Free Master No by Lexi Blake Page A

the restaurant. She glanced up at the sign. It was pretty and looked like someone had spent a lot of time hand painting it. Top. According to Erin, Theo’s brother owned the place. It was also where she was supposed to meet Master T in person for the first time.
    So she needed some serious lip-gloss. She’d spied a Neiman Marcus half a block down the street, and they were a good twenty minutes early thanks to a shocking lack of traffic on the way from Erin and Theo’s pretty ranch house to downtown.
    “I should come with you.” Erin looked back at the door where Theo had disappeared.
    Faith shook her head. “No. I won’t be more than ten minutes. I bet the makeup counter is on the first floor. Please stay. I swear I’ll run in, use the mirror in the bathroom, and then I’ll run right back out. Order me something sweet to drink.”
    For a second Erin looked like she would argue, but then she opened the door. “All right. But don’t get lost. Master T was very excited about finally getting to meet you.”
    Which was precisely why she didn’t want zombie lips. She’d bought some makeup at the duty free store in DFW, but she was woefully out of touch. It wasn’t usually this hard. Her old Master was used to her being fairly low maintenance. He’d been a doctor, too.
    The mysterious Master T worked in security, and by that she’d kind of figured out he was a bodyguard. It explained how he knew Theo and Theo’s brothers. Faith walked down the street at a crisp pace. Germany had been nice, but isolated. It was good to be back in the States. It was particularly good to be back in Texas. As she passed people on the street, most sent her a smile or tipped their heads in acknowledgment. It was something unique about the Southern United States. She’d been all over the world, but she always missed this.
    She strode up the steps that led her inside the cool environs of Neiman Marcus. Immediately the world seemed to slow, becoming a more luxurious place. She might work at a charity, but she couldn’t help but enjoy the decadence of one of the world’s premier department stores.
    This was her indulgence time. She wasn’t going to feel bad about anything for the next few weeks. She was going to use her credit cards and not worry about it.
    She walked straight up to the makeup counter and started looking at colors.
    “Can I help you?” A well-dressed clerk stepped up.
    Faith smiled. “Can you make my lips look less tortured?”
    Five minutes later, Faith was happy with the way the tinted gloss plumped her lips and made her look less like a woman who normally fought infectious tropical diseases for a living. She paid and was about to leave when her cell phone trilled. She pulled it out of her purse and checked the number. Her sister. Well, she knew she’d have to deal with her sometime. She slid her thumb across the screen, accepting the call.
    “Hey, Hope.”
    “Well, if it isn’t the warrior goddess.” Her sister’s rich laugh came over the line. “How does it feel to be home?”
    “It’s good. You would be proud of me. I’m in Neimans right now.” It was actually good to hear her sister’s voice. It reminded her that there had been a time when they were close, when she’d actually wanted to be exactly like Hope. She’d gone into medical school following in her big sister’s footsteps.
    “Seriously? Oh, we should go shopping while you’re here. I was calling because I want to see you. I’m going to be in Houston next week and I thought we could do a girl’s day. Spa, shopping, lunch, way too many cocktails.”
    That sounded great. There was only one problem. “I’m actually in Dallas for the next few weeks.”
    “Dallas? Why are you in Dallas?”
    She was going totally casual with this answer. “I made a couple of friends while I was working. They live up here.”
    “What about Roger?”
    She sighed. She hadn’t wanted to get into her love life with her sister, but she supposed it was probably