access to InstaWraps and SkinnySticks would have made her get fat again, but it hadn’t. Silver was still the hot trend, set by Finley Gray and Luella Flynn, the hosts of the Safe Lands ColorCast. Shaylinn had refused to allow Red to cut her hair, so the woman had straightened it and given her a tinsel weave, which mixed in strands of metallic silver hair with her natural brown hue. Shaylinn’s hair now reached her elbows in a flat, shaggy mop. Red had also given Shaylinn a pair of contact lenses that made her eyes look a natural green, and black lace gloves with no fingers that held a SimTag so she could enter buildings and pay for taxis or whatever she might need.
That had been more than enough to transform Shaylinn into a completely different person from the picture of the frightened girl that had been plastered all over the Safe Lands. Red had also given her several sets of clothes, enough to last the week. They were sexy clothes that clung to Shaylinn’s body and showed off her growing chest.
She hadn’t needed breast implants after all. The pregnancy had taken care of that.
Shaylinn had always wanted to be beautiful, but she wasn’t certain she liked what Red had done. She looked like someone from
C Factor.
And even though Red had promised this new look would help her blend in with the other Safe Lands women, Shaylinn was sure it would only call attention to herself.
A bell chimed. Rewl had rigged up the bell to signal whenever Kendall’s apartment door opened. Shaylinn ran over to the peephole on the wall and looked in.
Kendall was home. She walked to the kitchen table and set her messenger bag on one of the chairs and a box of chicken from Leghorns on the table.
Shaylinn drew back. Bender wanted her to wait until she and Kendall bumped into each other on the stairs or outside. To create a coincidental meeting. But Shaylinn had no intention of doing thingsBender’s way. The moment Jordan realized she was gone, he would come looking. If Shaylinn was going to help Kendall, she needed to do it now.
She left her apartment and knocked on Kendall’s front door. She heard footsteps, then saw movement in the peephole. The door opened, the chain keeping it from going farther than a few inches.
“Yes?” Kendall said.
“Hi, Kendall.” Shaylinn leaned close and whispered, “It’s Shaylinn. From the harem.”
Kendall’s eyes narrowed and studied Shaylinn from head to toe. The door pushed closed, the chain rattled, and the door opened again. “Come in.”
Shaylinn slipped inside, awkward in the high-heeled shoes Red had given her. The smell of fried chicken made her stomach flutter.
Oh no.
Kendall closed the door behind her and came to stand by the kitchen table, arms folded. “You escaped the harem. I’ve seen your picture on the ColorCast. What do you want?”
Shaylinn pressed up against the front door and fought to hold back the sickness, but the smell of the chicken … She looked around the apartment and spotted the bathroom door in the same place it was located in her new apartment. She ran for it. “Need to use your bathroom.”
Shaylinn fell to her knees at the toilet and wanted to cry. She had no control over how smells affected her anymore. How was she supposed to keep from throwing up all the time? When she finished, she washed her hands and rinsed out her mouth, then tottered back into Kendall’s kitchen/living room/bedroom.
“I put the chicken in the oven and opened the windows,” Kendall said. “My morning sickness only ever came in the mornings. But they say if you get it really bad, it means you’re having a girl.”
“Maybe,” Shaylinn said, tickled at the idea of a daughter to take care of.
“What about Jemma and Mia and the others?” Kendall asked.
“We got out in time. I’m the only one who was made pregnant.”
“And Naomi?”
“She’s safe too. And she’s huge! That baby is coming any day, Jemma says. What about you? Have you seen your baby?”
“Once.”
That had been more than enough to transform Shaylinn into a completely different person from the picture of the frightened girl that had been plastered all over the Safe Lands. Red had also given her several sets of clothes, enough to last the week. They were sexy clothes that clung to Shaylinn’s body and showed off her growing chest.
She hadn’t needed breast implants after all. The pregnancy had taken care of that.
Shaylinn had always wanted to be beautiful, but she wasn’t certain she liked what Red had done. She looked like someone from
C Factor.
And even though Red had promised this new look would help her blend in with the other Safe Lands women, Shaylinn was sure it would only call attention to herself.
A bell chimed. Rewl had rigged up the bell to signal whenever Kendall’s apartment door opened. Shaylinn ran over to the peephole on the wall and looked in.
Kendall was home. She walked to the kitchen table and set her messenger bag on one of the chairs and a box of chicken from Leghorns on the table.
Shaylinn drew back. Bender wanted her to wait until she and Kendall bumped into each other on the stairs or outside. To create a coincidental meeting. But Shaylinn had no intention of doing thingsBender’s way. The moment Jordan realized she was gone, he would come looking. If Shaylinn was going to help Kendall, she needed to do it now.
She left her apartment and knocked on Kendall’s front door. She heard footsteps, then saw movement in the peephole. The door opened, the chain keeping it from going farther than a few inches.
“Yes?” Kendall said.
“Hi, Kendall.” Shaylinn leaned close and whispered, “It’s Shaylinn. From the harem.”
Kendall’s eyes narrowed and studied Shaylinn from head to toe. The door pushed closed, the chain rattled, and the door opened again. “Come in.”
Shaylinn slipped inside, awkward in the high-heeled shoes Red had given her. The smell of fried chicken made her stomach flutter.
Oh no.
Kendall closed the door behind her and came to stand by the kitchen table, arms folded. “You escaped the harem. I’ve seen your picture on the ColorCast. What do you want?”
Shaylinn pressed up against the front door and fought to hold back the sickness, but the smell of the chicken … She looked around the apartment and spotted the bathroom door in the same place it was located in her new apartment. She ran for it. “Need to use your bathroom.”
Shaylinn fell to her knees at the toilet and wanted to cry. She had no control over how smells affected her anymore. How was she supposed to keep from throwing up all the time? When she finished, she washed her hands and rinsed out her mouth, then tottered back into Kendall’s kitchen/living room/bedroom.
“I put the chicken in the oven and opened the windows,” Kendall said. “My morning sickness only ever came in the mornings. But they say if you get it really bad, it means you’re having a girl.”
“Maybe,” Shaylinn said, tickled at the idea of a daughter to take care of.
“What about Jemma and Mia and the others?” Kendall asked.
“We got out in time. I’m the only one who was made pregnant.”
“And Naomi?”
“She’s safe too. And she’s huge! That baby is coming any day, Jemma says. What about you? Have you seen your baby?”
“Once.”
Similar Books
