It seemed like a pretty open-and-shut case. Clean. I could do this. I could end this any day now. All I had to do was wait for the call with my delivery schedule.
“There’s another reason I called,” I said before Watson could hang up the phone. I cleared my throat. “It’s—uh—personal.”
“Whatever you need,” he said. I hoped he would still feel that way after I told him what I needed.
“There’s this woman,” I began.
“Mother of God, Gray, don’t tell me you fell for someone on the crew.”
“No. No, nothing like that.”
“Thank God. Do you know what kind of compromise that would be to your cover?”
I didn’t say anything because even though Julie wasn’t on the crew, she was still technically a compromise to my cover.
Watson swore. “What is it, Gray?” he demanded.
“The night I went undercover, I stood up a woman for a date,” I began.
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, I dated her before, months before. Before I went undercover. She showed up at the club my first night under. She… uh… fell in with Dom. I intercepted as he was dragging her off the dance floor. I sent her home.”
“So she’s connected to your undercover alias. And she knows your real name.”
“Yes.” I paused. “I told her I was undercover.”
I yanked the phone away from my ear just in time to be spared the barrage of expletives that came through the line. When Watson was done cussing at me, I rested the cell back against my ear.
“I know it’s against protocol. It couldn’t be helped. She assured me she wouldn’t breathe a word. She promised if she ever saw me out in town, she would pretend she had no idea who I was.”
“You trust this woman?”
“I do, sir. Absolutely.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
“There’s something else.”
“Jesus, Gray. What!”
“The last guy to deliver for Dom never came back. Dom wants to ride with me. I don’t think it’s a good sign,” I said, letting that sink in. “I want your word, sir, that if something happens to me, she will be notified privately. I don’t want her hearing about me on the news. She’s important to me. She means something.”
Watson was silent on the line for a long time. “You saying you think you’re gonna die, Gray?” he asked gruffly.
“I have no intention of dying, sir. But I just… I want to be sure she gets the respect she deserves. She isn’t my wife, but…”
“You don’t have to explain, son. I understand. You have my word.”
The tightness between my shoulder blades seemed to ease a little with his promise. I gave him Julie’s name and address and then cut the connection.
After putting the secret cell back where I was hiding it, I put the car in drive and went back to the ghetto.
19
Julie
Twelve. That’s how many haircuts I did today. That doesn’t count the couple of eyebrow waxes and two highlights I did as well. My fingers were numb from holding the scissors. My feet were growing blisters the size of my head, and my shoulders ached from holding my arms up to work.
I swear every walk-in that came in today was pointed in my direction. But I made a lot of tips and I sold quite a few products, which would mean some extra commission. I couldn’t wait to go home to peel the boots off my tired feet, take a long hot bath, and sip a glass of wine.
But first, I had to finish work.
Of course my busiest day on the floor styling hair was also my day to stay late and go through inventory and call the supplier. I thought about putting it off until tomorrow. But tomorrow was Saturday. I wasn’t entirely sure if my suppliers were open on Saturdays. I’d always placed my order on a weekday.
Not to mention tomorrow was my day off. After today, I sincerely wanted to sleep half the day away. I’d rather yank my toenails out with a pair of tweezers than get up early and come in here again tomorrow.
Most of the girls were finishing up their day (some had already left) when I peeked out the window at the darkening sky. There was a lot of cloud coverage today; the sky seemed lower than usual, like it was heavy and pressing in on the town. I could see the trees outside swaying in the wind, and I wondered if perhaps a rainstorm was heading our way. Living so close to the coast sometimes made the weather here unpredictable.
Enough stalling, I told myself and headed into the back room where I kept my clipboard and inventory sheets. I did pause to quickly brew myself a mug of coffee with the Kuerig that Susan bought for all the girls last Christmas.
I definitely needed a pick-me-up after today. I felt the beginnings of a monster headache behind my eyes and hoped the caffeine would kick it out of my head. After my coffee was done, I added a splash of creamer from the fridge and carried it over to where I kept my notes.