Page 3 of Unmasked Legacy

Taking my coffee, I turn and leave the café before another word can be spoken.

The moment I’m outside and the warm air is tickling my skin, I close my eyes and press my back against the wall.

This isn’t going the way I planned.

I’ve been here less than half an hour, and already I want to turn and run.

I can’t though.

I made a promise to myself that I would find answers.

And I don’t break promises.

STEPPING ONTO THE FAMILIARstreet, my legs feel heavy as each step takes me closer to a past I have no choice but to confront. As I near my old neighborhood, the sight of my childhood home stirs a deep feeling of fear and emotion in my chest. The house I once loved has been abandoned, lost to the elements, nobody ever having taken it over.

Nobody wanted to live in a home where a murderer spent all his time plotting to torment the entire town.

The once stark gray paint has faded and is peeling off the walls, the garden, which my father cherished, is overgrown and full of weeds and trash. I hesitate as I force myself to move closer, passing the mailbox that is broken and tilting on an angle. Graffiti lines the walls as I step onto the porch, and my stomach twists as I read the words.

Murderer.

Killer.

I don’t blame people for feeling the way that they do. My father took so many lives, and he did it in a gruesome, cruel, and awful way. If those were my family members, I too would be driven to say and do crazy things. Hell, I’m the child left behind, and lord knows I have made my fair share of mistakes.

“Mera?”

A familiar voice has me turning, my body jerking as I take in the man standing behind me. Gone is the boy I once prayed would notice me, and in his place, a man. Jace still has the same sandy blond hair and piercing blue eyes, only now he is tall, muscled, and terrifyingly beautiful.

“Jace?” I ask, my voice soft.

He steps closer, staring at me as though time has stood still and he’s trapped in an old memory. “I heard you were back; I figured this is where I’d find you.”

“Well, it didn’t take long for that to spread,” I say, my heart skipping a beat.

There goes my anonymity.

“You know Esme, she can’t keep much to herself. She would have been on her phone sharing with the entire town before you even left that café.”

I snort, but it isn’t entirely amused. “Don’t I know it.”

“What brings you back? This isn’t a place I thought you’d want to come to, after ...”

His eyes flicker, and I offer a smile, in an attempt to show him that it’s okay, he can say what he likes.

“My father’s sins aren’t my own, but there are a lot of unanswered questions. I guess I can’t move on with my life until I attempt to answer those questions.”

He nods in understanding. “Does it feel strange, coming back here after everything?”

Sighing, I glance back at the house. “Strange, yes. But weirdly, it feels as though I only left yesterday.”

“I can imagine. Where have you been all these years?”

I face him again. “I went into the system until I turned eighteen, and then I got the hell out of there. Mostly, I have been working in New York, but the big city life isn’t really for me.”

“I hear you. Listen, if it’s okay with you, I’d love to catch up more, maybe over a drink?”

My tension eases just a little. At least someone in this town isn’t going to shun me before I even get a chance to find what I’m looking for.

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