CHAPTER 9
Shar
“Come on, Zara,”
I shout as I walk out of the front door of the clubhouse and head directly to the SUV.
Turning, I give Cody a wave. He’s the prospect on the gate this morning. I feel bad that the prospect that was on gate duty when I arrived was removed from the MC due to his disrespect. The prospects are rotating to work at the garage and I was able to talk Sharp into letting me have Snore this morning to be our escort while we walk around town.
“Jump in, Shar and I’ll go get Zara. She’s always the last to be ready.”
Snore rolls his eyes, which I have to admit has me giggling to myself.
I sit in the passenger seat and allow my mind to wander. So much to do, and such a short time to do it all. Maybe I’m going to have to be here longer than I estimated?
The door opens and Snore gives me a strange look, before his eyes shoot to the back where Zara is climbing into the back seat. I snap around and give her a glare. “Oh, no, girlie, you are not going looking like that. Get back in there and change, now.”
Zara gives me an astonished look, but when I flick my eyes down her body, which is covered in what you would describe as a little black dress. She blushes before sighing loudly and getting out of the vehicle.
Watching Zara stomp in stupid high heels, I look at Snore when he shakes his head, and I ask, “Is this normal for her?”
“Well, it wasn’t until about six months ago. Then that Clarice woman had a pop at her about needing to grow up. Then she started with these tight-fitting clothes. She was a tomboy until then so to see her change to short tight dresses was a bit of a shock. I have to tell you, she doesn’t dress like that when Gunner is around.”
I search Snore’s face to make sure he is being honest, and seeing nothing but concern make myself a mental note to speak with Gunner.
The back door of the SUV opens and Zara steps in, dressed in skinny jeans, a t-shirt, and has wiped the makeup from her face. I give her a warm smile before calmly stating, “That’s the Zara I know and love.”
Zara blushes, but gives me a small smile. I don’t make any more of the issue and give Snore a look to get a move on. Firing up the SUV, we settle back for the ride out of the compound and into town. “Whereabouts in town do you want me to park?”
Snore asks.
“We are going to look at all the empty shops on Main Street. Zara is going to be doing her beauty school stint as a stylist, so we need a shop that we can register as the club’s. But we’ll employ someone to manage it and teach Zara all she needs to know.”
I grin at the thought of this young woman eventually owning a salon jointly with the club. It will set her up for the future.
“Shar, there is a salon on the corner of Stonewall Street. It’s been closed for about six years, but it used to be a nice salon,”
Zara states as she looks out of the window.
“Okay, head to that, Snore, and we’ll take a look at it. Do you think the place is for sale?”
I ask, looking over my shoulder at Zara.
“It’s been for sale quite a while as the lady who had owned it got married and left town. She moved to Florida, I think. But it didn’t go up for sale right away.”
“Okay, we’ll see who is selling it and we’ll give them a call and ask them to come open it up for us to take a look around.”
I rub my hands together as this feels fated.
Arriving at the salon, I see it has a good-sized parking lot at the back. That’s a good start. The spaces closest to the rear of the building are marked as ‘Reserved for Staff’. That’s another plus. Security for the employees. Scanning the back of the building, it looks in good repair and I’m sure that Zip could soon have the area covered by CCTV cameras and add extra lighting for the winter months.
Stepping from the SUV, I wait for Snore and Zara to join me. Taking my phone from my pocket, I call the number on the sale sign and ask for someone to bring the keys so we can view the interior. The woman I speak to seems excited to have someone show an interest and I make a mental note of the fact. She says that she’ll have somebody with us in the next few minutes.
Taking Zara’s arm, we walk to the building and I ask her what she thinks. “No first-floor rear windows is good for security but not so hot if there’s an emergency and we have to evacuate. The building itself looks solid enough and in good order.”
Zara looks at me and I’m impressed with her observations so far.
As we turn to walk away, I see a figure approaching our vehicle, but we get to it first. Realizing it’s Clarice, I roll my eyes as I anticipate some form of drama.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing snooping around here?”
She squeals at us in a voice that I think is supposed to be intimidating, but her attention is focused on Zara.
“I’m looking for somewhere to start my business and we’re not the ones that are snooping. Clearly you are spying on us, as this isn’t your neighborhood. It’s way too upmarket for the likes of you.”
Good for you Zara, I think to myself and I see that she has tensed ready for something physical to happen.
As I turn my attention back to Clarice, I notice Snore is also ready to step in if necessary. I’d like to see Zara handle this by herself, but it goes against my nature to step aside, so when I see Clarice start her move I’m in before Zara or Snore can move.
Grabbing Clarice by the arm, I spin her round and her back slams so hard against the SUV that we all hear her breath whoosh from her body. Before she can fill her lungs, I have my hand at her throat preventing the life-giving air getting back into her body.
“Not on my watch, bitch. I warned you before about Zara being a club princess. I won’t warn you again. Next time, I’ll finish you in a heartbeat. Stay away from the clubhouse, the brothers and any of the club businesses. If you get near any of them, I’ll make sure it’s the last thing you ever do on God’s green earth. I’ll put you under the earth, do I make myself clear?”
Seeing that she is going blue, I release her throat and she starts gasping in a lungful of air to stop herself asphyxiating.
Snore is giving me a look that says he’s more than impressed with me and Zara is just giggling, as though this is an everyday occurrence. Zara grins and looks at Clarice, “Oh, I’m going to speak to my daddy about you bullying me.”
Snore grabs Clarice’s arm and is nearly nose-to-nose with her. “Get gone and know I’ll be speaking to our Pres about you and what you have been doing. Zara is a club princess and as such she is protected by everyone of us. Now, run along before I take you to the clubhouse to answer to Sharp.”
After I’ve let go of her throat, and Snore her arm, she squeaks, then takes off running. I’m sure she could run far faster if she had better shoes on her feet. She almost gets run over as another SUV speeds into the parking lot, narrowly missing her. Honking loudly, it comes to a stop next to us.
A young man hops out, and speaking quickly, lets us know that he is from the realtor’s office and has the keys to the building for us to go inside and have a look.
Opening the rear door, he almost shoves us inside and keeps up a running commentary as we walk around. The first floor is a hair salon, very easy to see that fact. There is a small reception desk, also three wash and style stations. After being shepherded upstairs, there is a bathroom, storeroom and a decent sized office at the front with a large window looking out over the main road.
As a startup business premise, I think it is ideal. Everything is dusty but in excellent condition. All it needs now is a new identity superimposed over the old, and it could be up and running in no time. Telling the young man that we’ll be in touch with the office to discuss the finances, we leave him to lock up and talk as we stand by the SUV. Once we’ve seen him drive away, we take a stroll to Main Street and I take notes on what businesses look like they are prospering and what types of business are conspicuous by their absence.
There are plenty of available stores of varying sizes which could be easily made to suit any purpose. I see two small diners along the road, one that looks rundown but busy and one that looks like it should be on the roadside in Paris but empty of any patrons. Obviously, that is going to fold as people around here are far too down to earth for that type of establishment.
“I think the salon is the best place for me, Shar.”
Turning, I nod at Zara, “Yeah, I think you are right.”
“Let’s go back to the clubhouse and see if there is anyone around to speak to about that place.”
“Okay, come on then.”
I link my arm with Zara’s, give Snore a wink and head back to the SUV.