The Tangled Series Complete Digital Boxed Set (Bad Boy Rock Star, Millionaire, and MMA Fighter Bundle) (48 page)

Sera

After Thane and I took showers, we dropped off Emma at school and headed toward the salon.

“What should we tell people?” I asked, staring out the window.

“About what?”

I turned to him. “About us driving in to work together.”

He grinned wickedly. “Let’s give them something to yack about. We’ll tell them I stayed overnight at your house and see what everyone is saying by the end of the day. Hell, you’ll be pregnant with our child and dragging me to the altar before closing time, with the way those ladies gossip.”

I frowned. “No. I definitely don’t want them thinking that we’re sleeping together.”

“Who said they’d think we were sleeping?”

“Ha, ha… funny.”

He chuckled. “Fine, I’ll just tell them your car needed to be fixed and you called me to get a ride.”

“Okay. That sounds good.”

“Although, it might be wise to give them a heads-up in regards to Ray. If he actually does show up, I don’t want any of them getting hurt.”

I put my hand on my forehead and closed my eyes. “I don’t know if I can do that. They’re going to ask me all kinds of questions, and I hate talking about Ray or the things he’s done. I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about him now.”

“I’m not asking you to get into every sordid detail about your life together. Just let them know you have a nutty ex who might show up at the shop. One that might be dangerous. It’s not fair to leave them in the dark. You wouldn’t want to be.”

I put my hand down and looked at him. He was absolutely right. “Yes, you’re right. We should probably post a picture of him, too.”

“I’ll print one out.”

My eyes widened. “From where?”

“The Internet. It’s amazing what you can find there.”

My phone began to ring.

“It’s Fred,” I said, staring at the screen. I answered it.

“Everything okay at home?” he asked.

“Yes, Fred. We’re fine. Did you find Sam?”

He sighed. “No. I talked to Dooly again this morning and he’s going to put out a Missing Person’s Alert in the next couple of hours if we still don’t hear anything.”

“Thank goodness,” I replied. “It’s ridiculous that they wait so long. We already know he’s missing.”

“Believe me, I’ve argued the same thing all morning, but, it’s procedure. It’s like that everywhere. Even when I was an active cop, it used to get my goat. The waiting. Anyway, I’m going to try and round up some folks to start searching the woods near his home.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said quickly. “Especially near the water.”

“Water?” he repeated. “You mean near Lake Union?”

“Yes. Lake Union.”

“You… you getting some kind of premonition about that?” he asked, sounding a little choked up.

I cringed. I hated hurting Fred and decided to play it off. There was still a chance I was wrong. “Not really, but if Ray
did
do something to Sam, he’d probably try to throw him into the lake. To get rid of the evidence.”

“I see. Yeah, you’re right. Uh,”
sniff.
“Could you pardon me for a second, Sera?”

“Sure.”

I could hear him blowing his nose. He got back on the line after a few seconds. “So, you don’t know for sure if he’s dead?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know,” I replied, feeling frustrated. Thinking about it, shielding Fred from the pain now wasn’t going to do him any favors in the long run.

“You’re confusing me, Sera.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Look, I do feel like water has something to do with Sam’s whereabouts. Whether he is alive or dead, I’m not really sure.”

“Emma thought he was dead,” he said in a quiet voice.

“Well, Emma’s still just a little girl. One with a big imagination.”

“And a momma who is a psychic.”

I sighed. “If that’s what you really want to call it.”

“That’s exactly what I call it.” He sighed. “Listen, I’ve got a call coming through on the other line. I’ll get in contact with you later today and let you know if we find anything. Call me if you hear anything more from that jackass, Ray.”

“Okay,” I said, biting my nail. I stared down at it and frowned – here I was responsible for making other people’s nails look pretty and mine looked like crap because of all the stress.

At least you’re alive
, I thought.
And so is Emma.

“Take care, Fred.”

“You, too. And stay close to Thane.”

I glanced over at him. Thane was practically a stranger, but right now, I felt more protected and safe than I ever had with my husband. “I certainly will.”

Thane

When we arrived at the shop, Sera and I walked in together.

“Where is everyone?” I asked Felicia, who was standing at the front talking to one of the part-time receptionists, Mindy.

“Tiffany won’t be in until one,” she replied. “Sinclair is in the back somewhere. And the others should be walking in any minute.”

“Okay, we need to have a quick meeting when everyone is here. I just need a couple minutes of your time.”

“Sure. So… were you two kids pulling into the parking lot together in
your
car, T?” asked Felicia, with a gleam in her eye.

“Yes. Sera’s car is in the shop and she asked me for a ride.”

Felicia snapped her fingers. “Damn. And I thought maybe you two were getting your freak on together or something.”

“Like we’d tell you if it was true,” I teased.

Sera’s jaw dropped. “Thane! Don’t listen to him, Felicia. Our relationship is strictly… platonic. He just wants to start some gossip.”

Felicia looked at me and smirked. “You want us to start some gossip? You’d better be careful for what you wish for, Mufasa.”

“Believe me,” I said, walking past her. “I know I need to be careful around this place. In fact, I’m going to shut myself inside of my office for the next couple of hours.”

“You do that while we come up with something steamy to spread about you,” she hollered. “Don’t worry, Sera, we’ll leave you out of it.”

I sighed, wondering what I’d gotten myself into now.

Women.

“Thane?” called Sera, catching up with me.

“Yeah?”

“So, do you really think I should tell them about Ray?”

“Definitely. Like I said, I’m going to print out a picture of him and we’ll make sure everyone sees it.”

She suddenly looked very tired. “Okay.”

I offered an encouraging smile. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”

“I hope so. I’m more frightened for Emma than anything, Thane. I’m afraid he’s going to find her and…” she blinked back tears. “Take her away from me. To think of that happening scares the living hell out of me.”

My smile fell. “Listen to me, Sera; that’s not going to happen. In fact, I’ve been thinking – maybe you should stay with me for a while. You and Emma.”

She bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. Fred will be back soon. He can watch over us. Besides, Emma wouldn’t understand, and I don’t want to frighten her any more than she already is.”

“Well then maybe we should try and talk Fred into getting a real security system. He can’t be there all the time, and he has to sleep.”

“Maybe. Doesn’t that cost a lot of money?”

“Not that much. Besides, can you actually put a price on either of your safety?”

“No. You’re right. I’ll talk to him about it. He’s going to sell me his house anyway. Maybe I’ll just pay for it myself now.”

“You’re buying his house?”

“Yes. He’s marrying Arlene and moving into her place next door.”

I grinned. “That’s fantastic. I’m happy for both of them.”

“Me, too. They’re a nice couple.”

“Sera, Jenny Frater is here,” said Felicia, stepping behind the partition.

“Thanks. I’ll be right up,” replied Sera.

Felicia walked over to her chair and began rummaging through her supplies. Something told me she was paying more attention to us than what was in her drawers.

“We can talk more about this on the ride home,” said Sera. “I’d better put my things away and take care of Jenny.”

“Good idea. And, I’ll be in my office if anyone needs anything,” I said loudly, walking away.

As I neared the restroom, the door opened and Sinclair stepped out.

“Hey, Sinclair.”

“Hi,” she said, avoiding my eyes.

“You okay?” I asked, noticing that her nose was red and her eyes were slightly swollen.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just allergies,” she said, forcing a smile.

To me it looked like she’d been crying. “Huh. Do you take medication for it?”

“Medication?”

“Yeah, you know… allergy medication.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, yes. Sometimes.”

“You really okay?”

“Yes. Thanks for asking,” she replied, clearing her throat. “I’m going to get ready for my nine-thirty appointment.”

“Okay. Just… if you need someone to talk to. I mean, I’m sure I’m not your first choice when it comes to… talking about your personal life, but my door is always open. Also, I can give you a male’s perspective on things. If, you need to discuss something that has to do with a man, that is…” I said, stumbling on what I was trying to say. “Uh, I might be able to shed some light on things, especially if they fuck up. I’ve got a lot of experience in that area.”

She smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. By the way, I’d like to have a short meeting around one o’clock. Just need two minutes. So try to schedule your lunch around that, if you could.”

“I brought my lunch, so I’ll be here regardless.”

“Okay. Let the others know as they get here, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“I’ll let them know.”

“Thanks,” I replied, walking into my office.

An hour later, as I was researching security systems on the Internet, my cell phone rang.

It was Fred.

“Fred. What’s happening?”

“Well, I’ve got some very good news and some not so good news.”

“Why don’t you start with the very good news?”

“Actually, it’s more like a damn miracle. Ray Daniels was pulled over for drunk driving a couple of hours ago. Just found out about it from Sheriff Dooly.”

My eyes widened in shock. “You’re kidding. Where?”

“In Fort Lewis.”

“I’ll be damned. Are they sure it’s him?”

“Oh, it’s definitely him. He even admitted it. I guess they’re going to question him on Sam’s disappearance and hopefully they’ll be able to get him to talk, or… find some kind of evidence of foul play.”

“So, I take it the fact that you don’t know where Sam is yet is the bad news.”

Fred sighed. “You got it. But, at least they have Ray in custody, and hopefully we’ll get some answers here real soon.”

“I hope so, too, buddy.”

“I’ve got to go, someone’s beeping in. Could you tell Sera? I tried calling her but she didn’t answer her phone.”

“We’re at the shop and she’s probably with a customer. I’ll let her know, Fred.”

“Thank you. I’ll call you later.”

“Sounds good.”

I hung up, feeling as if a large weight had been taken off of my shoulders. Now that Ray was in custody, Sera and Emma were both safe and we could breathe a little easier. Hopefully they could pin something on him and the asshole would be locked up for a while.

I walked out of my office and went to Sera’s booth.

“What’s up?” she asked behind her mask. She was filing a younger woman’s nails as the client listened to her iPod through ear plugs.

“Come see me when you’re done. I have something important to tell you.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Okay.”

I turned around and walked toward Sinclair and Felicia, who had their heads bent together. As I approached, they both straightened up and I could tell they were fighting laughter.

“Okay, what’s so funny?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Oh, just a little gossip around the shop. You know how it is,” said Felicia with a shit-eating grin.

“Oh, believe me – that is one thing I do know.”

“So we’ve heard. Now, you just go back to your little office in back, where it’s… safe,” said Felicia, waving her long painted plum-colored nail. “And we’ll keep things running smoothly in the shop for you, T.”

“Good. I appreciate that, Felicia,” I answered, turning away.  I started walking and then stopped, as if forgetting something. I turned around and smiled. “By the way, let me know if a prostitute by the name of Kiki Divine stops in looking for me. We’re going to order a bunch of toys from your website, have ourselves a little party in back, maybe record it. Hell, I’ll give you a copy when we’re done, if you’d like.”

She snorted. “Right. You do that.”

I winked and went back to my office. I then quickly called my niece and asked her to make a phone call for me. When I hung up, I sat back in my chair and waited. Three minutes later, there was a knock on my door.

“Yes?”

Felicia stepped inside. “Uh, I have a message for you.”

“A message? Really? What is it?”

She folded her arms under her chest. “Kiki called and said she’d have to reschedule your appointment.”

I frowned. “She did, huh? I told her to never call me on the business line. I must have forgotten my cell phone. Well, that’s too bad,” I replied, trying to keep a straight face. “I was hoping to relieve some tension this afternoon.”

“This is a joke, right?”

“Do I look like I’m laughing?”

She stared at me for a second and began walking away, mumbling something under her breath.

“Felicia.”

She turned around.

I laughed. “Gotcha.”

She shook her head and smiled back. “You’re such a shit.”

“I’ve been called worse. Now, get back to work before you find out why.”

Still grinning, she walked out.