Snared (Elemental Assassin #16)(88)

Jade cleared her throat and gestured at her sister. “We crashed here last night. We just got up a little while ago and had some breakfast. Since we were already here, Elissa wanted to get her hair done before we go back home. Jo-Jo was nice enough to close the salon down for the rest of the day just for us.”

Jo-Jo smiled at the two of them. “It’s no problem at all, darling. I’m happy to help in any way that I can.” She finally picked out a pair of scissors, along with a wide-toothed comb, and went over to stand beside Elissa. “All you have to do is tell me what you want, and I’ll work my magic.”

Elissa nodded, and Jo-Jo turned her chair around so that Elissa could see herself in the mirror over the counter. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, so she didn’t look anything at all like she had when I found her in that secret chamber, but she still flinched, as though it hurt to look at her own reflection.

“It’s okay.” Jade got up, went over to her sister’s side, and squeezed her hand. “Just take your time.”

Elissa kept staring at herself in the mirror. For a moment, I thought that she wouldn’t be able to get the words out, but she drew in a breath and started talking.

“He . . . he liked brushing my hair,” Elissa said in a soft, hesitant voice. “He would brush it and brush it and tell me how pretty it was, how much he loved it . . .”

Her voice trailed off, and a horrified shudder rippled through her body. It took her several seconds before she could look at herself in the mirror again.

“I want you to cut it off,” she said in a slightly stronger voice. “A cute bob or something like that. I just—I just want it gone.”

Jo-Jo nodded. “I can do that, darling. No problem. Anything else?”

Elissa glanced over at Sophia, who was still petting Rosco. Her gaze focused on the Goth dwarf’s black hair. “Can I dye it too? Some other color? Just for a little while?” she asked, looking up at Jade.

Jade gripped her sister’s hand a little tighter. “You can dye it any color you want to, sweetheart.”

Elissa hesitated. “Can we do some streaks too? Maybe hot pink or something like that? If it’s not too much trouble?”

“Hot pink? Now you’re speaking my language.” Jo-Jo winked at her in the mirror. “And darling, nothing is too much trouble for you today.”

Jo-Jo started cutting off Elissa’s hair, chatting with her about her college classes, her favorite movies, and other safe, normal topics. Elissa’s responses were short and clipped at first, but Jo-Jo could make anyone feel at home, and she slowly got the girl to relax and open up a little bit more.

“I’m going to get some water,” Jade said. “If that’s okay?”

Sophia pointed to the doorway. “Sure. Bottles in the fridge.”

Jade nodded and jerked her head at me, and I followed her into the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, but she didn’t actually open it.

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the counter. “How is she?”

“Physically, she’s fine,” Jade said. “Emotionally is a whole other story. I made an appointment for her to speak with a therapist later on today. But she wanted to get her hair done first. I’m going to let her do whatever she needs to in order to try and recover from this.”

I nodded. “That’s probably the best thing you can do for her.”

In the salon, Jo-Jo kept up a steady stream of conversation, still talking to Elissa about her classes. Every once in a while, Sophia would chime in with her raspy voice. Rosco barked another loud woof! and Elissa let out a small, hesitant laugh, gently chiding the basset hound for lying down at her feet in hopes of getting a tummy rub.

“Did she tell you what happened the night that Porter grabbed her?” I asked.

Jade let out a tense breath. “It happened just like you thought it did. She saw Porter carrying that other girl and went around to the back of the nightclub to make sure the girl was okay. She realized that something was wrong and started to call the police, but by then, Porter had seen her, and it was too late. Elissa said that the last thing she remembers is him punching her in the face. She woke up in his cottage. She said that Porter brushed her hair and made up her face over and over again, like she was his own personal doll. You can imagine how terrifying that was.”

My hand crept up to my own hair, and I fiddled with one of the blond locks for a few seconds before I realized what I was doing. I dropped my hand back down to my side. “Yeah.”

Jade finally cracked open her water and took a long sip before setting it down on the counter. She fiddled with the bottle for several seconds, sliding it back and forth, before pushing it aside for good. She raised her head and looked at me again.

“Bria told me what happened. How you wouldn’t give up searching for Elissa. How you stayed behind so that Owen and the others could get her to safety. What Porter did to you later.” Her voice dropped to a ragged whisper, and tears streamed down her face. “But you did it. You brought my sister back to me. That means everything to me. More than any favors we could ever trade, more than any deals we could ever make. I’m in your debt now. Whatever you need, Gin. Whatever I can do for you, you just name it, and it’s yours. Today, tomorrow, always.”

I could have told her that she didn’t owe me anything, not one damn thing, but Jade had her pride, and I knew how important this was to her.