Read Online Chameleon by Kenya Wright - Free Book Online

talk about it.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?” Rich’s voice screeched at the end of the sentence.
    “He asked me not to tell anybody.”
    “So you just listened?”
    “Would you focus on the current problem?” I headed out of the alley and gestured for Sasha to follow. She trailed behind me with Wiz on her shoulder.
    “This isn’t good.” Rich rushed his pace until he was on my side. His fingers trembled. He gazed back at Wiz then rubbed his face with his hands and shivered. “This isn’t good.”
    “You already said that.”
    “Why are you so calm about it?” He raised his voice as we rounded the corner. The parade continued in the street. More people littered the sidewalks.
    “Like I said, it’s been going on for six months. I’ve been freaking out since it started. But now I’m thinking about some crazy guy with scales on his face threatening Wiz and me.” I halted at the opening of the alley and touched Rich’s arm. “Take off your shirt so we can cover Wiz’s head. Crazier things are seen around the city, but we probably shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves.”
    “Ya think?” Rich said with sarcasm and pulled off his shirt. “I’ve seen some wacky stuff but this beats it all. It looks like there’s a web of snakes slithering under his skin!”
    A n elderly couple gave us a concerned look as they walked by hand in hand.
    “Lower your voice.” P ain thumped along my forehead brand and spread toward my temples. I’m going to pass out soon. I needed to hurry.
    “Lower your voice she says,” Rich muttered and placed his shirt over Wiz’s head. The moonlight shined on his muscular chest and highlighted his huge arms.
    Well, if anyone is looking our way, hopefully Rich’s chocolate sculpted body will be a distraction.
    We rushed out of the alley. Sasha kept my pace while she carried Wiz. Rich remained on my other side. The streetlights hit the ripples of muscle around his waist. Goodness. If the situation had not been so urgent, I might have swooned. Instead, I snapped my concentration to Sasha. Once we arrived at an intersection flooded with dancing drunks and partying teens, I checked to make sure Wiz’s face was still hidden.
    “Wow! How much did he drink?” A girl laughed and pointed at Wiz’s limp body. “He may have a problem.”
    No one said anything until we were a block away from her.
    “Where do you live?” Sasha adjusted Wiz’s position on her shoulder.
    “Aztec Hotel.”
    She cringed. Horror streaked her almond face. “The one-hour hotel?’
    I laughed inside.
    A homeless vamp who probably sleeps in the sewers during the day is looking down on my place?
    “Yes , the one-hour hotel,” I repeated. “It’s all I can afford.”
    I made a decent amount of money, but my budget was tight in anticipation of when the jobs would stop coming in.
    After running away from home and Wiz finding me, we began working jobs a few months later. I copied lots of different people’s images. A few people wanted me to mimic them and then go take a urine test for a job they were applying for. I assumed they had been doing drugs and didn’t want to lose the job due to the test results being positive for drug usage. Other copy jobs involved me sitting in for a test. For a work assignment like that Wiz made sure the person ordered the job from us three months in advance of the test date so I could study. Up until now, I’d received high scores for all of the examinations I completed. Word began to spread all over the city about Wiz’s copy spell and how it could do many impossible things—talk, walk, perform any tasks, etc.
    As the word spread, the weirdoes came out and asked for jobs too. Once, a guy requested a copy spell of his dead wife. I’d shown up at his house to discover him naked and ready to make love. I ran out of there. That’s when Wiz started escorting me on every job and purchased the limo. Another guy had lost money in a deal with a vampire cartel from Yemaya