Page 90 of Shadow's Surrender
“Did you know them … my mother?” Shadow asked, his voice low.
Mansfield fixed his gaze on him. “No.”
“But you know my parents are dead. I’ll bet Charlie Bowen told you.” Shadow smirked when Scarlett’s father’s eyes widened slightly. “Yeah—I made him real fast. If you wanted to know about me, you should’ve askedme—not hire some fuckin’ private investigator. You wasted your money.”
“I figured that out when Bowen made up some BS excuse why he couldn’t finish the job. What did you do—threaten him? That’s something your club does routinely, isn’t it?” He rubbed his hand over his chin. “Charlie told me about your folks, and I remembered it, so that’s why I didn’t finish the sentence. I thought it was in poor taste for me to bring up your deceased parents.” Mansfield pushed up from the chair. “Anyway, this”—he waved a hand between him and Shadow—“isn’t about any of that. I don’t want you seeing my daughter anymore—plain and simple. You got her all mixed up, and she has a very nice young man who wants to marry her.”
“Warren?” Shadow snorted. “A real good catch.”
The door opened and Animal popped his head inside. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were busy. I’ll ask Scott to show me those faucets.”
“No, come on in,” Shadow said, narrowing his eyes at Mansfield. “We’re done.”
“I don’t plan to let this go,” Scarlett’s dad said as he walked out of the room.
“Who was that?” Animal asked.
“Scarlett’s old man. He came by to tell me to stay away from his daughter.”
“And you’re gonna listen, right?” Animal busted out laughing, and Shadow joined in as he strode over to the window.
He watched George Mansfield drive off in a black Cadillac. “There was something odd about him.”
“Whaddaya mean?” Animal went over to the small fridge and took out a can of Coke, then popped the top.
“I don’t know. He kept staring at me, but not like he was trying to intimidate me or act tough. It was like something was there—then it wasn’t. I can’t explain it. For a split second, I wondered if he was the man my mom was seeing.”
Animal started coughing and choking. “You think Scarlett’s dad killed your mom? Fuck, dude, that’s just … I don’t know. It’s fuckin’ weird.”
Shadow scrubbed his face with his fist. “I know. I just got that stab in the gut, but then it passed real quick. I don’t know … It was just the way he kept looking at me.”
“Maybe he’s bi and wants a piece of your ass.” Animal laughed.
Shadow punched him in the arm, then shook his head. “Forget I said anything. I’m just pissed as hell that he came over here to tell me to stay away from Scarlett. We’re not in fuckin’ high school.”
“You shoulda kicked him in the ass and sent him packin’.” Animal tossed the empty can in the trash.
“I would’ve, but I didn’t think Scarlett would appreciate me beating up her dad.” Shadow walked out of the room.
“Yeah—chicks are funny about that, although I think Olivia would love it if I punched her dad in the face a few times.” Animal chuckled.
“But she doesn’t get along with her dad. Scarlett’s daddy’s girl—even though she’d never admit to it.” He opened a door and they entered a large room. Rows of shelves with products on them lined the center of the room and the walls. “The faucets are nice, and I can give you a rock bottom price on the four of them.”
“Sounds like we’ve got a deal,” Animal said as he followed Shadow to the back of the room.
The rest of the afternoon flew past, and by six o’clock Shadow was ready to pack it in. As he was closing the browser on the computer, the phone rang and a grin spread over his face when he saw Scarlett’s name on the screen.
“Hey, babe.”
“Hi. Are you still at work?”
“Just heading out. Are you at home?”
“I just got in. I had a great day at work.”
“So you’re liking your job?”
“I love it. I’m hoping I can transition to full-time when a spot opens up.”
