Authors: Cassia Leo

Unmasked: Volume One (8 page)

BOOK: Unmasked: Volume One

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“Just a minute,” I whisper, pulling up the skirt of my white dress, I reach into my panties and retrieve the syringe.

I moan as if I’m pleasuring myself, but I’m really just trying to cover up the sound of the cap coming off the needle. I let out a high-pitched whimper as I lean forward and kiss the bare skin above his boxers. Then I drive the needle into his thigh.

“Fucking bitch!”

The back of his hand swipes me so hard against my cheek, I see flashes of color as I fall to the floor.

“What was that?” he roars. “What have you done?”

“It’s not what I’ve done, Daimon. It’s what you’ve done.”

I stand from the carpet and swiftly remove the brown contact from my left eye so I can see him. I don’t think he can see me, but he’s looking straight at me. Chest heaving, eyes full of seething anger.

“I told you we needed to talk, Alex. This is not what I meant.” He takes a step toward me and I can already see that he’s a little off balance. “What did you give me? Tell me now!”

“The same thing you gave my father.” He stops moving. “But in a much smaller dose. And I injected it into your muscle so you have about five minutes to listen. Because you’re not going to talk, Daimon. Only
I
get to talk tonight.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying. You don’t even
know
your father.”

“Shut up! You have no right to talk about my father. You murdered him! Right in front of my face, you sick bastard. Did you think I wouldn’t notice the impostor following me? Smoking the wrong cigarettes!”

“Your father kidnapped you when you were a child. That is not your real father.”

“Stop lying!”

He takes another step toward me and I throw a sharp jab at his nose. But he dodges it easily and counters with a blow to my side. Right on my scar. It knocks the breath out of me and he seizes the opportunity to grab my hair and pull my face to his.

“Your father and mother kidnapped you from Princess Amica Amador of Monaco.”

I laugh in his face, ignoring the searing pain in my scalp. “You’re delusional!”

“Your real name is not Alex Carmichael. It is Alexandria Marie Thérèse Grimaldi. You are a princess, Alex! It’s time you start acting like one instead of this caged animal persona you’ve taken on.”

I spit in his face and he roars like an angry lion. “Go ahead and kill me and see what happens.”

I slide my fingers down the neckline of my dress between my breasts to retrieve a tiny, silver tape recorder and press the green button. Our voices come out in shrieks through the tiny speaker.

“Don’t fucking move … or I’ll kill you.”

“Please don’t kill me.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

“Even if you make it out of this room alive, if I don’t walk out with you, you’ll be walking out in handcuffs. I have an email with this digital recording set to go out to every police station and reporter in L.A. at midnight. If I don’t make it home tonight to cancel it, your life as Detective Rousseau is over.”

“You used me?”

He tightens his grip on my hair and I laugh in his face. “Rip my hair out, Daimon. Go ahead. It will just make my escape from this building that much easier once you’re dead.”

“You can’t kill me,” he says, and I can feel his grip slackening on my hair as the tranquilizer begins to kick in. “Do you know why you can’t kill me?”

“Because there are hundreds of people just eighty yards from where we’re standing.”

“Because you love me.” He lets go of my hair and his hands drop to his side. “Go ahead, Alex. Kill me.” He bangs his fist against his chest. “Kill me! Because I was sent here to kill you and I couldn’t do it. So you might as well do it for both of us.”

“You … you’re lying.”

“No, I’m not lying. I was supposed to kill you months ago. But I couldn’t do it. And I didn’t understand why. I didn’t understand why I was supposed to kill you or why I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So I decided I would try to find out who you were. Why would anyone want you dead?” His speech is becoming slurred as he drops to one knee. “This is what I wanted to talk to you about. Because what I found … is that you and I … we are the same, Alex.”

“I’m
nothing
like you.” I wipe the tears from my face as I watch him drop onto all fours.

“Yes, we are. And that’s why I fell in love with you.” His voice is barely a whisper. “And you with me.”

“I don’t love you.”

I watch in horror, trying to stifle the sound of my chest-wracking sobs as he fully collapses facedown onto the carpet. I wait another few minutes to make certain the tranquilizer has fully taken effect, then I turn him onto his back and cover my eyes with my hands as I use my foot to crush his windpipe, cutting off his oxygen.

Three minutes later, I kneel down and take his pulse. He’s dead.

I remove the mask from his face and rest my hand on his cheek. He looks so peaceful. I need to leave quickly, but I can’t bring myself to leave him here.

“Oh, God. What have I done? What have I done?”

I twist around and vomit onto the carpet behind me. Once my belly, and my soul, are emptied, I swipe my hand across my mouth and lay a soft kiss on Daimon’s forehead.

“Goodbye,
mon cher
.”

Chapter Eleven

G
etting
out of the International Lounge without anyone seeing me is the trickiest part. I start by removing my mask and unzipping my dress. Letting the dress fall to the floor, I fold it tightly and stuff it beneath a cushion on the sofa near the window. I pull up the dangling straps of the black camisole I was wearing beneath the dress, then I remove the safety pins holding up the bottom half of my yoga pants.

Removing the five hairpins from my up-do, my hair falls over my shoulders as I make my way toward a small bar in the corner of the lounge. I turn on the faucet and scrub as much makeup off my face as I can. Dragging my nails through the thick layer of pancake covering my skin. Then I hold my head under the running water and imagine the temporary reddish-brown dye running clear into the sink. I squeeze the water out of my hair then hold out the white piece of hair on the left side of my head.

I head straight for a door leading to the adjoining California Ballroom. I maneuver through the maze of tables to the other side of the room where I find another door to another adjoining meeting room. From here, I exit near the elevators, keeping my head held high. I ignore the few strange looks I get from people wondering why I’m walking around with wet hair and my face rubbed raw. I hope they’ll assume I just came from the pool deck.

In front of the hotel, I hail a taxi and I’m at my apartment in less than five minutes. The first thing I do when I step inside is head straight for the refrigerator. The vomiting and crying, combined with the anxiety, have left me extremely parched. I open the refrigerator door to get a bottle of water and the first thing I see is the prickly pear Daimon brought me nearly two weeks ago.

Reaching for the fruit, I barely flinch when it pricks me again. I hold it in my palm in the light of the refrigerator and a roaring pain throbs inside my chest. I turn around and quickly toss the fruit into the waste bin under the sink, then I grab a bottle of water and head for the bedroom.

I guzzle the water and place the empty bottle on my nightstand. I slide my laptop out from underneath my bed and I swiftly open up my email program. After I cancel the email I had scheduled, I double-check that my flight is on time. It is.

I slide the laptop back underneath the bed. I won’t need it anymore. Then I grab the small carry-on duffle I packed this morning. I take the bag with me to the bathroom where I take a long shower to completely rid myself of all the makeup.

Daimon’s peaceful face flashes in my mind as I scrub the scar on my side. I vomit the bottle of water I just consumed onto the shower floor. Collapsing into a heap, I hug my knees to my chest and try not to think of his face. His touch. His voice.

He was right. We are the same.

I peel myself off the shower floor and stand under the hot water for a while, hoping I’ll find the courage to call the police station and confess. But, just like Daimon never had the courage to confess he killed my father, my cowardice wins over my honor.

I blow-dry my hair and dress in a new pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt. Then I slide on a new pair of glasses. The only thing dark about these glasses are the square rims. Anyone who sees me now will see the real me.

I allow myself a few final tears as I realize this is it. The mask is gone.

Grabbing the duffle bag, I head for the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water to go. When I open the refrigerator door, my hearts stops. The prickly pear is resting on the top shelf where it was earlier.

“No.”

I yank the waste bin out of the cupboard under the sink and dump out the contents. No fruit. Did I imagine throwing it away? Am I losing my mind? Or….

I spend ten minutes tearing the apartment to shreds, but I find no sign of entry or that anyone has been here. I
am
losing my mind.

Staring at the fruit where I left it on the counter, I shake my head in dismay as I sling the strap of my duffle bag over my shoulder. I can’t leave this city any faster.

Thank you!

Thank you for reading
Unmasked: Volume 1
! This story continues in
Unmasked: Volume 2
.

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