Eleven
Gineva
I wrap my arms around Juice and try to catch my breath as I slowly come back down to earth. My limbs are like noodles, and when I rest my head on his shoulder, I fight to stay awake. His strong arms band around me, holding so tight it’s a bit of a struggle to fill my lungs with oxygen. We stay like this, in comfortable silence, for a long time before I realize I’ve completely left him hanging. I lean back and move my hand down his body, but he grabs my wrist before I make it far.
“No way. When you put your hands on me, it’s not going to be quick. I’m going to have you somewhere I can take my time and enjoy everything you’re gonna give me.”
I look up and see the house of glass across the road, and I’m ready to get back up to the room I ran from.
He must read my thoughts, because he says, “But not tonight. Tonight, you’re going to let me hold you while you sleep and I check you every hour to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.” I rub the back of my head where the little knot is already going down.
“Then… I’m going to take you on a real date for once.”
“We’ve been on a hundred dates.” I smile at the memories of everything we did our senior year.
I can’t believe I worked so hard to keep this man locked out. The self-preservation side of me still says to proceed with caution, but my beating heart says to open the door wide and let this feeling consume me. Let it sweep me off my feet and carry me on a cloud. Nothing in this world has ever made me feel the way Juice does, and being back in his arms has left me powerless to fight. I’m so damn tired of keeping up my defenses. I just want to feel again. Feel every emotion he stirs in me.
“Yeah, but I’ve never gotten to take you out as my woman. And I’d like to not just take my best friend out, but also the girl who stole my heart and never gave it back.”
I grab his blond beard and tug his chin up, his words filling in the cracks in my heart he left behind. His hands on my body have awakened a part of me that have been dormant. “You keep saying sweet things like that and I’m not going to be able to wait.”
He unties the back of his shirt I’m wearing, picks me up, and places me on the ground, making sure the shirt is pulled down and completely covering me.
“Let’s get you fed and up to bed. I’ve got a date to plan for tomorrow night.” He turns around, giving me his back, and dips down. “Jump on my back, babe. I can’t have you attempting that road barefoot again.”
I climb on board and let him carry me back to the house and back to our second chance.
***
The next morning, I get to the salon early in hopes of combing through the books again to see if my suspicions are correct. After spending an hour going over the financials and inventory reports over the last two years, I find a lot of little things that don’t add up. Sway is due in any second and I don’t want him freaking out about this until I know what’s really going on, so I grab my phone and pull up the only other person I know who can help me. Thankfully, Juice programmed in the new numbers this morning.
“Hello.” The deep timbre comes through the line in panting breaths.
“Caleb. Hi, it’s Gin. I’m sorry to interrupt…” Oh shit, what am I interrupting?
“Just running, no big deal. What’s up?”
Oh, thank God. “I was wondering if you could recommend someone to do a little recon work for me. I need it to be discreet. If Sway finds out I’m looking into his girls, he’ll freak out.”
Caleb laughs. “Yeah, for the sake of our eardrums, let’s not make Sway panic. You say you want discreet?”
“Yes. I need one hundred percent confidentiality.”
“I know the perfect man.”
Caleb recommends Corps Security, giving a brief rundown on everyone who works there and the ties they have to the girls at the salon. He tells me about the specific person he thinks will work the best for me, and I jot everything down. After we hang up, I make a quick call to set up an appointment. Luckily, he can see me today.
I spend the rest of the morning dodging Sway’s constant attention. If he tries to check my pupils one more time, I’m going to have to smack his sassy ass. I appreciate the concern, but my head and I are totally fine.
“If you want to help, don’t leave glitter on the floor for someone to fall on.” I raise an eyebrow at Sway.
“Why don’t you let Sway give you a new ’do for that sexy blond Adonis of yours? Get his motor running if you know what I mean.” Then he mocks me, and raises his own eyebrow, followed by a wiggle. This guy.
I’ll give him credit—he distracts me with thoughts of Jarrett. I shake the vision and work on figuring out a way to go to Corps Security, which is right next door, without being noticed. “I’m going to walk down the block to grab some lunch. I’ll be back. Do you want anything?”
“No, sweet child, Sway needs to keep his girlie figure.” He runs his hand down the side of his body. “I need to keep my man happy.”
“Pops!” his daughter, Stella, yells from her station then rolls her eyes at her over-the-top father.
I take a second to check out the salon floor. Dani is working on a client, and Stella is cleaning her station. Let’s see… Maddi and Lyn are doing a bridal party consultation while Amy is sweeping the waiting room. That girl must have ADHD, because she is always doing something. As I complete my scan, I find Tammy Jo once again reading a magazine. This time she’s sitting in the waiting area while Amy sweeps around her feet.
This shit has to stop.
I slip out the door and go to my car, discreetly stuffing my hoodie and sunglasses in my oversized purse. I head around to the side of the building, as if walking to lunch, and put on the hoodie and sunglasses. I stall for a few minutes, then I make my way from the other direction as fast as I can before slipping into Corps Security. No sooner do I get through the door than I slam face first into a wall.
“Whoa.” Two ginormous hands grab my shoulders, preventing me from hitting the ground. “Shouldn’t you be in school right now?” The giant literally picks me up and places me to the side.
I keep my head down, not sure who will possibly recognize me and rat me out to Sway.
“Dad, I need to get back to Dirty Dog and there’s a random kid out here,” he calls toward the back.
Jesus… I groan inwardly. I’m not a fucking kid.
“Thanks, Nate, I’ll see you at the house for supper tonight.”
I chance a look through my sunglasses and see another giant man in the lobby. Did I just walk into some growth hormone study center?
“You lost, young lady?” His tone is soft and kind.
“I have an appointment. My name is Luciana.” Dumb me couldn’t come up with anything off the cuff, so I gave them my sister’s name when I made the appointment. Clearly, I suck at the PI business.
“You came to the right place, Luciana,” he soothes. One hundred percent misreading this situation. “You’re safe here.”
Holy shit, he probably thinks I’m a battered child or something. I tuck my chin. May as well keep my cover. “Thank you, sir.”
Special Agent Pip Squeak, at your service.
He looks at the computer screen on the reception desk. “Follow me. He’s waiting on you.” He gives me a kind smile. “I’m Axel, by the way. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you come straight here, okay?”
I nod and curl in on myself a bit to really amp up the show, keeping my sunglasses in place. “Thank you again, sir.”
I now realize that this is Axel Reid, Dani’s dad. Caleb warned me that Axel will lose his absolute shit if he thinks any trouble is brewing around his daughter or in the salon, and he said to avoid Axel in this situation if I want it to remain quiet.
Overprotective dads are the best, aren’t they?
He leads me through a door, into a room where multiple computers line the desk. Huge monitors cover the dark walls, and what looks like surveillance footage on multiple locations covers the screens.
“Luciana’s here.” Axel gently squeezes my shoulder.
“Close the door.” The deep timbre coming from behind the screens scares me a little, and for a split second, I’m not one hundred percent sure I should be left alone.
“I’ll be right down the hall.” Axel leaves, and I debate following him.
A pregnant pause fills the air before the man behind the screens finally stands.
What in the actual hell do these men eat around here? They’re batting three for three in the giant department, except this one is dark. Not in a literal sense, but in a “don’t spend one second fucking with me” sense. He looks about the same age as Axel, with some salt sprinkled through his black hair. His dark, virtually black, eyes are intense and leave little room for any bullshit.
“Are you a kid?” He cocks his head and studies me, his expression softening. “Are you hurt?”
“Why would you think…?”
“Sunglasses. Hoodie.” He waves his bear paw in my general direction. “It’s ninety-five degrees outside.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I pull off the sunglasses then remove the hoodie. “I just needed to sneak in.”
He takes in my very adult outfit, and his lips go into a thin line. I wonder briefly if I’ve pissed him off, but decide to push forward, knowing that I can always scream for Axel and he’ll probably come and save me.
“My name is Gineva Derosa.” I extend my hand and pray for the best. “You came highly recommended to do some discreet work for me.”
“Maddox Locke.” His hand swallows mine. “You’re not an abused child.” It’s a statement, not a question. When his arms go across his chest, I know I’d better just hurry this shit along.
“Um… no, I-I was wondering if you could do some work for me without your partners knowing?” I nod toward the door that Axel left through.
His dark, serious eyes study me with a sharp intensity. “How about you fill me in on what you’re here for, and I’ll decide who needs to know about it.”
All righty then… “I think someone is robbing Sway.”
This grabs his attention, but he remains stoic. “What do you know about Sway’s? My Maddi works there, and I sure as fuck would know if something was going on.”
Shit. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. “Sorry, maybe I need to find someone else for this.” I turn to leave.
“Sit,” he barks. Nodding to the empty seat.
My ass hits the chair so fast I get a little dizzy.
“Tell me what you believe is going on, and I will fix it.”
Sounds simple enough. I take a deep breath. “Sway has hired me to help get his shop on track. He’s slowly running out of money and has been for a while, but he has no idea why. When I looked into his files, I noticed that not everything is balancing out. Yes, he spends too much and he gives the girls extra all the time, but after the large amount of money he made doing Sway All the Way, he shouldn’t be anywhere near the debt he’s heading toward. And fast. Which in the end leads me to believe that one of the girls is skimming from him.” I bite my fingernail as I look at the statue of a man across from me.
His expression gives away nothing. He remains silent for a long time and I contemplate going to grab Axel, but I’ve come this far and don’t want to blow my cover just yet.
“I know this may be a conflict of interest with Maddi working there—”
“Consider it done.” He types rapid-fire on his keyboard, faster than I figured those big hands could move, then levels me with his stare. “I’ll figure out who’s stealing, remove the rat bastard, and get Sway back on track.”
I exhale in relief. “How can I help?”
A full smile covers his face and stops my heart at the same time. The man is scary and stunning all at once. “I’ll be in and out, have this shit fixed, and Sway won’t even know I was there until I haul the thief off to jail myself.”
“Oh… ahhh, great.” I stand and start to put my disguise back on. “So what should I do in the meantime?”
“I’ll be in touch.” He walks me to the door, deciding for the both of us that this meeting is over.
I slip out, thankful for no other run-ins, and head off to finally get some lunch. I’m feeling better already, because after meeting Maddox Locke, I know for certain that whatever is going on in that salon, it will be taken care of.
Even if the man does scare the shit out of me.