Page 59 of The Masks She Wore

November 2nd, 2019

“Abathroom in a bedroom,” Malachi mused as he took his jacket off and rolled his sleeves up. “It doesn’t make sense if you have guests.”

?I pulled up the cameras for the building, rewinding them to just before we got here. Something happened to her, and I wanted to know what. Why was she acting so strange? Why was she crying? Why did that pretty little neck of hers have a bruise around it that I didn’tfucking put there?

?I watched the hallway outside her door. Seconds ticked by before Max finally walked out, shutting the door behindhim. Licking his fingers.

?A calm, cool rage washed over me. I suppose Zo was right. I was going to break the laws.

?“We can’t kill him yet,” Malachi stated as the grip around my phone forced a groan from it. “He’s pertinent to this case, now more than ever. So, whatever he did, whatever the reason for him being here is, he needs to remain alive.”

?My teeth grinded together. “Youknew?”

?He had already washed his hands and was now pulling out food from the fridge. “I had my suspicions on who she was.” He set the things on the counter and found my eyes. “They look nearly identical, she and her mother. This world isn’t as large as most want to believe. but you’ve made your intentions clear, so the assignment is off anyway.” He sighed, but even I could tell the remorse was forced. “I had no idea Marla had died.”

?I snarled, turning away from him, pacing. He was still lying about something, I knew he was, but I also knew he wouldn’t tell me. Not unless he had too.

?Malachi had known Marla well. They had worked together for years. Longer than the program had been a thing. Was this some sort of game for whoever ordered us to kill her daughter? Did they know that Malachi and Marla had known each other? Was this just another way to try and tear him from his throne? Was Rae a weapon or a civilian in his demise?

?Or was this completely separate from us? A coincidence?

?“She said her name was Rae Bennett, the paper we got hadthat namedown,” I reminded him, finding his eyes again.

?Malachi was cutting up veggies with the motions of a world-renowned chef. “Either she has slipped into this role as well as she was trained, or she has no idea who she really is.”

?It was hard to know with all of the masks she wore. “You knew Marla and you never met her daughter?”

?“She spoke of Charlotte often,” he mused. “Every time we met she spoke of her. Of her husband. I never met her, not until the masquerade.”

?A deal gone wrong then? But then what about Rae? Either she was the greatest liar I had ever encountered, or her mother had kept her in the dark her entire life and she truly had no idea who her mom was.

?“So, what now?” I asked, lifting my chin.

?Malachi shrugged. “You’ve made your claim, Jack, that’s it for her. We protect her at all costs unless you decide she’s not worth the trouble, and we solve the mystery around her as best we can.”

?“But I can’tkillMax,” I clarified, staring at her bedroom door.

?“No, not yet. Marla never had a second child, but I’m sure you’ve guessed that by now.”

?I lifted my phone to my ear, staring at that door.

?“I’m dealing with something,” Zo grunted.

?“Deal with it faster. I need you to do something.”

?Zo was quiet a moment before a shot finally rang out. “Alright,” she panted. “I wanted to drag that out but it’s fine. What do you need?”

?“Max finger-fucked my girl, choked her.”

?Zo was quiet a moment. “Parameters?”

?“He needs to stay alive and talking. Mentally sound.”

?She sighed. “That’s a lot for the sin he committed.” She thought about it. “Fine, mugging gone wrong?”

?I sneered, my lip curling. I’d rather him be turned into ground beef. “Make it good.”

?I hung up and turned back to Malachi who was engrossed in his cooking. He loved to cook.

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