White Wedding Read online

  “Why wouldn’t I? He knows a lot of people.”

  She seemed truthful, if she didn’t ask she wouldn’t know. “How about the harassing phone calls, I know you stopped but they’ve continued.”

  This time she fidgeted in her chair before answering. “I think maybe Ben might have something to do with that.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Just a suspicion.”

  “Are you living together?”

  She laughed. “We might as well be. If he’s not at Kevin’s, he practically lives here.”

  “I would have thought Kevin would have been the one to be more helpful in your relationship.”

  “You’d think so, but you’d be wrong. Ben’s the dominant one here, not Kevin. Ben could get Kevin to agree to almost anything except have direct sex with him or cut Shanna loose. And let me tell you, we all fought plenty ‘bout Shanna. Breaking up so many times, but hell Kevin still kept coming back.”

  “How did you feel about that?”

  “I hated it, but at least I could always count on Ben.”

  “And how did Ben feel?”

  “He had a love/hate relationship with Shanna. He wanted her 'cause Kevin loved her, but he hated her because she’d rejected him.”

  “What about the house in Beverly Hills?”

  LaToya frowned. “What house in Beverly Hills?”

  Ross believed she hadn’t known about the house until he’d mentioned it. After he left LaToya’s he got another call from Simon that had his heart racing.

  Simon found out Ben had a temper. “This does not look good, man,” Simon said. “From what I could find out, a few years ago a woman pressed charges against Ben for assault, but the case was dropped for insufficient evidence. And while he was in college there’d been two complaints filed against him with the campus police, both for assault. He’d never been convicted but then he transferred a week later from the school and the complaints were dropped.”

  “I got a bad feeling about him,” Ross admitted.

  “For good reason.”

  “Sorry, man, I gotta go.”

  That last piece of information had him calling the salon only to be told Shanna was out. He tried her cell and left a message asking her to call him, and that he was on his way to the salon.

  He pulled into a parking spot and stopped at the receptionist desk to ask if Shanna had arrived back yet; her sister Eboni came out of their office and saw him.

  “Hey, Ross, looking for Shanna? I just got back but she’s not here.”

  “Do you know where she is? I’ve been trying to reach her but she’s not answering her phone.”

  “No, actually. I know she’s not at the other salons. I just came from them. Let me call and check in case we crossed each other. Wouldn’t be the first time.” She grinned, took out her cell phone, and made two phone calls but wasn’t on the line for very long.

  “Sorry, Ross. She’s not there and hasn’t been in either store all day.” She turned to the receptionist. “Tina, when did Shanna leave?”

  “She left just a little before I went to lunch, so about noon.”

  “Thanks. Ross, come with me.”

  He followed her back to the office, and perched on the edge of Shanna’s desk. “Let me try her cell again.” After five rings, he cut the connection, not bothering to leave another message. “Something’s wrong.”

  Eboni scoffed. “What could be wrong? She’s only been gone less than an hour.”

  “I know, but I trust my instincts. They’ve kept me alive too long to ignore them now with your sister.”

  “Okay, now you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

  “Other than the weird phone calls and the fact someone broke into this place?”

  “Well, yeah. What does that have to do with her being unavailable for an hour or two?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m damn well going to find out.” He took out his phone again and dialed information for Kevin’s work number, and Kevin’s secretary told him he wasn’t in and would be out for the rest of the day. When he pressed, she said he left before noon. He disconnected the call while heading for the door.

  “Whoa, Ross. Hold up.” Eboni caught his arm, stopping him. “What’s going on? What does Kevin have to do with anything?”

  “Like I said, I’m not sure, but I’m working on a hunch.”

  “Well, where are you going?”

  “Beverly Hills.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “That’s not such a good idea.”

  He was talking to her back. She’d already walked around him, heading out the door, and he shook his head. Stubbornness must be a family trait. She waited for him in the hall.

  “Do you want to drive or shall I?”

  “I’ll drive. Come on.” He led the way to his car. Last night, when he’d made the drive from Shanna’s condo, it took them twenty minutes, but the mall was closer so it shouldn’t take as long. Suddenly, his gut began to twist and clench, urging him to hurry.

  He pulled into traffic and said to Eboni, “Try Shanna again, would you?”

  “No answer. The phone just rings a few times then goes into voicemail.”

  “Yeah, that’s what it’s been doing. Means the phone's probably on, but she’s just not answering it.”

  “Shanna always answers her phone.”

  They parked on the street because the driveway was full of cars. The Lexus from the night before, Shanna’s Beamer, and a silver Mercedes sports.

  “Well, Shanna must be here—that’s her car—but who lives here?” Eboni asked.

  “I’m not sure. Let’s find out.” He raised the brass knocker and banged it three times. Time slowed as they waited, but nothing happened. The door was solid, but he pressed his ear to it anyway. He didn’t hear anything on the other side, and the small window on the door was too high to be able to look inside.

  Ross walked around to the side of the house and looked in the first window in time to see Shanna, standing between Ben and Kevin. She pulled something out of her bag and sprayed Ben in the face; his hands came up and she kneed him in the groin. Kevin stood behind her, too shocked to move, but Ross knew that wouldn’t last. Eboni came up beside him, but he turned away from her to run around to the French doors he’d remembered seeing last night, ignoring her cries of, "Where are you going?"

  He kicked the flimsy lock, glad he’d worn hard-soled cowboy boots. When the lock broke, he shoved the door open and entered the room. There was a desk and chair in his way; he hurried around them to help Shanna. She was hand-wrestling with Kevin over the can of spray. For the moment he ignored Ben, who was on his knees, his facial features contorted in obvious pain. He headed straight for Kevin and yanked him away from Shanna. Balling his hand into a fist, he punched Kevin in the face. Kevin was a big man, all beef, and he wasn’t going down that easily. His head snapped sideways and he turned to retaliate, but Ross didn’t give him a chance. Doing a half-turn and in a quick backspin, he backhanded Kevin. Continuing the motion into a full circle, he followed through with a spin kick to the chest. Kevin landed on the floor beside the sofa.

  Ross turned in time to see Shanna and her sister beating the crap out of Ben as he tried to escape. Eboni was on his back with her arms in a chokehold around his neck while Shanna punched him in the gut.

  “You son of a bitch,” Shanna said.

  “Nobody screws around with my sister,” Eboni cried. Then she bit his ear. Ben screamed. Ross intervened and pried Eboni off Ben’s back. The man went down on all fours and Shanna helped him to fall flat on his face by punching her foot, heeled shoe and all, down on his back.

  “And stay the hell down.”

  When Kevin moaned and started to sit up, Shanna went over to him and punched the side of his already swelling face. Like a tree, the man fell with a thud.

  Ross pulled out his cell phone and called the police.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Why? Why would those assholes think yo
u’d be interested in their games?” Eboni asked, shaking her head. “Then to try to force you? What idiots.”

  They’d returned to the salon so Eboni could get her car. The three of them sat in the office. “I don’t know, Sis. I don’t know.” They’d spent the last couple of hours in the police station giving them their statements. Ben and Kevin were both arrested for assault, harassment, and a few other things. “I’m glad it’s over. It got weird then they got outta control. I think they just took things too far.”

  “Damn straight, they took it too far,” Ross said.

  “But it’s over, right?” Eboni asked. “They’ve been arrested.”

  “I’m afraid that might be a temporary solution,” Ross said. “They won’t be in jail long. And I doubt the charges will stick. I know you don’t want to hear this, but they’ll probably claim they both got a little carried away and that you just got scared. Misunderstood the whole situation. Feldman probably has enough legal know-how to get them off.”

  “Look, I don’t really care,” Shanna said. “As long as they leave me alone.” And she meant it. She was tired of the phone calls, tired of feeling guilty about Kevin and Ross. She glanced at her lover and smiled. Well, no more. She was not feeling guilty over Kevin any longer, but was she really ready to give herself completely to Ross? Maybe, maybe not, but she was damn sure willing to try.

  “Are you done here?” Ross asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then let's go home.”

  They’d left the salon hand in hand, and went to his house. That had been two weeks ago. She’d only been back to her place once or twice to get more of her things. They were practically living together. Ross had to go out of town on a job for a few days and she decided to stay at her condo. He wanted her to move in with him and she needed to think about it. It was one thing to have most of her things at his place, but there was a difference in her being there and her living there.

  She’d just finished dinner when her phone rang. Out of habit she paused to check the caller ID; when it came up ‘out of area’ her heart paused mid-beat, before moving again in double-time. Quickly, she grabbed the receiver and put it to her ear.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Shanna. Baby, please don’t hang up.”

  “What the hell! Why are you calling me? Are you crazy? Well, of course you are.”

  “Please, please don’t hang up.”

  “We have nothing to say to each other, Kevin.” Just as Ross had predicted, even after she pressed charges against both Kevin and Ben, Kevin had managed to get the charges dropped.

  The prosecutor claimed they had insufficient evidence to move forward. Neither man had touched her or harmed her in any way. That was because she hadn't given them a chance to. She wasn’t going to just stand there and wait for them to restrain her, 'cause sure as hell that was what they were aiming to do. And that was what she told the cops.

  Kevin and Ben told another story—they claimed she'd misread the situation and things got out of hand. It was a miscommunication; she had been engaged to Kevin, and they were trying to patch things up. That was why she'd been in her ex-fiancé’s house with both him and Ben. The prosecutor came right out and said Kevin and Ben could have pressed assault charges as well as breaking and entering against Ross, but they weren’t going to. The charges against Kevin and Ben were dropped. They couldn’t even make the harassing phone calls stick. Both men denied making them, and the phone company was unable to verify the location from where the calls came, or who made them, and the calls had stopped. Simon’s trace was illegal; they couldn't even hint at it. They couldn’t prove Ben was behind the theft at her salon, and the stolen goods were not found at LaToya’s salon. So both men were walking free.

  “After everything, we do need to talk, babe. Look, I’m sorry about what happened and the way it happened. We would have never hurt you. I would have never hurt you.”

  “Bullshit, Kevin. Do not call me again or I will get a restraining order against you.” She slammed the phone down. “Son of a bitch!”

  When the phone rang again, she couldn’t believe the man’s audacity and picked it up without looking at the caller ID. “Goddamnit, Kevin…”

  “Shanna…”

  “Ross? Ross, is that you?”

  “Baby, yes, it’s me. What’s going on? Did Kevin call you?”

  She took a deep breath to release her anxiety. “Sorry, yes. He had the nerve to call to apologize.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I hung up on him and told him I’d get a restraining order against him if he had the nerve to call me again.”

  “I’m coming back tomorrow.”

  “No. You told me you needed to be there at least three days. You only just got there. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. Kevin’s not going to bother me again.”

  “I don’t want him bothering you at all. Look, I’ve already gone over the security once today. I’ll see what else needs to be done tomorrow and try to get out of here early. I’m only a couple of hours away. And, baby, don’t take any chances. Go back to my place.”

  “Ross…”

  “Please, for me. I want you there. I know we’ve talked about you moving in with me, but maybe what we need to do is look for a place together.”

  “Are we ready for that?”

  “I am. We’ll talk about it when I get back. I miss you and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “I miss you, too.”

  After talking to Ross, she felt a lot better. She liked the idea of them looking for a place together—she liked it a lot. There was just one problem and it held her back. He hadn’t told her he loved her—but then, neither had she. She did love him, though, and believed he loved her. She thought she fell in love with him the day he shampooed her hair. Even so, she wasn’t going to wait around for five years for him to decide she was what he wanted. She’d done that with Kevin and look at how well that turned out.

  Ross hung up the phone and had planned on going over the blueprints for the place he’d visited earlier. A complete walk-through was scheduled for tomorrow, but he couldn’t get past his conversation with Shanna. His gut was acting up again. He loved her. He hadn’t told her yet, not sure what was holding him back. From the first time he looked into her soulful eyes, he’d fallen in love with her. She reached in and grabbed hold of his soul and never bothered to give it back. Nor did he want it; he wanted hers instead. He just wasn’t entirely sure he had it. He damn sure wanted to find out.

  Removing his cell phone from his pocket again, he called Simon.

  “I need you and whoever else is on rotation to keep an eye on Shanna for me until I get back. I’ll be returning some time tomorrow night.” Shanna had met Simon at his office a couple of times, as well as some of the men who worked with him. They’d teased him for days afterwards about how she was the reason he hadn’t been hanging out with them. He proudly admitted it. He was in a real relationship. Only one of the men who worked for him was married: Oscar. A couple had steady girlfriends, but most were single, liked it and preferred it that way. He used to think that way, too. Until he met a brown-skinned, brown-eyed beauty who made him lose his mind. He grinned.

  “Noah’s out of town,” Simon said, “but I’m on it and I’ll call Karl to help out.”

  “Good.” He already had Shanna’s home address as well as the address for the salon.

  “We’re on it. Don’t worry, boss.”

  “Don’t you boss me. You and Noah have also invested in this business.”

  Simon laughed as he hung up the phone. Ross had been through a lot with both men, and while he was the senior partner, both Simon and Noah owned a piece of the company. If Ross couldn’t be with Shanna, she’d be in good hands. Still, he wanted—needed—to watch over her himself.

  ***

  Shanna and Eboni stood at the receptionist desk when the man who inspired the phrase “tall, dark, and handsome” walked through the salon doors. Shanna immediately recognized him and s
tepped forward with her hand outstretched.

  “Simon, right?” While she appreciated Simon’s exceptional looks—she wasn’t dead—her heart rate did not speed up, her stomach didn’t tighten, her cells didn’t come alive. Only one man did that for her.

  “Yes.” He stepped forward, too, and took her hand in a firm handshake before releasing her. “I’ve heard so much about this place. I thought I’d stop by and check it out,” he said, showing straight, even white teeth. That smile looked devastating and deadly at the same time. Shanna grinned in response. “Maybe get a wash or something?”

  She glanced at his hair, hanging well past his shoulders, curling up at the ends. With that dark hair and sharp cheekbones she guessed he had some Native American blood. He wore dark wrap-around sunglasses. Come to think of it, the first time she’d met him in Ross’ office he’d worn them then, too. She couldn’t see his eyes to tell if he was being truthful, but something told her he wasn’t there for just a haircut.

  “Sure, I can have someone give you a haircut.”

  “Ah…” His mouth curled in horror as he ran long, slim fingers through his hair. “I was thinking more along the lines of just a wash and conditioner.”

  She grinned even wider. His hair right now could be used as an ad, it was so thick and healthy. “We can certainly take care of that. By the way, when you talk to Ross tell him I know what he’s doing.”

  His answering grin and double dimples told her he got the message. Ross had sent him. She introduced him to her sister, Eboni, and turned him over to her, then went back to the office to call Ross.

  Unable to reach him, she left him a message, returned to the front and saw her sister washing Simon’s hair. Sharing a grin with the receptionist, she returned to the office. Eboni rarely did hair anymore, only for a select few, but then Simon was a rare type of man. While she loved Ross and knew he was very attractive, on a scale from one to ten he was a definite ten-plus, but Simon wasn’t even on the scale. And she’d bet good money when the shades came off he was even better looking.

  When her phone rang, she reached for it. She’d stopped checking the caller ID at work. The familiar voice on the other end of the line caused butterflies to flutter around her stomach.