Page 38 of The Masks She Wore

?As soon as she walked away, the captain stepped up to Rae, closeenough to look down her dress and get a glimpse of the tits it nearly covered.

?He reached out to her, touching her elbow, sliding his hand up, tenderly brushing a strand of hair off her shoulder before his hand fell back to her arm.

?I guess I was making a home visit tonight.

?Words were exchanged, Rae’s frown deepening, her shoulders tensing.

?She ripped her arm out of his grip and pointed a finger at him. What was she telling him? What did she want?

?He grabbed her wrist and shoved it down, snapping at her.

?I straightened. I knew where he lived. I knew where he slept. I knew that his children hated him, and his wife wanted to file for divorce. Killing him would give her a great pension at the very least. It would be easy.

?She twisted her wrist and snapped it down, breaking his grip in less than a second.

?My brows lifted.

?“Hmm, now that’s interesting,” Malachi commented.

?I had forgotten he was there, but yes, it was interesting. Despite what most believed, watching internet videos or going to a few classes didn’t suddenly give you the agility and strength it took to break out of a grown man’s grip without severely hurting yourself. Rae was maybe 210 soaking wet, and the captain clearly kept hisbody up to par.

?That grip would leave a bruise, but nothing more than that. She broke his grip just like Zo would have.

?My eyes shifted at the thought, finding Zo watching the exchange from the far corner. Even she looked slightly confused.

?I turned back to Rae just as she said a few words. The captain’s face went slack, and she turned and left without another look back. She rolled her shoulder slightly as if trying to rid herself of the memory of his touch.

?My gaze remained on the captain. He was wiping his hand over his mouth, the other finding his hip. Whatever she had said to him, he didn’t like it in the slightest. After a moment, he pulled out his phone and headed back out the door.

?I watched after him for only a moment before my gaze shifted back to Rae. There was nothing I could do about it now but watch.

?She was going back for a third drink, and while normally most would look at that as a drunk child, it was different because of how she looked. The air around her screamed ‘elite’. She demanded respect, so unless she was stumbling or slurring her words, nobody would care. In fact, I was sure some of the men were waiting for her to get a little tipsy.

?She stopped at the bar, sliding her empty glass over and gesturing for another before turning away to gaze around the room. Not once did her eyes lift, which was fine. That look in that amber gaze wasprofessional. She was wearing another mask. This wasn’t the girl on social media, the one walking to the café, the one sitting diligently at her coffee table researching a murder, or the one I had fucked last night.

?Rae wore many masks, and I’d like to think I had the power to destroy all of them, revealing who she truly was underneath.

?“J,” Zo sounded in my ear.

?I found her across the room, quickly heading towards Rae.

?My brows furrowed. “What is it?” I asked, finding Rae again.

?Nothing was out of place. Her drink had been refilled, she was still looking around the room, studying, watching.

?“You were right. Someone put something in her drink.”

?Panic filled me as Rae turned back.

?Malachi grabbed my arm, warning me to stay.

?My nostrils flared as I ripped my arm out of his grasp watching her lift it. I looked away for two goddamn seconds.Two fucking seconds. How had that happened? Who thefuckwas trying to kill her?

?“Jack,” Malachi stated as I shoved passed him.

?I turned back towards her, watching as she turned towards the room again, the glass nearly to her lips. I inhaled sharply, getting ready to shout when Zo ran into her, bumping the drink out of her hand.

?My heart was racing as I watched the exchange. Zo laughingnervously, Rae waving her off with a smile on her lips, people glancing, chuckling at the scene.

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