Bear Meets Girl
Page 14

All right then.
If it helps, Im kind of pissed she ruined my career.
Well, she didnt ruin your career. I mean, youre out of undercover, but youre still a cop. And now that youre with my division, youll be making more money and have great people to work with. So, ya know, all good. Right?
Sure. Why not? He glanced around, shrugged, and asked, Anything else?
Not really.
Okay. Well, like I said this morning, Im leaving early.
Okay. Have a good weekend.
Yeah. Thanks. You, too.
She watched him walk out. Jesus, what had Peg Baissier done to the boy Lou Crushek once was? Hearing the news, it was like hed just shut down, and honestly, she had to wonder ... if what she had just told him didnt get a reaction out of him, what exactly would?
Crush scrambled out of the barbers chair, shaking his head. Forget it.
Conway, whod dragged him to this shifter-friendly barbershop, laughed. I cant believe what a baby youre being. Just get the damn haircut.
At the time, it had seemed like a good idea. Late lunch with his old partner and then he could head over to the Sports Center for tonights game. But Crush had had no idea that Conway would get such a bug up his ass about Crush getting a goddamn haircut. A haircut he didnt even want!
No way. MacDermot will just have to deal with my long hair. He tugged at the strands. This is polar hair. Its not like everyone elses. It just cant be randomly butchered. And, to be honest, Crush kind of knew he would never look good with a buzz cut, which was apparently all this particular barber could handle. In fact, Crush was pretty certain that with a buzz cut, hed go from looking like a lowlife biker to looking just like a serial killer. Especially with what a full-human date once called his soulless black eyes. He didnt think they were soulless, but his eyes were black. Like most polar bears eyes.
The sun bear barber let out a sigh. Get your ass in the seat.
No way. Youre not just cutting it off.
All done! a cheerful voice chirped. And from a back room, a pretty black woman walked out. She was definitely canine, but Crush couldnt tell if she was wolf, wild dog, coyote, or some other canine, which made him think she was a mutt. Hybrid being the less offensive term. I cleaned out your pipes and they should be flowing just perfect now.
Crush and Conway looked at each other, trying not to laugh. To them, cleaning out your pipes usually meant a blow job, but since she was dressed in grimy khaki pants and a Philadelphia Eagles football jersey while carrying a tool bag in her hand and had a tool belt around her waist, Crush would guess she was actually a plumber.
Youre a lifesaver, Blayne, the barber said. And I appreciate youcoming over here so fast.
No problem, Mr. P. Anyway, I gotta go. I got practice in a couple of hours. Gotta meet Gwenie.
How much do I owe ya, sweetie?
Well bill you. But dont forget you get the neighbor discount. She suddenly focused on Crush and Conway, grinned, waved, and said with an alarming amount of cheer, Hi!
Crush jumped a little. Wow. She sure was perky. Hi.
Whats going on? Everyone looks very tense. Like this. She made a frown that had Conway chuckling.
This wussthe sun bear motioned to Crushwont let me cut off his hair.
Because its cool! She walked over and took a closer look. Wow. So very cool! Then she sniffed him. Are you a polar?
Uh
How cool!
You need the cut, dude, Conway reminded him. Theres no getting around it. He needs it for work, Conway explained to the hybrid. Although why he felt that was necessary ...
Well, theres a cut, the canine explained to them, and then theres butchering. She shrugged at the sun bear. Sorry, Mr. Peterson, but youre kind of a butcher. You should come with me, she told Crush.
Why?
I know someone who can cut your hair but give you, like, a great cut. That way youll look more handsome bear and less ...
She dropped her tool kit on the floor, dragged a chair over, and stood on the seat. Then she put her hands into his hair and pushed the strands off his face. Why did women keep touching him? Was he releasing pheromones or something?
Oh, God. Yeah, she said. You lose all this hair its totally serial killer time. She frowned, leaned back a little. Youre not, though, right? A serial killer?
What an odd question ... No. Im not.
Her grin was blindingly bright. Cool! Then come with me. Im heading back to the office anyway. Well totally get you fixed up.
Well
But she was dragging him out of the barbershop and down the street, Conway laughing and following them.
Cella cut through the training rink to get to the teams locker room. Shed spent most of the afternoon with her KZS bosses. She was afraid they wouldnt want anything to do with BPC, considering KZSs history with that organization, but it seemed that like Gentry and the Group chief, Niles Van Holtz, out of Washington state, they wanted Baissier out. Now. So Cella would be again working with MacDermot and Smith. Although what anyone really expected to find at a damn taxidermists storefront, Cella didnt know. But she was well aware that she was the muscle to their little team. She left the obsessing over every little detail to the canine and the canine-lover.