Page 100 of The Masks She Wore

?I took it from him and turned back to the four men, going through her pockets, hoping there was something left of the pills she had taken.

?There wasn’t. In fact, she had nothing in her pockets except for a picture of she and Viv from High School. She must have taken this from Viv’s house. Good, I’d analyze it when I got back.

?I walked up to the man she had killed and shoved him over with my foot, studying him. He didn’t look familiar. Just a nobody from the city.

?My phone started ringing and I answered as I crouched down in the blood to study the man closer.

?“What have you found?” Malachi asked.

?“Just before Rae fainted, she told me ‘dad says we only kill the guilty’. It was in response to killing one of her attackers. She was high on something,” I explained, grabbing the male’s face and twisting it around, searching for any markings. “Don’t know what. Could be drug-induced.”

?It wasn’t, I was sure of it.

?“She remembers her father?”

?“Only in bursts. She has nightmares about him, hardly sleeps. Now this.” I checked all of his pockets, finding a receipt in one of them. He bought a cheeseburger before coming here.

?Malachi was silent long enough for me to move onto one of the other three men. “We’ve been thinking our only options are that her mother protected her from this world or that she was lying, but there is a third.”

?I pulled out a string of condoms from one man’s pockets and tossed them to the side. “What’s that?” Mega seemed a bit of an overreach considering the man’s stature.

?“You said she had scars across her body. Much like the ones you and your brothers wear, yet she’s out of shape. Her comprehension level, her observation skills are that of her mother’s, yet you say she’s a homebody. Have you considered that she was tortured? Forced to forget this life?”

?My brows furrowed. “Forget her entire life?” I stood. “I’ve heard of brainwashing, but that seems impossible.”

?“Minds are tricky things, but every mind has a shattering point. Her mother disappeared, as you said. Bard mentioned a game. Maybe this is part of it.”

?I released a breath. “What? Let her live to see how it pans out? They hired us to kill her. They’re sending people after her. The poisoned drink, the shipping yard, Max, now this? Why would they do that?”

?“Figure it out, Jack. If it’s a game, and the boss is angry at the soldier for letting it go on for so long, maybe it’s time you start to play his way.”

~~~

I stared at her. She was freshly clean, curled around her blankets as she slept deeply in her bed, one leg pulled out from under her comforter, her knee nearing her chest, drool dripping from the corner of her parted lips.

?Zo had braided her hair back, put her in a lacy black Teddy, and while she did look absolutely ready for my cock, I couldn’t do it. Not yet.

?I took in the scars I could see from where the blanket had fallen away, the innocence on her face as she breathed softly. She was so goddamn beautiful.

?“What did they do to you?” I mumbled, watching as her body curled and stretched at the sound of my voice.

?Zo knocked on the door softly, pulling my attention over. “Hey,” she called as I turned, “I’m heading out to get some sleep. You good?”

?I nodded, turning back to Rae. “I’ll call you.” I waited until I heard the front door lock shut before stripping off my own clothes and crawling into bed with her.

?I wrapped my arm around her stomach and pulled her into me until her ass hit my hips, her legs stretching, a soft moan escaping her lips as she curled her arms around mine.

?I kissed her neck gently, feeling her body relax into mine as if she found some sort of comfort in me. “I’ll kill them all,” I mumbled, her body shaking in need, “every single one of them just for you, Princess. Just for you.”

21

Rae

November 19th, 2019

Igasped, jerking awake, sweat coating my skin, fear shaking through my body.

?“Fuck,” I breathed, closing my eyes. I shoved myself to a sit and ran my hands through my damp and tangled hair, my blankets sticking to my skin.

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