Chapter Five: Laina

The girls at the salon didn’t recognize me, which was good. Kieran had me sit in the back seat of his car as we left the house, so the paparazzi didn’t get any pictures of me, due to how tinted his back windows were. Because no one knew where we were going, there wasn’t a crowd at the salon, which helped me keep my identity a secret.

That would be impossible once it came time to pay, since my real name was on my debit card.

Again, it was the same debit card I had before, not yet expired. It just showed me that my Devil had taken me for me and not for money. I kept my bandaged hand close to my body. I’d thrown on a hoodie to come here, so I could stick my left hand inside the pocket.

Kieran sat in the front of the salon, on one of the chairs they had lining the windows against the sidewalk. His leg was crossed, his ankle resting on his knee, and he’d grabbed one of the fashion magazines from the small coffee table in front of the chairs, reading it page by page and making some hilarious faces as he went. It was harder than it should’ve been to resist laughing at the ridiculous man.

Cherise had been the one to answer the phone when I’d called, and she was the one who worked on me. She asked me about the history of my hair, if it was a natural color, if I’d used any box dyes or bleach on it, and all that stuff. I told her the truth: it was all natural, and that made her nod her head in approval. Maybe natural hair was easier to work on. She then asked what kind of color I wanted, and when I told her I was thinking something pink, she said she’d always wanted to do a combination of bubblegum pink and light, baby blue.

“That sounds pretty,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

Cherise was a woman in her early thirties, but with all the makeup on her face, you’d never know. “Really? Are you sure you don’t want to stick with just pink?”

I shook my head. “No, go crazy on my hair.” As long as it had some pink in it, I’d love it. Besides, this was all about letting go of the girl I used to be and annoying my dad at the same time. What would he find worse than pink hair? Pink and blue hair, that’s what.

She hung something around me to protect my clothes, and then she got to work.

It wasn’t a quick thing. No, she had to section off my hair, and then she started dying it, section by section. She’d cut and style it after the dye. As she went along, she rattled off instructions about how to keep the color, how to make it last. Never wash it in hot water; it could cause the colors to get muddied and fade faster. I also had to use a special kind of shampoo, sulfate-free. I’d buy it on the way out of the salon. In the front near the chairs, they had racks of stuff she was suggesting.

When Cherise started to dye the pink, I tossed a glance over to Kieran. He’d set the magazine down on his lap, staring at me, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Yeah… I hadn’t told him about the color I wanted on the way here.

Cherise asked, “Is that your boyfriend?”

I had to tear my gaze away from Kieran at that. He was far enough away he might not have heard; the salon had music playing on speakers near the register, about five feet away from where Kieran was sitting.

“Uh, no. He’s not. He’s…” I trailed off, knowing I couldn’t tell her that he was my bodyguard—and also now an uncle. Step-uncle. Stepuncle? Whatever.

She chuckled softly at that. “Sounds like you don’t know what he is to you.” She leaned down to me, saying, “He’s cute, though, and if he’s willing to sit here all by himself for you for hours, I’d say he wants to be.”

All I could do was smile to that, mostly because I didn’t know what to say. Kieran wouldn’t be here if my dad hadn’t put him on me like a guard dog. Sure, we might’ve had a weird, intense, tension-filled moment earlier, but that didn’t mean anything.

Did Kieran have a girlfriend? It wasn’t something I’d ever asked, but I hoped not, given our earlier interaction.

I thought Cherise was kidding when she said we’d be there for hours, but she wasn’t. She took her time in sectioning my hair and applying the dye colors to it, and she made sure each and every piece was saturated completely. Only after my head was full of pink and blue dye did she turn my chair and lean me back against the sink, where she rinsed the colors out.

She took her time in doing that, and once she was done, she sat me back up and combed through my hair. It had gotten quite long. Honestly, I’d been in need of a haircut before getting kidnapped.

“How much you want me to take off, hun?” she asked, grabbing herself a pair of scissors.

I was too busy staring at my wet, colorful hair in the mirror across from us to realize she’d asked me a question. It took me a while to say, “I don’t know. Cut off all the dead ends, I guess, and give me some layers.”

Cherise nodded and got to work. Once it was cut, it was time to dry it and style it. She used some kind of heat protectant on me—something she told me was also important to help keep the color—and then she blow dried it, giving it a little bit more volume than its natural state.

By the time she was done, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I stared at myself in the mirror in awe, turning my head left and right, taking in the cut and the color. Cherise stood behind me, smiling. “What do you think?” she asked.

“I love it.” And I did. The light blue with the light pink was perfection. My head looked like cotton candy.

“I think your hair beats out everyone else’s that I’ve ever done,” she rattled off, clearly proud of her work—and for obvious reasons. It looked amazing.

I got up off the chair, wearing a smile on my face as I followed Cherise up to the register to pay. Kieran had long since stopped pretending to read the magazines, his eyes on me. I didn’t look at him; I didn’t know what he’d think of my hair. Truthfully, I didn’t really care, but… maybe I wanted him to like it.

Just a little.

I added a big bottle of shampoo to my order, along with giving her a big tip. Hey, if my dad was mayor, I might as well spread the love around. She thanked me, and as she handed me the receipt and the bag with the shampoo, she said, “Be sure to thank your boyfriend for being so patient.” With that, she gave me a sly look, and then she wandered off, leaving me to deal with the consequences of her calling Kieran my boyfriend.

Kieran stood, his hands shoved in his pockets. He appraised me once before saying, “Your boyfriend? Is there something you’ve been meaning to ask me?”

I gave him a look and walked around him, pushing out of the salon and heading to his car, which was parked thirty feet down the sidewalk. “As if I’d want you as a boyfriend. You’re old.”

And he was. Nine years older than me, give or take. That’s old.

“Okay, ouch. No need to go for the jugular.” Kieran pouted, giving me a look as he hurried around me to open the back door for me.

I was about to duck inside, but I stopped short, spinning to face him. “Do you hate my hair?” Even though I’d just insulted him by calling him old—which he wasn’t, not really—I found myself wanting his approval.

The smile that grew on Kieran’s face after that wasn’t teasing or joking. No, it was an oddly serious smile, and it made me blush a bit. “I think it’s very pretty. It’s very you, Laina. You father’s going to have a heart attack when he sees you stroll into the house looking like that, but I love it.” He reached out to touch my hair, running a piece of it through his fingers, much like he had done earlier.

It was a gentle, serious moment, so very unlike him. And it was unlike me to not want to pull away. I’d always found him so overbearing and, frankly, irritating, but maybe things had changed while I was kidnapped. Maybe he’d become less so, or maybe the change was all on me.

He really was cute…

Kieran’s phone rang, and he let out a groan as he pulled away from me and got it out of his pocket to check it. His black gaze shifted to me. “It’s your father.”

Well, that moment was over. I ducked to get into the car, and Kieran closed the door as he answered the phone. I watched him freeze about halfway around the car, the expression on his face one of confusion, then anger. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I was pretty sure I heard a loud, “ What ?”

Either way, he didn’t appear too happy when he got in the car, after ending the call, so I asked, “What is it?” The way he reacted, it couldn’t just be my dad asking where we were. No, there had to be more to it.

“Sylvester Luciano is having a meeting with your father,” Kieran rattled off, pulling us out onto the road with a jerk of his arms.

“Sylvester Luciano?” I repeated. That name sounded vaguely familiar.

“He’s Richie’s son. After he left, Sylvester took charge. He’s been backing your father since day one.”

Ah, that’s right. The Lucianos were one of the big crime families in this city. The day my dad had secured his support, he’d come home so happy. Overjoyed, really, as if Sylvester Luciano’s support was all he’d need to win the mayor’s race.

No, all he’d needed was to have his daughter kidnapped.

Kieran got quiet after that, and I sensed he didn’t want to talk about whatever it was, so I let it go as he drove us home. Whatever it was, I’d probably find out when we got there. I had no clue what could’ve made him so upset, no clue at all.

When we got there, most of the reporters had left, which allowed us to pull into the driveway without any issues. Soon enough I’d be old news. Something was always going on in this city. Something was always happening. People went missing. People ended up dead. Blackmail, attempted murder, all that fun stuff; it really happened every day here, to the point where you became desensitized to it. Just a part of your everyday life.

Kieran got out of the car first, and as he hurried around to my side—I didn’t wait for him to open my door for me; I could do it myself since I wasn’t helpless—he gave me a stern look and said, “Go upstairs to your room.”

“What—”

His hand shot out, gripping my wrist firmly. “I mean it, Laina. Go to your room. I’ll handle this.” He held onto me so hard his grip passed the definition of firm and ventured into uncomfortable territory.

“Okay,” I whispered, rubbing my wrist once he let me go. He let me go inside the house first, and as I walked in, I immediately heard people talking. I slowed, wanting to hear what was being said, but Kieran was right behind me, and he set a hand on my back, forcing me to keep going.

Seeing as how he wouldn’t let it go, I walked down the hall, passing the archway that led to the sitting room, where my dad liked to keep unexpected guests. It had a big liquor cabinet with all the strong stuff you could possibly want, along with various couches and chairs.

As I walked past it, I saw my father standing near the fireplace, holding onto a short glass of liquor. Two other men were in the room, both unfamiliar. One wore a suit.

Hmm. That wasn’t the same guy that was with Lola when she’d visited me in the hospital, was it? I wanted to go back and check, but with one glimpse over my shoulder, I found Kieran was watching me, waiting to see me walk up the grand staircase before joining my dad and his guests.

How annoying.

So I walked up the steps, slumping my shoulders and pretending to pout. I made it halfway up the steps when I noticed Kieran had abandoned lookout duty and joined my dad and the two other men for whatever conversation they were having.

My feet stopped, and I set the bag down on the stairs before turning and slipping back down. I crept along the wall, inching toward the archway, getting close enough to hear what was being said.

“This is ridiculous,” Kieran’s voice was loud and irritated. “We don’t need anything from you—” My dad coughed at that, and I wondered if that was his way of wordlessly trying to soothe whatever had aggravated him.

“I understand your reluctance, but seeing as how she was kidnapped from this very house with no footage of the suspect, Lola wants her own man on the job.” Whoever he was, he sounded articulate. Perhaps the man in the suit? This Sylvester Luciano I’d heard so much about?

“Are you trying to say it was an inside job?” Kieran’s voice held a sharp edge.

Wait a second. Lola wanted her own man on the job—as in, her own man watching me? Another freaking bodyguard? Jesus Christ. You’d think I was the most wanted girl in this city at this rate.

My lips curled into a frown, and I peered around the edge of the opening on the wall, peeking inside the room. My dad and Kieran were turned to the man in the suit. My dad looked resigned while Kieran appeared furious; he folded his arms over his chest, and though I couldn’t see the expression on his face, I’d bet it was one for the books.

“I’m not saying anything,” Sylvester spoke, “but we are missing someone as well. Lola hopes that by putting one of our men on the case, we’ll find her.” This next part was spoken to my dad: “He’s been with my family for years. His parents served my father. I trust him with my life.”

I moved my stare to the other man in the room, to the one standing off in the corner, away from the others. He was big. Not fat, but insanely tall. Like six and a half feet, maybe? Maybe less. It was hard to tell since he wasn’t nearby, but he was definitely on the bigger side. Tall like a mountain, wide like a bus. His arms were crossed, much like Kieran’s, but he had bulging muscles and veins, telling me just how strong he was.

That guy was Lola’s man? He was a freaking monster, and she wanted him to watch me ? How was I supposed to trust that this beast of a man would protect and not, you know, do other things that strong men were tempted to do when they were alone with a weaker girl? At least I had Kieran on my side.

It was like the big man could sense me, like he could feel me staring at him, because right then, his head slowly turned away from my dad, Kieran, and Sylvester. His stare moved to me, and I was too slow in pulling back and hiding behind the wall. He definitely saw me. Oops.

“Kieran, there’s nothing we can do. If Sylvester and Lola want this, then we will accommodate them. If they think it’ll help them find their missing person, I’m all for it.” Even though my dad said that, it sounded like he felt the opposite. He’d rather not have the stranger here, too.

God. Having Kieran shadowing me was bad enough. Now I had to have that big beast of a man following me around, too? Would I ever get a moment to myself, or would someone always be right outside my bedroom door, ready to spring into action because they thought my kidnapper would try to take me again?

My left hand ached, the ghostly sensation of the two fingers that were gone tickling my hand, mingling with the dull pain. My bandaged hand hung at my side, and I lifted it up, staring at it with unease.

Would he come for me again? Would my Devil show his face one more time, or had he abandoned me after being my keeper for so long?

I heard my dad sigh. “I assume she’s out in the hall, eavesdropping on this entire conversation.” A little louder, he called for me, “Laina, you can come in. There’s someone you should meet.”

Kieran warned, “Vance, I don’t think—”

“Enough, Kieran.” The tone my dad took told me it was final; there would be no arguing with him about this particular decision. The big beast of a man would become my bodyguard, just like Kieran.

Yay.

Holding my head high, I fluffed up my hair and walked around the corner. My gaze was quick to flick between my dad and Kieran, then Sylvester and the quiet, large man in the corner… though it mostly lingered on the latter.

My dad had taken a sip from his glass, though he damn near choked on it when he saw my hair. “Laina. What—what did you do to your hair?” His eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. It was a funny sight. He was the only one visibly freaking out about it; the others in the room, including the mountainous mystery man, looked like they didn’t care one bit about it.

“I got it done,” I said. “I like it a lot. I wanted a change.” It wasn’t the only thing I wanted to change about myself. Just wait until the other thing I ordered got here; I bet my dad would try to keep me from leaving the house once the look was complete.

“It looks—”

“Good,” Kieran cut in, shooting a look at my dad, as if warning him not to insult me in front of his guests. I was a little surprised he had my back in such a way, even more surprised when my dad actually listened to him.

“Yes. It looks… good.” The words were tough for him to get out, and he had to take a moment to finish drinking what was left in his short glass. “Laina, I want you to meet Sylvester Luciano.”

Sylvester, the man in the suit, came over to me, offering me his hand. He was a good-looking man, a mop of blond hair on his head and piercing blue eyes. He didn’t look like the typical mafia man. “It’s good to meet you, Laina. I didn’t get the chance to speak with you in the hospital.” I gingerly took his hand, shaking it. Thankfully he was a righty like me, otherwise this handshake wouldn’t be happening.

“The hospital?” my dad questioned. “I didn’t know you visited her in the hospital.”

Pulling back from me, Sylvester threw a look at my dad. “Yes. Lola did. She wanted to ask her some questions, see if she remembered anything.” He must’ve sensed that my dad wasn’t too happy about that, for he added, “She’s taken it upon herself to try to protect the girls in this city. We have a man on the force that—”

“Told you about my daughter before I was alerted,” my dad said, sounding grumpy about it. “I see.”

Sylvester gave him a tight-lipped smile before turning back to me. He gestured to the man in the corner. “That’s Big Mike. He’s a good man. He’ll keep you safe. You can trust him, Laina. He doesn’t talk much, but don’t let that fool you. It just means he’s watching extra hard.”

I didn’t know if he was trying to make a joke or not, so I stayed quiet. I did toss a glance at the man in question, however. Big Mike, he’d called him. I think I’d just stick with Mike.

To Mike, Sylvester said, “Let me know if you need anything or see anything.” To my dad, he nodded his head. “Have a good night, Mayor Hawkins.” He said nothing else as he strolled out of the room, holding his head high, as if he hadn’t just annoyed each and every one of us by leaving Mike here.

Everyone moved their stares to Mike, unaware that, in the hall, Tessa had gotten home and passed Sylvester on her way. “What—” She hurried into the sitting room, instantly spotting Mike in the corner. She drew her gaze to my dad. “What’s going on, Vance?” The sound of the front door opening and shutting with Sylvester’s exit was the only reason the room grew less tense.

But just by a little.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Kieran spoke, clearly unhappy. “Apparently it’s been decided by the local mafia that Laina needs one of their men guarding her.”

“The… the what?” Tessa sounded more alarmed, her brown-haired head whipping between my dad and Kieran. “Honey, tell me this is a mistake.” She didn’t want Mike here, either.

“It’s not. They apparently are missing someone too, and they’re hoping by putting him with Laina, they’ll find whoever it is.” My dad ran a hand along the side of his face. “It’s fine. It’s fine. That means you can take breaks, Kieran, have some time to yourself.”

“Like hell am I going to leave her with him.” Kieran flicked a thumb at Mike. “ Look at him. He’s a fucking giant. You really trust him to be alone with your daughter?”

It took my dad a while to say, “If Sylvester says he’s trustworthy, I trust him. Sylvester’s many things, but he’s not a liar. And from what it sounds like, the safety of girls is one of Lola’s top priorities, so I doubt she’d be okay with someone of a… more impure stature guarding Laina.”

“This is ridiculous.” Kieran couldn’t let it go. “We don’t need him. If her kidnapper tries to grab her again, I can get him, and I’ll pass along any information to Sylvester and Lola. We don’t need one of their men.”

As they argued back and forth, I let my gaze wander to the man in question. Mike stood there, unaffected by the arguing and bickering, his arms still folded over his thick chest. He wore a t-shirt and black pants, and I didn’t doubt he was packing somewhere. His hair was a brown color, cut short on the sides and left a little messy on top. His eyes were a light color, maybe a hazel, and his square jaw had the shadows of short stubble. His nose was perhaps a size too big, but maybe it just seemed that way because it was a little off-center, like it’d been broken sometime in his life. He looked to be a few years older than Kieran, maybe Tessa’s age.

I didn’t get a friendly vibe off him. I didn’t get any vibe off him. He was just sorta there, dwarfing everything and everyone in the room. If I went to stand directly beside him, I didn’t doubt I’d feel like a child again, like I still had some growing to do. In all my life, I didn’t think I’d ever seen a man so overwhelmingly large.

The nickname Big Mike made sense, as much as I hated it.

“Mike,” I spoke, breaking my silence and causing every pair of eyes in the room to land on me. I waited until his hazel eyes fixed on me to ask, “What do you think of all this?” This whole time, I hadn’t heard him utter a word.

A muscle in his jaw tensed. It was almost like he was trying to stay quiet, but I wanted to hear him speak. It was a long moment before he muttered, “I was given a job, so I’m going to do it. Whether or not any of you agree with Sylvester doesn’t matter.” His voice was low and gravelly, and yet he enunciated each word perfectly, putting emphasis on every single one. I had the feeling this man never said anything he didn’t mean. If ever there was a straightforward, no bullshit, cut to the point kind of guy, it was him.

Still, knowing I’d have not one but two shadows from now on aggravated me, so I rolled my eyes and huffed, “I’m going to my room.” It was as I turned and started to walk away that I heard Tessa comment on the state of my hair.

She didn’t like it, I assumed, based on her “I hope that’s a wig” comment.

When I got to my room, I shut the door and paced the length of it. It was only then that I remembered I’d never texted Kelly back, so I pulled out my phone. She wanted to see me. Today wouldn’t work; I was too riled up, but tomorrow…

Yeah, let’s do tomorrow. I wanted to go out and have some fun. Luckily for me, that’s exactly what Kelly was good at.