Snake Eyes (The Masks Series Book 3) (11 page)

Caitlyn

Eric carried Quella up to our room. I flung the door open and made room for Eric to shuffle past. He laid her on her bed while I whipped off my shirt and decided just to throw it straight in the trash. As if I’d be able to get the stench out with my washing skills.

I stood there in my bra, gazing down at my roommate. She was still pale, but her color had improved a little since she puked all over me. I sniffed and glanced down at my hair.

“Gross,” I muttered, flicking it over my shoulder and wanting to cry.

I’d never felt so filthy in my life.

“It’s on your jeans, too.” Eric pointed to my thigh.

I tipped my head. “If you’re trying to get me into bed, you should know that I’ve never felt more unsexy.”

He chuckled. “As much as I would like to take your fine form to bed and ravage you, I think you have more important things to deal with right now.”

His gaze was sweet as he stepped towards me and nipped my nose, running his finger between my breasts and down to my belly button.

“I’ll take you up on it tomorrow, though. You, me, a private cove.” He wiggled his eyebrows and I had to laugh. He was so cute when he did that.

I ran my hand over his shoulder and into his hair, wrapping my fingers into his long, straight locks.

“Thank you for being there tonight.”

“I’m always here for you.” His gentle look had a serious edge. “I know she needs to deal with some demons and I know you can’t tell me what they are, but I don’t know if this is the best way.”

Caity stepped back with a sigh, placing her hands on her hips. “I know, me either. I’ll try to talk to her tomorrow, once she’s sobered up.”

“Good idea.” He winked at me. Man, it was so damn tempting to invite him into my shower, but I still had to get Quella undressed and washed. He couldn’t really stick around for that.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Eric pointed at me as he backed towards the door.

“Sounds good.” I nodded.

He flicked the door open.

“Hey, Eric.”

“Yeah?”

I soaked in his sexy frame and the beauty of his face, wishing I could just tell him everything. My lips wanted to say it, drag him back in and confess all. Even though he’d bought into my Quella lie, it still felt so incredibly wrong.

My lips fought for the right words, eventually breaking into a soft smile. “I love you.”

His grin was instant. “I love you, too, babe.”

And with that, he quietly slipped out the door.

I slumped onto my bed and gazed across the room at Quella. I hadn’t meant to let her get quite that drunk. I hadn’t realized how much she’d been throwing back...and now she was basically in a coma. I wasn’t going to get anything out of her and it felt like such a waste.

With a sigh, I stood up, pulling off her boots and placing them on the floor at the end of her bed.

“
Hubiera deseado que me vieras visto esta noche
.”

I paused at her mumbling.

“
Mi amor, podríamos haber bailado por siempre
.” She giggled. “Danced the night away.”

I stood, gently squeezing her shoulder.

“Hey, Quella. It’s Caity. I’m just getting you ready for bed.”

“
Yo lo amo
.”

“What are you saying?”

Her eyes fluttered open and she stared straight at me. “I love him.”

“Who? The guy you were dancing with tonight?”

“No.” Quella’s giggle was high and squeaky as I pulled her forward to help her take off her vomit-splattered shirt. She raised her arms so I could wiggle her out of it then flopped back onto the bed. She was still giggling. I pulled her mask away and caught her yearning. She was gazing at the ceiling as if the man of her dreams was floating above her. Her mask-less face gave whoever he was a dreamy smile, growing wider with glee. “I will see him soon at the secret mansion.”

I stilled.

Was she giving me something?

I swallowed, fighting to keep my tone casual. “What mansion?”

“
El castillo escondido
.”

“What does that mean?”

She ignored my question, throwing her hand in the air. “It is in the hills. We will hike and make love in the sunlight.”

“Which hills? Where is this mansion?” I sat on the edge of her bed, flicking the hair off her face.

“Shhh.” Her long finger smushed my lips to the side. “No one can know.” Her eyes grew large and she whispered with a dreamy smile. “All that matters is that he will be there. He is always there.”

“Who?”

“My true love.” She giggled again and then broke into a warbling rendition of a Spanish song I didn’t recognize. It was slow and painful, making me wince when she tried to hit the high notes.

“Quella. Quella!” I tried to quiet her. “Tell me more about this mansion. What’s it like?”

She ignored my questions, her voice growing stronger as she came to the end of the song. Her floppy arms fell onto her stomach and her body shook with laughter as she rolled onto her side. Ten seconds later, she was snoring.

My shoulders drooped with a heavy sigh as I rolled her onto her back and wrestled her out of her skinny jeans. Throwing them in the laundry hamper, I then pulled Quella’s sheet back and with a little effort managed to get her floppy body under the covers. She curled into her pillow like a little kid and fell into oblivion.

I stepped back with a sigh, rubbing my lower back and cringing.

I still smelled disgusting and as desperate as I was to have a shower, I knew I had a phone call to make first. Grabbing yesterday’s shirt that was still hanging over my desk chair, I threw it on, scrambled under the bed for my phone and snuck outside.

“Kaplan,” she answered in her usually curt tone.

I pressed my back into the dark alcove just outside my dorm. “Yeah, I think I got something.”

“Finally!”

My eyes narrowed, hating her tone. She was such bitch sometimes!

Or all the time!

“What’ve you got?”

“Okay, so two things...we were out dancing at Club Ultron tonight and I noticed this guy hanging out with her. He looked a little suspect to me. He was definitely eyeing the crowd and way more interested in them than Quella, yet he hung out with her all night.”

“What was his name? Did you get any details?”

“I think he said it was Carlos, but it was kind of hard to hear. I don’t know if we’ll ever see him again, so it could be no big deal.”

“You said he was scouting out the club?”

“Yeah, I guess. He just seemed on high-alert, if that makes sense.”

Kaplan cursed.

“What?”

“It’s probably one of Mendez’s bodyguards, sent down here to keep an eye on Quella.”

“He’d do that?”

“It’s Mendez; of course he would.”

“Do you think he’ll pull Quella out if he knows what she’s been up to?”

“Maybe. We need to cool it on the party vibe, Caitlyn.”

“But that’s how I got her talking tonight.”

“What’d she say?” Kaplan snapped.

“Most of it was in Spanish, but she said something about a secret mansion in the hills. She said
el castillo escondido
or something; I don't know if I'm saying it right.”

Kaplan muttered my terrible Spanish back to me and said, "That means hidden castle. Did she say anything else about it?"

“Her true love is there.”

“Who the hell is that!”

“I don’t know; she didn’t say anything else. She’s pretty hammered, and after throwing up all over me, she fell asleep.”

Kaplan snorted. “She threw up on you?”

“Yes!” I clipped.

Kaplan snorted again and I was tempted to throw the phone into the bushes and quit on the spot.

“Listen, Caitlyn, you’re doing a good job.”

I nearly dropped the phone. Was that a compliment?

“Keep working on the true love angle. Girls love to chat and we might be able to get something out of her that way. And watch your back with this Carlos guy. I’ll see what I can find out, but if my bodyguard guess is right, he’ll probably be hanging around a lot more.”

“I don’t think Quella knows that’s what he is.”

“I guarantee she has no idea. After what you told me about her dad finally letting her go free, she’d be pretty pissed if she knew he didn’t trust her and was sending out a bodyguard.”

“Maybe rumors have reached him that she’s partying.”

“Hmmm, we could use this, though. If Mendez thinks you’re the girl who’s going to lead her astray, he’s going to want to meet you. He’ll definitely be looking into your history.”

I swallowed. “I don’t—”

“Don’t worry, we’re making sure your files are clean and there’s no mention of your involvement in either the Donovan or the Hoffman cases.”

“I was going to say, I don’t really want to meet him, especially if he thinks I’m leading his daughter astray. Won’t he be super-pissed with me?”

“Let’s not focus on that just yet. Stay close to Quella, get her to keep talking and we’ll see where that leads us.”

It took me a second to find my voice.

“Caitlyn?”

“Yeah, o-okay.”

“Keep up the good work.”

Kaplan hung up, but it took me a minute to move. Mendez might want to meet me? And do what with me?

I mean, I knew this was what we wanted, but it sounded terrifying.

I blinked at the unbidden tears and sucked in a breath. My pride at doing well for Kaplan disintegrated as the reality of where this might lead me hit home. I felt paralyzed as I stood in the alcove imagining my fate.

Shit! What the hell was I doing?

If Mendez was stealing girls and selling them, what could happen to me?

I closed my eyes. “No, surely not. Not his daughter’s friend. Besides, you’re too old.”

The statement made me feel sick. Images of the girls’ faces fled through my mind. I leaned my head back against the building and wanted to weep for them.

“Don’t let fear stop you, Caity,” I whispered. “Just remember these girls are going through far worse and you have the chance to save them.”

Standing tall, I sucked in a breath and headed back inside to shower and get some sleep. I needed to stay as focused and fresh as I could. I had a job to do.

Caitlyn

So much for my job.

Since Quella’s drunken confession and the arrival of Carlos into our friendship, it was basically impossible to get anything out of her.

Oh, yeah, Carlos was still around. She’d given him her number that night, before she’d puked all over me, and he’d called it. In fact, he’d called it every day this week and in spite of the fact that she claimed to be in love with some mystery guy back at her secret mansion, she didn’t seem to mind.

Hopefully her
true love
wasn’t the jealous type.

Quella seemed drawn to Carlos’s charm, but when I looked behind her mask, it was obvious she wasn’t overly interested in him; she was just enjoying the flirt-a-thon.

She woke up with the world’s worst hangover on Sunday morning, which had dampened the whole party scene for her just a little, so there’d been no mid-week bar-hopping or drinks after class. And with Carlos wheedling his way onto the scene, we’d ended up doing a lot more quiet, subdued things like going out to dinner, watching movies and shopping, shopping, shopping. Unfortunately, this did not bring out Quella’s imprudent chatty side...I really needed liquor for that, and thanks to Carlos she wasn’t getting much anymore.

I guessed it was a good thing. It really wasn’t cool to get an underage girl drunk just to get her talking. Part of me wanted to screw my conscience and start spiking her drinks, just so I could get this damn job over with. I was sick of hanging out with Quella and Carlos — the refined, snobby Spaniard who didn't know how to smile...or relax...
ever
! Oh, yeah, and they spoke in Spanish all the time—so not helpful! It totally made me feel like a third wheel, too.

I missed my friends. I was sick of lying to them and constantly saying I couldn't join them for stuff! I missed hanging out at Eric’s place, watching him surf, chatting with Nicole over coffee. I felt like I hadn’t seen her in forever. I wasn’t even conscious of it happening, but over the last month, basically since she moved in with Dale, we’d drifted apart.

It sucked! And the worst part was I was about to head into yet another weekend where I
could
actually see her, but I’d be forced to hang out with Quella instead.

Checking my watch, I hitched my bag onto my shoulder and glanced at the sky. A light shower was starting. No big deal, but the sky was pretty grey and the light shower looked to be strengthening. I had no rain jacket or umbrella. Thankfully it wasn’t too heavy yet, so I decided to enjoy the wet sweetness and amble back to my dorm. It didn’t really matter if I got there soaking wet.

Quella was still in class, Eric was surfing this afternoon and a little rain would never stop that from happening. Nicole and Dale were no doubt tied up with other things. I kind of had the afternoon off to do as I pleased.

The idea of popping home and catching up with Holly flittered through my head, but I quickly dismissed it. We’d no doubt end up talking about babies, and I wasn’t ready to see what they’d done with
my
bedroom.

Feeling a little lost and sorry for myself, I blinked the raindrops off my lashes and wiped a wet curl off my face.

My phone started singing. I ducked beneath a tree and pulled it out of my bag, answering it just in time.

“Hey, Dale, how’s it going?”

“Not great. This day is falling to total shit and nothing’s going as planned. I really need your help.”

“O-kay.” My eyes narrowed as I listened to the slight panic and major frustration in his voice. “What do you need me to do?”

He sighed. “I need you to meet Nicole after her class and stall her...for about an hour.”

“Can I ask why?”

“I—” He cleared his throat and let out a breathy chuckle. “I have something special planned.”

My eyes grew large as a thought hit me. “No way. You sneaky dog. You’re gonna propose, aren’t you?”

“Please, help me,” he whispered, his voice pitching with either excitement or terror; I couldn’t quite tell. Man, I wished I could read him right now. “It was supposed to be a gorgeous day and I was going to take her to the beach and this really fancy restaurant that overlooks the ocean, but the place just called and said there was a fire last night so all bookings are cancelled for the next month. Damn it, Caity, it was going to be perfect.”

“Why don’t you just wait?”

“Because I picked up the ring this morning and I can’t stand the idea of it not being on her finger as soon as possible.”

A smile bloomed on my face. “You’re so cute.”

“So, you’ll help me?”

“Of course.” I giggled. “This is so exciting.”

“Don’t make it worse.” He puffed. “Just be calm.”

My laughter grew. “Are you talking to me or you?”

He let out a shaky chuckle.

“Where do you want me to deliver her?”

“Bring her to our place; I’m setting everything up there.”

“Okay. Where is she now?”

“The Humanities Building.”

“Cool. I'm not too far from there."

“Her class is due to finish at four.”

I glanced at my watch. “I can make that. Good luck, Dale.”

“Yeah, thanks, and don’t say anything.”

“Of course I won’t! I’ll fudge my way through and give nothing away, I promise.”

I hung up, wincing at the fact that I was getting pretty damn good at fudging my way through things.

The rain was now falling steadily. I jumped into it, running across campus to the Humanities Building. I hovered around the main entrance, hoping I wouldn’t miss my little friend.

After about ten minutes of leaning against the wall, a wave of students emerged. I stretched on my tiptoes to see above the crowd and waved.

“Nicole!”

Her head popped up and she jerked in surprise when she saw me.

“What are you doing here?”

I shrugged. “I had the afternoon free and was wondering if you wanted to hang out.”

Nicole eyed me up with a hard gaze that could strip paint off walls. “You’re not busy with Quella?”

I gripped my bag strap. “Nope.” I shook my head and grinned. “Besides, I’d rather hang out with you.”

Her lips twitched with a little smile and I thread my arm through hers.

“Come on, let’s go get a coffee or something.”

We paused at the entrance so Nicole could look at the weather. With a sigh, she pulled a small umbrella from her bag and opened it up. I ducked underneath it and we awkwardly shuffled along the pathways. We decided to head to Ostin Music Center and grab something at the cafe there. It was close to the Humanities Building and although it wasn’t anywhere near my car, it might give the rain a chance to die down.

Once we’d bought our coffees and were sitting by the window, looking out at the gloomy day, Nicole finally started talking.

“So, tell me about your life. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I know.” I sighed. “School’s busy and I’m definitely not making it to your place as much as I wanted to.”

Nicole’s eyebrow arched and she took a sip of her coffee. “How’s the roommate?”

My nose wrinkled before I could stop it.

Nicole scoffed before I had a chance to answer. “You should have just moved in with us.”

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to get into it...again! I scraped the foam onto my teaspoon and sucked it off, licking my lips and stalling on the conversation.

“It’s not too late, you know?”

“I know,” I sing-songed.

She grinned at me and I ripped her mask off. She wasn’t really mad; she just missed me.

My insides crumpled. That was so sweet.

Man, I couldn’t wait for this job to be over. I picked up my coffee cup and gazed out the window, trying to not let it get me down and just enjoy this time with my friend. I thought of the upcoming proposal and couldn’t help a grin. Man, I couldn’t wait to see her face. I wondered if I was allowed to stay and watch. Maybe if I just hid in the kitchen or something. I wondered what Dale had planned. I had no idea how he was going to make the house romantic enough to propose in.

I couldn’t wait to meet up with Eric later and tell him.

This was so—

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing.” I took a sip of my coffee and licked the foam off my top lip.

Nicole’s eyes narrowed so I pulled a face, trying to throw her off.

She laughed at me and shook her head. “You’re such a spoon.”

I shrugged. “That’s what you like about me.”

“That’s what I miss about you,” she mumbled.

I swallowed back my guilt and felt the tears burn. It was so tempting to launch into it. She’d understand. She’d been mistreated by Cameron and the professor last year, and she knew the sick terror, that feeling of being unable to control her future. She wouldn’t try and stop me; hell, she’d probably help me, especially if I showed her pictures of the girls. Nicole might come across as a hard-ass sometimes, but she had a heart of pure gold.

I licked my bottom lip, shuffling in my seat and loving the idea of unburdening myself...but then my phone buzzed.

Ready to go.

I drew in a quiet breath and pressed my lips together. “Hey, do you want to go back to your place? I really feel like watching a girly movie and hanging out like we used to.”

Nicole’s lips twitched. “You don’t have any other plans tonight?”

I picked up my phone and quickly typed back.

We’re on our way.

I shoved it into my back pocket with a grin. “Not anymore.”

She smiled at me, quickly draining her coffee and standing up from the table.

“Where’s your car?”

“Back at the dorm.” I grimaced.

“Bluch.” Nicole grabbed her umbrella and poked out her tongue. “Let’s get this over with then.”

We ran though the rain, giggling and puffing as we splashed through puddles. It took us about fifteen minutes to get to my car. We slammed ourselves inside, two drowned but happy rats. My hair was beginning to frizz big-time while Nicole flicked her perfect locks off her face and still looked like a beauty queen. I started up the car and backed out of my parking space, my nerves jittering with excitement.

I couldn’t believe she was about to get engaged. It was so damn exciting I could barely contain myself.

As we drove the ten minutes towards the house, I felt free for the first time in weeks. It was like Quella and Kaplan didn’t even exist in my world. I was just Caity, hanging out with my friends and having some fun.

This was what I wanted for my life and this was something I feared I’d never get.

If I succeeded in this job, which I was determined to, Kaplan would no doubt use me again. Was this my life? One lie after another? How would I ever settle down and be normal?

I shoved the unsettling thoughts from my mind as I pulled the car into the driveway.

“Oh, great, the guys are here.” Nicole pointed to the cars. My eyebrows rose; so that’s how Dale had managed to pull off whatever he had planned. Eric had forsaken his surfing to help him out.

My insides squeezed. Man, I loved my boyfriend.

We raced through the rain and up the stairs. Nicole swung the front door open and called out, “Honey, I’m home!”

She threw a wink at me over her shoulders and giggled her way into the living area, stopping short with a gasp.

I crept up behind her to take a quick look.

The entire room was strung with fairy lights. The guys had draped black fabric and frost cloth over every wall in the living area, including the ceiling, and fairy lights glittered like fireflies. The floor was covered with rose petals and soft strains of some band Nicole loved, Granite or something, was playing in the background. It was like a 1990s rock ballad.

Better yet, Dale was standing in the middle of the room...in a tux.

I pressed my lips together, tears lining my lashes as I took in the magical atmosphere and the sweet look on Dale’s face. I ripped off his mask and he was shining like the sun, the love pulsing from his gaze powerful and electrifying.

Nicole sucked in a shaky breath and covered her mouth. “I can’t believe it.”

Dale grinned, stepping towards her and lightly taking her hands.

“Nicky, my one and only.” He kissed her nose. “You already know how much I love you and I know we’ve talked about waiting until we graduated, but why?” He hitched up his pants and lowered himself to one knee, pulling out a box from his jacket pocket. “I know we’re young and I know it’s probably insane, but I’ve been saving for this since that day you told me you loved me.” He chuckled. “You yelled it from upstairs, do you remember?”

She nodded with a soft laugh.

“And I just knew...I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life.” He popped the lid of the box open. I couldn’t see the ring, but Nicole’s head tipped to the side and she touched a hand to her chest. “Nicole Evelyn Tepper, will you marry me?”

She sucked in a breath, covering her mouth and nodding frantically. “Yes.” She dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around Dale’s neck and squashing the ring between them. “A thousand times yes!”

He cupped the back of her head, laughing and kissing her before leaning back to slip the ring onto her finger. She looked at it and squealed before reaching for his face and running her dainty fingers down his scar. He smiled at her, his face puckering as she drank him in.