“You guys go. I’ll get the files and meet you at the hospital.”
“What? No. We have to stay together.” Micah shook his head and winced.
“I’ll be fine.” I touched his arm. “You, on the other hand, look like shit, so would you please just get out of here?” I turned to Libby. “You drive Micah’s car. Mine’s still at the beach. I’ll be five minutes behind you.”
They all stood still at the top of the stairs, hesitating.
“Go, you guys!” I nudged Libby to turn around. She reluctantly trotted down the stairs and I turned my pointed gaze to Indie. “Take care of him.”
Indie nodded. “The files are in a folder marked Business. Just grab the whole thing.”
“Okay.” I gripped the stick in my hand and took off toward the office, hoping Liam would remain a sobbing mess in his room and hoping that Indie, Libby and Micah would make it out of the house without Mason showing up.
The front door slammed and I breathed a sigh of relief as I nudged the office door open with my shoulder. The stick nearly fell out of my hands as I sped to the computer and tried to jam it into the USB drive. Bringing the screen to life, I quickly found the folder Indie was talking about and dragged it onto the memory stick icon. I tapped my finger as I impatiently waited for the blue line to inch across the screen. The files were copying at a snail’s pace!
The massive painted portrait of Indie and Maverick Swanson stared at me as I drummed my fingers on the desk. The opulent office was unnerving for some reason. I knew it had nothing to do with the decor and everything to do with the fact that I was fully freaking out. What if Liam came out of his room? What if he had another gun stashed in the house somewhere?
I was near sweating blood as my imagination took flight...and then my insides spasmed as I heard a voice holler up the stairs.
“Liam!” The front door slammed shut. “Liam! Where are you, man?”
My head spun as I tried to control my erratic breathing.
Mason.
It had to be.
The blue line inched across the screen. The copy was sixty percent through. Why the hell was it taking so long?
“Liam! You home?”
The voice came up the stairs. I held my breath as I listened for footsteps, willing them not to turn left toward me. My heart was thrumming out an uneven rhythm as I watched the door, convinced it would open any second and I’d be faced with Liam’s murdering brother. I wished I could remember what he looked like. My brain scrambled for the grainy image of his face, but I couldn’t find it.
I thought I heard footsteps moving away from me and turned back to the computer just as it dinged, indicating the end of the download. I yanked the stick free and shoved it into my pocket.
With my breathing on hold, I crept toward the door and eased it open. It took what felt like an eternity to find the guts to peek into the hallway, but I finally forced my head out. It was clear. Sucking in a breath, I slowly pulled the door wide enough to squeeze through, praying it wouldn’t creak. I was just turning for the back stairs Libby and I came up when I heard the shouting.
“You idiot! Where are they now?”
“I don’t know, man,” Liam wailed.
“Well, what were they doing here? What’d they want?”
“I just saw Indie and Micah and wanted to kill him...and punish her. I thought they were having an affair! My girl was cheating on me!”
“I don’t give a shit about your girl, Liam. You’re pathetic! What was Caitlyn doing here?”
“How do you know she was here?”
I heard a sharp slap. “Focus, Liam! What did she want?”
There was a long pause and I couldn’t move...until I heard Liam gasp and shout, “The computer! Shit! The files!”
I bolted, nearly stumbling down the stairs as I made a beeline for the laundry room. I threw myself out of it, pushing open the fence and sprinting down the driveway. I didn’t want to look back. I hoped they were still in the office, fussing over the computer.
Turning left, I took off down the street, willing my legs to move faster as I hurtled down the hill. My Mini was waiting for me, still looking out across the peaceful water. I scrambled for my keys, nearly ripping my jean pocket as I yanked them free. Fumbling them in my hands, I dropped them on the ground and scraped my knuckles as I collected them back up and shoved the key into the lock.
My insides were shuddering as my trembling fingers shoved the key into the ignition and turned.
Click. No rev, no life, no engine.
“What? No, no please.” I gripped the wheel, near hysterical as I turned the key for a second time.
Again with the click.
Yanking my phone from my back pocket, I pressed the ON button and waited expectantly for my screen to come to life. Instead I got an empty battery symbol.
“Not now! Please! No!”
I threw the phone onto the passenger seat and thumped the wheel, resting my head against my hands. I wanted to dissolve into tears. My harrowing afternoon was catching up to me like a bullet train. I needed to get to the hospital. I needed to get away. I wanted Eric. I wanted to be able to talk to him and ask him to come and help me, but I couldn’t. I was alone and the thought was terrifying.
Breaths punched out of me fast and erratic as I tried the key again, but to no avail. My car was dead.
A black car pulled up beside me, making me jerk. I glanced over at the driver who gave me a friendly smile as he slammed his door shut. He was in shorts and a T-shirt, obviously ready for an afternoon run in the sand. He wasn’t a buff-looking gym guy, more of an athletic build, lean and muscly. It made me think of Eric, which just brought tears to my eyes. Reaching for my phone, I rubbed my thumb over the screen and tried it one more time. It was an idiot move. I knew the battery was dead, but I was desperate.
Tears glistened in my eyes as I laid the phone back down and pushed the door open. I guessed my only other option was to walk.
“Uh, excuse me?” The jogger looked ready to jump down to the sand and start his run. “Are you all right?”
I gave him a glum smile. “Car trouble.” I shrugged.
“Can I help at all?” He stepped toward me, his blue gaze friendly and warm. “I have a phone in my car if you want to call someone or I can take a look if you want me to.” He grinned. “I’m not a mechanic or anything, but I know a few things.”
I couldn’t help smiling at his sweet expression. I was about to nod, open my door and pop the hood. I was about to let the guy help me, but then I saw the flash. I’d been too caught up in my angst to notice it at first. But it was there.
I ripped off his mask and saw the rancor, the intent to kill.
The blue eyes suddenly looked familiar.
Oh, shit! I was staring at Liam’s brother, Mason.
30
My eyes bulged before I could stop them and Mason must have noticed, because he grabbed my wrist as I started to step back.
His grip was strong and unrelenting. He yanked me close.
So close I could feel his breath on my face.
“Give me the memory stick,” he whispered.
As much as it terrified me, I looked into his eyes, trying to peel back layers and get to his core like I did with Liam. Maybe I could unnerve him as well.
But all I saw was evil. This guy was going to hurt me and he was going to enjoy doing it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice pitched.
His grip tightened. “I know you took something from my computer and I want it back.”
I shook my head.
His free hand clamped around the back of my neck, painfully digging into my flesh. His blue eyes flashed bright and angry. “I warned you that if you didn’t back off, I’d introduce you to a new kind of pain. I wasn’t kidding.”
Shit. Shit, he really wasn’t.
My chin trembled as I fought the tears.
“Give me the memory stick and I’ll let you off easy.”
&nb
sp; I winced as his fingers dug in. I wanted to give in. I wanted to rip the stick from my pocket and place it in his hands, but I couldn’t. Not after Indie had been beaten and Micah had been shot. How could I let them suffer and then just ruin it all by giving into my fear?
I pressed my lips together and shook my head.
“You’re making a mistake, Caitlyn.”
His malicious grin made my flight reflex kick in big time. My knee came up, just the way it used to when Toby was being a jackass and trying to wrestle with me. Seth taught me how to do it. I didn’t connect as soundly as I wanted to, but it was enough to make Mason buckle and loosen his grip.
I turned and sprinted. Why I chose the sand, I would never know. I should have run up the street, raced for someone’s house and banged on the door, but no—I chose the lumpy, uneven surface to make my escape on.
Terror had turned my brain to putty. I pumped my arms and begged my legs to keep moving. My ankle turned in the soft sand, but I managed to collect myself before falling. Taking a quick peek over my shoulder, I saw Mason gaining on me. Damn, he was fast.
I wailed as I scrambled away from him and tried to find a steady rhythm again, but before I could really get started, his arms were around my waist and he pulled me to the ground. I landed with a thud, sand shooting up my nose and into my mouth. I spat it out as Mason flipped me over and drove a punch into my left cheek.
Pain shot through my head and I cried out.
“You stubborn bitch. Give me that damn stick!”
His hand came around my throat, his thumb pinching into the side of my neck as he pressed his weight down on me. My air supply cut off immediately and the edges of my vision turned blurry as Mason’s free hand roamed my body, hunting for the memory stick. I wriggled beneath him, trying to buck him off, but my limbs were growing weaker by the second.
As my world grew black, I was faced with the reality that my life was about to end. Oddly enough, my first thought was that I had let the strange, homeless man down. He never should have picked me. Regret made me want to fight back, but it was too late. I didn’t have the energy for fight or flight.
I was done.
And then everything changed.
Mason’s weight lifted off me in an instance. My body spasmed with coughs as I rolled to my side and fought for air. Peeking my eyes open, I spotted the reason for my sudden release.
Eric.
He had thrown Mason off me and was now diving after him, pushing him to the ground and pummelling him with his rage-infused fists.
Mason fought back, slapping at Eric and trying to get a punch in, but it was pointless, Eric was in full control and he wasn’t giving Mason an inch.
“Eric.” I rasped, holding my aching throat. “Eric, stop! You’ll kill him!”
I didn’t want Eric saddled with a murder charge.
I crawled across the sand with the intent of pulling Eric off Mason, but he had obviously heard my weak warning.
He grabbed Mason’s shirt and yanked him up. Blood was streaming from the lean guy’s face, his nose looked crooked and his blue eyes were glazed. He seemed small and pathetic next to Eric. I peeled off his mask as Eric gripped him with shaking limbs that were only just in control. He was terrified of my Hercules… and he should be.
I didn’t need to read Eric to see his rage. It was pulsing out of him as he whispered between clenched teeth, “If you ever hurt my girl again, I’m going to kill you.”
With his mask off, I saw straight through Mason’s nonplussed glare. Eric shoved him away. Mason stumbled to the ground and glanced at me one last time before scrambling across the sand and racing back to his car.
“He believed you.”
“That’s because I meant it.”
I tried not to let Eric’s tight voice unnerve me as I stood from the sand on shaky legs, watching Mason trip and stumble to his car. My gaze then drifted to Eric who was turning toward me, his expression stone cold.
I didn’t know what to say to him. He looked pissed. Crossing my arms, I dropped my gaze to the sand, breathing through my nose in an attempt to rein in my spasming stomach. Sobs were itching to break free. I blinked at tears and finally looked back up at him.
His expression had softened a little. “Come here,” he whispered.
I gratefully stepped forward, hoping for a warm embrace. Instead he held me at arm’s length, inspecting my neck. His brow creased with concern as he gently ran his thumb over my tender flesh. His expression buckled as he touched my bruised cheek. “You promised me you’d stay out of trouble.”
“I had to go and help Micah and Indie, I couldn’t just leave them.”
He scowled.
“I called you. You didn’t answer,” I ended with a mumble.
“Which is why I called you back as soon as I heard your message. And what do you do?” He threw his hands up. “You hung up on me.”
I was beginning to think that pissed was an understatement. He looked livid. I couldn’t help reading him and saw that it was just fear talking, but it didn’t make any difference. His fear was being manifested as anger and there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“I didn’t want anyone to hear the phone,” I muttered, knowing instantly it was the wrong thing to say. Eric’s pointed glare screamed the obvious. I had snuck into a situation that in my gut I knew was dangerous. I should have stepped outside and taken the call...or at least called him back. I should have waited for him.
But it was too late. I couldn’t change the past.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He shook his head and looked away, making the silence between us awkward and deafening.
Finally, I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “Can you drive me to the hospital, please? I want to check up on Micah.”
Eric’s concerned gaze shot to me. “Is he okay?”
“He got...” I swallowed, hating the truth and the fact that I had to tell it. “Shot.” The word barely made it out of my mouth. It was so small and tiny, but Eric still heard it. His skin blanched, his usually calm gaze going wild for a moment.
“Who had the gun?”
“Liam. I...I managed to talk it out of his hands. We were safe. It was okay.”
“Safe?” Eric scoffed. “Yeah, sounds really safe, Caitlyn!” He spun away and started walking for his car.
“Please don’t be mad with me.” I chased after him, grabbing his arm.
He jerked to a stop and glared down at me. His stance was intimidating and flaring with anger, but his expression was rippling with anguish.
“You don’t get it.” He shook his head. “You have no idea how much I’ve come to care for you in such a short space of time. Do you have any idea how much that freaks the hell out of me?” He ran a hand through his hair, licking his bottom lip. He breathed a couple of times, obviously wrestling with his surging emotions, trying to bring them into check. “I nearly lost you today. If I’d been five minutes later, Caity.” His hazel eyes caught me and I couldn’t look away. I just had to stare into his troubled gaze. Tears glistened in my eyes as he kept going. “What if I hadn’t cleared your message right away? What if I hadn’t seen Stella as I drove past school and demanded to know where Indie’s house was? What if she hadn’t told me? What if I hadn’t seen you running for your life along the beach? What if I’d driven here another way?”
“But you didn’t.” I interrupted before he could come up with another what if. They were killing me.
He shook his head. “I don’t think you appreciate how close you came to dying today.” His annoyed look returned as he glanced over his shoulder at our cars. “Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
He didn’t reach for my hand, just strode across the sand ahead of me. I crossed my arms and scurried after him, feeling like I’d just run a marathon and crossed the line with nothing to show for it. I gripped my arms in an attempt to stop the shaking and ward off the feeling of desolation.
31
Eric fixed my car in silen
ce. I hovered behind him as he plugged something back in, then wiped his hands on his butt and closed the hood.
“He disconnected your spark plugs.”
“How do you know stuff about cars?”
Eric squinted against the sun, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t know that much. Gramps just taught me a few basics.”
“Do you think Mason disabled it before coming up to the house?”
“That’s my guess. He obviously recognized your car and planned to catch you here.” Eric swallowed and swiped a hand under his nose. With a sniff, he flicked his head toward his car. “I’ll follow you to the hospital.”
“Okay.” I wanted to reach out and touch him, make some kind of connection, but he strode away before I could. Fighting tears, I started the engine and backed out of the small parking lot.
Fifteen minutes later we were pulling into the nearest hospital. Eric took my hand as we walked toward the emergency room, but there was no warmth in his touch. I hated it. He was there, but he wasn’t, and all I wanted to do was fall into his arms and cry like a little girl who’d scraped her knee.
In spite of the fact I’d just survived death and still had protective evidence in my pocket, I felt like my world was about to shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. And it had nothing to do with Indie or Liam, and everything to do with the guy holding my hand, but not looking at me.
Eric had to ask three different nurses before we found the others. Libby was on the phone in tears. I picked up two sentences of her conversation and realized she was talking to her mom. I gave her a weak smile, which she returned before pointing to a blue pulled curtain to my right.
I crept toward it and was about to pull it back when Indie’s willowy voice stopped me.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. It’s just a scratch.” I peeked around the curtain and saw Micah gather her fingers into his. His head was neatly bandaged and I spied a white patch of gauze through his ripped jeans.
True Colors (Masks #1) Page 20
