Snake Eyes (The Masks Series Book 3) (26 page)

Eric

I made it back to L.A. by nightfall. Pulling into my driveway, I shoved up the hand brake and leapt from the car, nearly leaving my keys in the ignition. I wrenched them free and dove up the stairs, wrestling the front door open.

“Dale!”

I’d tried calling him every fifteen minutes on the way up, but his phone was off.

“Dale, you home?” I strode down to his room, flinging the door open.

Nicole gasped, clutching a sheet across her naked body. “What the hell, Eric! Don’t you knock?”

“Sorry,” I muttered, looking at the floor. “Where’s Dale?”

“Here.” I spun around and saw him standing behind me. A towel was wrapped around his waist and his curls were wet, water droplets hitting his shoulders. “You all right, man?”

“I’ve been trying to call you.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, Nicole and I were...” He pointed through the doorway, trailing off as he caught his fiancee’s pointed expression. He cleared his throat. “You got my message?”

“Yeah,” I breathed. “That’s why I’m here. Where is she?”

“I don’t know.” Dale shrugged. “She said she was going out of town with Quella, right? But she didn’t tell me where.” He flicked his thumb down the hallway, indicating my room. “She left you a note.”

I busted past him, lunging into my room and snatching the note off my bed.

Tearing into it, I quickly scanned the words and plonked onto the mattress.

Sorry to put you through this, but I’m working an undercover job and this is the only way to keep you safe.

I’ll explain everything when I get back. Please trust me.

Living without you is a foreign concept to me. I could never break your heart.

I love you so completely.

Your girl-next-door forever xx C

I pressed my elbows into my knees, relief raining over me, big fat droplets filled with hope. She still loved me. She did want me and what we had wasn’t over.

I scrunched the note in my hand, wondering what the hell she’d gotten herself into and if I could stand to just sit around and wait for her to come back.

Dale appeared in my doorway. “What’d it say?”

I held it out to him and he pressed it against his now-clothed chest to straighten it out. Lifting it up to the light, he read it. “Aw, shit.”

“I know. I don’t know who dragged her into it, but when I find out, I’m gonna kill them.”

“What’s going on?” Nicole’s head popped over Dale’s shoulder. He held out the note to her and she quickly scanned it, her mouth dropping open. “That’s why.” She gasped. “That’s why she was acting so weird. Why she didn’t want to move in with us. It all makes sense now. I knew she wanted to!” Nicole covered her mouth, pinching her nose and shaking her head. “Who could be controlling her decision? Why would she have to stay in the dorms?”

We all jerked still at the same moment, looking at each other before saying in unison, “Quella.”

“Damn it.” I reached for my phone. “Does anyone have her number?”

Dale and Nicole both shook their heads.

I swore loudly, tempted to throw the phone across the room. “Well, who else! Why the hell would Quella be a person of interest and who would be interested in her?”

“Undercover operation, it’ll either be the police or the FBI.” Dale crossed his arms.

“Yeah, but they can’t employ Caity...” I swallowed, dread building in my system. “Can they?”

“They can blackmail her, though,” Dale said softly, waving Caity’s note in the air. “The only way to keep you safe?” He read Caity’s words aloud.

“Shit!” I wracked my hands through my hair.

“But who would—”

“Kaplan!” I spat.

“Oh my gosh, it’s got to be.” Nicole seethed. “She’s the only one ballsy and bitchy enough to pull Caity into one of her schemes."

"She couldn't possibly." Dale shook his head. "The FBI has protocols they have to follow."

"Oh, come on, protocols? Like all the ones she followed when she sent Caity into Cameron's house? If any agent is going to ignore the rules, it's Kaplan! I highly doubt her superiors knew a college freshman was involved in
that
sting operation; her ass would have been fired in a second. It didn't matter what we said in our exit interviews, she covered it up for sure."

"Do we even know if she still works for the FBI?"

"We know it's her!" Nicole threw her hands in the air. "You can't tell me she's not involved with this; my gut is screaming that she is!"

Dale scratched his curls, tipping his head with a look that told his girlfriend she was probably right. "What I don’t get is...why Caity? Why use her again? I mean, I understand why they did last time, because of her connection with Cameron, but this time around, they could have picked any girl from the dorms. Heck, a young,
trained
agent could pull off this gig easily. Why pick an amateur sophomore?”

With a heavy sigh, I drooped my head. I figured I might as well tell them; what difference would it make now? I hadn’t uttered this secret to a soul. It had been Caity’s to keep, but she wasn’t here to stop me and if it could help find her in any way, it was worth it. I pressed my elbows into my knees and muttered, “You guys remember the first time you met Caity?”

“Yeah, for that lunch thing.” Dale nodded. “She was having trouble with the Donovan brothers.”

“Do you guys remember what we told you?”

Nicole gasped again. “I’d completely forgotten about that!”

“What?” Dale glanced at his girlfriend.

“She can read people, right? Like, has really phenomenal observation skills or something?”

“It’s more than that.” I shook my head. “It’s like a freaking super power and Kaplan’s using it.” My voice quivered with rage as I looked at my friends. “Caity can read people. She knows how they’re feeling, and if they’re lying. She can read emotions and say all the right things to get them talking...and Kaplan knows this.” My jaw clenched tight. I closed my eyes and threaded my fingers together, squeezing until I thought my bones might crack. “She’s using my girl and she’s put her in danger, I just know it.” My eyes popped open.

“So, what do we do?” Nicole crossed her arms.

I stood from my bed, running my hands through my hair again. “We’re gonna find Caity, and we’re gonna pull her out of this before something bad happens to her.”

“What if something already has?” Nicole whispered.

Tears stung my eyes as I looked at my friends, desperation clawing at me. My insides felt shredded, raw, incapable, but I couldn’t give in. 

“I have to find her.” My voice wobbled. “I have to bring her home. I don’t care what it costs me, but I am not resting until she is back in my arms.”

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thank you so much for reading Snake Eyes. If you've enjoyed it and would like to show me some support then please leave a review.

POKER FACE is due for release February 27th, 2015.

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KEEP READING FOR A POKER FACE TEASER...

Caitlyn

Darkness.

That was how it started.

And that was how it would stay.

There was no color. No light. Only desperate fear and hopelessness.

I was in a black tunnel and I could see no opening, no way out…no salvation.

My breaths were shallow and quick. I’d come-to a short while ago, my head groggy and filled with an aching fuzziness that pressed against my skull and made me feel like it was about to crack open.

It took me a few minutes to figure out where I was at first. I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten into the trunk of the car. Vague images of screaming and fear pulsed through me, a vice-like grip around my waist, a knife at my throat.

I’d flinched, reaching for the wound on my neck…and then I’d remembered. As my fingers ran over the dried blood on my skin, I’d relived my nightmare.

Miguel…pulling me into the secret doorway before Agent Rhodes could find me. Dragging me down a stairwell and throwing me into his car.

Shadow Man…clamping a cloth over my nose and mouth. It made me disappear for a while.

After that — darkness. Even now, as I lay in the confined space of a different car, it was the only thought in my brain.

Darkness.

Endless, hopeless darkness.

I was too afraid to move or make a sound. I couldn’t even cry. Instead, I focused on the sound of the tires on the road and wondered where they could be taking me.

I had no idea how long I’d been out; we could have been traveling all night or only an hour. My legs were cramping, my knees screaming at me to move them. It was a sure sign of distance. I wriggled my toes and stretched as far as I could. My bare feet pressed against the coarse carpet. They felt tender, as did most of my body.

My bottom lip was cracked and swollen. I ran my finger over it and winced, cringing further when I reached for the tender patch on my cheekbone.

Mendez…hitting me, calling me a whore and swearing to punish me.

Had he known that his head of security, Miguel Vera, was going to steal me?

Diego Mendez would no doubt be in the hands of the FBI now. They’d found the kidnapped girls who were locked in his basement; I’d heard Rhodes say it while he searched the room for me. If only I could’ve let him know I was behind the wall, wishing I could yell out to him, but knowing one sound would mean death.

Kaplan would have arrested Mendez’s sadistic ass and locked him up…hopefully for life. Any man who steals and sells young girls is not worthy of freedom.

Would he say anything? Would Kaplan question him until he broke or was Miguel working alone, snatching me away for my eyesight?

The car slowed and took a turn. My body pitched back as the car descended a steep slope and came to a stop. My heart rate accelerated, pulsing through my body in quick, static waves. Breaths punched out of my nostrils and my belly quivered as I waited, shuffling back until my butt hit the interior wall.

I heard a click and then the trunk popped open.

Light poured into the back. It was dim, but still enough to make me squint.

“Awake, I see. Perfect timing.” Shadow Man smirked, snatching my wrist and dragging me closer. In one swift move, he lifted me out of the trunk and placed me on my feet. His sharp, pointy face was handsome, his buff body something girls would swoon over, but I didn’t see that.

All I saw was his mask-less face, his gloating smirk, his sadistic glee.

My legs buckled and he caught me under the arm before I fell. The gold, sequined dress Miguel had forced me to wear to his high-class poker game was ripped and tatty. The split was so high, my entire side was exposed.

Shadow Man’s gaze traveled over my skin, his smirk blooming to a lust-filled smile.

I scrambled for the fabric, clutching it together and covering up as best I could. I was wearing nothing but a skimpy pair of panties beneath this dress.

Vulnerable didn’t even cut it. I was beyond that now.

My body wouldn’t stop shaking.

He hauled me towards an elevator in the corner of the parking lot, lifting me up the concrete steps and placing me down beside the intricate golden doors. After pressing the UP button, he looked at me and licked the corner of his mouth. He looked like a lion eyeing up his lunch.

I threw his mask up, preferring his bland, emotionless disregard. To any normal person he looked like a bored security guard, but I knew better, because I could see what others couldn’t.

The mask wouldn’t stay. I could feel fate mocking me, its callous laughter ringing in my ears.

I’d caught a glimpse of Shadow Man’s hunger and my pounding head and aching eyes wouldn’t let me forget it. Before I could stop them, two layers fell clear and once again, I watched his tongue skim his lower lip. He’d already undressed me in his mind and although I couldn’t read his thoughts, I could clearly see what he planned to do with me.

Fear took me then, my flight instincts kicking in with a frenzy.

I struggled to wriggle free of his grasp, pulling away from him, my bare feet itching to run along the smooth concrete floor and hide away in the darkness.

His grip grew tighter the more I struggled, but I had to get away from that tongue, those eyes.

“Calm down.” He yanked me back to his side, my head jerking painfully.

“Let me go,” I cried. “Please, let me go.” I pushed at his fingers, trying to peel them off me. Panic made my movements frantic and useless.

“Stop struggling and I won’t have to hurt you.”

“That’s not what your face is telling me.”

He snatched me towards him, grabbing my other arm and looking down at me, awed fear tripping over his expression. “What do you see?”

I froze, shrinking away from his hard gaze.

He knew.

He knew I could read emotions. He knew I could see things others couldn’t.

I clamped my lips together and looked to the floor.

The elevator dinged, the doors opening smoothly. With a snicker, he pulled me in and pressed the button for the top floor.

My lips trembled as my mind raced to figure it all out. That’s why he’d been watching me so closely at the poker game. He must have figured out that Miguel had used me to cheat and win. That’s why he’d pulled Miguel aside after the game.

The phone call Miguel got just before he left me alone with Mendez...that look on his face!

“One hundred thousand,” I mumbled, the static words coming back to me like a dream.

“Let’s hope you’re worth it.” His snappy words felt like a slap in the face.

I’d been sold.

Oh, shit, I’d been sold!

POKER FACE is due for release February 27th, 2015.

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