“You’re Ty’s new wife, aren’t you?”

Bitch, bitch, bitch.

How f**king dare she mention Ty to me.

Bitch!

“Yep,” I replied on another dazzling smile.

“I, uh…” her eyes slid beyond me to where Dominic was whispering under his breath with his client then back to me where she said softly, “Do you know who I am?”

“You mean do I know you were the one who was f**king Ty’s brains out when someone in LA was committing murder?” I asked back and watched her blanch. “Oh yeah, I know who you are.”

She lifted a hand and I saw it was trembling before she tucked hair behind her ear and dropped it.

“He told you that?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “He told me. But that was then. This is now. New life. New wife. It’s all good,” I lied and I knew she bought it because she blinked.

“Really?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Sure. We’re happy. It’s all good.”

“So he’s not mad at me?”

It was my turn to blink. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t believe it.

Was she that dumb?

I mean, seriously?

“Now, why would he be mad at you, Misty?” I asked softly. “Are you saying you lied to the police and he was f**king your brains out in Carnal while someone was committing murder in LA?”

Her torso rocked back an inch and she answered quickly, “No, no. I didn’t do that.”

“’Course you didn’t,” I said it like I didn’t believe it because I didn’t believe it because the f**king bitch was lying.

She studied me and I could swear her lips were quivering.

Then she quickly pulled her shades out of her black-rooted, blonde hair and shoved them on her face.

“Well, uh… nice to meet you and, um… see you in a few weeks.”

“Can’t wait,” I forced out with a bright smile.

She nodded, looked over my shoulder, turned and hurried out.

I watched the doors close behind her then clenched my fists. Then I deep breathed. Then I watched her through the half-closed slats as she got in her car and pulled out of the space in front of the salon.

Then I immediately got up and turned to Dominic.

“I’m sorry, can I have a break? I need to run to the garage. I won’t be long. There’s something I need to talk to my husband about.”

“Bet you do,” the woman in the chair, a client I’d never met, stated instantly, her mouth was tight, her eyes glittering and shrewd, her overall look screaming biker babe. “Know Ty. Know who you are too. Know that bitch f**ked him one way, got her shit off then f**ked him another way that got his shit totally f**ked. And I also know you just gave a performance good enough to win a f**kin’ award. I could trust myself to move and not do it to take that bitch down, I would have clapped.”

I blinked though I didn’t know why she surprised me. I’d been learning through on the job training that biker babes didn’t really beat around the bush and I’d long since learned that Ty was a man who was well-liked.

“Yes, precious,” Dominic answered my request softly, my body jerked out of its surprise, I looked to him, saw his eyes warm and understanding on me and realized then that he knew too and this was probably what they’d been whispering about because I also knew Dominic had been in town just under four years and he’d never said boo to me about Ty and unless gossip was shared while Ty was doing time and he was just too polite to mention it (which wasn’t Dominic’s way), he didn’t know until now. “Take all the time you need.”

I nodded, grabbed my shades off the desk and started to the door.

“When you see Ty, tell him Avril says hi,” the biker babe called after me, I waved behind me, shot a smile over my shoulder then went out.

The salon was about six blocks away from the garage on the same side of the road. We worked close but I hadn’t yet hoofed it down there. Ty and I spent a lot of time together and I pushed the time we spent together to distract him from other things. I didn’t want to seem clingy so I gave him space during the day. But I also liked my time with Dominic, Kayeleen and the clients at the salon, I didn’t get but half an hour for lunch and I used that to continue my perusal of Carnal and acquaint myself with local lunchtime takeaway eateries.

But Ty needed to know what just went down and the way I played it. I was hoping he wasn’t doing what he wanted to be doing but if he was, he’d need to know. Even if he wasn’t, seeing as Avril knew all about it, it would get back to him eventually so, again, he needed to know.

And it needed to be me who told him.

I didn’t hurry. Anyone seeing me would think I just felt like a visit and by “anyone”, I was worried that Misty was still around and watching. I got to the end of Main Street, turned the corner on my high-heeled platform sandals and walked as casually as I could across the forecourt.

“Yo, Ty!” I heard shouted from the shadows of the bay and I knew I’d been spotted but not by who. Not visiting him at work meant I did not know his workmates, except Pop and Wood.

Then I saw Ty, no coveralls this time, jeans and tee, tee greasy, jeans too (this meaning I was again going to be at the stain remover in the utility room, something I was getting to be a dab hand at), black mark covered rag in his hands. He’d come to the opening of the bay where he stopped and leveled his eyes on me.

I got close, those eyes narrowed and he started moving again, his long legs eating the distance right to me.

Apparently, even my shades didn’t hide my mood. Definitely should never play poker.

He met me in the forecourt, got close, toe-to-toe and bent his neck so he could lock his beautiful, light brown eyes with my shades.

“What happened?” he asked.

I sucked in breath then shook my head. “Nothing… nothing big,” I took in another breath. “I’m just shaken up. Shaken and pissed. And, well, you should know, so I’m here to tell you. Misty came into the salon to get her hair done.”

Ty’s eyes didn’t leave me, not even to blink and he asked, “And how did that go?”

“I smiled. I made her appointment. I was nice.”

“And?” Ty prompted when I said no more.

“And, she asked if I knew who she was. I told her I did. I laid it out what I knew but also told her we were happy and moving on.”

I watched Ty’s jaw clench.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Was that wrong?”