Page 13 of Dark Knight

"Crystal," I said, my heart in my throat. "What kind of organization is it that you two are a part of?" I really needed to control my mouth better. Or at least connect it to my brain so I could think before I spoke.

"Better that you don't know," Hud said, glancing at me and shaking his head. "It's safer that way, trust me."

Trust him? The man who just told me he'd make me bleed if I ran my mouth about them? At first, it seemed counterintuitive. Once I thought about it, though, I realized he'd been as honest with me as he could, so I decided that I would at least try to trust him and Dylan.

"I'll try," I mumbled eventually.

He chuckled darkly. I glanced at him before looking out of the window once more. The slight smile that lingered on his face made my stomach flip-flop, he really was obnoxiously handsome, just like Dylan. I really hoped I was making the right decision and not just being swayed by lust.

8

Evie

Hudson took me to store after store. I was surprised that someplace like this was open as late as it was. I didn't want to admit to him that the first time I had ever been to a mall was two years ago. I mean, what kind of twenty-one year old girl says something like that?

Hell, I didn't even want to tell most people my age because they judged me for it. A twenty-one year old who’s a freshman in college? People just assumed and judged, and that wasn't something I enjoyed. Because I looked young, I always just faked my age. Even Sampson hadn't really bothered to check. He just assumed I was the same age as Lyric. When Lyric and I snuck some bottles of alcohol into the dorm, I said that my cousin got them for us. In reality, I'd just been out earlier that day.

None of that mattered now, though. I owed a debt to some very dangerous people. I wasn't opposed to repaying it, but I wished I could have done it on my own terms.

I picked up a dress off the rack and held it up for Hudson to see. "What about this one?"

He sneered at it. "If you want to look like you should be at an English tea party, sure."

"Okay, then," I said, as I put it back. I thought it was cute. It was floral and frilly and had some lace on it, but that was apparently not the look we were going for.

It hadn't escaped my attention that all of the customer service people in these shops stayed carefully away from Hudson and I, as though they were scared to see what we might ask them. We got polite smiles, of course, and they took Hudson's money, or rather Dylan's money, with no issue. Everything else? It was like pulling teeth.

It wasn’t something that was completely foreign to me, so it didn’t bother me much. When I’d first run away from the Children of Radiance I’d been awe struck by the world around me, especially shops and what women wore. I’d clearly been the odd woman out and had been treated as such by store employees, once I adapted to this new life it was less obvious, but I still wasn’t a fan of being treated as less than.

"Here. Go try these on." I hadn't even noticed Hud picking up different dresses and outfits until he gave me an armful of items on hangers and pointed toward the dressing rooms.

I was surprised at how seriously he was taking this when we first started shopping. I didn’t really care if the clothes fit well or not, after all, they weren't really my clothes. Sure, I would be the one wearing them, but I wasn't picking them out. So what did it matter? Hudson, on the other hand, was looking at everything with a critical eye and demanded that I show him everything I tried on.

After I took the clothes from him, I trotted to the dressing rooms. I stripped out of the leggings and t-shirt as quickly as possible and shimmied into the first dress, which made me look like a disco ball. It wasn't exactly something I was thrilled about. Still, it could have been worse.

Just as I was halfway through taking it off again, I heard Hudson's voice on the other side of the curtain. "Don't forget to show me."

I paused, sighing before pulling the dress back into place and zipping it up before sliding the curtain open. "The 70s called..." I snarked.

He just glared down at me. "Fine. Not that one."

I gave him a smile, which somehow seemed to just make things worse. He glared at me even harder, his brow furrowing and his lips drawing into a tight line. I slid the curtain closed and proceeded to put on the next dress.

It was essentially a black tube. One that was skintight. It was ruched along the sides, which I would have thought would make it less obvious how tight it was, but somehow it just enhanced the effect. The neckline didn’t just dip low though, there was a cutout in the middle. It was shaped like an hourglass, one that started in what would have been the sweetheart neckline being the thinnest part and then flaring wide under my breasts. It was ridiculously sexy and I couldn’t deny I felt like a bombshell in it.

"This one's a keeper," Hud said with a nod before adding, "next." This time he closed the curtain, banishing me and the almost obscene dress.

We went on like that for what felt like forever but was probably only a half hour or so. Some outfits worked, some didn't. Hud had final say no matter what, but I voiced my opinion as well. There was a pair of leather-like shorts that he particularly seemed to like, whereas I felt like they looked more like panties. I told him as much, but it just made him grin.

These weren't my clothes, I reminded myself for the umpteenth time. I was just using them for a while. Right as I was just about to put the clothes I was borrowing from the maid back on, Hud's voice sounded on the other side of the curtain, "Put on that halter top and the shorts. We'll pay for them as we leave. Leave the other clothes behind, we’ll compensate the maid."

I wanted to protest–to tell him that the top and shorts weren't an appropriate outfit for a mall–but the truth was, we had seen people wandering around wearing everything and anything. Some of them were covered from eyebrows to ankles, while others barely covered anything in between. None of it seemed to matter, so I did as he asked.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I tried to see the benefits of the outfit. My breasts looked amazing thanks to the cut out of the halter top, but overall, I felt exposed. As I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, I reminded myself that there was nothing more on display than what people would see if I was wearing a swimsuit. When I opened the curtain, I handed the clothes he deemed acceptable to Hud, and he took them over to the cash register.

"She's wearing these out. Can you scan them and take off the tags?" he asked, as I hovered behind him.

The clerk nodded, coming over with a pair of scissors to remove the tags that were still on the clothes I was wearing before scurrying back around the counter once more. The scent of her perfume lingered in the air. It was too floral and made me nauseous.

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