wooly blanket. She opened the wardrobe built into the wall and found a selection of generic clothing that would be perfect for anyone trying to hide in plain sight. There were also hats, wigs, glasses and prosthetics.
Looking down at her dirty coveralls, she decided the first order of business was to get changed. She shifted through the hangers and stacks of clothing until she found what she wanted—old, faded men’s clothing in the smallest size available. The only shoes close to her size were still an entire size too big so she grabbed an extra pair of socks.
Inside the attached bathroom, she stripped out of her soaking wet clothing and wiped down her body with a couple of cleansing wipes she pulled from a wall-mounted dispenser. She let the cleansing solution dry on her bare skin while examining her reflection in the mirror over the sink. The rain had soaked her braid, leaving strands of hair stuck to her face and neck. She ran her hands over the length of her braid before gathering her courage for what had to be done.
She opened the cabinets until she found a first aid kit and a box filled with grooming supplies like razors and scissors. It seemed a drastic thing to do, but she sensed her time under Terror’s protection was coming to an end. After her bumbling attempt to seduce him, she couldn’t even bare to look him in the eye. Now knowing how easily he could have any incredible woman he wanted, she felt a fresh wave of embarrassment at how stupid she had been.
Staying together on the run had never been a long-term plan. Terror would always be able to go back to the Valiant, back to his life as a Shadow Force operative and war hero. He would probably get slapped on the wrists for his behavior, but a man with his storied career and connections would have no problem returning to the fold.
Not me. I’m a dead girl walking.
Her image and biometrics were likely circulating every bounty hunter dashboard in the galaxy. It was only a matter of time until someone spotted her. Remembering how the pimps had zeroed in on her, Maisie reluctantly admitted her pretty face had doomed her. If she could pass as a young man, she would be able to buy herself a little time to get as far away as possible.
With a jagged sigh, she grabbed the scissors with one hand and her braid with the other. Before she lost her nerve, she made a cut close to her nape and sawed through the damp strands of hair. The length of her braid came free, and she held it up for a moment, staring at the beautiful hair she had always loved. Blinking back tears, she dropped the hair into the trash chute and returned to the mirror. She snipped and clipped until her hair was short.
The lightness of her head felt strange. She turned her head left and right to make sure it was even and made a few more snips before deciding that was as good as it would get. She set aside the scissors and stared at her reflection. Her eyes seemed suddenly larger, and her cheekbones were more prominent. There wasn’t much she could do about her feminine jawline or plump mouth, but she figured a hat worn low would help.
She tried not to think about how long it would take to grow her hair back as she cleaned up the mess and tossed it in the chute. She used a dry towel to wipe any lingering hair from her skin, the sink and floor and threw it into the chute, too. Hopefully, it would all drop into an incinerator like most trash systems did on planets like these. It would destroy any evidence she had been here.
After bandaging her wounded hand, she opened a package with one-size-fits-all underwear and slipped them up her legs and over her hips. She hated the feel of the stretchy fabric against her skin and planned to get rid of these as soon as possible. The two bras she had taken from the wardrobe were her usual size. She wiggled into the first one, wearing it the usual way, and then tugged the second one on but backwards. She turned sideways to view her profile in the mirror. The double layers of fabric had compressed her breasts mostly flat.
Lifting her arms overhead and bending over, she tested the fit to make sure