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Hunt readied himself to intervene.
“Some women are filled with passion and fire. They can be wild with it.” Jerry seemed to appreciate those traits.
Hunt thought of Cyn, not Angela, when he heard those words. Angela was softer, quieter. Which made Hunt believe that even if Angela had tried to stand up for herself, she still wouldn’t have been a match for Rad’s temper. Not the way Cyn could hold her own against him. He wondered if he hadn’t been there that day he arrested Rad if Cyn would have hit Rad back for daring to touch her.
Angela probably would have tried to protect herself, but he doubted she would have fought back. Not like Cyn.
And that wasn’t a recrimination against Angela. She knew how to survive. That took its own kind of strength.
Jerry’s voice turned deceptively soft yet determined. “Men should appreciate a woman’s spirit. They should worship a woman for their comfort, caring and strength. A man is luckiest and blessed when a woman allows them into their heart and their arms. Women hold men up, and we should never tear them down for doing so.”
“Jerry. You don’t know what happened. Angela and I are good together. She loves me. You know that. You’ve seen her with me.”
“I saw my Katie with the man who said he loved her.But I didn’t see the truth she tried so hard to hide from me because she was scared and ashamed.” Jerry turned thoughtful. “And now I remember Angela, standing in here with you, her eyes downcast, her fake smile falling when you spoke for her instead of letting her talk.” Jerry shook his head and pointed the wrench at Rad. “I see you now. And you’re not welcome here anymore. Collect your things. I’ll pay you what you’re owed. You’re fired.” With that, Jerry turned and walked into the nearby office.
Rad turned on Hunt. “You fucking asshole. Look what you’ve done. Arresting me wasn’t enough, now you got me fired.”
Hunt had tried to keep his conversation with Rad private, but in the huge open room, voices carried. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just wanted to see if everything between you and Angela was better and know that she was safe with you.”
“Safe. How am I supposed to pay the rent and buy food when I don’t have a job? Things were already tight. I’ve been trying to get some money together— You know what? Fuck you. You ruined everything. Again.” Rad stalked off to the office, presumably to collect his final check.
Hunt left, not wanting to make things worse. And he needed to get an address on Steve Thompson and check out the story about the car. Because that was his job. Trying to fix things with Rad and assuaging his guilt about getting him fired seemed like a lost cause, and Hunt would have to live with it.
Chapter Six
Cyn locked the front door of the salon and headed down the street toward her house. She loved that she could walk to work, though tonight the weather was chillier than she expected. She pulled her sweater around her and stared up at the setting sun, wishing she had someone to help warm her up when she got home. Unfortunately, she’d been going home to an empty house for a long time now.
She could go to Cooper’s and see if there were any hot cowboys looking for a good time, but she’d done that often enough to know it was fun in the moment, occasionally ended with sex, but rarely started something worth holding on to for even a few months.
She wanted something real. Something solid. Something that would last.
That led to several blocks of imagining walking up to her door, opening it and seeing the man she loved at home waiting for her with a smile and kiss that buckled her knees.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
But when she opened her door and stepped inside her cute little rented house, the only thing that greeted her was silence.
“I need to get a cat,” she grumbled to herself. At least she’d have something to come home to.
But then she let herself feel the excitement she’d put off all day. Tomorrow, her sister would move in with her, filling the house with love and laughter and a sense of home Cyn had been missing for a long time.
She hadn’t let herself think too much about Angela today while she cut, curled, dyed and primped her customers’ hair, because in the back of her mind lingered the niggling feeling things were going to fall apart. Again. Angela had made noises before about leaving Rad. Granted, this time she sounded sincere and ready, so Cyn remained cautiously optimistic. But she knew not only could Angela back out, but Rad could do something to stop Angela from leaving. What if Angela gave herself away tonight or in the morning before Cyn got there?
Cyn stopped herself from letting those thoughts choke her with fear and spin out until she was a mass of anxiety.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said to the empty room, catching herself. “Great. I’m talking out loud to myself now.”
It wasn’t like she didn’t talk to people all day. She was hardly ever alone at work. But it wasn’t the same as having someone in her life to share her hopes and dreams and fears. Because right now, she was terrified something bad would happen when Angela left Rad.
She dumped her purse on the table by the sofa and pulled out her phone. She hoped Shelby wasn’t in the middle of dinner or putting her little girl down to bed, but took a chance and called her.
“Cyn! It’s so good to hear from you.”
Relieved her friend was happy for the call, Cyn blurted out, “I need to ask you something.”
“Sure. Anything.”
“Are you comfortable giving me Chase’s brother’s cell number? I need his help.”
