Page 54 of Twilight Mask

I drift in his direction. Nobody’s staring at him, but they should be. He’s an enormous man in a black jackal mask—he really fucking stands out.

His chin lifts as I make it to the other side of the table. Before I can say anything, a waitress appears with a drink, something clear and bubbling. “Here you go. He said you’d want this. It’s a gin and tonic.” She smiles, lots of teeth and big gums, and winks before she walks away.

I watch her go then turn back to Jackal.

He’s still sitting there, regarding me.

It’s scary as fuck. My heart’s pounding in my chest and I feel unsteady. I lean against the chair and take a long sip from the drink.

“You’re Mr. Chacal, aren’t you?” I ask.

“It took a lot of work setting that identity up. I thought you might see through it.” He tilts his head to the side. “Chacal is the French word for jackal.”

I groan and look at the ceiling. That’s why the name seemed familiar. It was just Jackal in another shape.

“Sit down,” he says and pushes the chair out with his foot.

“I should leave,” I say, whispering at him. My tone’s harsh and laced with all the hurt I’ve been stewing in. “This is bad, even for you. Marco.”

He doesn’t register the name. “Sit down, little demon. You can make a scene if you like, but I’m a man in a mask. I’ve already drawn enough attention to myself. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to sit here and be so blatantly strange? I’m bribing half the hotel at the moment.”

I hesitate, caught between rage and curiosity. He’s Jackal right now, and I’m not mad at Jackal. I’m mad at Marco. I’m confused by Marco. But Jackal?—

I still want Jackal.

It’s a twist in logic.

I’m tangling myself up, trying to justify this.

But stupidly, slowly, I sit down on the edge of the chair, half a second from booking it out of here as fast as my feet can take me.

“You look good,” he says.

“Very funny. What do you want, Marco?”

“I want to talk. I want to explain what you saw the other morning. You’ve been ignoring me, little demon.”

“I’m not your little demon. Marco.”

He tilts his head. “You throw that name at me like it’s a curse. But right now, I’m only Jackal. You can call me whatever you want.”

I shiver with excitement. God, yes, he’s only Jackal. The mask is back in place, and we can pretend again, if I let myself, and I really, desperately want to play.

But I can’t get past what I saw that morning. Valentina Santoro looking beautiful and sleepy. They spoke to each other like they’re intimate, but he keeps saying they’re not together, and I don’t know who to believe.

“Why was that girl at your place?” I ask him, hating myself a little bit for voicing the question out loud. I should be wondering a million other things, like why would he want to be with me when his old boss was trying to destroy my family? Did he know who I was at first? And if he didn’t, what was he doing at my art gallery opening? Instead, my ugly jealousy takes over, and I ask the least important question first.

“That’s a conversation for Marco, not for Jackal.”

“Let’s pretend you’re both, or else I can get up and walk away and never see you again.”

His head tilts to the side. “Alright, little demon. Valentina and Marco are good friends. They’re… close. But not romantically involved and never have been. They’ve known each other for years, and when Valentina’s father was killed?—”

“Killed by my father,” I point out. “After he tried to destroy us.”

Another acknowledging head nod. “After that went down, she was lost. They started working together and Marco protected her from some of the more violent elements of the former Santoro network. Valentina likes to take certain liberties, and she slept on Marco’s couch that night after drinking half his beer and eating all his food. She’s generally a pain in his ass.”

I lean back, considering. Just friends. Close enough that she sleeps over, but nothing more. I can imagine how hard things must’ve been after Santoro’s Famiglia imploded—there was probably a lot of jockeying for power, and I’m betting Valentina was in a lot of danger those first few months. Marco would have been in a good position to keep her safe if what he’s saying is true.

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