Mack patted the back pocket of her jeans, where she kept her cutthroat razor. She always carried her razor. It was her weapon of choice, and in fact she was known for it in the criminal underworld she sometimes had to wield it in. Some people called her The Barber because of that, and she struck fear into those who had to be persuaded to talk or behave.

Just as the workmen were bringing out the last mirror to put up, one of them lost their grip, and the mirror came crashing to the floor, shattering glass everywhere. Dexter jumped in fright and ran.

“Dexter?” Mack called after him, but it was too late—he had already shot out the door. “Fuck!”

Mack ran out of the shop after him. Once on the pavement, she looked both ways and saw nothing. Panic was filling her—traffic was heavy, and if Dexter ran onto the road, he’d be a goner.

Which way should she look first? Mack picked right and jogged a few steps, but her attention was drawn to the sweet shop next door to hers. A woman’s laughter drew her to the door, and she saw a woman with blond hair facing away from her with Dexter up in her arms, his little head resting on her shoulder.

Relief swept through Mack, and she hurried into the shop. “You got my Dexter. Thank you so much for rescuing him.”

The woman turned slowly, and Mack got the surprise of her life. “You?” It was the woman she had saved from the gang of drunk men.

The woman gasped and her face went white as a sheet.

They stared at each other silently. Mack’s heart pounded, as the memories of that night flooded back. An older woman from behind the counter came up to them and said, “Do you know each other?”

Before Mack could speak, the woman thrust Dexter at her and ran through to the back of the shop.

“Yes, no—” Mack couldn’t think straight. The woman that she saved that fateful night, before she and Nikki went to deal with their little drug pusher problem, had haunted her thoughts. When Mack had looked into her eyes, she’d seen a lost soul, and felt a need that she didn’t quite understand.

But she never expected to see her again, especially not next door to her barber’s.

“Yes, we met, but I didn’t get her name. Can you ask if I can speak to her?”

“I’ll try, but I don’t know if she will. She’s quite…reserved.”

When the older woman walked into the back of the shop, Mack remembered to breathe. Her heart was thumping in her chest.

“It’s her, Dex.”

Mack didn’t know anything about this woman or her life, but she wanted to know, she had to know. She kissed Dexter and said, “Don’t you run off again. You could get hurt.”