“We have an idea,” Hawk responds as he leans against the counter. “He shouldn’t get anywhere near here.”
“We girls will be fine; I actually hope he shows his face here so that I can show him what girls can do,” she says with a wink.
“This guy is a marine; don’t underestimate him,” Hunter says as he looks over at Gloria for the first time with a frown. “Don’t try to be a hero, Gloria. This guy won’t get anywhere near here, but if he does for some reason, the only thing you do is keep him talking until we get here. You know that panic button under your counter. Use it.” His voice is forceful. When he instructs her, there is no flexibility in his voice.
“Yeah, yeah, sugar,” she says sarcastically.
“We’re not playing around here. What he said is true. If you attack this guy, you will come out the loser,” Hawk says as he stands up straight and takes a step closer to Gloria.
“Fine, I get the message,” she mutters as she stands up. “Act like a helpless female.” The anger in her stance is visible, and from what I have come to know about Gloria, she doesn’t like to be helpless. Just then, I see Hunter and Hawk tense and know that they have sensed something that the two of us haven’t, and then a minute later, we hear more bikes approaching.
“What, are you all meeting here now?” Gloria asks sarcastically just as Hunter pulls his hand away from my cheek and turns to face the street. I realize that he has stepped to the side where he is in a better position to shield me from anyone passing outside the window.
“That’s not us,” Hawk says just as we see four bikers riding slowly past, and all of them are looking directly into the salon.
“What the fuck are they doing on this side of town?” Hawk mutters as he pulls out his phone and dials.
“Yeah, we are at Dakota’s work and four Hades have just cruised past.”
“What the hell is going on? Are you bringing MC feuds to my door?” Gloria asks as she walks to stand before the window and look after the bikers. Hunter warned me last night after we discussed Jason that they were having some problems with the Hades MC and that he wanted me to be vigilant and not trust anything where they were involved.
“No,” Hunter says as he looks over at Gloria. “They have always been a problem. You know that.”
“Yeah, but they have never targeted the salon.”
“They’re not targeting the salon. They are just showing us that they’re not scared of us,” Hawk says when he disconnects the call. “Don’t worry, Gloria, we have your back.”
“Why doesn’t that make me feel better?” she says with a frown as she looks over her shoulder at him.
“I’m sorry, Gloria. I’ve brought you a bag full of trouble and all because you helped me,” I say, which has her turning to face me and shaking her head.
“It was my decision to hire you. You didn’t hide anything from me, and I knew what baggage you brought. Now this”—she points towards where the Hades MC guys headed—“this is all your boyfriend’s fault and his club.” With that, she turns to face Hunter.
“How do you see that?” he asks, his shoulders tense as he faces her.
“They just rode past, didn’t they? And you two are in here.” She throws up her hands in agitation. “They better not trash my place.” Just then, a client enters. She must be in her early thirties, and when she sees Hunter and Hawk standing there, she stops. I can see by the way her eyes lighten up that she’s excited to see them in here.
“Hi,” she greets with a cheeky smile. “I have an appointment.”
“Of course, Dolores, come on in,” Gloria says with a practiced smile. Dolores approaches with a sassy smile. Well, if she doesn’t stop looking at Hunter like that, she’s going to lose that smile really quick, and then I won’t need any protection because I’ll be in jail. I feel Hunter’s hand once again, this time on my neck, which has me jumping in surprise.
“Calm, baby girl,” he whispers as he leans down and kisses my lips. “She doesn’t have a chance.” He stands up straight and winks mischievously at me. “I’ll be here when you’re finished to escort you back.” He then turns to leave. I only now realize that through this whole interaction, the other three were talking to each other, something that I completely missed since the minute Hunter touched me.
This man has the power of completely distracting me from everything and everyone, and to be honest, I love it.
HUNTER 13
“How the fuck do they know about my mate?” The fury raging through my body is volcanic. To think that those fuckers know that Dakota is mine has me wanting to howl in anger. To ride threateningly past the salon like they did has my wolf wanting to go out there and rip all their fucking throats open. Hawk and I acted calm in front of the women, but I wasn’t calm. I wasn’t calm at all. I know that Dakota could feel my rage, but I also know that she won’t be able to understand yet that it’s me she’s sensing.
“I don’t think they know that she’s one of us, but they most probably suspect that you’re sweet on one of them. The same way we have eyes on them, they might have eyes on us,” Goliath says from where he’s leaning against the window. We arrived back at the club about half an hour ago, and I immediately sought out King.
Goliath, King, Hawk, Gunner, and I are all standing in the meeting room while I rage over the Hades’ audacity. “If they fucking threaten Dakota, I’m killing every single one of them. I’m telling you now, King.”
King raises his left hand, rubbing his face, I can tell that he’s also at his limit by the way his muscles are bulging in anger. “One of the prospects will accompany your mate and stay there until this mess is all over,” King states as he moves towards the window and stands there, looking out. We have five prospects, but they usually patrol the area in their wolf forms and haven’t mastered enough self-control to be out there like the rest of us.
“None of them are ready,” I state.
“Trent can do it,” King states as he continues to look out the window. “And it’s time we bring him in more. He has been with us for three years.” The prospects are part of our club. They know about everything that we are involved in and sometimes help with cases, but in a minor capacity. To place him in charge of Dakota doesn’t appease my worry that one of those fuckers might try something and he isn’t up to scratch yet.