Tomorrow night.

I stared at my reflection in my bathroom mirror and held up the pair of scissors I’d found in the drawer. One way or another, in twenty-four hours, everything was going to change.

Betty was gone. Sloane was gone. So who was I now? I was Sloane, Mark II.

Grasping my hair, I sliced off a long lock with the scissors. It fell to the floor, and I glanced down. I already felt lighter.

I kept cutting, a wave of passion overcoming me. More hair came off, and I stared at my changing reflection with unmasked determination. Once I was done, I fluffed up my new do and grunted. That would do.

Opening the box of bleach I got one of the guys to get me from the beauty supply, I mixed up the powder and developer and slapped it on my head. Immediately, my scalp began to tingle. I covered all my hair with the mixture and watched my dark locks begin to lighten.

“Sloane?”

“I’m in the bathroom,” I called out, resisting the urge to scratch my scalp.

“What’s that smell?” Chaser appeared in the doorway, and his eyebrows rose. He glanced at the hair on the floor, and then to the bleach on my head. “What are you doing?”

“Coloring my hair. I wanted to see if blonde’s had more fun.”

“Do they?”

“Don’t know yet. I’m still a work in progress.” I shook the next box of dye. “I’ve gotta tone yet.”

“Why?”

“Well, when you bleach hair, it turns this gross yellow color, and you put blue or purple tones on it to counteract the gold.”

Chaser smiled and shook his head. “I meant, why did you cut your hair?”

“I wanted to evolve.”

“Fair enough.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How did it go?”

“I did what I could,” he replied. “Now we wait.”

I nodded. Watts was in Las Vegas, holed up in a fancy hotel waiting for a letter that may or may not be our ticket to freedom. Mainly my exoneration from King’s threats, but Chaser was tied up in it, too. My fate was his fate because that was how true love worked.

“Are you sure they’ll come through?” I asked. “They don’t seem like a trustworthy bunch”

“I insinuated we’d sell the information to the highest bidder and be granted asylum by a foreign power, so yeah, they’ll come through.”

I snorted at the irony and tossed the empty dye box into the plastic bag I was using for the trash.

“How are things here?” Chaser asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“Gasket has delegated men to each team,” I replied. “Bones, Hopper, Stewie, Ringer, and Davis are on mayhem duty at the Halcyon. The rest are going with Gasket to confront Rocket. Seems like the ‘Hollow Riders’ have taken up residence in a certain diner.” I air quoted the renegades shitty new name and curled my lip in distaste.

“Monroe’s?”

I nodded. “The old man isn’t very happy since he still owns the place.”

“Obviously.”

“He’ll get it back,” I murmured, checking my hair in the mirror. “We’ll all get back what we’ve lost.”

“To a certain extent.”

I looked at Chaser’s reflection in the mirror and held onto my sigh. We didn’t need this right now. Strength was in short supply, and we had to gather all we could find for the climax.

“I’ve got to wash this off,” I said, eyeing him.

He pushed off the doorframe. “I have to go see Gasket, anyway.”

“You came to see me first?” I grinned, my lips pulling lopsidedly.

“Of course, I did.”

I blew him a kiss as he left, watching him go with an air of female appreciation.

Leaning over the bath, I washed out the bleach, shampooed, and blasted my pale yellow locks with the hairdryer. Thinking about tomorrow night, I slapped on the toner and watched my fried hair suck up the color. If I came face-to-face with King again, would I have the guts to pull the trigger? I’d stared into his cold eyes and felt his power, so I knew how overwhelming he could be. This wasn’t like facing my father. This was that moment in the desert amplified times a million.

Checking the color of my hair, I swallowed hard. Yeah, I could do it, and it had nothing to do with pulling a trigger. I would take King down any way possible. He deserves it. I was taking his game, turning it back on him, and shoving the ragged remains right up his asshole. See how you like it, then.

Washing off the toner, I dried my hair one last time. Standing in front of the mirror, I stared at my reflection, hardly recognizing the hard-ass bitch looking back at me. The last few months had taken their toll, shedding weight from my body and replacing some of it with muscle. Whoever this bitch was, she looked tough as. Toned, sexy, determined. Hair like ice, eyes like fire, and a heart full of both.

Dragging my fingers through my new do, it felt strange. My hair was just below my jaw, the ends slightly uneven but jagged and totally rock ‘n’ roll. With my torn-up T-shirt, jeans, and boots, I looked like a grunge rocker off to a rock concert, not a strung-out woman about to embark on a hit.

Not sure if that was a good thing or not, I went out into the bedroom. Chaser was sitting on the bed, waiting for me, his talk with Gasket over. Rising to his feet, he raked his gaze over my body, taking in the new me.

“So?” I asked.

He combed his fingers through my hair, then picked up a strand and inspected it.

“Do you like it?” I murmured.

“It’s different.”

“Good. That’s the point.”

“You didn’t have to go that far, you know.”

“It’s just hair. It’ll grow back.”

“I hear that’s how it works.”

“I feel like a different person,” I said. “The hair… It completes the picture. If you don’t like it, I can change it back after.”

“If you want to change your hair, then change it. It’s none of my business. Hair isn’t who you are.”

I frowned. “Are you okay?”

“I feel…raw,” he murmured.

“You’re evolving, too,” I whispered. “Stings like a bitch, doesn’t it?”

His lips twitched. “Yeah.”

“Is Gasket good?”

“Everything’s progressing on schedule,” he replied. “All we have to do now is wait until tomorrow.”

“Las Vegas tomorrow night.”

He nodded.

I sat on the bed, suddenly weak at the knees. The air was so heavy with the incoming storm that all I wanted to do was grab onto Chaser and never let go. I wanted to draw him into a little cocoon and stay there forever. Just him and me.

He sat beside me, his arm circling my waist. Just his touch was enough to send a bolt of longing between my legs.

“What do you hope for, Chaser?”

“You want to know about my hopes and dreams?” he asked with a laugh. “Shit.”

“Yeah. So?”

He grunted.

“This has to do with after. We’ve talked about it but not seriously,” I said. “So let’s make a concrete plan. Something to get us through the next couple of days. Something to look forward to.”

Chaser lowered his gaze and picked up my hand. Rubbing his fingers over mine, he nodded. “You go first.”

“I want to go see Yvette,” I said. “I want to see how Sam’s doing. Besides, I made her a promise.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. We were in some town by a McDonald’s. You and me. I can’t even remember where now. I told her if I ever got through to the other side of this, I’d let her know. I want to let her know. In person.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “Then we go there first.”

“Then I want to hole up someplace quiet and fuck our brains out. I want to do it all kinds of ways. We haven’t done anal yet.”

His eyes darkened, and his grip tightened around my waist. “Sounds like paradise.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I’m still thinking about you wanting anal sex.”

“I’m serious, Chaser.”

He thought for a moment, his brow creasing with the effort. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“When you left Fortitude, why did you pick New York?”

“Honestly? It was the farthest place away from here. There wasn’t any deep and powerful meaning. I didn’t want to seek my fortunes on Broadway or anything. I just wanted to run far, far away.” I studied his expression but got nothing. “Are you disappointed?”

“No.”

“Chaser, I… I never belonged anywhere before. Not really. But I belong with you now. The place doesn’t matter.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” he said, cupping my cheek. “It doesn’t matter where we go as long as we’re together.”

I grinned. “See? I said you were getting soft. Like a big, squishy teddy bear.”

“Fuck me.” He groaned and rolled his eyes. “What did I say about ruining my reputation?”

Straddling his lap, I fisted my hands in his hair and tugged his head back. “Am I denting your fragile male ego?”

“No. I’m too hard for that.”

“So, when we win, we’ll go to New York,” I murmured.

“And fuck our brains out.”

“Then?”

“Then we’ll go to Montana and see how green it really is.”

I laughed softly, grinding into his crotch. “It would be fun to learn to ride a horse, but for now, I’d be happy to ride your cock.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

He dragged my T-shirt up and over my head, and the warm air kissed my skin. It felt strange not having my hair brush against my back, but Chaser’s hands more than made up for it. He caressed the curve of my spine, undoing the clasp on my bra and freeing my breasts. He took one nipple into his mouth, licking and sucking the sensitive bud. Pleasure boiled between my legs, and I moved, rubbing my clit against him.

He flipped me back onto the bed, tearing off his T-shirt and stripping down to his skin. I shimmied out of my own jeans, watching his erect cock glisten. Finally, he climbed over me, pressing his weight against my body as his lips claimed mine.

We kissed long and hard, our tongues exploring, savoring the taste of each other. As his cock stroked my clit, our breathing quickened as our pleasure rose. When he finally thrust into me, I almost came. I quivered around his length, desperate to savor this moment. The feel of him in me, the taste of his mouth, the firmness of his touch, the sounds he made while he fucked.

“You’re so wet,” he whispered into my ear. “So fucking wet.” He drew back and slid into me. “I love you, Sloane.”

“I love you.” I spread my legs as wide as I could and dug my fingers into his back. A moan escaped my lips as he increased his pace, his cock gliding in and out of my slickness.

We came together, which hardly ever happened, and drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms. Entwined, tangled, together.

When the sun came up, Chaser received word from Watts.

Our deal with the FBI had come through.

Signed, sealed, and delivered.