Page 44 of SEAL's Providence
John watched them like a hawk—a douchebag bird of prey. Yup, that worked for him. Hopefully, Tony and his friends would turn him into the prey sooner rather than later.
Every station in the salon was occupied, and soft chatter covered the annoying music playing in the background. She’d just taken a seat when Mary was back with the red polish she’d used last time.
Mary took her hand and checked all her nails. “The others are fine. How you do this?”
Providence sighed and lifted the thumbnail of her other hand to her mouth and showed her what happened.
Mary smiled briefly. “That’s bad. No good for you. No good for nails.”
“I know. I’m trying to stop. Will it look okay if you just fix this one?”
“Yes. I’ll put a new coat on others.” Mary worked to remove the remaining polish from herthumb and then trimmed her ragged cuticle. “Very bad.”
“Yes. It’s hard to stop.” Providence was desperate to warn Mary. But she couldn’t just blurt it out. “I appreciate you fitting me in.”
This was the most conversation she’d had with Mary, except for the two times when John wasn’t around. Their chatter was almost begging for him to come over and yell at her. Even a salon full of clients wouldn’t stop him from being rude.
Mary finished painting her thumb and touched up all the others. She was almost done and Providence would be out of time. But then a woman walked into the salon and distracted John with questions. Providence could’ve kissed her.
“Mary, they’re going to sell all of you. But you have to be ready to get away. My friends and I are coming to get you soon. All of you.”
Mary’s eyes widened, and her pupils dilated. “What—” Her mouth closed mid-word when John stopped at her station.
“??? ?? ???????, ?????”John hissed.
Providence acted surprised at his sudden appearance. Listening to him berate Mary made it difficult to keep her expression blank. How dare he call her a bitch for talking to a client? He needed to suffer—a lot.
“Nothing, jjjust pppolish. Sssee?” Mary stumbled over her words as she pointed toward Providence’s hands.
“?????,” John said as he walked away.
Steam practically shot out from Providence’s ears. She couldn’t believe he’d just called Mary a cunt. If her nails hadn’t been wet, she’d have balled up her fist and punched him. Providence could imagine the satisfaction she’d feel when it connected with the asshole’s jaw.
Needing to regain her calm, she closed her eyes briefly, then met Mary’s gaze. “Be careful. Tell the others and keep Sandy safe.”
“I will try. You go now. Not good when he’s mad.”
She’d known it was risky to show up at the salon, but she’d thought the need to warn them outweighed the danger. Now she prayed she wasn’t wrong and had done more damage.
Providence pulled a five-dollar bill from her purse for Mary, then counted to ten before she went up to the counter.
John rang her up, and never taking his eyes off her. It took all her willpower not to punch him. Instead, she said, “See you on Saturday. Thank you again for fitting me in.” Then she hurried out the door, needing to put as much distance as possiblebetween her and the asshole before she did something she’d regret.
Exhausted.
Stressed.
Pissed off.
Yup. That pretty much covered it. Okay, maybe she should add in the need to punch something or someone. Providence considered her options as she stirred her coffee. By the time she realized she’d zoned out, it was too cool to drink.
Dumping it into the sink, she made another cup and carried it into the living room. Her stomach growled, but the thought of swallowing anything other than coffee made her want to wretch.
After she’d gotten home from the salon, she took another shower and put on comfy clothes. She’d wanted to put off checking her phone for as long as possible. It was stupid. Hiding was never her thing. If she wanted something, she went after it, right or wrong. At forty-four years old, she wasn’t going to change now. Still, she hadn’t wanted to argue with Tempest or Tony. Although, after seeing their messages, it had been inevitable.
First off, how had Tony even known she’d goneto the salon? If he’d put one of his “guys” on guard duty, she was going to blow a gasket. It was the only thing she could come up with. Hopefully, she’d have her answer soon, since he was on his way over.
Tempest, well, that situation hadn’t been as bad. Her friend had understood why Providence had to warn Mary—just not why she had to do it in secret. Tempest must have told her three times during the call that she should have let someone know where she was going. That John could have made her disappear and no one would have known.
