“So, what do you think?” said Zoe, kicking her feet up onto the hotel couch.

Alicia thought for a moment. This was going to complicate things. She did her best to smile on through it, but she was paranoid that she’d let something slip.

“I dunno, Zoe,” she replied. She stood up, walked behind her and started massaging her shoulders. Zoe let out a tiny, pleasurable sigh.

It sounded good. It sounded so, so, so good. They’d scored enough money from the loaded couple they’d been shacked up with that they could maintain their lifestyle for the next six months without any major concerns. They’d need to find somebody else eventually, but why not enjoy their success for a while? Zoe wanted them to hit up the Caribbean, soak in the amazing weather, and maybe find a few new playthings. It sounded like heaven. That Zoe wanted to do it would normally be enough for her. She wanted to do everything Zoe wanted to do. She’d usually do anything to please her. But there was a problem.

“I just really want to spend a bit longer here,” Alicia continued. “It sounds so good, don’t get me wrong. But what’s wrong with hanging out for a bit? It’s not like there’s any rush. We’ve been moving around sooo much lately.” She hoped it sounded convincing.

She could hardly tell her the truth about it. After all, the details of that interview are confidential. But she couldn’t just leave. Employees must be at work during office hours, she thought. It was not up for negotiation. Work started on Monday, and that meant she’d be there, no ifs and no buts. Even just thinking about not being there on Monday made her feel totally exhausted.

“I don’t really know if I feel comfortable staying around when that weirdo's probably looking for me,” Zoe said. “I hit him really hard, Alicia. Nobody’s ever collapsed and bled from their nose before.”

Alicia thought for a moment. His nose had been bleeding when she met him, too, but the details of that interview are confidential.

“It’s a big city. There’s no way they were following us,” Alicia said. “And you’re always being so safe, it’s really not necessary. You haven’t given anybody your number yet and you haven't turned your phone on for days. Nobody’s chasing us.” She was being torn up inside. She hated keeping secrets from her. She wished she could just go away with her and worship her all day and all night. But she must be at work during office hours. She started choking up a little bit.

“Look, Alicia, I-” Zoe said before being interrupted.

“Don’t you love me?” Alicia said. It hung in the air for a moment. Then Zoe started laughing.

“That’s my line,” she replied. Alicia pulled herself onto the couch and kissed her deeply. When she finally pulled away, Zoe saw how red her eyes were. “But if it means that much to you, then we can stay for a while.”

The burden that was suddenly lifted off Alicia’s shoulders was indescribable. She could suddenly breathe again.

“I love you so fucking much,” Alicia said, then kissed her again.

Zoe ran her eyes up and down the store clerk. She was helping another customer sort out sizing, and Zoe was enjoying the view. The girl was probably around the same age as Alicia, brunette, a little surplus weight maybe but super cute. The customer didn’t seem happy with something and wandered off.

“Are you sure I can’t help you with anything?” the clerk said. Zoe smiled wickedly.

“I’m just waiting for my friend to finish up in the change rooms,” she replied. “But you know, there might be something you could help me with.”

“Sure, what do you need?” she said, drawing closer and smiling the overly enthusiastic smile of a retail worker whose soul hadn’t been fully sucked out yet. Zoe knew she probably shouldn’t do it, but the temptation was overwhelming.

She closed her eyes and reached out for it. She felt it moving. Not a muscle, exactly, but something. She opened her eyes again just in time to catch the scent wafting over this young lady. The muscles that held the smile in place relaxed along with her jaw. Her pupils twitched slightly. There was an almost instant change in her breathing, and her cheeks reddened in a span of seconds. Zoe was careful not to push it as hard this time. Overly cautious perhaps, but she didn’t want a repeat of Friday. The girl forgot that she was waiting for a reply, she stood there completely drunk with the sight of Zoe.

Another customer walked into the store. Zoe leaned in past the clerk’s ear.

“You better go see if they need anything,” she whispered. The clerk shuddered at the sound of her voice.

“W-what?” she said. Zoe pointed over to the older man who looked completely lost in a women’s clothing store.

“You’ve got a customer. Don’t worry, I won’t be going anywhere,” she purred. The girl was still awestruck and took a few moments to process what she’d been told.

“Oh yeah right, I’ll be right back,” she said after another long pause.

Zoe was starting to get turned on now, too. She walked over to the changing rooms and gave a gentle knock on the booth that Alicia had been in for the last ten minutes.

“I’m almost done,” Alicia said.

“The anticipation is killing me,” Zoe replied. Alicia had walked in with about five million items so she had genuinely no idea what to expect when she walked out.

Zoe watched the clerk again. She was having trouble focusing on the customer. She kept turning to look at Zoe, meeting Zoe’s eyes, then immediately turning away out of embarrassment. She was getting increasingly flustered. The changing room door swung open.

“How do I look?” said Alicia, spinning for a brief moment in front of the full length body mirror. Zoe scanned her thoroughly.

“You uh…” Zoe began. Is that… oh god it is, she thought. Alicia was wearing an ensemble that looked awfully familiar. The Pencil skirt, the grey short sleeved jacket over a blouse. She’d worn sheer stockings and heels in today but that hadn’t seemed unusual until it was paired with the rest of the getup.

“C’mon it’s not that bad, surely,” said Alicia, looking at her nervously.

“No, you look great, babe, but isn’t it… well isn’t it pretty much what all the women at you-know-where were wearing on Friday?”

“Oh, I guess I didn’t really notice,” Alicia replied. Zoe raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t notice that you dressed up like that creep’s collection of Girl Boss Barbies?” Zoe said. Alicia shrugged.

“They did look pretty hot,” she said, then strutted right up to Zoe.

“You do have a point,” Zoe replied. They kissed, and the kiss quickly turned into them making out for almost a minute. Eventually they pulled away, and Alicia slapped Zoe’s butt as she walked back into the change room.

“Don’t be in a hurry to put your clothes back on,” Zoe whispered in front of the door. She was confident Alicia knew what she meant.

Zoe turned to the store clerk, who had evidently seen everything that just happened and had turned absolutely beet-red. The man she was helping must have left. Perfect, thought Zoe. She beckoned for the girl, who almost tripped over herself to get there as quickly as she could.

“What’s your name, sweetie,” Zoe said.

“I’m Grace,” she said meekly.

“Pleased to meet you Grace. My name is Zoe,” she said. She focused, then released a bit more of the scent. While Grace’s senses were being freshly overwhelmed, Zoe leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Grace melted completely. “I was wondering if you could do an itsy bitsy favour for me.”

“Anything,” Grace said. Zoe could feel that she meant it.

“Could you close up a bit early today? I know you’re supposed to be open for another hour, but we wouldn’t want any… interruptions,” she said.

“Absolutely!” Grace said.

“Oh you’re such a doll,” Zoe replied. “Come back over when you’ve closed the doors.” She gave a playful wink. Grace scrambled to do as she’d been asked. Zoe stepped closer to the change rooms again.

“May I come in?” she said, although it was certainly not a question. The door unlatched. Zoe pushed it open, and slipped inside. Alicia was just about to take off her garter belt and stockings when Zoe touched her on the shoulder. “Leave those on,” she said.

“Yes ma’am,” she said.

“I’ve got you a little gift,” Zoe said. “She’ll be round in a few minutes, I’m sure.”

“Oh...” said Alicia.

The two started making out again. Zoe didn’t bother to close the door. If anybody walked past before Grace pulled the shutters down, then she was happy to give them a little show. She ran her hands up and down Alicia’s firm, toned body, then homed in on her breasts. She pulled away for a moment.

“Oh, you took your piercings out?” she said.

“Yeah, I just wanted to try something a bit different.”

“Hmm,” said Zoe, then she got back to what she was doing.

A minute later, Zoe stood up and turned around. Grace was standing about two meters away, trying her hardest not to stare at the two, but too curious and full of desire to walk away.

“Tell me Grace, what do you do?” said Zoe. As she stepped out of the change room, Alicia was now fully visible standing there naked but for the remnants of her lingerie and completely unashamed.

“I’m a student,” she said. Her eyes wandered over Alicia, then looked away again.

“Don’t be embarrassed. You can stare if you like,” Alicia said. This of course simply made her even more flustered.

“What do you study?” asked Zoe.

“Engineering,” she squeaked.

“Oh, you must be very smart. I like intelligent women,” said Zoe. Grace started breathing even more heavily. “Do you like girls?”

“Um, I don’t know,” Grace replied.

“Do you like me?”

“Yes...” she whispered.

“Well that’s a start,” Zoe said, then leaned in and kissed her. It took her by surprise, but she didn’t take long to adapt. She kissed her back intensely. Zoe could tell she was going to fit right in.

Zoe beckoned for Alicia to come over.

“Oh my god, I’ve never… with a woman...”

“Shhhh,” Zoe said. She pushed the girl onto the bench next to the cash register.

Alicia dropped to her knees and started pulling her pants off. Zoe attacked the top. Soon there was a pile of clothes on the ground, and Alicia started eating her out. She gasped, and Zoe silenced her with another kiss. All told, their lovemaking lasted over an hour. They cycled positions, carefully warmed Grace up to all of these new and wonderful things, they all took their time, and made sure that all parties were thoroughly satisfied and completely exhausted. Zoe slumped back on the ground, ready for a nap. They all just sat there and enjoyed the moment for a time.

“Oh, we should probably pay before we go,” said Alicia, looking at Zoe with a wicked smile. Zoe sat up and made a show of looking around inside her bag.

“Oh shit. I forgot to bring my purse,” said Zoe, putting on an exaggeratedly sad face. “How are we going to get home?”

Grace responded almost immediately. That’s a good girl, Zoe thought.

“Please, please take whatever you want, no charge,” said Grace, still recovering her breath. She stood up, went around the corner and punched some numbers into the till. She returned moments later with a small stack of bills from the register. “Here, take this. I’ll fix it up in the system later. My boss barely checks,” she said. She was still gazing longingly at Zoe, desire burning in her eyes.

“Oh Thank you, you’ve saved me,” said Zoe. Grace was the happiest person on earth.

The group started reassembling their clothes, ready to leave.

“You know, you’re a very good girl, Grace. I might even want to see you again,” said Zoe. Grace beamed. She looked like a kid at Christmas.

“Oh please Zoe, yes, we need to do this again!”

Zoe looked over at Alicia. She nodded.

“Write down your phone number for me. I’ll be in touch,” said Zoe.

Brianna and Slade Jackson pulled up at the location they’d been given. It was a gas station on the outskirts of town, heading East. They were still in high spirits, but knew there was a chance that this was a dead end. They both walked inside and approached the man behind the counter.

“Hi, I can I help you?”

“We hope so. Were you working here on Wednesday evening this week?” said Brianna. She still had the faintest hint of an Irish accent from her childhood. The man looked at them, suddenly very concerned.

“Um… yes, I think I was,” he said. They were relieved.

“There was a woman, or maybe two women, who came in here that day,” she said.

This was a bluff. They didn’t actually know if she’d stopped in here. This was just where the phone last reported it’s position. Slade had friends in very high places, and had been pulling strings for weeks to get this data.

“I don’t mean to be glib, but there are a lot of women who stop here. Could you be more specific?”

“This person we’re looking for is very distinctive,” said Slade. “Mid to late 20’s, her hair is a deep, dark red. Brown eyes, medium height. And she’s… very charming,” he said. “If you’d met her, you’d understand.”

The man did look like he understood, but wasn’t saying something. He twitched a little bit.

“She would have filled up and purchased a new cell phone while she was here. She’s been swapping them every time she moves to a new location. Did you sell any prepaid cells that day?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, “that’s the kind of information I could only give to the police,” he said. He looked like he was protecting something. Brianna had a hunch she knew what that was. Slade moved to reach for his gun, but she put out her hand to stop him.

“Look, I know this is highly irregular, but we have reason to believe that she’s in danger.”

The man’s expression softened.

“Danger?”

“Yes. There are some people looking for her, and when they find her they’re going to harm her. We’re just trying to make sure that she’s safe, that’s all. You do want her to be safe, don’t you?”

He stared at them for a few more moments.

“Oh god, ok. Ok ok shit. She asked me not to tell anybody about this, but… if she’s in danger… oh god.”

The man was very helpful. Poor sap, Brianna thought to herself. She’d only crossed paths with him for a few minutes earlier in the week, and he was still falling over himself to help her out however he could. Lying to him about the danger was a gamble, but it had paid off. He’d apparently paid for the phone himself, so it was no wonder they were having a hard time finding it. He wasn’t even truly in love with her. Not like shewas. Not like they were. She almost started crying again just thinking about it. But they had her number now, and Slade was going to call in one more favour.

They were going to get her back. And when they did, they weren’t going to let her go.