Page 127 of The Masks She Wore

?Zo rolled her eyes, adjusted her mask, and picked it up with a little resentment.

?I followed after Malachi, keeping my distance, making sure my own mask was in place. I wanted to see what he looked like, this man Malachi had finally found. The man who had managed to stay hidden from the best in the world.

?It made me want to rid myself of the title ‘The Hunter’. How couldI be worthy of such a title when I couldn’t even find my girl’s own father? Especially after they clearly named her after him.

?“Good afternoon,” Malachi greeted, although his tone was far from warm. “Come in.”

?I stood in the doorway, watching as Malachi stepped to the side, revealing the man.

?He had light brown hair hidden under a ballcap, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. Their noses were the same, but other than that, they looked nothing alike. She had gotten all of her looks from her mother.

?Malachi shut the door behind him. “This way,” he gestured as Charles glanced my way.

?He stood tall, confident. Even now, in a house filled with killers, he looked unafraid.

?I suppose I wouldn’t have been afraid either if I knew I didn’t have a chance to live if they decided to turn on me.

?I watched him as he passed, following after Malachi towards the furnished living room.

?I sat in one of the recliners, watching him carefully as he sank into the couch, Zo standing beside me, Malachi taking a seat in the other recliner.

?Charles watched us carefully, refusing to take off his sunglasses and hat, which I could understand. He had been in hiding for almost a year now. It was habit, even within these walls. “So, why do you have my daughter,” he finally began.

?“Because she’s my wife,” I told him, although the papers were still in the process of being drawn up. She was as good as my wife anyway, but I knew she would like proof, so I’d give it to her. She just didn’t know that I was doing it now.

?Charles eyed me. “Wife?”

?I nodded once.

?“She married you?” He turned away, his lips curling in a way that told me it wasn’t at all what he expected his daughter to do.

?Good. Unpredictable was best in this world. Even in things as simple as marriage.

?“Was it payment for something? A debt perhaps?”

?Adebt? I didn’t take whores as payments for debt. We delt in money, art, jewels, and connections. Nothing less. The fucking audacity that he thought so lowly of his daughter that he believed she’d marry me as payment for a debt. Fuck, I wanted to kill him just for that.

?“Why don’t you tell us why we have been fighting for her life while you are clearly alive and well,” Malachi said, pulling his attention over. “You’re her father, I expected this much effort coming from you.”

?“Me?” he snorted. “I’ve done my part, every choice she makes after what we did is her choosing. Although, I wish she would have reached out and let us know they found her.”

?“They,” I said, eyes narrowing. “Who are ‘they’?”

?Charles found my eyes and shrugged. “Well, up until the moment your father reached out to me, I thought it was you, the Initiates, the Shadows,” he explained almost bitterly. “We’ve been on the run for almost two years. Separately, better odds.”

?Debatable.

?“It was too dangerous to have any contact, but I assumed she was fine until her mother disappeared. I had never considered she, out of all of us, would have been found.”

?“Why were you on the run?” I asked evenly.

?He huffed. “Marla wouldn’t tell me,” he answered, looking between the three of us. “All she told me was something happened, and The Family was after us. The best way to hide was to split up until the time was right. I was fine with that, it’s nothing we haven’t done before, but when a year turned into two, I started questioning things. After two years, I started to get worried. I couldn’t find her, I couldn’t find Charlotte—”

?“Rae,” I interjected. “Her name is Rae.” We had never gone after the Alascer’s. That name is unique, I would have remembered it on accident. One of us would have remembered it. Especially Malachi. He would have remembered sending us after someone he cared about. Charles was lying and I needed to figure out why.

?He turned to me, his brows furrowing. “Rae?” he asked and finally took his sunglasses off. Light brown eyes, nothing like hers. “As inRae Bennett?”

?I was irritated enough as it was. “Yes.”

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