Masked (4 page)

A knock at the door had her jumping, the back of her head slamming into the medicine cabinet hanging above the sink. She cursed rubbing the lump already forming. Bridgette turned to answer it, when she realized she needed to get into her uniform before anyone could see her.

“One minute!” She rushed to pull on the black tights and weird shirt that had a hood to cover her head and face, leaving just her eyes exposed. She hated the stupid thing. One look at the boots she was supposed to wear, and she swore that if her feet could talk they’d be crying right now. Shaking her head, she went to answer the door with just her socks on. She’d delay putting those torture devices on for as long as she could.

The person standing in the hall when she opened the door had her gasping in surprise. “Xavier!” she said before she could stop herself. Xavier had grown up just down the street from them. He was a bit older than her, but she remembered him well enough from school. His father had been good friends with hers. She wondered if that meant Jack was part of the rebels too. Did the father and son even talk anymore, if that was the case?

“Hey…Dinah,” he said nervously. Her outburst must have caught him off guard, which meant she was already doing a piss-poor job of acting like Charlotte. Her sister probably didn’t get excited to see anyone – well, except maybe McKay. She never did find out exactly what had been going on with them. All she knew was based on observation, and at the time, the situation had been too tense to get an accurate feeling for the relationship. She knew they both liked each other, that much was certain. Why hadn’t McKay ever mentioned that he had found her sister? Had he not known who she was? Sure, they hadn’t been friends when they were younger, but hadn’t he seen the resemblance?

It was a strange situation, and unfortunately not one she could really explore at the moment. Forcing herself to act normally, she leaned casually against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What’s up?” She mentally cringed at her awful attempt to appear relaxed. Oh God, she was going to give herself away in no time.

Xavier gave her a questioning look, but didn’t give voice to whatever he was thinking – thankfully. She must seem like a lunatic to him right now. Way to go, Bridge.

“Roman asked me to come and get you. They’re waiting for you in the interrogation room,” he said, his face still uncertain.

She pushed off the wall, standing up straight. “The interrogation room. Right. Great. Perfect.”
Shut. Up. Bridgette
. Her head kept nodding like she was one of the damn bobble heads that her grandma used to collect. “Amazing, tell them I’ll be there soon.”

“Are…are you okay?”

“Fine. Never been better. Thanks for asking,” she said quickly. His eyebrows rose, but he just backed away – slowly. Great. She was scaring people with her weirdness. Charlotte scared people away because she was likely to punch them in the face. Bridgette scared them because she was so awkward no one wanted to be around her.
W.W.C.D., my ass
, she thought.

Xavier started to walk down the hall when she realized she had absolutely no idea where the interrogation room was. Charlotte had only told her where her room was located, nothing else.

“Wait!” she called out, shutting the door quickly behind her. Xavier stood still, his eyes watching her warily. “Could you…walk down there with me?” she asked when she reached him.

“Uh, sure,” he said. “Do you want to put on some shoes first, though?”

Wow, Bridge. You are on a roll today
, she thought, just before she turned and ran back to the room to grab her boots.

The interrogation room was terrifying. Stone flooring gave it a stark, cold feeling, and the only light came from a handful of sconces around the outside of the room. There was no furniture, except for a large chair set up near the back of the room. Ludwig sat there, his arrogance hitting her like a physical blow. That is, until his eyes met hers and all that superiority melted away as he smiled at her.

“There’s my girl,” he said, his voice echoing throughout the space. Bridgette’s steps faltered for a second before she continued to walk forward, stopping just in front of him. .

Boots sounded behind her. Bridgette didn’t have to turn and look to know who it was. Her body was somehow in tune with Roman Adamson, as though he called to her with just his presence. Every time he entered a room, it was as if the air itself stopped moving and everything stood in attention. He demanded that, demanded awareness. She fought back a shudder before looking over her shoulder to meet those deep, cloudy blue eyes.

He was already looking at her, igniting every nerve. She sucked in a breath, praying neither of the men around her noticed. Multiple footsteps behind him had her gaze looking over his shoulder at the sight there. All the heat that had risen at Roman’s appearance fled into a stark coldness. Tommy Boy, a regular around the eastern ghetto, was being dragged in by two other New World soldiers, a third just behind them with a gun trained on his back.

Charlotte had been telling the truth, she thought. Bridgette remembered her telling McKay it was Tommy who had ratted them out. Bridgette watched the soldiers drag him forward, wondering what had made him turn on those who were supposed to be his friends.

Ludwig cleared his throat loudly. She turned to look at him and he gave her a pointed look, his head tilting to the left of his chair. Was she supposed to stand there? Crap, she had no idea what was happening or what would be expected of her. Bridgette moved on autopilot, her mind creating a number of scenarios that were making her feel sick to her stomach. Roman stood on the other side, his face a hard mask. She watched him, her eyes following every angle and plane on his face; the sharp edges of his cheek bones, to his square jawline covered in just a brushing of hair.

As if they had a mind of their own, her eyes moved to his lips, wondering what they would feel like against hers. They were masculine, no doubt about that, but they also looked soft and inviting. When she looked back up to his eyes she saw he was staring back at her, his brows puckered in confusion. She snapped her head forward just as the other three soldiers forced Tommy Boy to stand before Ludwig. Showtime, she thought.

CHAPTER THREE

What the hell was going on? Roman stood beside Ludwig, his eyes trained on the informant in front of them, but his mind was completely unfocused on the current situation. He’d always teased Lottey, maybe flirted innocently, but that’s all it was – innocent. He didn’t have
those
kinds of feelings for her, nor she for him. He knew this for a fact.

And yet, there had been that look again. And if seeing a spark of desire in her eyes whenever she looked at him wasn’t bad enough, his body also seemed to be acting out of the norm. He felt more aware of her, a sort of draw that had him wanting to touch her in ways he had never considered before. He caught her looking at him so intently, he could practically feel it against his skin. What would it be like to feel her hands on him? He shook his head discreetly. There would be no thinking that way. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into her, but there was no way he was taking their friendship in that direction.

But fuck, did she make it hard. He hadn’t felt like this since he saw her sister, Bridgette, for the first time. Didn’t that just make him the worst human possible? Feeling an attraction to both sisters? He must have more issues than he thought. Being around Bridgette had definitely had a strong effect on him. It wasn’t normal, and he’d been fighting it since that first day. There was no way he would entertain the mere idea of experiencing the same thing with Lottey. Not that he was going to act on his feelings for her sister either. Especially since she was currently missing. It was the principle of it all. He owed it to Lottey not to react this way. She needed a friend. That’s all he’d been, and all he ever planned to be.

Maybe he was misreading her looks, he reasoned. It was possible. Not that he didn’t know when girls wanted him, because he did. He’d seen that look in many eyes before, and always took advantage of it. But Lottey was different. So is Bridgette, he decided. Those girls deserved more than whatever he had to offer them. His job took up too much of his time. There was too much darkness to let someone as bright as Bridgette be sucked into the abyss. Stop thinking about it, he ordered. Lottey was in love with that damn chatty rebel, not him. She was furious at him for what he’d done. There was no way she felt any sort of warm feelings for him now.

“What’s the deal, Ludwig?” Tommy said, shrugging off the hands holding him.

“Watch your tone,” Roman warned. Tommy’s eyes looked to him nervously then back to Ludwig.

“Did we interrupt your day?” Ludwig asked, his tone artfully relaxed and casual.

The boy shifted on his feet. “No,” he said. “I just wasn’t expecting to be dragged in here like this. What if someone had seen?”

“Who would see?” Ludwig said.

“My friends,” he answered.

Ludwig rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Your friends? The ones you’ve been watching for me? Those friends?”

Roman saw Tommy gulp, but he didn’t reply.

Ludwig leaned forward now, his brows lowered. “The friends, as you say, that are currently missing? As a matter of fact,” he continued, not letting the boy reply, “everyone is missing that you’re supposed to be watching. The church is cleaned out. All traces – gone. Any idea how that happened, Tommy Boy?”

His head was shaking emphatically. “I swear, Ludwig, if they’re gone I had nothing to do with it.”

“You know, that would be easier to believe if you were a trustworthy person. But I know for a fact that you aren’t, so I’m sure you will understand my scepticism.”

The boy was getting twitchy. Roman didn’t like it when people got like that. It meant they were about to do something stupid, or were at least thinking about it. He looked over at Lottey, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Was she reading his mind? Roman wondered if the boy possessed the same mental walls as the others. He doubted it. Clearly he wasn’t one of the inside members, otherwise he’d have more information than he did.

Roman’s eyes slid down her body, landing on the rounded mounds of her ass. Ludwig was correct in his observation, she was getting curvier. The change wasn’t helping his body remain calm when he looked at her. If he hadn’t been lost in watching her, perhaps he would have caught the movement before it was too late. As it was, he heard the other soldiers react first, grabbing his attention.

Tommy had pulled out a gun and aimed in a matter of seconds. The barrel sparked as the trigger was pulled, pointed directly at Lottey. Roman moved without thinking, throwing his body against hers. They flew through the air together, twisting so he wouldn’t crush her, his back slamming against the hard, stone floor. Lottey sprawled above him. Time seemed to pause for a second, his ears still ringing from the loud shot. Lottey’s hands gripped his biceps, her face buried in his chest.

With everything that was happening, one would think he wouldn’t take notice of the way she felt on top of him, but he did. He was dangerously aware of how soft she felt cradled against him. His own hands gripped her waist tightly, flexing of their own accord. She lifted her head to look down on him, a flurry of emotions in her bright, blue eyes. They stared at each other, frozen in the moment, until another shot had them both looking over her shoulder.

Tommy lay unmoving on the floor, a growing pool of blood around his head. Lottey gasped, turning to bury her face in his neck as if she couldn’t stand the sight. Even though her reaction confused him, he lifted one hand to hold the back of her head more tightly against him. Her body shook, something he never would have expected from her. She normally seemed so cold and aloof, unaffected by these things. What was it about this kill that had her so upset?

“Are,” he cleared the gruffness from his voice, “are you okay?”

She didn’t respond for a moment, before nodding her head still nestled in the crook of his neck.

“What the hell, Di?” Ludwig’s voice boomed.

Her shaking ceased, every muscle in her body tightening. He could feel it, his body all too in tuned with hers. She stayed there for only a moment more, before scrambling off of him. He instantly missed the heat of her, for which he gave himself a firm mental slap.

“Sorry,” she said, her voice husky. She cleared it before speaking again. “I just wasn’t expecting him to do that.”

“And why the hell not?” Ludwig asked, his eyes bright with anger. “Don’t tell me this shmuck had a wall too.”

She shook her head. “No. I guess I just wasn’t paying as close attention as I should.”

Ludwig ran an agitated hand through his hair. “Jesus, Di. You could have been shot! Don’t ever stop paying attention, do you understand?”

Lottey nodded, her eyes glistening with what Roman suspected were unshed tears.

“Y-you shot him,” she said, her eyes glued on the body.

“Of course I shot him! He could have killed you!” Ludwig slumped back down into his chair. “I can’t lose you, Di,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’ve been taking care of you for too long to have some rat from the ghettos take you away. Got it?”

Roman watched her swallow, her neck moving with the action. “Yes, Ludwig,” she said, “I’ve got it.”

The silence was tense, no one moving. Finally Ludwig motioned for the other three soldiers to take the body away. Roman realized he was still sitting on the ground, his own body still tense. He stood up, reaching down a hand to help her. As soon as she placed her hand in his, a shot of warmth spread up his arm, his breath catching in his throat. She looked at him for a moment, confusion written in those beautiful orbs. Did she feel it too? What the hell what going on?

Then she forced her eyes away from his, her hand dropping.

“At least tell me you found out something from him,” Ludwig said, not even bothering to look at them. “Was he helping the rebels out too?”

“No,” she said. “He knew nothing else.”

Ludwig grunted. “Well, that’s a shame then.” He stood up, calling over his shoulder as he walked away, “someone clean up that blood.”