Page 61 of Nova

Once Tequila slips out of the salon, the room falls into a comfortable silence. Sadie goes about painting Luna's toenails while Piper and Sydney sit on a small sofa with their noses buried in their cell phones. Everyone is relaxed and off in their own little worlds when a man in a baseball cap walks into the salon. The bell above the door alerts Sadie to his arrival.

''Can I help you, sir?'' Sadie greets.

A second later, it's Piper's gasp that sets me on alert just as the man in the hat reaches behind his back and produces a gun. Sadie screams while London and Luna rush over to the sofa where Sydney and Piper are sitting. The gunman points the weapon in Sadie's direction. ''Shut the hell up, bitch!''

I stand and place myself in front of Sadie, blocking her from the aim of the gun. ''You need to leave.'' My voice shakes as I put my hands out in front of me.

''Oh, I'm not goin' anywhere, bitch,'' the guy sneers.

It's then I recognize the stranger's voice. It's the voice of the man who attacked me in London's apartment. The guy is wearing jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt. His long greasy hair is sticking out from under his hat, and he has a crazed look on his face. ''I see you remember me now, don't ya you, fuckin' whore.'' The man takes a step closer toward me. ''I'm not leavin' without a little payback. It's because of you and that bitch over there,'' the man jerks his chin toward Piper, ''my fuckin' club and my own brother has turned their backs on me.'' The guy darts his eyes back and forth between Piper and me before they finally settle on Piper. Piper lets out a whimper as Luna and London huddle closer to her and Sydney, shielding them. ''She's comin' with me,'' the man points his gun at Piper. ''I'm going to finish what I started with the bitch and teach that piece of shit club you belong to you can't fuck with me.''

Piper begins to cry even harder at the guy's words. And when he takes a step in Piper's direction, I grab his arm. ''You're not going to put your filthy hands on her.''

The man whips around, shrugs off the hold I have on his arm, and backhands me across my face, making me stumble and fall to the floor. Flashes of light dance in my vision. Sadie screams again, falling to the floor beside me.

''Who do you think is going to stop me, cunt.'' Spittle flies from his mouth as he crouches down on the floor, getting in my face.

Jumping into action, Sadie tries to push the guy away from me. Her effort to protect me earns her a blow to the left side of her face with the butt of the man's gun. Sadie cries out in pain from being pistol-whipped. She falls back on her butt, holding her eye as blood seeps between her fingers.

That's when I see red.

Lunging for the man, I start to hit and claw at his face. ''You asshole!'' My assault on the guy goes on for several seconds. I manage to get a few licks in before he backhands me again, this time splitting my lip. I pray that London or someone is using the distraction to call Cain.

From the corner of my eye, I see London and Luna rise from the sofa, and I know they are about to try making a run for it with the girls. Unlucky for us, the asshole over me clocks them about two points five seconds after I do. He stops our struggle by placing the barrel of his gun to my head. I freeze.

''Get your asses back over there and sit or I'll put a bullet in her brain,'' the guy warns London and Luna, his breath heaving. And by the wild look in his eyes, I know he'll not think twice about pulling the trigger. Seeing the same look on his face Luna and London do as they are told.

''Here's what's going to happen.'' The man stands and pulls me up with him by the hair on my head. ''I'm taking both these cunts with me. Any of you bitches makes a move I don't like, you'll be eatin' a bullet.''

As the guy rants, I catch sight of Tequila through the window of the salon. Her phone is against her ear. She shakes her head at me and puts her finger to her lips just as she ducks out of sight. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I know she has alerted Cain and the club to the situation.

---