The Tangled Series Complete Digital Boxed Set (Bad Boy Rock Star, Millionaire, and MMA Fighter Bundle) (25 page)

“Oh.”

I grabbed a piece of pizza, and raised it to my lips. “Dig in,” I said, before biting down. “You’re safe, I left out the anchovies.”

“Okay, but I’m warning you, excessive carbs make me a little crazy.”

I smiled. “What about
wine
and excessive carbs?”

Her eyes lit up. “I’ve been known to dance on tables, sing too loud, and –”

“Get naked?” I interrupted, wiggling my eyebrows.

She clucked her tongue and sighed. “Oh boy.”

“Sorry. After what happened earlier today, I can’t seem to get my mind out of the gutter.”

“Yeah, about that,” she said, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t
your
fault,” I said. “In fact, I pretty much attacked you.”

She lifted her glass from the coffee table. “Well, I wasn’t exactly fighting you off.”

“I didn’t think you would.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Come on, Taffy, just admit it, you’ve always had a thing for me,” I joked.

Her left eyebrow arched. “Excuse me?”

“It’s true,” I said, enjoying the fire in her eyes. I’d almost forgotten how much fun it was to get her riled. “Hell, you’re undressing me with your eyes right now.”

Her jaw dropped. “Oh, my God! You are
so
obnoxious
and
conceited.”

“And sexy,” I said with a cocky grin. “You left that part out.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Okay, fine! I’ll admit that I may have had a crush on you when I was young and very naive, but that was then, and this is now.”

I put my plate on the coffee table. “Really?” I asked, turning towards her. I put my arm on the back of the sofa, and leaned closer, “because that kiss earlier, it was pretty fucking intense. I find it hard to believe that it didn’t mean anything at all.”

“It didn’t.” She sat up straighter. “You caught me off guard, and well, it’s been a while since anyone’s kissed me.”

“A girl as beautiful as you, I find it hard to believe.”

“I haven’t been exactly looking for a boyfriend, and I don’t hook up with guys just for… just for sex. Not like what you’re used to, I’m sure.”

“I respect that,” I said, which was the truth. “More than you know.”

She stared at me for a minute and sighed. “I’ve grown up, Ransom, and I’m certainly not one of those star-struck groupies who’ll bend to your every whim. What happened earlier was a mistake. In every way.”

I scratched my head. “Wow, you sure know how to crush a guy’s ego.”

Her eyes twinkled. “Somehow I’m sure
you’ll
get over it.”

“You must think I’m a real shit,” I said. “That I jump into bed with any willing chick, and then forget about her the next day?”

“Don’t you?”

I grinned. “Actually, it’s the other way around, they jump into
my
bed. But, I’ll admit, I do forget about them the next day. Most of the girls that end up in my bed
are
very forgettable.”

“Wow… you’re nice.”

“Oh, hell, they’re only after me because of what I represent, Taffy. I’m famous, and I have a shitload of money. Do any of them ever ask what my favorite color is, if I like to read, or hell, why I have a scar on my chest? No, they only care about what’s below the belt, one of which is my wallet and the other, I don’t think I have to spell it out for you.”

“How is that, by the way?”

I arched my eyebrow and grinned wickedly. “If you really want to know…” 

She rolled her eyes. “No, you goofball, your heart.”

I’d been born with a hole in my heart, one that they’d repaired with surgery, when I was very young. There hadn’t been any complications, and from what I’d been told growing up, it was nothing to worry about.

“Well, it hasn’t been broken yet.”

“Not what I meant.”

“I’m fine. Never been any problems.”

“Should you be drinking?”

I picked up the glass of wine, and took a drink. “Isn’t wine supposed to be good for your health?”

“I have no idea, but if it really is, then I’m assuming it should be done in moderation.”

“Are you also assuming that I don’t do it in moderation?”

“Something tells me that there’s nothing you do in moderation.”

I put a hand over my chest. “Now
that
hurts. You’re a cruel, cruel woman.”

“Eat your pizza, it’s getting cold.”

I smiled.

My cell phone started ringing, and I cursed myself for not turning it back off the moment I walked into her apartment. I took it out of my jeans and sighed.

Remy.

“It’s my sister. Something must be up. She never calls me at night”

“Then you’d better answer it. It might be really important.”

I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like a cloud of doom had settle over us. I answered anyway. “Hey, Remy, what’s going on?”

She was sobbing. “Ransom…”

I tensed up. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s mom,” she moaned. “She’s been killed!”

Chapter Fourteen

Tiffany

Ransom’s face went completely white. “What?” he mumbled hoarsely into the phone. After a few seconds, he stood up, and turned his back to me. There was no mistaking the way his shoulders slumped, that something was very wrong. After a few muffled words, his shoulders began to shake, and I could tell he was crying.

I got off the sofa and touched his arm, trying to give him some kind of comfort. I had no idea what Remy was saying, but it was wrecking him.

“Okay,” he said, turning away from me again. “I’ll see you in a few hours. Love you, too.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked after he hung up, and faced me with glassy eyes.

“I have to leave,” he said, his voice thick.

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

His face crumbled. “My mother was murdered. I have to go.”

I stared at him in horror. “What?!”

He started punching numbers into his phone. “They don’t know what happened. The housekeeper found her. Someone… shot her.”

I covered my mouth. “I’m so sorry, Ransom.”

“I have to leave,” he mumbled, putting the phone to his ear. “Yeah, it’s me. I need you guys to pick me back up. Yes, right now. Something’s come up.” He hung up and turned back to me. “I’m going to wait downstairs for the car,” he said. “Sorry about cutting this short.”

I put my hand on his arm. “Ransom, I’m
so
sorry. I loved Carol. God, she was such a wonderful woman. I wish there was something I could do for you and Remy.”

His eyes flashed angrily. “Me, too. I wish I could find the bastard who did this, shoot him in the face, and then run him over with my car before shooting him in the face again.”

“Hopefully the cops will find out who did this, and bring some kind of justice.”

“They’d better,” he said in a clipped voice. He backed up and avoided my eyes again. “I’ll call you, and let you know what I find out.”

I took a deep breath, closed the distance between us, and threw my arms around him. “I’m here for you and Remy. Call me no matter what, okay?”

His body relaxed, and he slid his arms around me. “Thanks, Taffy,” he whispered into my hair.

I closed my eyes. If there was one thing I knew, Ransom loved Carol more than life itself, and the pain had to be devastating. “Anytime, Ransom.”

He squeezed me tightly, and then let me go. “I’ll call you.”  

I nodded and watched him leave.

***

Carol’s murder was all over the news the following day, along with photos of Ransom and Remy as they tried to avoid the media going to and from their parents’ home. Rumors of the murder had also spread like wildfire, most of it being that it was a hate crime against Ransom. As a celebrity, I knew he had to have a lot of enemies, some of them seriously psychotic, and it made me wonder if continuing with Icon was a mistake. Right now my life was simple, and the only people I pissed off were clients who didn’t like the way their hair had turned out, and thankfully, that was a rare occurrence.

I called Remy in the morning and left my condolences on her voicemail. When she returned my call later in the day, I could tell that she was barely holding it together.

“Tiffany, the funeral is in four days. You’re coming, right?”

“Of course, Rem.”

She paused. “I figured, but just wanted to know for sure.”

“How are you holding up?”

“I’ll be better when Taylor arrives. He’s in Florida right now, doing some kind of promotional thing for Icon.”

“When’s he getting back?”

“Tonight,” she answered, sniffling. “Hold on,” she said and then blew her nose. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, silly. Listen, if you need
anything
, let me know.”

“I just need to see you soon, Tiff. We’re having a private wake the night before the funeral. Can you make that, too?”

“I’ll do my best.”

She gave me the address, and I wrote it down. I knew I had appointments, but there was no way I’d disappoint her, and decided to call my clients as quickly as possible, to reschedule.

“How’s Ransom doing?”

She snorted. “He left early this morning, and then came back, drunk. He passed out about four hours ago in his old room, and is still sleeping.”

“I’m sure this is hard for everyone.”

“Right,” she mumbled. “He’s hardly visited her at all these past few months, and he lives in California, for God’s sake.”

“Doesn’t he travel a lot?”

“Yes, but he still could have seen her a number of times. Obviously, he was too busy partying and raising hell. It just makes me so sick sometimes, you know? Just because he’s famous now doesn’t give him an excuse to be a jackass.”

“I don’t think he’s very happy.”

“Boo hoo,” she muttered. “He now has everything he’s always wanted, and if that doesn’t make him happy, then he seriously needs help.”

Not wanting to upset her further, I changed the subject. “Okay forget Ransom, how are
you
really
doing?”

She released a shaky breath. “I miss her so much. I mean we talked on the phone every day, and she was always there for me.
Always
. God, I keep checking my phone, expecting to see a missed call from her or a text.” Her voice hitched. “I just don’t know how I’m going to get through my wedding or anything else without her at my side.”

“You will, sweetie. And
she
would want you to keep living,” I said, remembering how I’d said these same words to myself when my own mother had died. It had become my daily mantra, and although I’d had a hard time believing in it at first, over time it had helped me cope.

“I know you’ve been through this,” she said softly. “And I wish I would have been there for you, knowing how much pain you went through. I feel like such a selfish bitch.”

“No… no… no. You had your own grief to deal with,” I replied. “I didn’t expect anything from you and… it was something that I had to deal with myself. Just like with your mom. It’s great having friends and family with you, but at night, when you’re lying in bed and thinking about the person you lost, that’s when you realize that
you
have to be strong. Just remember that I’m always here for you. No matter the distance, no matter the hour. You call me if you need to talk.”

“I love you, Tiff,” she said softly. “And I’ve missed you.”

“I love you, too, Rem. Don’t worry, you’ll get through this. It hurts, and the pain feels like it’s never going to end, but you’ll get through this. Just take it one day at a time.”

“I hope so. One moment I feel numb, like I can’t cry another tear, the next, I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest. It’s horrible.”

“I know.”

It had been hell for me, too, especially when I had to go through all of her things. The photographs, the familiar scent of perfume in her sweaters, and all of the silly things I’d made for her in school that she’d cherished and kept. It was then that the finality of it really hit me hard. My mom was gone, and never coming back.

She blew her nose again. “Oh… Taylor is trying to call, I’d better answer it. I’ll call you later.”

“Only if you have a chance. I know you’re busy with everything.”

“Never too busy for you. I’m not making any more mistakes with our friendship, Tiff.” 

I smiled. Sometimes it took a loss to appreciate what you still had. “You didn’t make any mistakes, hon. Just remember that.”

“Regardless, I’ll call you later.”

“Okay.”

After we hung up, I scarfed down a turkey sandwich, and then greeted my last customer of the day. After determining what she wanted, I went into the backroom to search for a suitable hair color, when Sinclair stormed in.

“Dammit, I’m done with men,” she snarled, clenching her teeth. She was pacing, and had her cell phone gripped tightly in her hand.

“What’s wrong?” 

Stopping, she folded her arms under her chest and leaned back against the wall. “Reed. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him, and Jesse said he’s not returning any of his calls either.”

“Is he in court, or with a client?” I asked. It was four o’clock and that didn’t seem unreasonable.

“No. Well, not that I know of. It’s just…”

“What?”

She sighed. “We got into this argument last night after he was late for dinner. We argued, and then he left. Well, I more or less
kicked
him out.”

“Oh, my God, why?”

She stared down at her sandals. “I was pissed. I’d planned this romantic evening for the both of us, and had warned him about being late, that I had something very important that I wanted to tell him. Well,” she looked up, “he didn’t show up until after nine, and his excuse was that he had to give that bimbo assistant of his a ride home because her car was in the shop.”

“Ah,” I replied.

“What pisses me off is that he was supposed to be home by seven-thirty.” Her lips thinned. “I guess that after he drove chesty home, she asked if he could look at her computer, because it
supposedly
had a virus or something. Claimed she couldn’t get into her work files. So, obviously, he had to stick around and help the little witch.”

“Did he call you?”

“No. He said he lost track of time.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“I think the only virus that woman has is between her legs,” she mumbled, tears in her eyes. “I’ve seen the way she stares at him. Like he’s the last man on Earth, and it’s her mission to repopulate the planet. And obviously, he’s clueless. Dammit, why are men so clueless?
Especially
Reed?”

I wanted to point out that it was possible they weren’t as clueless as she presumed, but that would probably piss her off even more.

“Do you trust him?”

“I want to. I really do. But Jesse says that I should just forget about Reed, now too,” she wiped a tear from her cheek. “He doesn’t think Reed will change. Thinks he’s always going to be a player. How am I supposed to trust someone whose own brother thinks he’s a scoundrel?”

“Good point, but he doesn’t sleep with Reed, and he doesn’t know what’s really in his brother’s heart. What do you feel in
your
heart?”

She smiled bitterly. “I don’t know. It’s my head that’s telling me to be careful. I’ve learned that my heart is gullible, and to not always trust it.”

“Have you accused him of cheating to his face?”

“It kind of came out last night. I didn’t exactly accuse him of cheating, though. I did accuse him of being easily manipulated by women.”

“So he left?”

“Well,” she smiled sheepishly. “I kind of pressured him to leave after he stuck up for Nina, and said that I was being ridiculous.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” I said, resting my hand on her shoulder. “My experience with guys hasn’t been all that good either.”

“Men are fucking pricks,” replied Thane, the owner of Tangled, as he walked into the backroom, filling the small space with his massive frame. “That’s all you need to know.”

“You’ve mentioned that before, Mufasa,” chuckled Sinclair. “But your own actions prove otherwise.”

With his shoulder-length blonde hair and golden eyes, we referred to him as “The Lion King”, not only because of his ruggedly handsome looks, but the fact that he was very protective of all of us. Especially after Sera, our nail technician, had ended up in the hospital after being attacked in her garage a couple of weeks earlier. Not only had he paid for a new security system for her home, but he spent a lot of evenings there as well, making us wonder if there was something more going on between them.

He grabbed a broom and dustpan. “That’s because I don’t mix business and pleasure. It’s a very bad combination.”

“What about Sera?” I teased.

“Sera? She doesn’t mix business and pleasure either. At least, as far as I know.”

“Right,” chuckled Sinclair.

He cocked an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Oh, nothing,” she said innocently.

“Look, there’s nothing going on with Sera and me. She’s had enough problems with men, and doesn’t need another guy intruding on her life.”

“Oh, that’s too bad, because I think you and Sera would make such a cute couple,” replied Sinclair.

His eyes softened. “Cute? Oh, hell. She’s too good for a schmuck like me.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” said Sinclair. “From what we see, you’re all talk and really just a big teddy bear.”

He reached over, and tugged one of her red curls. “Looks can be deceiving. Hell, if you girls knew about my past, you’d probably look for a new job.”

“Oh, come on,” said Sinclair. “I’m sure that whatever you did can’t be all that bad.”