thebodyguardsprincess M47 annmayburn 2 (5 page)

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"Oh hell no!" she yelled and backed into the corner. Her belly was full of fried chicken, and she set her shake down on the dresser. It was too good to waste by throwing it at their heads in a fit of rage.

Closing his eyes, Asher took a deep breath. "We have to."

"No, no way." She grabbed her ponytail in her fist. "You are not cutting my hair and making me blonde."

"Princess, you wouldn't look good as a redhead." Kent grinned at her, and she wanted to claw out his gorgeous blue eyes.

"Think about it," Asher said and dug through the mound of plastic shopping bags on the bed. "They're going to be searching for someone who looks like a reject from a Marilyn Manson video." He ignored her unflattering comments about the size of his dick and continued, "We're going to make you into a small town prom queen instead."

"But it's my hair!" she wailed and tried to keep her lower lip from trembling. She loved her hair. Loved the length of it and the lilac streaks that set her apart. Being different was part of who she was.

"And your hair would clash horribly with the orange jumper you'll be wearing in jail," Kent said mildly as he tossed a new toothbrush and toothpaste at her.

Huffing into the bathroom, she avoided looking in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Asher came in behind her and Kent hovered in the doorway, their big bodies filling up the space. Even her ever-present sexual attraction to the men couldn't replace the misery of losing her hair. Spitting into the sink, she rinsed her mouth out and glanced over her shoulder at Asher. "Who's going to do the cutting?"

"I will," Asher replied and shifted beneath her glare. "My mom ran a beauty shop and I used to spend my summers there helping out."

The idea of big, badass Asher working in a beauty salon made a smile ghost over her lips. He arched an eyebrow at her and gave her a look that dared her to say something. Taking a seat on the lid of the old white toilet, she closed her eyes as he brushed and gathered her hair back into a low ponytail. Plastic protested as a package was opened, and then he began to cut.

A tear ran down her cheek and she dashed it away with an angry hand. Kent and Asher remained silent, and she kept her eyes shut during the entire process. If she had to look at her hair on the floor, she would start crying in earnest. The loss of her hair seemed to symbolize everything that the people who had framed her took away. She no longer had the freedom to be herself, instead having to adopt a disguise so she wasn't arrested going down the street.

Time passed and she kept her eyes closed, becoming slowly lulled by the snip of scissors and Asher's gentle hands as he pulled and held her hair. Kent occasionally made an encouraging noise from the doorway and she hoped that was a good sign.

"Dye," Asher said, and the tone of his voice made her giggle. So serious, like he was a surgeon requesting a scalpel.

The stink of bleach and chemicals invaded the tiny space, and Kent coughed and cranked open the window next to the sink. Asher's strong fingers rubbed the dye into her hair. "I placed a call to your father while I was out." Carefully, he placed some bleach on her eyebrows.

"Did you talk to him?" she asked in an eager voice. If anyone could make this situation right, it was her father.

"The housekeeper answered." Her shoulders slumped, and he continued, "I didn't mention you, but I told her Kent and I quit. That we wanted to spend more time with our girlfriends and didn't need the stress of the job anymore. I told her we were going on vacation together and wouldn't be able to be reached."

"What did she say?"

"She said she understood and told me she would pass it onto your father when he returned home. Terrible situation, blah blah blah." Asher ran his fingers through her hair with a soothing stroke.

"What phone did you call from?" Kent asked from the doorway.

"There's actually a payphone out front of the motel. Who knew those things even still existed."

"Welcome to the ghetto," she muttered and sat back. "Can someone sweep up the hair so I don't have to see it?"

Kent grunted in agreement, and the sound of plastic rustling filled the air. Asher carefully cleaned the bleach from her eyebrows with a wet washcloth and patted her face dry. As he stroked her face, she was reminded of him whispering words of encouragement to her as Kent pleasured her last night. And their talk about not wanting to take advantage of her. Silly men.

"Done."

She opened her eyes and found the men staring at her. Licking at her piercing, she said, "Thank you for taking care of me."

Both men smiled, and that gave her the courage to continue. "If I have that … need again, you have my permission to help anyway you can." Staring at the stained grout in the tile floor, she shuffled the bottoms of her black fuzzy slippers. "It was wonderful and terrible at the same time."

Peeking up, she saw each of the men's eyes had darkened with desire. Not as hyper aware of them as she had been in the grips of passion, she still recognized the sight of two men that wanted her when she saw it. Even if she did have a head full of stinky hair dye.

"We'll help you, but we won't abuse your trust. You're not in the right frame of mind to be making decisions right now. Especially since you've been hypnotized into … wanting it," Kent said and cleared his throat a couple times .

"Yeah, that would be wrong," Asher added in a husky whisper. His gaze darted to her nipples, now sticking out from the thin cotton of her shirt.

With a sigh, she shook her head. "It's not wrong if I'm giving you permission."

Both men shook their heads and Kent said, "It would be wrong."

"Yep."

Rolling her eyes, she flapped her hand at them. "Fine, whatever." Her pride stung a bit and she tried to brush it off. So what if they didn't want to take whatever relationship they had to the next level. At least they were decent enough men to not sleep with her if they didn't have any intention of loving her. She could deal with it. Sure.

The beep of Kent's wristwatch went off in the uncomfortable silence and Asher said, "Into the shower with you."

Both men left her alone in the bathroom and she avoided looking in the mirror. Kent returned and handed her a bundle wrapped in a towel. He tipped her head with the tip of his finger and said, "We'll take care of you, Princess." His thumb ran over her lower lip and slid across her piercing. Sadness pinched her heart and she ducked out of his grip. It wasn't fair that he was being so nice to her when he had no intention of being anything but her friend.

Turning her back to him, she set the bundle on the toilet and found some strawberry scented soap wrapped in the clothes. The door closed behind her and she turned on the shower.

Washing quickly, she tried not to feel how short her hair was and how little time it took to rinse all the dye out.

After toweling off, she examined the clothes Asher had bought for her. Panties and matching bra, red and silky. That made her raise an eyebrow, and she wondered if he bought them because he liked them, or if he thought she would. Next was a pair of faded jean shorts, a soft brown shirt and sneakers.

After getting dressed and putting on her deodorant, she rubbed her towel over the mirror and looked at her reflection. The steam swirled around her and out the cracked window as she stared at the unfamiliar woman looking back. The short pixie cut made her chestnut eyes look enormous in her face and accented the small curve of her jaw. She would always have baby cheeks like her mother, but the cut made her look closer to her true age than her Goth look ever did.

Running a finger through the still damp tips of her hair, she mussed it and smiled at the results. Asher didn't lie. He gave her a million dollar haircut. Tilting her head, she inspected her eyebrows that were now a few shades darker than the warm blonde of her hair. Standing on her tiptoes, she tried to get a look at the rest of the outfit. Amazing, she really didn't look like herself at all.

Fingers tracing over her lip, she took a deep breath and unscrewed her piercing. Placing it in her pocket, she inspected the tiny hole where it used to hang. It was hardly noticeable as long as she kept her tongue from poking at it. Her lip felt strangely naked without it and she ran her tongue over the surface.

Staring at her reflection, she wondered how the men would react to her new look. At least she had just gotten her eyebrows and body waxed. She didn't have to worry about the carpet matching the drapes. That thought made her snicker and she squared her shoulders before opening the door. The deep breath she took did nothing to slow the pounding of her heart.

Both men turned as one to look at her, and she flushed to the roots of her new blonde hair at the appreciative smiles they both gave her. "Stunning," Kent said.

"Beautiful," Asher agreed and put down the backpack he was filling with clothes and a box of ammo.

Both had changed into casual clothes, and she took a moment to drink in the sight. Kent wore khaki shorts that showed off his heavily muscled calves and a blue shirt two shades lighter than his eyes. Dark grey shorts clung to Asher's perfect ass and a light blue polo shirt complimented his dark skin.

Trying to appear casual, she sat on the edge of the bed and tugged her socks on. "So what's the plan?"

"We're going to grab a bite to eat and wait on word from your father," Asher replied and pulled a laptop out of the black case next to his backpack. "He'll probably try to contact us through email."

"The ghetto has WiFi," Kent added with a wink.

"Thanks for doing such a good job." She ran her fingers through the short tips, conscious of the missing weight of her hair.

"No problem." Asher winked at her. "It's easy give a good haircut to a gorgeous woman."

Her heart thumped and she lowered her head to hide her smile. Even though he was probably saying that to make her feel better, she was going to pretend that he meant it. The men scoured the room before they left. After dinner, they were planning on changing location again to keep from drawing attention to themselves by staying in one area too long.

"Shall we?" Kent said and offered her his arm as he swung his backpack on.

Laying her hand over the hard ball of his biceps, she hesitated. "What if someone recognizes me?"

"They won't."

Asher tugged a blue baseball cap over her head and grabbed his backpack. "You don't need it, but it will make you feel better and less self-conscious."

Asher leaned behind her and whispered in her ear, "I told you, we won't let anything happen to you. You're precious to us."

With her blood pounding so hard she thought she might pass out, she followed her men out into the night.

Chapter Four

"Master, we found her bodyguards," David's girlfriend, Nancy, yelled from the living room of the penthouse.

Scrambling from his computer desk, David crossed through the kitchen and nodded at Rashid. The two tall and unassuming men gave each other a smile filled with malice.

Nancy, wearing a pair of plush brown puppy ears on her head, met them in the dining room. She practically vibrated with excitement and dropped to her knees. With a soft moan, she kissed David's shoes. Rashid kept his face carefully blank and shifted with impatience. David patted her head and scratched her behind her pretend puppy ears. "Where are they?"

"The housekeeper says they called from a payphone in downtown DC. About fifteen minutes from here." She shifted back on her heels and grinned. "They said they quit and they're going on vacation someplace where they can't be reached."

"Downtown DC is an odd place to take a vacation," David mused. He took a seat at the dining table, and Nancy curled at his feet. "They must have her with them. Those assholes have foiled every attempt we've made against her in the past nine months. No way she vanishes and they suddenly go on vacation."

"I don't know what you're so worried about," Rashid said as he played with an elaborate flower arrangement on the table. "If she shows her face anywhere she is instantly going to jail. If they are with her and try to resist, they'll be either killed or taken into custody as well."

"What if the hypnotic block fails and she remembers our conversations?" Nancy asked from the ground. Rashid glared at her.

"Yes, Rashid, what if your hypnosis fails?" David folded his arms.

Remembering what happened to Karen, Rashid swallowed and kept his eyes on the curve of a pink orchid. She had suffered for the entire two-hour webcast as an example of what would happen if you failed the anarchists. By the time the torture master was done, she resembled barely breathing meat. "Do I need to remind you that my hypnosis has increased our ranks of devoted members by the thousands? That my suggestions have turned housewives into martyrs, politicians into weapons of chaos?"

"We appreciate your devotion to the cause. That is the only reason you didn't join Karen." David leaned forward. "The fact that we control the Sanjit's housekeeper is also a stroke of genius on your part."

"Thank you," Rashid said in a slightly mollified voice. "Even if she did remember something, it's not like anyone is going to believe her. We have her on surveillance tape meeting with a known anarchist and handing over files in exchange for money down the street from her home."

David nodded, a small smile on his bland face. "If she is caught, we need to kill her ASAP. I want our people scanning the police radios. I want our hackers on all of the government sites monitoring their chatter." His teeth clenched as anger tightened his features. "In the meantime, get an assassination team together and send them to that payphone. The diplomatic SUV is missing from the Sanjit's house. They must be driving it. Find the SUV and you'll find the bodyguards. Kill them all."

"Yes, sir," Rashid said and wiped the pollen from the flowers on his black pants. "How quiet do you want me to keep it?"

"I don't care. It's downtown DC, that area is infested with gangs and trash. You could shoot up the whole area and no one would notice." Nancy began to lick his shoe and David kicked her away. "Our focus is still on the next meeting of the Security Council. While finding that little cunt is important, don't forget our main objective."

Nodding, David scrolled through the numbers on his cell phone and started planning.