Page 59 of Solemn Vow

I bury my face into his neck, suddenly chilled. He wraps his arms around me, holding me close.

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Marlena,” he vows, rubbing his chin against my head. “I will burn the world to the ground to keep you safe. No one will ever hurt you like that again.” His fingers trail over my shoulder with the scars.

I’ve heard plenty of empty promises in my life.

I can tell when a man is bullshitting me with a fake protector vibe.

Viktor means what he says.

I saw the anger in his eyes when I explained the scars.

He moves his legs so he can drape one over me when a shiver takes hold.

“There are towels in the cabinet by the door,” he says, but holds me tighter, giving me his warmth.

His determination to keep me is making my decision to stay away harder to enforce. The more he proves to be exactly what he says he is, the harder it’s going to be to walk away from this.

From him.

But history always repeats itself.

I’m going to get hurt if I stay too long.

And this time, it might be the death of me.

I can feelmy heart beating in my feet by the end of my shift. Between blowouts, dye jobs, highlights, haircuts, and one permanent, I’m exhausted.

“I absolutely love this color!” my last client gushes as she runs her fingers through the long locks of fire engine red.

“The color is prone to fade and with your natural hair coloring being so light, your roots are going to come through quick. Maybe see me in four to six weeks to make sure we keep the color strong.” I look at her through the mirror. “And pick up some of the conditioner up front, the girls know which one.”

If I wasn’t going on hour nine of my day, I’d probably have a better chance of remembering the name of it. But as it is, I can’t think of much else than getting out of these boots and into my fluffy slippers when I get home.

“I will. Thanks so much for doing this. No one thought this color would look good on me.” She gathers her purse from the hook on my station.

“Bold color for a bold woman.” I grin. Her brown eyes pop with this coloring and she has the perfect complexion for it. “Trust yourself.”

She thanks me again then heads to the front. I take a second and sink into the chair and lean back with my eyes closed.

While I’m tired, I can’t help but be grateful that I had such a full schedule. I’m getting more clients asking for me by name. There’s actually a wait list for my hours on Friday.

“Marlena, oh, good. You’re still here.” Mrs. Randall pops up behind me.

I throw open my eyes and scramble out of the chair to face her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She eyes my station with the remnants of the last client strewn about. “Long day?”

I sigh with a small smile. “Yes, but a good one.” I pick up the client cover-up I just dropped. “How can I help you?”

“My daughter’s school is putting on a play next Friday. The music director hired a hairstylist to help with the girls’ hair and makeup, but they’ve had to cancel on the school. There’s drama.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyway, my brother suggested you. His daughter goes to the same school.”

His daughter? Michael is on his third wife, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he’d be having another set of kids even at his age, seeing as his wives run on the young side.

Michael’s behind this visit.

“Oh.” Tension builds in my shoulders.

“The job’s yours if you want it. It’s next Saturday, they’ll want you there at two. The play starts at five. It pays two thousand dollars.”

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