Page 33 of Warrior's Purpose

“I might be able to disguise myself with one of these wigs,” Abby mused out loud.

The door rattled, and the females stilled, horror twisting their faces. He quickly put his shoulder against the door, preventing it from opening.

“Natalie, are you in there? Joe’s looking for you,” another female spoke through the door.

“Don’t come in. I got horribly sick. Stacy, please tell Joe I need to go home,” Natalie hollered.

“Uh, there’s some cops who want to ask about some customers of yours. Some redhead named Abigail Murray and a guy in khakis and a navy hoodie,” Stacy said.

“Doesn’t sound familiar. There was this couple that ordered a bunch of stuff then skipped before I could bring the bill,” Natalie lied. “I was going to tell Joe, then this mess.” Natalie gagged convincingly.

“Thank you,” Abby mouthed the words to Natalie, who nodded.

“Okay, I’ll cover for you.”

“Thanks, Stacy. I’m gonna try to clean the floor in here, then skip.” Natalie turned toward them. “We gotta be quick. Dress in anything that will fit. My car’s parked around the corner, I’ll give you a ride.”

“What about him?” Abby frowned at him, while grabbing a black wig.

Ashtoret wondered the same thing. They could disguise Abby’s appearance, but he was going to be a little difficult.

“I have an idea.” Natalie’s eyes lit up. “Carl’s going to be pissed, but he’ll get over it.” Natalie walked to a locker and pulled out the largest sparkly red gown he’d ever seen.

“That’ll probably fit him, but it’s sleeveless,” Abby giggled.

“Are you laughing at my misfortune?” He cocked one brow at her.

“No. I’m sorry. You’ll look lovely in the dress.”

Both Abby and Natalie giggled. He smiled back, glad they weren’t panicking under the stress. That was the worst thing you could do in a situation like this.

No, my peanut’s calm under pressure. He looked at Abby with pride.

“Oh. Here.” Natalie pulled out a long-sleeve spotted robe, with furry cuffs and collar. “I can do Ash’s make-up while you change.”

Ashtoret dutifully grabbed the sparkly red dress, pulled it over his head, then tugged off his boots and breeches. If he understood correctly the oversized dress was worn by a male. Why, he wasn’t sure. He was getting his tail situated beneath the sparkly outfit when he glanced up to see Abby in her new outfit. He’d seen her wear next to nothing, but somehow the sleeveless top with ties down the back was very appealing. It pushed her breasts up, making him salivate. And the way the tiny cut-off pants cupped her bottom, had him jealous. He would’ve loved nothing more than to palm those two creamy globes.

“Ugh, you’re a big dude,” Natalie declared, capturing his attention as she tried to zip up the closure at his back. “Forget it, the robe will cover it. Here, Ash.”

He put on the robe, and Natalie ushered him to a chair in front of a reflecting glass.

“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me,” Abby said as she applied some skin tone to cover the speckles on her nose and cheeks.

“I do. I’m not going be responsible for letting our people down, because we locked up the ones willing to help us.”

“There are many benign races, and many who aren’t. Until your people are more advanced it’s best to hide you from detection,” he replied.

“Thank you. That translator is crazy.” Natalie admired his handheld. “It really is a shame our government just wants to lump you all together. Now stop fidgeting so I can do your make-up,” she insisted.

Natalie started slathering the cream Abby just used on his face and neck. It felt a lot like when he applied camouflage before battle, but looked much different. He watched as his red skin slowly disappeared. He wasn’t quite sure of its purpose, since it looked just like their skin.

Must be another human female thing.

Abby stepped in front of him, and he was slightly stunned to see the change in her face. The charcoal around her eyes made her blue-green irises more vibrant. And she again wore the red glossy stuff on her full lips. For some reason he wanted to lick it off.

She joined Natalie coating the visible parts of his skin. With the serious expression Abby wore as she concentrated on her work, he couldn’t help making the occasional silly face. He smiled when she muffled a laugh.

“Stop grinning at me. It’s making your eyes crinkle up.” Abby attempted to put some shimmery charcoal on his eyelids.

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