Poker Face (The Masks Series Book 4) (21 page)

Caitlyn

Gabriel was dead. We didn’t need any EMT to confirm it...one wasn’t coming anyway. His floppy body and translucent skin told us all we needed to know. Monique wouldn’t let him go. I hadn’t tried to persuade her yet. I was still frozen against the wall, a shell-shocked shadow unsure of how to help her.

I didn’t know if anything could ever make me move again.

The side door clicked open and Bruno appeared in the double-doorway. He was a little out of breath from running up the stairs, but his eyes gleamed as he drank me in. I looked past his shoulder, hoping for a glimpse of Santiago, something I thought I’d never do, but he wasn’t there.

My lips trembled, my limbs jumping into action like a skittish rabbit. I scrambled on my hands and knees back towards my room. I was aiming for the bathroom, which could only be locked from the inside, but I didn’t make it. Bruno’s fingers curled into my hair before I could get that far.

“Bruno, no!” Monique’s horrified cry was cut off by the slamming of the door. He pushed me into the room, clicking the lock shut behind him.

His malicious smile made his sharp face curl up and all I could see was The Joker from Batman.

“Finally. We are alone.”

“Santiago doesn’t want you up here.” I crab-crawled away from him, my back smashing into the bed behind me.

“He sent me up here when he suddenly realized the three of you were unguarded. I volunteered to watch over you.”

“Liar!”

Bruno smirked, his shoulder tipping with a shrug. “He’s too busy plotting his revenge. He will not notice my absence and when he returns, I will tell him I found you trying to escape. I was merely protecting his precious jewel.”

Bruno unbuttoned his jacket, shrugging it off his shoulders and throwing it over my vanity chair. Unbuckling his belt, he whipped it out of the loops.

My insides went ballistic as he unbuttoned the top of his pants. This couldn’t be happening.

They dropped to the floor, followed by his shirt. He now stood in nothing but his pinstriped boxers and I could already see how aroused he was.

I grappled around on the floor, looking for any way out...but there was none. I’d never make it to the bathroom without him snatching me. My instincts to fly, to escape were useless to me now, which meant I had to rely on the one thing that never came naturally.

I had to fight.

Bruno wrapped his hand around my throat, pulling me up from the floor and ripping my blouse open in one swift move. Buttons shot across the room. Curling my fingers into a fist, I went for his belly, firing as much power into the move as I could.

He flinched, surprised by my attack, squeezing my throat until I was gagging and then shoving me back onto the bed. I tried to scramble away from him, but he caught my wrists and pulled them above my head.

He was going to win this. There was no way I’d be strong enough to beat him...but that didn’t mean I couldn’t make it as difficult as possible.

Bucking my hips and yanking against his grasp, I struggled beneath him, cutting off his amused laughter by sinking my teeth into his wrist.

“Ah!” He flinched back, straddling me and slapping me across the face.

I used the chance to try and get another punch in but he caught my wrist, gripping it painfully as he thrust it back over my head.

“You can’t stop me, Carlotta.” His spittle hit my face, his unmasked determination making me quake.

“I’m gonna try,” I seethed back.

His eyes flared with the challenge as he pressed his body against me, holding my wrists with one hand while he dove for my pants with the other. I wriggled and squirmed, using up all my energy on making his task a challenging one.

Unfortunately, the fighting only seemed to turn him on.

What was with this sick freak? And how the hell was I supposed to get out of this!

Use your brain, Caity! Use your EYES!

The words screamed through my head and I went still beneath him. Closing my eyes, I drew in a breath to focus and popped them open, peeling off Bruno’s facial layers and noticing his instant disappointment.

“Giving up so quickly?” He smirked.

I said nothing, just kept staring at him, reading, looking, searching for a clue.

My limp-fish body bothered him. He sat back, letting go of my wrists and undoing my belt. I kept my arms above my head, letting him unzip my pants.

I had to find something before he yanked them off.

My eyes scrambled for a nugget, my brain trying to keep the panic at bay while I searched.

There it was.

I forced my shaking lips to grow with a smile. “I’m not afraid of you.”

He paused, leaning back over me and grabbing one of my breasts. I forced myself not to react to the hard squeeze and kept my smirk in place. “Yes, you are, Carlotta.”

“I used to be, but now I see you...for what you really are.”

His eyes narrowed. “And what is that?”

“You’ve never made love to a woman before, because no woman ever wanted you. You’ve always forced yourself on them, haven’t you?”

The way his mouth turned down pushed me to keep talking...taunting.

“I find that strange, because you are a very handsome man. Your features are a little sharp.” I wrinkled my nose, causing a flash of insecurity to streak across his face. “But that’s not what stops you. I can’t see exactly what it might be. I mean, all I can really do is guess.”

“Shut up.” He slapped my face.

My head flipped to the side, but I didn’t react. The sting was nothing compared to what he could do to me and I had to keep up the charade. I knew my next line could have his fist plowing into my flesh, but I had to say it because it would shock him enough to throw him off-guard...and that’s what I needed...off-guard.

Turning back to him, I let my eyes dance with amusement. “I’m guessing the reason no one wants you is because you’re bad in bed. I don’t know who broke your heart and stole your confidence, but you now need fear to get it up, don’t you, Bruno?”

A black rage morphed his expression to a monstrous one that barely made him human.

“Well, I’m not afraid. There is nothing you can do to me that will make me fear you.” I spat out the words and lunged forward with a feral scream, pushing him back with every ounce of strength I had.

He fell off the bed and I scrambled away from him, my ankle twisting on the stupid heels I was wearing. Ignoring the pain, I lunged for the door, knowing he was right behind me.

I reached for the lock, flicking it back and yanking the door open.

“Carlotta!” He raged, tackling me to the ground. My head hit the edge of the doorframe, pain searing through my skull. Bruno’s arm wrapped around my neck and he hauled me to my feet. I slapped at his muscly forearm, scraping my fake nails over his skin. Two of them had already broken off and they were doing nothing to stop the pressure around my neck.

“Stop! You’re killing her!” Monique weeped. “Bruno!”

The edges of my vision grew black, my arms going floppy.

A fuzzy thud sounded in the distance, followed by an echoing yell. “Drop her!”

The pressure intensified, followed by a short explosion...and then I fell.

Caitlyn

“Caitlyn! Caitlyn.” Someone was tapping my face.

I flicked at the hand, annoyed, and then grimaced.

“Oh, thank God.” A forehead lightly pressed against mine before pulling back.

Opening my eyes, I fought the blur and finally the picture came clear.

“Rhodes,” I croaked with a small smile.

“Hey.” He brushed a lock of hair off my forehead, his eyes glistening with relief.

I glanced across the room and saw Bruno’s limp body. His arms were splayed across the floor. I couldn’t see his head, but the growing red patch on the carpet told me it wouldn’t be pretty.

Gripping Rhodes’s arm, which I only just noticed was tucked beneath my waist, I looked back at this face.

“You just saved my life. Thank you.”

He shook his head and sighed. “I should never have let this happen. You shouldn’t even be here in the first place!”

“It's okay.” I touched his cheek. “I'm okay.”

“Yeah.” He smiled. “You're safe now.”

Gently taking my hand, he helped me to my feet and delicately pulled my shirt back together.

There were red spots covering the shoulder and I realized it must be blood spatter. I was tempted to rip the shirt off right then, but I’d already been exposed enough. Quickly zipping my pants, I bunched the shirt together with my fist, covering up my naked torso.

Rhodes’s gaze skittered over my exposed skin before I hid it. A deep blush colored his cheeks and he glanced away from me, collecting his gun off the floor and flicking on the safety.

“How’d you know I was here?”

Re-holstering his weapon, he looked at the corpse behind me and frowned. “I lost track of Declan and Eric last night, so I thought my best bet was to hide out here. A whole bunch of security guys just screamed out of the building about five minutes ago and I took my chance to haul ass up here.”

My heart lurched.

“Where’d they go?” I gripped his arm.

“Huh?”

“The security. Santiago was with them, right?”

He nodded. “I don’t know where they were going.”

“Marchant.” I gripped Rhodes’s arm. “They’re looking for Marchant.”

“Why?”

“Because he stole Eric...and killed Santiago’s men.”

“Marchant’s got Eric?”

“Yes!” I gasped. “We gotta go. There might still be a chance!”

I didn’t miss the disappointment flash across Rhodes’s unmasked face. It was buried deep. My words only caused the emotion to flash for a second. I gave him a soft smile and he shook his head.

“Damn it, woman, don’t read me right now.”

“Okay.” I nodded, my head bobbing like a jackhammer.

“I'll go check it out. You wait here. I'll call the police on my way and get them to send a unit over.”

“I'm coming with you.”

“Caity, it's not safe.”

I ignored his pleading expression, my neck muscles straining as I shook my head. “I'm following you out that door and there's nothing you can do to stop me.”

He huffed, his eyebrows bunching tight. “I could tie you to a chair.”

I frowned at his dry words, searing off his mask with a dark glare. My lips twitched with a smile when I read his true expression. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“Get yourself a new shirt and let’s go.” He turned away from me, his eyes connecting with Monique’s. “Hello, Miss.”

I dashed into the room, scrambling for new clothes while listening with half an ear.

“I’ll make some calls. Just stay here and I’ll come back for you. It’ll be okay.”

I came out of the room, buttoning a fresh shirt, and caught Monique’s gentle smile. “Thank you...”

“Agent Rhodes, but you can call me Eddy.”

“Thank you, Eddy.” Monique’s smile was watery and heart-rending.

I crouched down beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and squeezing tight. “This will all be over soon, I promise.”

She squeezed back, her cheek rustling against my shirt as she nodded. “Be safe.”

“I’ll try.” Standing tall, I dashed past her and pressed the down button on the elevator. “Let’s go, Rhodes.”

He jumped in after me and I pressed the G for ground floor, hoping like hell this would be the last time I ever rode in this damn elevator.

*****

We caught a cab to the club. A sense of safety engulfed me as I sat next to Rhodes. On the quick ride over he put in a call. I had no idea who he was talking to, but he rattled off the details of Bruno’s shooting and Monique. He ordered an EMT to have her assessed and one LVPD unit to attend the scene of the crime.

“Keep it low-key. This thing is not to blow open yet. We’re dealing with some powerful guys here....LVPD have jurisdiction for now, but FBI will want to be involved since I was the one who shot Gomez.” He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’ll write up a detailed report and be available for questioning as soon as I’m done following up this lead.” He nodded. “Marchant, the one I told you about...Of course I’ll call you.” A smile lit his lips. “What else was I supposed to do with my vacation time, sir?”

I was getting ready to ask him who he’d called when the cab arrived and we jumped out before I could say anything. Throwing money at the driver, we raced across the street. I nearly crashed into Rhodes as he screeched to a halt outside the bolted doors. Club Impulse didn’t open until late afternoon.

“Time to go hunting.” Rhodes flicked his head and I followed him around the side of the building. He kept an eye over his shoulder, making sure no one noticed us ducking into the dark alleyway.

I was still super curious about his phone call, but didn’t want to get distracted chatting when there was a strong chance my Eric was somewhere inside this place getting who-knew-what done to him.

Cringing, I tried to push the terrifying thoughts from my mind.

“In here.” Rhodes pulled out his gun, holding it steady in front of him before kicking at the door. It shunted and he ran into it, bashing it open with his shoulder. I could tell it hurt from the way his face bunched, but he didn’t let it show. His gun was back in position, his eyes scanning the passageway.

I listened out for sounds as we entered the dank, dark corridor.

“Stay behind me,” Rhodes whispered. I ducked behind him, pressing my back against the wall.

We snuck down the narrow hallway. I had no idea where we were headed. I was assuming Rhodes would systematically check the whole building, which felt like a very time-consuming ordeal. This only agitated me. We didn’t have time to waste. Marchant had Eric! If he hadn’t killed him already, he would, and we still didn’t even know if Marchant was here! If Club Impulse lay empty, this would be an entirely wasted trip.

I closed my eyes and swallowed the bile trying to claw its way up my throat. I couldn’t lose it now. Eric needed me.

Please need me, Eric! Don’t be dead.

Squeezing my eyes against the thought, I crashed into Rhodes’s back.

“Did you hear that?” he whispered over his shoulder.

I went still, straining to listen. I was about to shake my head, but then I heard the clank of metal on concrete. It was a high-pitched ping that probably meant nothing, but we were investigating anyway.

Picking up our pace, we reached the end of the corridor and noticed a dim light coming through a narrow window. Clambering over a few random piles of broken tables and chairs, we paused against the brick. Rhodes poked his head through the unframed cavity. A second later, he whipped back and turned to face me.

“Okay, I think we’ve found them.”

I went on my tiptoes, ready to bust past him and get to Eric. Rhodes held my shoulders, the butt of his gun awkwardly digging into my arm.

“Through that window is some scaffolding that looks down into a warehouse-type area. I’m pretty sure I spied some bodies below, but we need to sneak in there and get a proper look. I need you to scan the room and tell me what you see. You make one sound and we’re dead, do you get it? Our best bet is to assess the situation then get our butts back out to safety and call for back-up. Do
not
try and do anything to rescue Eric right now. That’s just gonna get you dead. We clear?”

A sharp frown dented my forehead, but I nodded anyway. Of course that was the right thing to do.

Crouching low, I shuffled through the window behind Rhodes, carefully stepping down onto the plank of wood balanced over the metal framing. It was pretty rickety and unstable. I did my best to not make a sound, but it was hard to stay cool and calm when my eyes landed on Eric.

He lay in a fetal position on the concrete floor. His hands were tied behind his back and he was lying in a puddle of water. His wet hair was plastered across his pale face and his body was trembling and convulsing as he hacked and coughed. Rhodes’s worried frown did nothing to ease my nerves.

Marchant paced the floor by a rubber-lined water tank, picking at his nails and smirking at Declan who was tied to a chair in front of him.

“And you’re sure there’s no more money anywhere else?”

“This is pointless! If your purpose here is to make me suffer, it’s working, okay? I’ve told you everything. I have given you full access to every penny I stole from you! That account number will work! Take it! Take it all!”

Marchant made a face, his nose wrinkling as he tipped his head to the side. His scrutinizing gaze penetrated Declan and although I couldn’t see the poor guy’s face, I could tell he was squirming.

“Do it again.” He flicked his fingers to the men standing over Eric.

They looked a little tired, but bent to pick up my weak boyfriend and shove him into the water. I gripped the scaffolding and bit down hard on my lip. My eyes burned watching Eric’s legs twitch. The guys held him down, but he didn’t even squirm. Any outsider might have thought he was dead in the water, but I knew Eric. That guy could hold his breath for a really long time. I could only pray I was right as the seconds ticked by.

“Stop it! Please! I told you! There's no more money!”

Marchant nodded at the men behind him. They hauled Eric out of the water and dropped him on the ground. He landed with a thud, his body convulsing violently as he hacked the water out of his lungs.

I thought my heart was going to splinter.

“Tell me what you can see,” Rhodes whispered.

I looked around the room, my eyes hovering on Eric before scanning the six other men.

“Nothing useful,” I muttered.

“Caitlyn, I need your eyes.”

I scowled at his sharp whisper. “I can only read emotion. You can see just as much as I can.”

“Peel off masks, or whatever the hell you do, and tell me what you see!”

“Okay, fine.” I closed my eyes and drew in a breath to refocus then started scanning the room. Ignoring Eric, I peeled off masks and started whispering to Rhodes. “Marchant is loving this. He’s getting over it, though and he’s—” I swallowed.

“He’s what?”

“Ready for Eric to go. It’s annoying him that Eric hasn’t died yet, but he’s having too much fun taunting Declan to really give in. It’s close, though; he’s not going to hold out much longer. We have to hurry, Rhodes.”

“Check the goons. Give me a take on them.”

Blinking at my tears, I studied the two guys who had dunked Eric. “They are so over this. They’re tired and...hungry, maybe, but they want to finish Eric off. The guy behind Marchant, on the other side, he’s bored...and guilty. I don’t know what that’s about. It might not be to do with this; his mind is definitely wandering.”

Rhodes nodded, his eyes still scanning the room. He was worried.

“We don’t have time to make a call, do we?”

His fingers danced over the butt of his gun as he re-gripped the handle and shook his head.

“So, do you think we can take them out on our own?”

He closed one eye and lined up a shot. “Probably, but we’re going to have to—”

Rapid gunfire stuttered through the air. I lurched on the scaffolding, my foot slipping off the plank. It wobbled beneath us and there was nothing I could do to stop myself from tumbling. The plank tipped, losing its precarious balance and flying past me as I snatched at the metal framework. It crashed to the floor, splintering loudly, but no one even noticed.

Chaos had entered the warehouse in the form of Santiago and his posse of armed men.

“Hold on!” Rhodes yelled, scrambling down the thick pipes to reach me.

My fingers were losing their grip, my chicken arms protesting as I tried to hold my weight.

Gunfire continued to puncture the air and bodies rapidly started falling. Santiago’s revenge would be supersonic and over before Marchant could even defend himself.

The Frenchman got in a few shots before being thrown back by a bullet to the shoulder. Santiago’s smile was sickly sweet as he strode up to the man, grinding his foot into Marchant’s wound before firing a bullet straight between the eyes.

Horror made me jolt and my fingers lost their battle.

A scream shot from my mouth before I could stop it.

“Caitlyn!” Rhodes shouted above me.

I grappled for a new hold but my fingers scraped through air, barely skimming the next crossbeam.