“Actually, I was hoping that all the guys in town would see how much you all like your new do’s and book appointments.”
“That’s smart, but we’re not about to take advantage of you or your time, Tami. We’re paying for our haircuts, and nothing you do or say is going to change our minds,” Kenzie stated emphatically.
“What she said.” Emmy grinned as she pointed to Kenzie.
With a sigh of reluctance, Tami accepted the women’s money, but she didn’t charge them full price. She was just getting established, and she knew they were going to be great friends. She’d never had such a great network of acquaintances before and hoped that she’d be able to spend more time getting to know these wonderful women better.
After seeing them out, Tami swept the floor, sterilized her trade tools, and cleaned up. Once done, she went in back, made herself a cup of coffee, and took it out front again. She’d just sat down at the front desk and computer to enter her sales when the door opened. She smiled at the big man who entered and rose.
“Hi, welcome to Tami’s Hair Salon. How can I help you?”
The man was so big with dark hair and dark brown eyes, and there was such an intimidating air of confidence emanating from him she had to consciously concentrate on not stepping back.
“I want a haircut.”
Tami blinked because that was kind of obvious, but she pinned a smile to her face and swept her arm out. “Please come and sit down.” She pulled a chair back from a workstation and, after he was seated, lowered the height of the chair before draping his body with a cape. “My name’s Tami. How would you like me to cut your hair?”
“Preston Louis.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Preston.” Tami frowned, sure she’d heard Zayn, Karter, and Jace mention the name before. And then it hit her. He and his brothers were retired FBI agents. Tami became really nervous and fumbled when she reached for the clean scissors. They ended up falling to the floor. She picked them up, put them in the sterilizing solution, and grabbed another pair of scissors. All the while she was cutting his hair, she was aware of his scrutiny. She had a feeling he’d labeled her as guilty without ever hearing her side of the story. She pulled her lips into a tight line, avoiding his gaze as she went about her work. When she was done, she brushed the hair away from his face, the back of his neck, undid, and removed the cape.
When he shoved to his feet, she stepped away, telling herself she was giving the big man room to move and it wasn’t because she was scared out of her mind. There was just something so dark and brooding about him.
“I know you’re in trouble, Tamika. My brothers and I have an agent friend looking into the situation for you.”
She sighed with relief when Preston stayed where he was with his hands at his sides and she realized he knew she was scared of him. Some of the tension in her shoulders eased. “Thanks, I appreciate that.”
“Is there anything you can remember your father saying that was strange or doing something that wasn’t usual?”
Tami shook her head. “I knew there was something going on because he wasn’t his usual happy self, but I had no idea what. Do you think he knew someone was stealing money from him? I know the police and FBI think my dad was embezzling, but as far as I know, he didn’t need to. The house we lived in was bought and paid for with cash. He hired staff to cook, clean, and garden. If there was a cash flow problem, they would have been the first people to be let go.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “None of this makes sense. My father didn’t…he wasn’t the type to…” Tami pressed her lips together and blinked rapidly when tears stung her eyes.
She startled when Preston squeezed her shoulder and met his gaze again. His dark brown eyes had softened and were soulful. “You think he was murdered, don’t you?”
Tami nodded and swallowed around the emotional constriction in her throat before answering, “I do.”
“If someone killed your father, my friend will find the bastard.”
“Thank you. I know you don’t have any reason to trust me or take my word for anything, but I appreciate that you believe me on my say-so.” When he glanced away, Tami realized that he was feeling guilty or he didn’t believe her at all. Had he just come in to get his hair cut so he could scope her out? She scowled at him. “You do believe me, don’t you?”
“I do now.”
“Thanks so much,” Tami replied facetiously.
“I couldn’t just go on your mates’ say-so. I’m sure you understand.”
“You had me investigated?” she asked angrily.
“I did.”
She scowled at him when she didn’t see any contrition on his face or in his eyes. She was about to tell him off but stopped to think before she said something she might regret.
“I’m sorry if that upsets you, Tami, but those men are my friends. I will do anything and everything within my power to protect those I care about,” Preston declared. “I had to make sure you were innocent.”
She sighed again and ran her fingers through her hair. Tami winced when her fingers got snagged in a braid. She’d forgotten she’d put it up so she could work and quickly lowered her hand again. “I don’t like that you came in here with an ulterior motive, but I do understand. If I was in your shoes, I’d be skeptical, too.”
Preston didn’t reply, just nodded and smiled as he walked toward the front. “How much for the cut?”
Tami named the price, and after retrieving his wallet from his pocket, he handed her a fifty-dollar bill. She rang up the sale and was already gathering his change when she heard the door open and looked up.
“Keep the change,” Preston said. “You deserve a tip after putting up with me and for the great cut. You can relax by the way. I know you weren’t lying.”
Tami didn’t get to respond because he was already gone.
Chapter Seven
“I’m still following her.” Chad clenched his jaw as Browning ranted and raved at him.
“Why haven’t you fucking contacted me to let me know what you’ve found? I told you to keep me updated. Are you fucking stupid as well as incompetent?”
If Chad hadn’t taken the money from the whiney bastard, he would have told him to shove his job up his ass, but he had and he’d never revoked on a promise or a contract. However, he was seriously debating on going back on his word. “I haven’t called because I don’t have squat yet. I’m still following her trail. I have to be careful I don’t get caught hacking into various cities CCTVs. It’s not like I can just snap my fingers or wiggle my nose and know where she is.”
“Asshole. You don’t get to talk to me that way. I’m your fucking boss, and you’ll do what I fucking well tell you to. Where was she the last you saw?”
“Santa Fe, New Mexico.”
“I hope you’re in New Mexico then.”
“I am,” Chad lied. He was still in Las Vegas, but he wasn’t about to tell the prick that. It was pointless for him to traipse all over the country when he had no idea where Tamika was. He’d be wasting time and money doing that. He’d go after her when he knew where she was and not a moment sooner.
“Good. Keep me fucking posted.” Browning disconnected the call.
Chad sighed with frustration. He had a feeling he’d have a sore eardrum if the bastard had called him from a landline. He could just imagine the fucker slamming the handset back into the cradle on one of those older phones. Thank fuck for technology. He might not have been able to follow the bitch if he hadn’t had great hacking or computer skills.
Chad had been trying to d
ecide if this job was worth the angst, but if he didn’t follow through, he’d have to pay the asshole back the money. If he hadn’t been in danger of losing his family home, he would have told the bastard to fuck off.
Luckily, he didn’t take anyone at face value, and he’d dug into Jeremy Browning’s life. The prick had been living the high life, and Chad suspected he was the asshole behind the missing money from Darnel’s company. Of course, he hadn’t been alone. The big man himself, Daniel Darnel had been skimming funds from the top of accounts for years. What had puzzled him at first, though, was that Daniel Darnel’s records had been squeaky clean. Therefore, Chad had started digging deeper. It had taken him awhile to figure out that Darnel had hidden the money in an offshore account, but instead of using his daughter’s name as Chad had suspected, the clever bastard had used a combination of his daughter’s name as well as his deceased wife’s maiden name. From what he could tell, the account had to hold millions of dollars. Chad wanted to get his hands on that money.
He’d tried hacking into the Swiss Bank, but the security system, firewalls, and such were just too good. He’d had a hell of a time backing away without being caught. From the research he’d done on the foreign institution, the only way he was getting his hands on that cash was by grabbing the daughter. The security was phenomenally good and required DNA from the account holder to gain access.
Chad had no idea how Daniel Darnel had set that account up without his daughter’s knowledge but guessed that having family DNA would get the bitch in with no worries. A single strand of hair would be enough.
Once he found the resourceful slut, he was going to get his just desserts. He still had no idea how she’d managed to escape without him noticing and it pissed him off, but he wasn’t giving up until he had what he wanted, and once he had all the money, he’d eliminate Browning. He’d have to make the fucker’s death look like an accident or from natural causes, but only after he made sure there was no way the authorities could trace him through that asshole.