Page 64 of Drop His Mask

My worst fears were realized, and I couldn’t help but let the tears fall freely, my heart splitting into several pieces. My vision blurred and my throat filled with rocks. The pain from my stitches was nothing compared to this. I was being stabbed by a thousand ice picks straight into my gut over and over again.

After years of separation, I had been reunited with Jayce only to be torn apart again.

How dare Oleks do this. How dare he take me from them.

Why would he even want me? I was weak, he knew I was injured. What was he playing at?

I would be separated from Jayce, from Levi. Even from Enzo and Maverick.

I would miss them all. More than that…

What if this is the last time I see any of them alive?

As soon as the unwanted thought crept in, I smashed it away. It wouldn’t help anything.

“Take care of each other,” I whispered. “Please. We’ll be reunited soon. I promise.” I couldn’t meet any of their eyes again. I knew it would break me. To see the sadness in Jayce and Levi's. And I was scared to even know what Enzo and Maverick were thinking. How this made them feel. If they even cared.

Or maybe they’re relieved.

I had been trained to use my body. To keep myself alive and sane. And in some ways, I had done that with the brothers, but even I could admit they had crawled their way under my skin.

My emotions were a tangled, bundled, frayed mess of strings. These men had caused me to feel. To care. And in return, my heart was breaking in worry and agony. Of the thought that this might very well be the last time I saw them.

A familiar prick stabbed my neck, breaking through my spiraling, and the world flickered before going dark.

Chapter 34

There, There. All Better Now.

Uncle Julie

Two Years – One Month Ago

“Unkie Julie, you promise mama and daddy love me?” Sparrow asked him as she cuddled further into his side.

At least that’s what he heard. She still hadn’t learned how to annunciate all her words and half of what she said was babble, but it was close enough.

“Yes sweetheart. With all their hearts.” She was nearing three now and he imagined soon enough she would have more questions. Ones he couldn’t answer. He glanced around Sparrow’s spacious room, making sure there weren’t any watchful eyes.

He readjusted, sitting up and placing Sparrow next to him. Ruffling her hair fondly, he offered a small smile.

“What’s this?” Tiny chubby fingers reached up to his face.

He hissed in pain as she grabbed hold of his piercing. It was a new one on his ear.

When she pulled back her hand, it had his blood on it.

Flashes of crimson and gore swept across his vision. He jumped to his feet, marching as far as he could from Sparrow, he faced away from her as his mind unknotted.

He was a Game Warden. He was her Uncle. He was a Player. He was a murderer.

He was Julian.

“Unkie Julie?” her terrified cry broke through his meltdown.

“It’s okay. Just one second, I’ll be right there. You know how sometimes you need a minute to calm down? I just need one, everything is alright though.” He did his best to speak calmly, emotionlessly.

There wasn’t time for this. The next game was fast approaching. He had to prepare for it. To learn more about the rest of the world. Anything besides sit and wait andbelieveNightingale would return.

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