Black (Clashing Colors Book 1) by Elin Peer

honest,” I said, “I would much rather go face-to-face with an ISIS warrior in Afghanistan than tell Cia what you just told me. I think she’s going to go bat-shit crazy on me when I tell her about the baby thing.”
    “Are you afraid she will physically attack you?” he said in all seriousness.
    “Hardly,” I replied, trying to mimic his earnestness. “I hope she doesn’t, but I can pacify her if it comes to that.”
    “Good, and that reminds me, I’ll have them bring a pacifier too… it goes with the baby equipment. If you need me there’s a phone on the wall that connects to my cellphone.”
    “Thanks, but – ehhh – it’s only two p.m. – what do we do until bedtime?”
    He stepped outside and I followed him. “In my experience that black hair color will take a while to wash out, and our last Goth client ended up with yellow hair afterwards, so Therese had to color it to something as close to his natural color as possible. Luckily Therese is a trained hairdresser, so she’ll make sure Cia looks nice before she leaves her. There’s a collection of books in the great room, so go find one to kill the waiting time. You’ll also need it when she takes a nap tomorrow because you’ll need to stay with her at all times until she becomes a preteen.”
    “Anything else I should know?” I asked.
    “We eat dinner at six p.m. in the dining room; that’s where you’ll meet the others.”
    I did as he had suggested and went to find a book to read while I was waiting. I got through five long chapters before I heard footsteps outside the cabin and looked up to see the door open… and oh my fucking God… did I gape.

CHAPTER 5
    Baby
    Cia
    I was happy to be out of the neutralizer room but felt completely naked without my armor of black.
    Therese walked me over to cabin number five, as if she was afraid I would run away… not that I wasn’t tempted, but where the hell would I go? I was beginning to understand why this place was so isolated.
    “Just go right in,” Therese instructed. “Your daddy is inside.”
    I arched a brow, not understanding what she was talking about but feeling confident I wouldn’t find Brent inside the cabin. I was right.
    I found Gabriel lying on a bed, reading.
    “Hey,” I said and if I hadn’t felt stupid and naked already, I certainly did after the way he stared at me as if I had grown an extra head.
    “Wow, you look so… different,” he said and sat up.
    I had seen myself in a mirror and knew I looked like a bloody sixteen-year-old with my girl-next-door look.
    “At least we’re in the forest so no one will see me like this,” I said grumpily.
    “You’re blond now,” he pointed out and took me in from head to toe in my sweatpants and t-shirt with a printed logo that said Camp TRC – which I had been told by Therese was short for “The Regression Center.”
    “So the beauty mark is real,” Gabriel said and pointed to my mouth.
    “Yes, it’s real, why wouldn’t it be?”
    “I thought that maybe it was a tribute to Madonna… you know, the singer... she used to paint on a beauty mark and she…”
    “Yes, I know who Madonna is,” I cut him off and pointed to the pile on the bed. “What is that?” For some reason it made me nervous.
    Gabriel put his book down and got up from the bed. “I think you better sit down for a minute,” he said.
    “Why?”
    “Bruce gave us the first assignment and left it to me to explain it to you. Come sit down.”
    I got on the bed, leaned my head against the headboard, and tugged my feet up under me. “I’m ready, so what is it?”
    Gabriel was rubbing his forehead and giving me a troubled look.
    “How bad can it be? Just spit it out,” I demanded.
    Five minutes later when he was done explaining, I was pacing the room, ready to kill someone.
    “If you think that I’m going to allow anyone to dress me up in a baby jumpsuit and sing me lullabies, then you must be out of your mind. I can call you Daddy if I have to but