Sweet Seduction Shadow Read Online Free PDF Page B

Auckland. I could try Hamilton. Slap bang in the middle of nowhere with a fuck-you attitude to go with it.
    Yeah, Hamilton would work. Hamilton would have to work. There was a criminal underbelly there. So, there would be forgers as well.
    I glanced at the bus route map off to the side of where I sat. This bus went to Britomart, in the city centre. From there I could easily head to Quay Street and catch a Naked Bus heading south. It was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. I had no choice. I had to do this. Roan was too close, way too close for comfort.
    I realised I was panting slightly at the thought of leaving a location again. But it was more than my usual build up to a run. This one cut deep. I gripped my satchel tightly and closed my eyes, willing my breathing to settle - yet again. I could do this. I had to do this.
    Ah, shit. I so did not want to do this. God help me, but I was so tired of running. So tired of Roan McLaren fucking with my life.
    But I hadn't survived this long without following the rules my father had given me. Could I break them today? Could I turn my back on years of dropping everything at the first sign of trouble and picking up from scratch all over again?
    I thought of Angela, my boss at Pennyworth's. Her smiling face and ever cheerful words. I thought of how welcomed she made me feel behind the counter, surrounded by expensive jewellery and sparkling gems. I thought of the multitude of breaks she gave me through the course of the day, in order to run across the street and grab a coffee for us both. Which made me think of my best friend. And I could call Kelly that. She wasn't just a flatmate, she was fast becoming someone I could tell all my dirty secrets to. Someone I would want in my life right to the end.
    I couldn't do this. I couldn't - if not at least to say good-bye - leave without one last look at my all too brief perfect world. For such a short time I had a life. I needed just one more glance at that perfection, before I became nothing but a memory on the wind. Would they forget me quickly? Would they wonder why I left? Would they feel hurt I left without any warning at all?
    I couldn't tell them what I was about to do, but in an around about way, I could at least let them know what they meant to me right now. I'd pay one last visit, then tonight I would slip from their lives, having at least told them that I cared.
    The bus pulled into Britomart and came to a stop. The finality of the engine being switched off - end of line, everybody off - was a death knell in my head. I climbed down to the pavement, with those passengers who had travelled with me, and took a quick and natural look around. Assessing the crowd milling around Britomart, trying to spot the odd man out. Nothing registered.
    I shouldered my bag and started heading towards High Street. I'd call into Sweet Seduction first, grab a coffee and mentally say my good-byes. Then I'd cross the road to Pennyworth's, and finish up the half day I was due to work. Act as though everything was perfectly normal, when inside everything was upside down and crumbling into dust.
    I slipped into a public toilet and quickly changed out of my hippy gear. The beads were stashed one after the other in a pocket in my satchel and then my hair was pulled tightly and smoothly back into a ponytail. Not quite my usual standard, but close enough. The restriction of the tight fitting pencil skirt and blouse matched the clench on my heart. The pumps on my feet felt like dead weights compared to Chrystal's feather-light leather sandals. Everything stashed away, including the multitude of colourful bangles, blue lensed glasses and oversized peace symbol. Green contacts back in situ and one last look in the mirror, and I welcomed Abi Merchant back for the final performance of her life.
    I wasn't sure if I would walk out of Auckland as Chrystal, but as she was the only other outfit I had on me right now, I was betting some incarnation of her would have