Page 96 of The Masks She Wore

Rae:Taking a molly

Seconds ticked by before he responded.

Jack: Viv gave it to you?

Rae:Yes

Jack: I’ll be there soon.

?I stared at that message, my brows furrowing. Why? She wouldn’t drug me, I was sure of it.

?Would she?

Rae:Focus on your assignment,

sir, I’m fine

?I added the eyeroll emoji for extra emphasis before shoving my phone away.

?“What’s wrong?”

?“Max,” I said on a sigh, half wondering what they had done to him if they had killed Captain Bard. “He just won’t leave it.” Would they kill him too?

?“Fucking pathetic, I’m telling you,” she sneered. “God, I hope he gets what’s coming to him. He deserves every bad thing this world has to offer, I swear.”

?If only she knew exactly what he had done. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her though. It was just too tough of a conversation. Especially with the distrust in the air.

?What I really needed to focus on was talking to her. Asking her questions. Literally anything. Anything at all. But I was such a chicken. The nerves were getting to me, and I had to wonder if I was even a good match for Jack at this point. Did he want me learning his job? Did he want me going out and questioning people or even going through that program?

?I would fail harder than anyone else in his business, I was sure, but that didn’t matter anyway. If I didn’t have the balls to confront Viv, how would I ever have the balls to confront anyone else?

?We drove a little bit longer before Viv finally beamed. She leaned forward and looked up. “We’re here.”

?I mimicked her moves only to find an old church cathedral poking up through the trees that now surrounded us. “Where are we?” I had been so concerned about summoning the courage to interrogate her that I hadn’t paid attention to where we were. In the middleof nowhere, it seemed. Which never would have made me nervous before, but now? Now I was starting to wonder if I shouldn’t have just taken Jack’s assignment as a moment to finally get some real sleep.

?“Some secret club,” she bragged, leaning back in her seat. “It’s called Daylight. Super exclusive, but last week I met up with a guy who got me some bracelets!” she squealed. “They built it in an abandoned catholic church, doesn’t it justgiveHalloween?”

?It sure did. “Give?” I asked, raising a brow.

?She laughed, her cheeks burning. “I thought I’d give it a shot.”

?“Shot that you severely missed,” I teased. I chewed on my lip as we slid back into silence. An exclusive club? It must have just opened. But why put it in the middle of nowhere?

?I inhaled deeply, picking at my own nails. Just don’t think about it. Throw out a question. Any question at all, and don’t think too hard about the fact that you’re in the middle of nowhere with a woman whom the most dangerous man you knew claimed you didn’t know.

?My heart was racing. “So, do you remember our 12thgrade biology teacher?” I asked far too quickly. Shit, I was already messing this up, wasn’t I?

?She looked over, a smile creeping across her face, confusion in her eyes. “Mr. Faldorf? Yeah, why?”

?She remembered the ridiculous name. But that was something peopledidn’t just forget, right? It was a good sign. It had to be. I laughed nervously, rubbing my arm, trying to force myself to relax. “I have a confession, something I remembered last night while that guy was fucking me.” Thank God I was already blushing. I don’t think I could have forced it if I needed to.

?Her brows lifted, her jaw dropping. “You were thinking of 12thgrade biology while that guy fucked you? Rae!” she laughed. “What the fuck? That’s gross.”

?I giggled. Just breathe, ease into it. I have done this a thousand times with more well-known people than Viv, I could sell this too. “I know, I know, but listen. I had a thing for him in High School.” I didn’t. The Mr. Faldorf I pictured had been thirty years older than me with a receding hairline and a mole on his upper lip, but he had had a kind of charm about him. Smarts. It was an easy lie to sell.

?Her jaw dropped. “No, you didn’t.”

?I bit my lip and nodded, finding myself falling into the roll easily. “I did, and I thought about him before I came last night.” My lip curled. “Is that bad?” I’ve told her much worse. Before I stopped talking to her about my monster fetish, I had told her so much worse, so this shouldn’t have been too bad for her to swallow.

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