The man had severe features and light blonde shoulder-length hair. She was sure the t-shirt he wore was seconds away from ripping as it stretched across his enormous chest.
She hadn’t realized she was gawking until he said, “Close your mouth and put these on.”
Her eyes ticked from his face to his outstretched hand, and she tentatively took the bundle of clothes. “You don’t have to be so rude about it,” she mumbled under her breath.
“I was not rude,” he stated, and her head snapped up.Did he have supermystic hearing?“Drink this.” He held out a bottle, and Rory shuddered.
“Who will it turn me into?” she asked, staring at the bottle.
When he didn’t answer, she begrudgingly accepted it and took it like a shot.Don’t gag. Don’t gag. Don’t gag.
She gagged.
After handing it back to him, he didn’t leave.
“Are you going to watch me change?” She looked at him, trying not to laugh, when he narrowed his eyes and left. “Who was that?” she asked Lauren.
“That,” Lauren said, her face alight with amusement, “was Sam, and yes, he’s always blunt. You get used to it.”
Whywould she get used to it?Rory straightened. “Am I going to be monitored?”
“Yes,” Lauren replied. “Sam and I will rotate.” Seeing Rory’s disbelieving expression, she added, “It’s for your safety. As I said earlier, the public will not take kindly to your release. We’re hoping to prevent them from finding out at all costs.”
“Why?” Rory’s suspicion peaked. “Why don’t you hate me, too?”
Lauren pointed to the clothes still clutched in Rory’s hands. “Get dressed. You would not have been spared from hell and released early if you were the villain they’ve made you out to be, but if you want me to be a bitch, I will happily oblige.”
Rory grumbled under her breath as she ripped the pajamas from her body and pulled on the jeans, t-shirt, and black cap. She expected the clothes to sag on her straight frame, but they didn’t. “They fit perfectly.”
“All of your information was documented during your stay in Vincula,” Lauren replied and stepped into the hall to grab something. “Here.”
Rory took the socks and sneakers from Lauren’s outstretched hand and pulled them on. Her mind was reeling as she tried to process what was happening.
She was missing three months of memories.
They released her early from Vincula.
She would be followed by a scary woman or an ornery giant for an undisclosed amount of time.
Nothing stressful about that at all.
“Won’t you two being with me every second of the day look suspicious?” She looked up to find Lauren examining her nails as though babysitting a serial killer was just another day on the job.
Maybe it was.
“Why would people not think we were friends or dating?” Lauren countered.
“Point taken.” Rory chortled. “But my apartment is small, and there are no extra bedrooms.” The thought of seeing her mother, Lenora, made her chest ache.
When she glanced at Lauren, the woman looked at her with pity, and Rory was immediately suspicious. Before she could ask what was wrong, Sam opened the door with a frown.
“What is taking so long?” he demanded and stomped into the room. “Do you not remember how to get dressed on your own?”
Rory bristled and motioned to her body. “I dressed myself just fine.”
“We need to leave,” he said, more to Lauren than Rory. “It is not yet daybreak, and the streets are empty, save for a few workers.”
“The potion hasn’t shifted me yet,” Rory pointed out, gesturing to her unchanged body, but when they looked at her, something on their faces told her to find a mirror. “What do I look like?”
