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Lukus looked to the passenger seat at his friend. “No fucking way. Not yet. It’ll only scare the shit out of them. Tiff’s nightmares are just now slowing down. I want to get the prick behind bars, and then we can tell them so they can breathe easy.”
Markus looked less sure. “I get that, but I want Bri on guard in case he gets to her.”
“Fine. If we think there’s a chance he’ll end up in Chicago, we’ll tell them. Until then, they just need to know we don’t want them to leave their house tonight. In fact, I’ll tell Tiff to go home with Bri. Agreed?”
Markus reluctantly nodded. “Agreed. I hate that we can’t even tell them we’re together, though. I guess we can’t put it off anymore.” He took his phone out to dial his wife’s cell. “It’s already one there. I’m gonna have to make this up to her when I get home.”
Chapter Five
Brianna
It’d been a crazy day at the salon. Fridays were always busy, but between multiple suburban high school proms and being short-staffed, The Beauty Box team had been at it non-stop. Brianna was just dropping into a chair to rest her feet and gobble down a piece of cold pizza when her cell phone rang. She was thrilled to hear her husband’s ringtone.
“What perfect timing! How did you know I’d be free for the first time all day? I miss you. Please tell me you’re coming home tonight?”
Markus paused before answering. “I’m afraid not. Things are still not settled here and I’m gonna have to stay longer. I’m glad to hear your voice. I’ve been missing you.”
“Me too. I didn’t like waking up to an empty bed this morning.”
Bri took a bite of pizza as Tiffany sauntered in, plopped down in the chair opposite Bri’s desk, and reached for her own slice. Bri put her hand over the receiver to whisper, “It’s Markus.” She noticed the look of longing on Tiffany’s face as she pulled out her own phone, wishing Lukus would call her, too.
“I’m not so sure you’re gonna be happy after I tell you why I’m calling,” Markus said.
Brianna swallowed before answering. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me you’re gonna have to stay there all weekend. Where are you, anyway?”
“I honestly don’t know how long I’m going to stay, but I’m calling to tell you that I don’t want you going to the bachelorette party tonight, after all.”
Brianna tried to interrupt him, but he used his Dom tone of voice, which immediately shut her down. “Stop. I didn’t make this decision lightly, but my decision is final, Brianna. I want you to finish up there with your final appointments this afternoon, and then I want you to go straight home. I’ll call you later and explain more if I can, but for now I need you to be a good girl and just say, ‘yes sir,’ and then do as you’re told.”
Her first reaction was to argue, but damn him for going all Dom on her. She was still not used to this side of her husband and had to fight her conflicting emotions with his newest demand.
Markus spoke again. “Are you still there? Did you hear my instructions?”
She tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her disappointment out of her reply. “Yes, Sir. I heard you. I think it’s ridiculous that you don’t trust me. I told you I would never cheat on you ever again.”
“Brianna, this has nothing to do with trust.”
“Then what? It can’t be safety, since you have a limo to drive us.”
She heard him shuffling the phone at the other end as if he were talking to someone nearby. When he was back, he refused to budge. “I canceled the limo because you’re staying home. I know it doesn’t make sense to you, but that’s okay. Not only is your Dom giving you instructions, but more importantly, this is your HoH telling you to go home and stay home. Do you hear me?”
Tiffany picked up that something was wrong and looked worried. Bri tried to change his mind. “I haven’t gone out with the girls in months. You know how much I was looking forward to this, don’t you? I don’t understand.” She was on the verge of crying and she hated it.
His voice softened slightly, but he didn’t change his mind. “I am sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you when I get home, but for now, I need to know that you’re home safe and sound. In fact, I’d feel better if you didn’t have to go in to the salon tomorrow.”
Her guard was up. “What’s going on, Markus? Something’s wrong. I can hear it in your voice.”
He steeled his tone. “Nothing is wrong. I just need you to be a good girl, go home as soon as the salon closes, and stay put. I’ll explain everything when I get home. I know you’re busy, so get back to work. I’ll call and check in later. I love you.”
Brianna didn’t get to say goodbye before he hung up.
“Something is up, Tiff,” she said. “I don’t know what it is, but he’s hiding something from me. You heard that he says I can’t go tonight?”
“I was hoping I was hearing it wrong. That sucks so much. I don’t want to go without you. What fun is that going to be?”
Bri didn’t want her best friend to miss out just because her husband was being ultra-secretive about something. “You’ll have fun once you get there. There’s no way you should miss the party just because of me.”
Her sentence was hanging in the air when Tiff’s phone rang. Tiff’s face lit up.
