Page 120 of The Masks She Wore

?Love.

?I shook my head and straightened just as Jack finished up his conversation and headed our way. “Is your son still in the realtor business?”

?“Absolutely,” she beamed. “He’s thriving there. It’s like he was born for the role. His most recent sale was to a man by the name of Blanchard.”

?I shifted on my feet the name settling uncomfortably for some reason just as Jack joined us. “And how did that go?”

?She frowned. “Oh, Blanchard dropped out just before he pulled the trigger. Sad. The house he had been looking at was on the market for years. Miguel can’t figure out why he decided not to sign.”

?“I’m sorry, I hope it works out for him,” I replied easily. “Marie, this is Ash. Ash, Marie and my mom were friends years ago.”

?Jack took her hand and shook it firmly. “It’s good to meet you, Marie.”

?She blushed. “You as well, Mr. Offerin. You caught yourself a good one, eh? Treat her well, understand?”

?Jack smiled. “I would never treat her anything less.”

?Marie nodded as if that’s all she needed to hear. “Well, I have to go. It’s getting late and the grandkids were wanting to see me before bed. It was so good to see you again, Rae, we should get coffee some time.”

?“Give me a call,” I said in way of goodbye.

?Once we were alone again, Jack turned to me, his eyes scanning over me as if I had been in danger. “You know Blanchard?”

?I shivered, shaking my head. “No, I mean…I don’t think I do. The name doesn’t sound familiar.”

?He studied me carefully before looking around the room. “Okay, let’s get home. We’ve done enough here.”

?I nodded, my shoulders relaxing. “Perfect.” I was exhausted. I wanted to get home, watch a movie, relax. Maybe stare at my ring a little bit, admire the shine of the sapphires.

?We headed out, waving and nodding our goodbyes, only relaxing when we found the comfort of the car.

?We didn’t say a thing on the drive home, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

?Marie was a good soul. I remember always loving her. She was gentle and kind. Good through and through. She couldn’t be a part of whatever was happening, I was sure of it.

?But that name? Blanchard. That was important. It wassoimportant. I just didn’t know why, not yet.

?When we got to my building, Jack took my hand and led me up to my floor, unlocking my door, leading me in.

?I took my shoes off, discarded my things on the counter and finally released a breath. Tonight was good, but it was also a lot. I was exhausted clear to the bone.

?“We’re moving in the morning,” Jack finally announced.

?It wasn’t like I would have argued with him at this point, but even if I had wanted to, I was too tired to do so. “Then you had better make my last night in my apartment worth remembering,” I told him with a small smile.

?I may have been tired, but I was never too tired for him.

?His eyes darkened with a sick delight. “I expect you naked on that bed in one minute.”

?My smile widened, a zing of excitement running through my veins in anticipation of what he would do to me. “Yes, sir,” I hummed.

25

Rae

January 15th, 2020

Islammed my fist into his left cheekbone, easily avoiding his counterattack by dropping and swiping my leg across his.

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