Page 14 of The Masks She Wore

?He claimed to be her half-brother, but there were no records of Marla Bennett ever giving birth again before or after Rae. In fact, Marla Bennett’s life was suspiciously the same as her daughter’s.

?No friends, no family, a boring and ordinary life, save for her traveling.

?I pulled up the transaction list, skimming through her life of dealing. Anyone else looking at these would believe they were legit, but I could see the patterns.

?It didn’t matter where in the world Marla had been, she made transactions on the same days every single month.

?The 3rd, 8th, 22nd, and 27th. Four a month for art dealing was enough to make her look successful but not suspicious, and they were always of differing values. Very few were overly expensive, but enough to make it look real.

?My phone buzzed and I looked over, finding that Rae had made another purchase.

?My eyes widened, a sweat breaking out across my skin.

?She had a VCH piercing, and she wanted to upgrade her jewelry.

?God, I wanted to fucking suck that piercing right between my goddamn teeth.

?She smiled softly and switched to another screen. The carnival.She had bought tickets the moment they had become available, so I had too. Where better to meet my little Princess than a place where she thrived?

?The chime of the bell met my ears and this time, Rae looked up as if she had a sixth sense ringing through her. Her expression immediately dried.

?My brows furrowed and I casually looked over to the person walking in. An ordinary male, buzzed head, a pale scar on the right side of his skull just above his ear, bland eyes, a slight hunch when he walked. He was tall but lanky, the kind of guy who got off on being a total piece of shit.

?I leaned back in my chair, eyes shifting back to Rae’s as Max made his way to her table. Maybe she just had a sixth sense for assholes.

?She casually closed all of her windows, flipped her phone over and leaned back in her chair, her beautiful bedroom eyes darkened in disdain. That look could bring a normal man to his knees, all it made me want to do is tame the beast inside of her.

?“What are you doing here?” she asked, wrapping a hand around her coffee.

?“You didn’t answer my calls, I was worried.”

?I lifted my phone, pulling up her call log, finding the dozens of calls he had made in the last 12 hours. It made me angry in a way I didn’t quite expect. Why was he calling her so often? Why did he feel the need to keep tabs on her? That was my job and my job alone.

?“I wasn’t obligated to,” she replied, her dark brows pulling together in irritation.

?I studied those amber eyes, the anger clear, but under that, there was a slight bit of fear. Not much, but enough for someone like me to notice.

?Max snatched her phone up and I watched as he began going through it. He opened several apps, but never her Instagram, and I wondered why until I realized that she had figured out a way to hide the app so he would never find it.

?Clever girl.

?She rolled her eyes and looked out the window, her expression softening ever so slightly. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, clearly worried.

?“Hide your emotions, Princess,” I mumbled. “They might see.”

?As if she heard me, she hardened her expression again just a second before Max scoffed and shook his head. “You’re into some sick shit, Rae.”

?My eyes fell to the phone. He had pulled up her internet history. My jaw tightened. What gave him the fucking right?

?He closed it out and pulled up her call log, showing it to her.

?Who did he think he was? He inserted himself into her life less than eight months ago and he thought he was going to control her? I needed to look into Max Justice a little more, perhaps show him how a real man handles his fucking business.

?My phone vibrated again. A text with the details of my new job coming through.

?An address and a name.

?I locked my phone, closed my laptop, and stood. I would deal with this later. I had access to the cameras around her building and on the street outside of her building. I had cloned her phone and now had access to everything she did. It wouldn’t be hard to find out what happened while I was away.

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