Page 13 of Menace

They were called into church within hours of getting back.

FIVE

Joney / Harper

Johannesburg, South Africa

I sat in my room in Asa’s huge house staring at my reflection in the mirror.

My long pale blonde hair was no more. It was shorter and a vibrant pink. I had wanted to shave the sides but Asa vetoed it. He said the regrowth would be too noticeable and he was right.

I’ve always wanted to shave the sides and do Viking braids…oh well. I could always do it sometime in the future.

If I survived.

Shaking my head to dislodge the crappy thought I ran my fingers through my hair. It actually looked and felt good, really, really good. The stylist had given me a full fringe ending right above my eyebrows and left the rest one length, blunt cut at the ends. To complete the look my eyebrows and eyelashes were tinted light brown. It made my pale blue eyes stand out but it was easily toned down with contact lenses. Marion, the stylist, suggested going deep blue or green as it wouldn’t look fake with my skin tone.

I, of course, went for a vibrant amethyst purple that popped with my pink hair. It would be obvious I was wearing coloured contacts but it played right into the persona we were creating.

I was going all out to look like a tattooed Goth chick with heavy make-up to complete the picture.

Almost overnight my bump had popped out and it was impossible to hide that I was pregnant.

I had to tell Asa my story and he was worried about me coming up against Lucky in Savannah if I left before the baby was born. He was solidly on the side of having the baby before leaving.

I reassured him, telling him I would be careful but Asa wasn’t budging.

There was no way I could let Asa or the guys see how nervous the thought of going to Savannah made me. So, I shoved it to the back of my mind and concentrated on the here and now.

I focused on clothes and shoes.

Marion and I had gone on an on-line buying spree and every time I wanted to buy from cheaper stores she threatened me with telling Asa. Apparently he had given her strict instructions to only buy the best.

We didn’t buy too much as neither one of us knew how big my belly was going to become.

Most days I walked around in my black Docs. And when I told Asa how incredibly comfortable they were to work in he insisted on buying more. I bought a white pair that had roses and a viper curled around them on the sides, a black pair with red splashes all over them, a purple pair, and a bright pink pair. To the haul I added Goth boots with loads of buckles down the sides and chains around the ankles. They had chunky heels and a bit of a platform and pushed my height from five ten to six foot two. I loved it.

I strutted around the house wearing my new shoes in. My guards grinned every time they saw me and my belly come stomping past.

As a precaution Asa locked my jewellery in a small steel box and kept it in his safe. He replaced it with jewellery he said was more appropriate. It was way more expensive than my own and completely different in style. I liked it though, everything from the skull ring to the little dagger earrings were stunning.

While I had been busy with all of that I had secretly been looking forward to the day I would be getting my new name.

And today was the day.

Asa had been very secretive, saying he would sort it out. Too bad for him. I wanted some input in choosing my name and made a list of favourites. I was relaxing on the couch going over my list when Liam walked into the room.

“Boss wants to see you, girlie.” He said with a wink.

All of them had stopped using my name, calling me girlie instead.

All the guys were in the office with Asa. Pointing to the chair in front of his desk he waited for me to sit before he spoke.

“We have everything in line for your new identity documents. Would you like to know the name we’ve chosen for you?” The sneaky bastard grinned and winked at me.

I glared at him while waving my list in the air.

“But I have a list of names I like.” I complained.

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