Slow & Steady #2: A Shameless Southern Nights Novel

by J. H. Croix

  Five minutes of waiting in my truck later, I took off for the station. Hopefully, something was going on there that would keep me busy and give me back my sanity. For the next couple of hours while I was on shift, at the very least.

  Chapter Four

  Niki

  The hair salon where Marie worked was a small, cheerful place with dusky pink walls and vintage decorations. A brass bell jingled as I pushed open the door, getting my first whiff of the scent of shampoo, ammonia, coffee, and flowers that hung in the air inside.

  Marie was standing at the station down the middle of one wall, chatting to a petite woman seated in a large black chair in front of her. Scissors flew through the woman’s hair as she listened to Marie who was animated as she explained something. A redheaded woman in a floral skirt was laughing along beside them.

  They all looked up when I walked in. A wide smile stretched across Marie’s face. “Niki. I’m so glad you could make it.”

  The redheaded woman jumped up, friendly blue eyes on mine as she made her way over. “So you’re the infamous Niki I’ve heard so much about. It’s such a relief Marie’s finally making some more friends her age.”

  Marie rolled her green eyes. “I have plenty of friends.”

  Giving her a pointed look with her eyebrow raised, the woman stuck her hand out to me. “I’m Sarah. Marie’s boss and friend, much older friend.”

  Sarah’s grip was firm as I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Have a seat over there.” Marie nodded at the chair on the other side of her client. “I’ll be with you in a second.”

  “Would you like some coffee, dear?” Sarah asked, flitting to an archway that I presumed led to a backroom.

  “Please.” Marie had persuaded me to come in today, luring me with promises of free hairstyling. We hadn’t set a time, and since she was busy with someone else, I settled in for the wait. “Can I help you get it?”

  Sarah waved me off, disappearing through a soft curtain through the back. Marie and her customer were back to talking, discussing pros and cons of trying a hair color the woman hadn’t tried before. I listened to their banter, slightly fascinated.

  Hair was always the last of my worries. At most, I popped into wherever I could find a space to have it trimmed from time to time if I didn’t just trim the ends by myself at home. My mother used to take me for haircuts when I was younger, something we did for fun together. After she got sick, at first I didn’t have time for silly things like a little self-indulgence, and then it became painful to go to the salon without her.

  So I didn’t. I simply stopped going. Watching Marie and her customer, I wondered if it was time I started to care about things like that again.

  When Marie invited me here, I almost said no because it was my default answer to most invitations. I was glad I hadn’t. Sonny spoke to me about only going certain places, in public, with people I trusted for now, and I’d told him it wouldn’t be a problem. I hardly ever had the urge to go anywhere, but this was an exception I was happy to have made.

  The smell of fresh coffee permeated the air, and within minutes, Sarah appeared, carrying a tray with four mugs perched on it. She handed them out and sat down in the same chair she’d been in when I got there.

  Looking between Marie and her customer, Sarah narrowed her eyes and asked, “What did I miss?”

  “We’re discussing whether Heather should try going blond sometime.”

  “Absolutely not.” Sarah clutched her hand to her heart, giving me a playful wink. “If you’re giving anything a try, it should be red. It’s not true what they say about blondes having more fun. It’s us redheaded gals that are the lucky ones, I tell you.”

  Marie laughed, pulling Heather’s wet hair down between her fingers as she started on what I assumed were the finishing touches of the girl’s hair. “I feel like I should point out the obvious and just put it out there that brunettes have way more fun, right, Heather?”

  The girl smiled, her eyes closed as Marie whisked the scissors through her hair. “I agree, but I’m still curious about the blond. What do you think?”

  It took me a second to realize she was talking to me. “I—uh. I’m not sure.”

  “Of course not, honey,” Sarah said, lifting herself out of her chair to come stand behind mine. With her deft fingers unwinding my braid, she had my hair loose and tumbling down my back in no time. She brushed her fingers through it, her nose scrunched in concentration. “This hasn’t been colored, has it?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Sarah’s eyes snapped to mine in the reflection of the mirror, horrified. “None of that ma’am stuff here. I knew this was all natural. Beautiful. So healthy. What are you girls doing with it today?”

  I swallowed. When I accepted this invitation, I figured Marie would wash my hair and maybe dry it, nothing more. Marie must’ve seen my confusion because she looked over to me while styling Heather’s hair with some kind of shiny product on her fingers.

  “I thought we would keep the length and the color, maybe just add some layers. How does that sound?”

  Layers? “That doesn’t sound too scary.”

  “Good.” She smiled. “Then that’s where we’ll start.”

  She conferred with Sarah over other things she might like to try with my hair, but in the end, they only had me convinced about the layering. It might not be much, but I wasn’t ready to go wild with my hair yet.

  Marie was almost done with me when the bell above the door jingled and a familiar voice cried out. “Niki! I didn’t even know you came to Sarah’s to do your hair too.”

  Since I couldn’t turn with Marie’s scissors flying through my hair and chunks of it falling to the floor around my feet, I looked at my bestie Karen from the corner of my eyes. “First time.”

  “There’s a lot of firsts going around with you these days,” Karen said with a laugh, sinking into the chair beside mine with familiar ease. Sarah and Marie greeted her as my face heated and turned bright pink at her comment. Noticing my dismay, she rolled her eyes. “It’s the sanctity of the salon, Niki. Women talk about all kinds of stuff in here without fear or judgment.”

  Marie’s lips kicked up into a humorous grin as she brought her free hand to her mouth, fake covering it to stage whisper, “It’s in the secret code girls get given at birth.”

  “I guess I skipped that part,” I told her. Thankfully, my coloring returned to normal.

  “Do you have time for lunch after this?” Karen asked.

  I shrugged as best I could without losing the tip of my ear to Marie’s blade. “Sure. Any idea where you feel like going?”

  “Sandwich shop next door,” she replied immediately. “They make the best avocado rye you’ve ever had.”

  “Is there more than one way to put avo on rye?”

  Sarah and Karen stared at me like I’d grown a second head for having to ask such a blasphemous question, while Marie giggled and high-fived me before telling me to close my eyes. “Last couple of seconds. I can’t wait to see what you think when I’m all done.”

  Karen squealed a beat later, clapping her hands. “That looks so pretty.”

  “Whimsical,” Sarah said with a sigh. “So soft and feminine. I love it. Good call, Marie.”

  “You can look now,” Marie told me.

  I blinked my eyes open, surprised at the difference the layers made to soften my features and make my eyes seem so much brighter. “Wow.”

  Marie smirked, lifting her hairdryer in one hand and her scissors in the other, bringing them together to blow out a breath of air across them like she was blowing smoke away from an old-fashioned gun. “I’m a genius. Even with the tentative ones.”

  “That you are,” Sarah agreed. “I’m hungry. Shall we take our lunch break too?”

  “Let’s,” Marie said. “You brought chicken pot pie, right?”

  Sarah laughed, motioning for Marie to follow her to the back. “Right.”

  She waved at us before disappear
ing through the curtain into the back. “Bye girls.”

  “Thank you so much, Marie,” I gushed, finding it hard to tear my eyes away from my reflection. “I can’t believe the difference.”

  “You’re welcome.” She squeezed my hand. “Come back anytime. Enjoy your lunch.”

  “Thanks,” Karen called, already opening the door.

  The small café next to the salon was new, but their sandwiches looked as divine as promised. Karen and I chatted while we waited in line with the other customers, finally grabbing one of the last round tables parked out under small white umbrellas on the sidewalk.

  I bit into my sandwich, savoring its creamy goodness as I told Karen. “You were right. This is really good.”

  “I know.” She dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin, lifting her water to her mouth. “On to things I don’t know, such as your relationship status. Are you and Sonny a thing now?”

  I blushed, not really knowing how else to answer than with my version of the truth. I nodded. “I think so. We’re definitely something. I just don’t know what that thing is, exactly.”

  A waitress walked up to our table, delivering the two milkshakes we ordered when we picked up our sandwiches. I was relieved by the brief interruption.

  Karen, however, was undeterred in her teasing. “It’s about time you admitted you two were more than friends and that this wasn’t only about you helping him.”

  “That’s how it started,” I protested, hating the thought that anyone might think I offered to help him because I wanted a shot at him romantically. “I promise.”

  “Of course, that’s how it started,” Karen said, finishing her sandwich. “But it’s a good thing it didn’t stay that way. It would’ve been such a waste.”

  “Waste?”

  “Sonny’s so handsome, and he’s got the whole hot cop thing going for him, which is really sexy. I’m happy you seized the day with him.”

  “So am I,” I replied honestly, even though I knew she was teasing me. “It’s not all sunshine and roses, though.”

  Karen was my best friend. If anyone were going to understand my concerns, it would be her. And I desperately needed someone to understand, to listen to me and tell me if I was going crazy.

  All humor dropped from her expression as she studied me, her brows pulling together. “I know you’ve been glossing over the details of what you’re helping him with and whatever the hell made you need to move into a safe house, but I told you his family was bad news. If he hurt you—”

  “No. Nothing like that.” My eyes widened when I realized what she thought I was insinuating. “He would never hurt me. And no one in his family is violent. Why would you even think that?”

  “Criminals.” She shrugged. “You never know with those types.”

  “You just pointed out yourself he’s a cop. Not a criminal.”

  “The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive, but let’s get back on track. If he hasn’t ‘hurt you or anything like that,’” she made quotation marks with her fingers. “Then what’s the problem?”

  “The problem is the mess I’m in right now.” I sighed, sticking the straw of the milkshake between my teeth and taking a long sip of chocolate courage before I continued. “I’m not working. I’m not even staying in my own place. I’m staying in a safe house, for heaven’s sake. This isn’t my life at all.”

  “Not your life as you knew it before Sonny, but why can’t it be now?” Karen argued. “You were in a rut, and you needed to get out of it. You still do. Keeping to yourself all the time, not dating, it’s not good for you. Sonny’s exciting. He’s gorgeous! Live a little, and stop worrying so much.”

  “It’s one thing to have a boring life and another to be worried about safety because you’re living a little,” I pointed out. It felt good to finally be having this debate with someone other than myself.

  Karen and I went around in circles for the rest of her lunch hour, joining what counted in Cypress Creek as the crush that left the café when it was time for everyone to get back to work.

  Everyone but me, that was.

  And why? My boring life had turned into one where I was so worried for my safety, I took an extended leave of absence from work. Was this really the kind of life I wanted?

  Chapter Five

  Sonny

  Tapping out a text to Niki as I ran out of the station and dove into the cruiser with Harris, I knew my chances of seeing her tonight like I’d hoped had rapidly diminished to next to nothing as soon as the latest call came in.

  Me: Something came up at work. Not sure what time we’ll be done. Call you later.

  I slipped my phone into my pocket as Harris sped out of the parking lot, tires spinning and squealing behind us as the others followed. The call we were responding to was going to be a difficult one, and we all knew it.

  Our sirens blared on our way to a known drug dealer’s place, the location of tonight’s excitement that was going to keep me from seeing Niki. But I couldn’t think about her now.

  Harris was tense on the way over to the address we were given, barking orders into the radio. In small towns like ours, Harris wasn’t only the boss in the office, but he was often out in the field with us taking the lead.

  Shutting down my mind to anything that wasn’t the immediate situation we were about to face, I focused only on the here and now. Two local dealers had gotten into some kind of war. We’d heard about it, but they kept things well under the radar until now.

  Apparently, earlier this evening one had attacked the other’s stronghold. Which so happened to be situated in a basement on the guy’s property—the same property where his wife and three children lived.

  We didn’t know what led to the attack, but we knew shots were being fired, and we knew there was a possibility of the children being held hostage as leverage if the attackers made it into the house.

  Adrenaline pumped through my veins, hot and fast. My focus was narrowed to only the mission at hand, my heart beating steadily as I got into my zone.

  I’d been told I got a little intense while working a scene like the one we were likely to be walking into, but I didn’t give a damn. There was no way anyone was getting to those kids on my watch.

  Their father was the one mixed up in all this; they were innocent. I knew a little something about what that felt like. This particular case had nothing to do with my dad’s, but it still reminded me of how terrified I had been when we’d first learned of the legal mess my father was facing.

  And I’d been an adult at the time. These children—they were in for a hell of a night. If there was anything I could do to protect them, I was going to do it.

  “I’ll take point, sir,” I told Harris, who made a sharp right turn as we raced through the night. Zach was my preferred partner, but since he wasn’t cleared for field work, I would have to make do with what I had. “I’ll take Johnson and Dwyer with me.”

  My fingers were crossed that the two men, both with a little less experience than me, would be up to the challenge. I was willing to take risks, but not everyone was.

  Harris nodded. “Good choices. You get in and out of there, you hear me? No going forward without my say so.”

  “I’ll wait for the word from you, sir.” We both knew there was a chance I wouldn’t, but neither of us had to say it out loud.

  “Getting the children out safely is your first priority,” Harris barked, slamming on the brakes when we reached the address we were given over the phone by a concerned neighbor.

  “Got it.” There was no other option to consider.

  Harris threw open his door as we came to a stop. I followed his lead, jogging with him over to where the rest of the SWAT team was starting to suit up.

  Harris told the team what we discussed in the car, then turned to me. “Gear up, Lovett. Remember, wait for my signal.”

  The SWAT team and I burst onto the scene exactly three minutes later. It was mayhem and chaos. Bullets flew around the farm-sized yard in
the back while men cursed and a child wailed somewhere.

  We were definitely in for a long, difficult shift.

  It was midnight by the time I got off duty. Way too late to go over to the safe house to see Niki. I sighed, pointing my truck in the direction of my house instead. “Dammit.”

  I’d been looking forward to seeing her. The week was long and frustrating. I’d wanted nothing more than to relax with her, but then that call came in and any plans went out the window. We managed to diffuse the situation, arrest the shooter, and got the children to safety all in a night’s work, which was a lot more rewarding than relaxing, but it also didn’t help my restlessness.

  The desire to curl up beside Niki didn’t go away as I scarfed down some leftovers for dinner. It lingered as I fell asleep, missing the feel of her presence close to me.

  I woke with the sun the next morning, tossing and turning as I tried to go back to sleep. It didn’t work.

  Flopping onto my back, I folded my hands behind my head and watched the lazy spin of the ceiling fan. My need to feel normal for a few beats clawed at my chest.

  Cypress Creek was home to me, always had been and always would be. But it felt like I was looking over my shoulder too damn much these days. What I needed was to get away from here, even if it was only for one day.

  Hopefully, Niki felt the same way. Getting away wouldn’t be the same if she wasn’t with me. Feeling energized now, I decided on a plan. I kicked my sheet off and went to take a shower. My first stop would be Niki’s.

  After that, I was still wondering where to go. Anywhere we could kick back for a couple of hours would work fine for me.

  On the way over to Niki’s, I mulled over everything I learned since I witnessed Maclin’s murder. Over the last week, I stopped by the cemetery twice to talk to Yates. Both times he was busy, so that was a dead end at the moment. Things weren’t going much better at the station.