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She felt like a spy.
In the middle of the night, a woman from a salon over in Hampden, a notorious Baltimore neighborhood famous for its style, arrived at Laura’s house under Knights’ Disciple escort to Laura’s house. Without so much as a discussion, Will had ordered Laura’s and Lucas’s appearance to be drastically altered.
The stylist was introduced as Becky. Laura wanted to hit the ceiling but she liked Darren an awful lot. All of the Knights’ Disciples were so good to Lucas and her.
Lucas’s hair was darker than Will’s; it was almost black. It couldn’t really be colored so he got a close-cropped cut and was given a suit. He looked like a CEO. Laura’s hair color was naturally medium ash. She had it dyed black and cut sharply, shorter in the back and long in the front. Will said she was already in disguised. Still, Becky’s order was to make it corn-silk blonde and to give it soft curls.
Laura was so annoyed at being completely bypassed in the decision-making. She cooperated, but just barely. They did her hair in the bathroom. She sat tight light-lipped, on the commode, as Becky tented her shoulders with a drape. Becky had Laura’s hair up in clips before Will made an appearance. He looked wary.
“I think someone is not too happy about this,” said Becky.
Laura scowled at him even though he was doing all of this for her brother and her.
Will scowled back and said to Laura directly, “I don’t care.”
Laura noted the gentle way in which he touched the small of Becky’s back. She prickled with jealousy but tried her best to hide it.
“I tucked an envelope for you in your jacket,” he said to Becky.
Laura saw tenderness transfer between them. She was sure that meant they had slept together. It was more than she could bear. She stood up abruptly. “This is ridiculous. I can bleach my own hair. This is actually way past my bedtime,” she blurted out.
Will just blinked at her. She saw the muscles of his jaws flex like crazy. “There’s a reason for everything I do, Ms. Mills. Believe me when I say there are better things I could be doing right now, but the Knights’ Disciples are dedicated to this mission of your safety and to Lucas’s safety.”
Laura sighed. She appreciated that, even if the speech was getting a little old. “Yes, Will,” she said.
“We are going to California. Tomorrow,” he said. He looked at his phone. “I mean today. And you have to look like you belong there. After she does your hair, you’re getting a spray tan.”
“Why the middle of the night?” Laura squawked.
“Because we have to catch the red-eye,” interjected Lucas.
Laura knew that her brother popped in to play peacemaker – to get her to stop fighting Will every step of the way and to remind why they were all going through these moves anyway.
“And,” added Lucas. “The less you know, the better. Let’s just get this over with and enjoy the ride as best we can.”
“Can we have some privacy then?” Laura asked.
“We can’t really close the door,” said Becky apologetically. “Fumes.”
“I brought coffee,” Will said softly to Becky. A lightning bolt of jealousy rifled through Laura. “Would you like a cup?”
“Love some,” she replied softly.
Laura had left Will alone for those few months. It was completely reasonable that he moved on and found someone new. She wasn’t exactly there for him. But was he really so insensitive as to bring it around her? God knows there were plenty of hair stylists in Baltimore. She couldn’t possibly be the only one he could get to do this.
Of course the way she bickered with him every two minutes it was conceivable that Will thought she absolutely didn’t care about him and therefore it wouldn’t matter. But then there was the matter of the other night when he so gallantly brought her home and tucked her in. He gave her pleasure but nothing more. Still every detail was still smoldering in her memory. Recalling the other night when she and Will got into it stirred her As Becky went to work on her hair, Laura had a time separating the soothing sensations of the stylist’s fingers in her hair and the relaxing recollection of Will’s hands. The two experiences started to blend and Laura was uncomfortable. Laura was struck with an urge to drink.
“What did you say?” Will demanded.
Laura opened her eyes. “What?”
“You just said you need a drink,” he replied, scolding her.
“I must have dozed,” she said, burning with shame that had actually said that out loud.
“Well there will be no drinking. We have to get you and your brother on a plane,” he said.