Hustlers (11 page)

She jumped up from the couch, smiling. “Okay, what do we need to do first?”

“We need to get out of the UK, right now. If the people looking for you keep digging, they’ll find this place. For all we know, Meyer is on his way here himself right now. We need to get rid of anything that might identify us. We need to disappear. That means phones, identities and connections. We need to get rid of everything.”

She felt a moment of sorrow. The ramshackle loft had been a safe haven for as long as she could remember. But Jimmy was right. There was nothing here for her anymore. She could either wallow in regret or start a new life somewhere else. “Let’s do it.” She nodded.

Jimmy gave her a hug. “We better move fast. But, first on the agenda, we need to make you into a new woman, or you know, into something remotely female.” He waved his hands over her jogging bottoms and vest with a look of distaste.

“I don’t want to!” Ellie stared at the scissors in Jimmy’s hands.

“You need to change your look. The hair has to go. It’s either slice-and-dice or go blonde.” He shook the scissors and the hair bleach at her.

She lovingly curled her long dark locks around her fingers. “I’m not doing it.”

Jimmy sighed. “Would highlights be too much of a problem?”

She considered the idea. Highlights wouldn’t be so bad as long as she didn’t come out looking like a zebra.

“Sit down, and let me work my magic.” He pointed to the chair in front of the sink.

She sat in the plastic chair and leaned her head back over the sink. “You better not make my hair pink.”

He lifted the shower head and soaked her hair. “Don’t be ridiculous. If I mess it up, it’ll go green.” He flashed a wicked grin.

“Green will be the last thing you see if you do.” She sighed, resting her head against the hard porcelain rim of the basin. It had to be done. It wasn’t the first time she’d dyed her hair for a job, but she preferred wigs. They were easier to change in an instant. Dye seemed a bit too permanent.

She closed her eyes as the warm water rushed over her scalp.
This new life is going to be permanent, too. I might as well get used to the idea of that now, new hair for a new Ellie.

After an hour of washing, waiting and drying, she peered at her new look in the mirror. Her ebony hair had been lightened to chestnut brown with blonde highlights speckled through it.
Okay, it isn’t so bad
. She didn’t look as dramatic as before, but at least it matched her hazel eyes. “Hey, my eyes look greener with this hair color.” She called out after she’d put down the hair dryer.

“Good. We’ll change your eye color to green then,” Jimmy called from the adjoining room. He was working on their passports. She stepped out of the bathroom to find him hunched over his laptop.

He’d made himself at home in the loft with wall-to-wall electronic devices. “Dude, you have gotta get out more,” she said while staring at the three monitors he had hooked up to his laptop.

“If getting out more involves ending up on the front page of the newspaper for “high society vandalism,” I’ll skip it, thank you very much,” he muttered while typing away on what looked like a command prompt that was displayed on his screen.

“You know there are things out in the world that are more exciting than that, don’t you?” She pointed to the black screen. “Culture, life, treasure, a girlfriend.”

He spun around in his seat and glared at her. “You know that I have a girlfriend, right?”

“The one from that game? She could be a forty-year-old dude.”

“Cheryl is a twenty-two-year-old
woman
from Florida, not a dude.” His cheeks flushed with indignation.

“Great, I look forward to meeting her when we’re in Florida.”

“I know what game you’re playing, so don’t even try it.” He turned back to his screen and pulled up a new window on his computer before starting typing.

“Hey, if you’re too chicken to meet the girl of your dreams, it’s not my problem.” Ellie shrugged. She was playing him, but the guy really needed to go out on a real date. He was the little brother she’d never had, and it was about time he got out in the world, rather than hide behind a computer screen.

“You’re starting to get on my last nerve,” he said.

“You’re scared to meet women,” she countered. “Online relationships don’t last, but hey, maybe Cheryl isn’t worth it, huh?”

He paused in his typing and glanced back over his shoulder. “Do you really think she’ll like me in real life?”

“She likes you now, doesn’t she?”

“Dammit, Ellie, you always get me caught up in your stupid fantasies.” He shook his head.

“So, you’re going to meet her?” She grinned.

“Yes. But only so you’ll shut up about it, and when it turns into a disaster, I’ll know who to blame.”

“The only thing you can blame in that situation is your mouth.” She wandered over and ruffled his hair. “Hey, does that mean I get to dye your hair and dress you up, so you look like a date and not a fashion disaster?”

He brushed her off. “No, it doesn’t. I’m not on the run, and I would never let you near a man’s wardrobe. Last time you dressed me up for one of your jobs, you made me into frumpy security guard with a receding hairline!”

She chuckled. It was a fair point. She was the last person in the universe who should be giving makeovers. She used them for disguise, not to appear esthetically pleasing.

She smiled as a burst of optimism about the future filled her with warmth and hope. This journey was going to be an adventure. The idea of leaving the grim, gray skies of England behind and jetting off to the sunny isles of the Caribbean to hunt treasure was exciting. Everything she really cared about was coming with her. She had her father’s research, the map, and her best friend. What could possibly go wrong?

If you want to read more, this book will be available in most major bookstores from 1st September 2014.

Harlequin E New Adult Romance Box Set Volume 2: The Contract\Hustle\Bad Reputation

Harlequin E New Adult Romance Box Set Volume 1: Burning Moon\Girls' Guide to Getting It Together\Rookie in Love