“Did the vamp just do the helicopter?” Alec asked.
“Looks like he did,” Kayden answered.
I held on to Joshua’s shoulders. “What helicopter?”
“This,” he spun me in a full circle over his cock, “is the helicopter.”
“Oh my God.” I squealed. “Can humans do that?”
“Unsuccessfully. But I can. And I did it because I’m not done with you, and for once I want to make love to you while I’m watching your face.” He moved all my hair to the side and leaned in for a kiss, the weight of my hair heavy with all the water. One of the discomforts of having such long hair.
The watching, the hair made me think of one thing.
“What’s taking up your mind again?” Frustration tinged Joshua’s voice.
“I’m sick of living in fear, especially when I don’t have so many years to live. I know I can’t prove it, but I’m certain Declan is watching me, enjoying the shitty things he makes me feel in the comfort of his hiding place. So if he isn’t making a move on his own, I know what to do to provoke him to come out.”
CHAPTER 33
BELLE
FOUR DAYS BEFORE HALLOWEEN
“So? How does it look?” I stared at the boys through the mirror nestled among the black, red and white tiles of the hair salon wall I was facing.
Joshua lifted a shoulder. “You look amazing. As always.”
I scowled. “You hate it?”
“No. How do you get that fromyou look amazing?”
Kayden slapped his arm. “You look perfect, baby. You rock that short hair do.”
“Yeah. Can’t wait to see how that bounces when I tap that—”
Kayden silenced his brother with another slap on the arm.
The hairdresser cleared her throat, blushing. The three looked at her as if they’d just acknowledged she was in the room. I thanked her, and she removed the waterproof cape off me.
I got off the chair, my hand feeling the bare back of my neck and the volume of my hair layers above it. “I barely recognize myself, but I love it.”
“You really look amazing,” Joshua said.
“Thank you.” I smiled. As much as I’d loved my long hair in the past, it was a symbol of my slavery to Declan and his whims. The power of doing such a simple thing as getting my hair cut had been long taken from me. Now, I had regained it, and it felt so liberating.
I couldn’t wait for Declan to see. To go nuts over it. “Time to take a walking tour around Forest Grove.”
And so we did for the rest of the day. Then we went back to my place and waited.
Yet nothing happened.
We did the same thing the following day, covering more grounds, making more appearances. The whole town saw me, but Declan didn’t.
The feeling that he was watching me never faded, but he was nowhere around.
“He’s not here, Belle.” Kayden sat next to me on a bench in the park; the last place we visited tonight.
“Maybe the cops were right after all,” Alec said. “Let’s go home, get you some sleep. There’s nothing to worry about anymore.”
