All eyes went to the woman standing at the mouth of the living room, her arms full of shiny pink and purple wrapped boxes. She peeked over the stack, her brown skirt shifting as she found Carrie. “There was an emergency at the shop. Mrs. Wellington came in right at closing time with a tear in her rehearsal dinner dress.”
“How in the heck did she manage that?” Sarah asked, clearly knowing who the customer was.
Grayson and Michael took the boxes out of the woman’s arms, and she smiled at them, muttering a “‘thank you.” The woman was beautiful, around the same age as Carrie, but taller. She was nearly as tall as Margo, who was around five ten. The stranger had a fuller figure, similar to Carrie’s. Her wavy brown hair was just a shade or two darker than Sarah’s, cut short so it stopped just above her shoulders . Carrie grabbed her hand, beaming. “Thank you for coming. We saved you a plate and we’re just about to serve dessert.”
The woman shook her head. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course we did.” Carrie hushed her before turning to the room. “Everyone, this is Pam! She owns Seaside Boutique!”
My brows came together, and before I could open my mouth, Ash read my mind. “Funny, she doesn’t look like a Pam.”
Jake scoffed, tipping his beer bottle to his lips. “What does she look like, then?”
“I don’t know, but not a Pam,” Ash noted, looking over to the window. “Dominic?”
My eyes followed his, and when they landed on our friend, my lips twitched. Dominic was leaning against the wall, his jaw tight and his dark blue eyes on Pam. He was staring at her like he wanted to devour the poor woman. I chuckled, unable to help it, and Jake did the same.
“Here we fucking go,” my tech specialist muttered.
Ash moved away from the wall, his head swinging back and forth between Pam, who now had her back to us, and Dominic, who looked like he was three seconds away from throwing the woman over his shoulder and carrying her out the door. I took a moment to glance at Margo, staring at her profile. She touched Pam’s arm, laughing at something Sarah said.
“Christ, what the hell is up with him?”
I blinked, snapping out of it, and looked at Ash. He wasn’t looking at me, thank fuck. His gaze was still on Dominic.
“I don’t know,” Jake answered. “But if anyone in this town needs to have some fun, it’s Dominic. The move was stressful on him.”
“Yeah, he definitely needs to let off some steam,” Ash agreed. Then he slapped my shoulder. “So do you, Mitchell. You’ve had a hell of a year.”
I shoved his hand away. “Fuck off.”
A low whistle broke the tension and the three of us, along with Dominic, turned to Grayson, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He jerked his chin in silent command before disappearing down the hall.
“Fucking hell,” Jake muttered. “Just when we all had the night off.”
“Got a call,” Gray announced as he closed his office door behind Dominic.
I leaned against the wall and folded my arms over my chest. “What is it?” I asked.
His dark eyes cut to me. “A hunt.”
That was all he said.
The four of us waited a few beats, hoping he’d give more.
“Is there a reason you aren’t briefing us?” This came from Ash, who was leaning against Grayson’s desk, hands on either side of his hips. His good mood had all but vanished, his eyes flashing with uncertainty.
“Yes.”
Just after Grayson had found Carrie, Ash was on a hunt, and when he was finished, he found the client’s wife starved, beaten, and tied to her bed. She was the reason he’d gone underground, and it took us three months to find him again. When Gray finally got eyes on him, Ash’s body was so mangled and broken…he coded twice in the hospital. Now, nearly two years later, the woman was still missing, and every single day, Ash spent hours trying to track her down. He’d never forgotten about her, and I feared that if Red Snake never found her, he too would be lost.
Ash’s face was twisted in a way that gutted me. I cleared my throat and asked the question no one else wanted to ask. “Is it the preacher’s wife?”
Gray shook his head once, his eyes on Doss. “No.”
Ash’s shoulders sagged. From relief or disappointment, we would never know.
Grayson widened his stance and crossed his arms, his eyes on me now. “Jack is back on the radar.”