Page 30 of Texas Hold Em'
“I’m sorry,” I said, and I meant it. “You’re not going to want to be here in fifteen minutes anyway. Believe me. Maybe one of the other salons will let you use their sinks.”
“I doubt it,” the manager muttered, but she cleared the salon out nonetheless. When she was the last one left, she stood in front of the windows with her arms crossed over her chest. She was a thickly built woman with blue streaks in the front of her black hair. “I can’t leave. I have an important appointment that I can’t miss.”
“I’m taking that appointment for you,” I said.
The manager stiffened before peering out the windows. “Are you… alone?”
“I am.”
“Miss, surely I don’t need to tell you how delicate this situation is. Please, don’t make things worse than they already are for me. I’ve finally found a way to make things work. I don’t want any trouble.”
“I don’t want any trouble either,” I said, trying to speak as gently as possible. I understood that I probably wasn’t making the best impression on her, and she had every reason to be frightened. “Look, I know where you’re coming from. I’m sorry to do this, but please believe me when I tell you, this isn’t about you or the salon. This is private business.”
She shifted her weight from foot to foot.
“Please,” I said softly, “go before she arrives. You can come back in an hour.”
After the manager left, I sat down in one of the salon chairs and stared at my own reflection. I needed this meeting with Caroline to go well. I had too much riding on it to fail—like Jackson’s trust in me, for example.
When I heard the back door open and close, I knew it was showtime.
Caroline’s heels clicked down the tiles until she reached the front of the salon. She wore a pair of designer sunglasses, and she pulled them down when she saw me sitting at one of the stations. Her gaze swept up and down the length of me before her red lips pressed into a condescending smile.
“Well, well, well. I knew it was only a matter of time before you started to look like the trash you’ve been associating with,Ranger.”
I turned slowly in my chair, channeling my inner super villain. I considered pressing my fingertips together but didn’t want to overdo it, so instead I crossed one leg over the other and draped my arms over the rests. “You’re predictably punctual, Caroline.”
“And you’re holding up my collection.” She held up a black designer bag and shook it. “Did Melina give you the cash, or are you intentionally messing with my father’s business deal?”
“I’d hardly call this a business deal. A business deal requires a benefit for both parties involved.”
“Melina’s benefit is that she gets to stay open,” Caroline sneered. “And that she gets to keep breathing. You, on the other hand? I don’t know if you’re going to be so lucky. I should kill you right now. We know what you did last night. That little stunt you pulled? Very cute.”
“Stunt?” I laughed, even though my insides were shrinking. Caroline was equally as menacing as her father and harder to read. “Have you ever looked up the definition of a sociopath, Caroline?”
“I’m so much more complicated than that.”
If by complicated she meant batshit, then she was right on the money.
“What are you doing here, Hart? What do you want?”
I stood up. “I wanted to discuss an opportunity with you. A deal. Something that would actually benefit both parties involved.”
Caroline flicked her long white ponytail over her shoulder and rolled her shoulders like a preening bird. “Do I dare entertain the proposals of one of the Devil’s sluts?”
She’s just trying to ruffle your feathers. Force your end. Stay cool.
I looked down at my outfit. “You like it? Convincing, right?”
Caroline’s blue eyes narrowed, and she reminded me of a cat. “Spit it out, Hart.”
“Did you really think I’d throw away all my values? I came here to do good work. Honest work. I didn’t come here to screw bikers and put bodies in the ground. Yet here I am, probably wanted for murder and seeking solace in the Devil’s den because I don’t have anywhere else to turn. This isn’t what I wanted, Caroline.”
“Then what do you want?”
“To go home.”
“Of course.” Caroline sighed. “Little southern belle misses her daddy.”
