“It’s beautiful.” Hilary touched her silken locks, impressed with the rich tone.
“Since you’ll be wearing it straight from now on I used a hair serum that will keep the curls at bay for three days at a pop. I’d suggest you take some bottles home, so you don’t fry your hair daily.”
“Oh my God, Donna, you should be nominated for sainthood,” Hilary said.
Donna laughed. “I’d never make it inside the gates.” She winked.
“I’ll call Hawk and let him know I’m ready. Can I get the bottles of that hair serum while I wait?”
“Of course, only the best for the ladies of Mayhem. Ya’ll are some of my best customers.” Donna patted her shoulder and removed the cape that kept the hair from clinging to her clothing. “You’re all set, beautiful.”
Hilary rose from the chair, still marveling at the change. With her eyebrows dyed to match she was totally transformed. She walked to the front and called Hawk, still in a daze. When a motorcycle roared up, she snapped out of her daze and stood, immediately recognizing Hawk as the driver. With her bag of serum in hand she waved to the woman behind the desk and stepped outside. Hawk lowered his sunglasses and smiled. “Well if ain’t the Little Mermaid in the flesh. Looking good, Ariel.”
“Funny,” Hilary said trying to hide her nervousness.
“No, I’m serious, that’s your name from now on. I’ve been thinking about it, but nothing else I came up with seemed to fit. This is perfect.”
“Really? Ariel?” she said with a huff.
“Yep, a sexy ass tempting creature no one can put their hands on sounds about right.”
“Oh.” He likes it. Sh
e smiled to herself.
“Come on, Ariel. We need to head to our meeting. If we’re late, the girls might lose their nerve and leave.”
“Truth.” The girls were nervous about bringing an unknown man into their circle. Especially one who was a vice president of a biker club. So they’d arranged to meet at a hole in the wall dive bar about thirty minutes from town. He took the bag from her, stowing it as she climbed onto the back of his bike.
She walked slightly behind him as they entered The Torch, sweeping the busy place for the girls.
“I see them in the back corner.”
“Damn, they’re serious about this incognito thing,” Hawk said.
“It’s probably what’s kept them flying under the radar.”
“I think they spotted you.” Hawk chuckled.
The three women gaped as they made their way through the crowd. They reached the table, and Hawk pulled out a stool. Hilary sat, and he nodded his greeting to the wide-eyed women.
“Hey guys. This is Hawk. Hawk this is Karla, Maddie, Nic, and Lorene.” They were all stunning, ranging from brunette to blonde, with skin tones equally varied.
“Hi,” Karla ventured. As the unofficial spokesperson she always forged ahead for the three other women she considered to be her sisters. “C-can you tell us what this is all about?”
Hilary glanced around and leaned in. “Remember how I told you I’d been working on a way to put the men who…hurt you away?”
The girls nodded. Hilary had managed to track the women down through their medical records, hearsay, and pictures of Peter and his friends. None would give away the identity of the men they dated, but they had begun to tell her about the things they’d done.
“Well, they found out. Hence, the drastic hair-color change.” Fear colored their eyes a shade darker. “I don’t know if they know we’ve been communicating, but given their extreme measures, I think it’s best we act under the assumption they did.”
“No. I can’t go through that again,” Nic yelped. Her hazel eyes were wide. Her gaze darted around the room. “Always having to look over my shoulder, double checking every lock and door—”
“Then help us,” Hawk said. “We’re trying to get them locked away. But without you, we have a bunch of circumstantial bullshit. You want to live free of them. You need the courage to face them one last time and see that they pay for what they’ve done. We don’t know how many women they’ve done this to over the years. But we do know you’re the few who got out of there and could help us put them away,” Hawk said.
“Yeah, because we tucked our tails, ran, and hid,” Maddie said. Her blue eyes blazed.
“And no one blames you for that,” Hilary said quickly, soothing her ruffled feathers.