Poker Face (The Masks Series Book 4)

by Melissa Pearl

  He fell off the bed and I scrambled away from him, my ankle twisting on the stupid heels I was wearing. Ignoring the pain, I lunged for the door, knowing he was right behind me.

  I reached for the lock, flicking it back and yanking the door open.

  “Carlotta!” He raged, tackling me to the ground. My head hit the edge of the doorframe, pain searing through my skull. Bruno’s arm wrapped around my neck and he hauled me to my feet. I slapped at his muscly forearm, scraping my fake nails over his skin. Two of them had already broken off and they were doing nothing to stop the pressure around my neck.

  “Stop! You’re killing her!” Monique weeped. “Bruno!”

  The edges of my vision grew black, my arms going floppy.

  A fuzzy thud sounded in the distance, followed by an echoing yell. “Drop her!”

  The pressure intensified, followed by a short explosion...and then I fell.

  Chapter 39

  Caitlyn

  “Caitlyn! Caitlyn.” Someone was tapping my face.

  I flicked at the hand, annoyed, and then grimaced.

  “Oh, thank God.” A forehead lightly pressed against mine before pulling back.

  Opening my eyes, I fought the blur and finally the picture came clear.

  “Rhodes,” I croaked with a small smile.

  “Hey.” He brushed a lock of hair off my forehead, his eyes glistening with relief.

  I glanced across the room and saw Bruno’s limp body. His arms were splayed across the floor. I couldn’t see his head, but the growing red patch on the carpet told me it wouldn’t be pretty.

  Gripping Rhodes’s arm, which I only just noticed was tucked beneath my waist, I looked back at this face.

  “You just saved my life. Thank you.”

  He shook his head and sighed. “I should never have let this happen. You shouldn’t even be here in the first place!”

  “It's okay.” I touched his cheek. “I'm okay.”

  “Yeah.” He smiled. “You're safe now.”

  Gently taking my hand, he helped me to my feet and delicately pulled my shirt back together.

  There were red spots covering the shoulder and I realized it must be blood spatter. I was tempted to rip the shirt off right then, but I’d already been exposed enough. Quickly zipping my pants, I bunched the shirt together with my fist, covering up my naked torso.

  Rhodes’s gaze skittered over my exposed skin before I hid it. A deep blush colored his cheeks and he glanced away from me, collecting his gun off the floor and flicking on the safety.

  “How’d you know I was here?”

  Re-holstering his weapon, he looked at the corpse behind me and frowned. “I lost track of Declan and Eric last night, so I thought my best bet was to hide out here. A whole bunch of security guys just screamed out of the building about five minutes ago and I took my chance to haul ass up here.”

  My heart lurched.

  “Where’d they go?” I gripped his arm.

  “Huh?”

  “The security. Santiago was with them, right?”

  He nodded. “I don’t know where they were going.”

  “Marchant.” I gripped Rhodes’s arm. “They’re looking for Marchant.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he stole Eric...and killed Santiago’s men.”

  “Marchant’s got Eric?”

  “Yes!” I gasped. “We gotta go. There might still be a chance!”

  I didn’t miss the disappointment flash across Rhodes’s unmasked face. It was buried deep. My words only caused the emotion to flash for a second. I gave him a soft smile and he shook his head.

  “Damn it, woman, don’t read me right now.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, my head bobbing like a jackhammer.

  “I'll go check it out. You wait here. I'll call the police on my way and get them to send a unit over.”

  “I'm coming with you.”

  “Caity, it's not safe.”

  I ignored his pleading expression, my neck muscles straining as I shook my head. “I'm following you out that door and there's nothing you can do to stop me.”

  He huffed, his eyebrows bunching tight. “I could tie you to a chair.”

  I frowned at his dry words, searing off his mask with a dark glare. My lips twitched with a smile when I read his true expression. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “Get yourself a new shirt and let’s go.” He turned away from me, his eyes connecting with Monique’s. “Hello, Miss.”

  I dashed into the room, scrambling for new clothes while listening with half an ear.

  “I’ll make some calls. Just stay here and I’ll come back for you. It’ll be okay.”

  I came out of the room, buttoning a fresh shirt, and caught Monique’s gentle smile. “Thank you...”

  “Agent Rhodes, but you can call me Eddy.”

  “Thank you, Eddy.” Monique’s smile was watery and heart-rending.

  I crouched down beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and squeezing tight. “This will all be over soon, I promise.”

  She squeezed back, her cheek rustling against my shirt as she nodded. “Be safe.”

  “I’ll try.” Standing tall, I dashed past her and pressed the down button on the elevator. “Let’s go, Rhodes.”

  He jumped in after me and I pressed the G for ground floor, hoping like hell this would be the last time I ever rode in this damn elevator.

  *****

  We caught a cab to the club. A sense of safety engulfed me as I sat next to Rhodes. On the quick ride over he put in a call. I had no idea who he was talking to, but he rattled off the details of Bruno’s shooting and Monique. He ordered an EMT to have her assessed and one LVPD unit to attend the scene of the crime.

  “Keep it low-key. This thing is not to blow open yet. We’re dealing with some powerful guys here....LVPD have jurisdiction for now, but FBI will want to be involved since I was the one who shot Gomez.” He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’ll write up a detailed report and be available for questioning as soon as I’m done following up this lead.” He nodded. “Marchant, the one I told you about...Of course I’ll call you.” A smile lit his lips. “What else was I supposed to do with my vacation time, sir?”

  I was getting ready to ask him who he’d called when the cab arrived and we jumped out before I could say anything. Throwing money at the driver, we raced across the street. I nearly crashed into Rhodes as he screeched to a halt outside the bolted doors. Club Impulse didn’t open until late afternoon.

  “Time to go hunting.” Rhodes flicked his head and I followed him around the side of the building. He kept an eye over his shoulder, making sure no one noticed us ducking into the dark alleyway.

  I was still super curious about his phone call, but didn’t want to get distracted chatting when there was a strong chance my Eric was somewhere inside this place getting who-knew-what done to him.

  Cringing, I tried to push the terrifying thoughts from my mind.

  “In here.” Rhodes pulled out his gun, holding it steady in front of him before kicking at the door. It shunted and he ran into it, bashing it open with his shoulder. I could tell it hurt from the way his face bunched, but he didn’t let it show. His gun was back in position, his eyes scanning the passageway.

  I listened out for sounds as we entered the dank, dark corridor.

  “Stay behind me,” Rhodes whispered. I ducked behind him, pressing my back against the wall.

  We snuck down the narrow hallway. I had no idea where we were headed. I was assuming Rhodes would systematically check the whole building, which felt like a very time-consuming ordeal. This only agitated me. We didn’t have time to waste. Marchant had Eric! If he hadn’t killed him already, he would, and we still didn’t even know if Marchant was here! If Club Impulse lay empty, this would be an entirely wasted trip.

  I closed my eyes and swallowed the bile trying to claw its way up my throat. I couldn’t lose it now. Eric needed me.

  Pl
ease need me, Eric! Don’t be dead.

  Squeezing my eyes against the thought, I crashed into Rhodes’s back.

  “Did you hear that?” he whispered over his shoulder.

  I went still, straining to listen. I was about to shake my head, but then I heard the clank of metal on concrete. It was a high-pitched ping that probably meant nothing, but we were investigating anyway.

  Picking up our pace, we reached the end of the corridor and noticed a dim light coming through a narrow window. Clambering over a few random piles of broken tables and chairs, we paused against the brick. Rhodes poked his head through the unframed cavity. A second later, he whipped back and turned to face me.

  “Okay, I think we’ve found them.”

  I went on my tiptoes, ready to bust past him and get to Eric. Rhodes held my shoulders, the butt of his gun awkwardly digging into my arm.

  “Through that window is some scaffolding that looks down into a warehouse-type area. I’m pretty sure I spied some bodies below, but we need to sneak in there and get a proper look. I need you to scan the room and tell me what you see. You make one sound and we’re dead, do you get it? Our best bet is to assess the situation then get our butts back out to safety and call for back-up. Do not try and do anything to rescue Eric right now. That’s just gonna get you dead. We clear?”

  A sharp frown dented my forehead, but I nodded anyway. Of course that was the right thing to do.

  Crouching low, I shuffled through the window behind Rhodes, carefully stepping down onto the plank of wood balanced over the metal framing. It was pretty rickety and unstable. I did my best to not make a sound, but it was hard to stay cool and calm when my eyes landed on Eric.

  He lay in a fetal position on the concrete floor. His hands were tied behind his back and he was lying in a puddle of water. His wet hair was plastered across his pale face and his body was trembling and convulsing as he hacked and coughed. Rhodes’s worried frown did nothing to ease my nerves.

  Marchant paced the floor by a rubber-lined water tank, picking at his nails and smirking at Declan who was tied to a chair in front of him.

  “And you’re sure there’s no more money anywhere else?”

  “This is pointless! If your purpose here is to make me suffer, it’s working, okay? I’ve told you everything. I have given you full access to every penny I stole from you! That account number will work! Take it! Take it all!”

  Marchant made a face, his nose wrinkling as he tipped his head to the side. His scrutinizing gaze penetrated Declan and although I couldn’t see the poor guy’s face, I could tell he was squirming.

  “Do it again.” He flicked his fingers to the men standing over Eric.

  They looked a little tired, but bent to pick up my weak boyfriend and shove him into the water. I gripped the scaffolding and bit down hard on my lip. My eyes burned watching Eric’s legs twitch. The guys held him down, but he didn’t even squirm. Any outsider might have thought he was dead in the water, but I knew Eric. That guy could hold his breath for a really long time. I could only pray I was right as the seconds ticked by.

  “Stop it! Please! I told you! There's no more money!”

  Marchant nodded at the men behind him. They hauled Eric out of the water and dropped him on the ground. He landed with a thud, his body convulsing violently as he hacked the water out of his lungs.

  I thought my heart was going to splinter.

  “Tell me what you can see,” Rhodes whispered.

  I looked around the room, my eyes hovering on Eric before scanning the six other men.

  “Nothing useful,” I muttered.

  “Caitlyn, I need your eyes.”

  I scowled at his sharp whisper. “I can only read emotion. You can see just as much as I can.”

  “Peel off masks, or whatever the hell you do, and tell me what you see!”

  “Okay, fine.” I closed my eyes and drew in a breath to refocus then started scanning the room. Ignoring Eric, I peeled off masks and started whispering to Rhodes. “Marchant is loving this. He’s getting over it, though and he’s—” I swallowed.

  “He’s what?”

  “Ready for Eric to go. It’s annoying him that Eric hasn’t died yet, but he’s having too much fun taunting Declan to really give in. It’s close, though; he’s not going to hold out much longer. We have to hurry, Rhodes.”

  “Check the goons. Give me a take on them.”

  Blinking at my tears, I studied the two guys who had dunked Eric. “They are so over this. They’re tired and...hungry, maybe, but they want to finish Eric off. The guy behind Marchant, on the other side, he’s bored...and guilty. I don’t know what that’s about. It might not be to do with this; his mind is definitely wandering.”

  Rhodes nodded, his eyes still scanning the room. He was worried.

  “We don’t have time to make a call, do we?”

  His fingers danced over the butt of his gun as he re-gripped the handle and shook his head.

  “So, do you think we can take them out on our own?”

  He closed one eye and lined up a shot. “Probably, but we’re going to have to—”

  Rapid gunfire stuttered through the air. I lurched on the scaffolding, my foot slipping off the plank. It wobbled beneath us and there was nothing I could do to stop myself from tumbling. The plank tipped, losing its precarious balance and flying past me as I snatched at the metal framework. It crashed to the floor, splintering loudly, but no one even noticed.

  Chaos had entered the warehouse in the form of Santiago and his posse of armed men.

  “Hold on!” Rhodes yelled, scrambling down the thick pipes to reach me.

  My fingers were losing their grip, my chicken arms protesting as I tried to hold my weight.

  Gunfire continued to puncture the air and bodies rapidly started falling. Santiago’s revenge would be supersonic and over before Marchant could even defend himself.

  The Frenchman got in a few shots before being thrown back by a bullet to the shoulder. Santiago’s smile was sickly sweet as he strode up to the man, grinding his foot into Marchant’s wound before firing a bullet straight between the eyes.

  Horror made me jolt and my fingers lost their battle.

  A scream shot from my mouth before I could stop it.

  “Caitlyn!” Rhodes shouted above me.

  I grappled for a new hold but my fingers scraped through air, barely skimming the next crossbeam.

  Shit, this was going to hurt.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, covering my head with my arms and wondering if I’d survive this.

  Chapter 40

  Eric

  “Caitlyn!”

  Someone bellowed her name, injecting a surge of energy through my weakened muscles.

  As soon as the gunfire started, I hunched into a ball, making myself as small as possible and hoping like hell no bullets would find me. I had no idea what was going on and who was charging in, but with the bodies dropping around me, I knew it couldn’t be the police.

  But then I’d heard her name.

  Some guy was shouting it out with an urgency that scared me.

  My head popped off the floor, my eyes straining for a flash of golden hair.

  I spotted it. On the edge of the room, a tangle of curls dropping through the scaffolding. My heart reeled and jumped into my throat. Caity hit a plank of wood and I winced, feeling the crunch of bones as the wood split beneath her, slowing her fall but not capturing her.

  I lost sight of her then but spotted Rhodes scrambling down the framework and jumping into the debris. My chest heaved and convulsed. I tried to stand to my feet while spewing up another trickle of water. My head was weak and dizzy as I clambered to my knees.

  “Eric! Get down!” Dad hollered from the floor.

  I glanced at his sideways body, still tied to the chair. Santiago was just behind him, slowly turning away from Marchant’s corpse. He spotted my father wrestling to be free of his bonds and tipped his head, assessing the pitiful sight. Raising his gun next to hi
s ear, I could see his mind ticking over, a flicker of glee pushing at his lips.

  Dad looked up from the floor and saw it, too. The look of resignation, of acceptance washing over his face about killed me.

  “NO!” I jumped to my feet with a feral roar and whatever adrenaline was fueling my body powered me into a speedy assault. Slamming my shoulder into Santiago’s chest, we barreled to the ground together. The air was knocked from his lungs while the gun skimmed across the floor.

  I smashed the side of his face with a head butt, just the way Gramps had taught me. Squinting against the rush of pain, I fell against Santiago’s body in time to see one of his men charging towards me. I kicked out my legs ready to defend myself, but he fell before I had to.

  The gun firing behind me belonged to one of Marchant’s men who was charging into the room with a fresh batch of ammo. The war raged over my head while I slithered across the floor towards Dad. My main goal was the scaffolding, but I couldn’t leave my father like a sitting duck. At least Caity was hidden from the warfare.

  I inched over to Dad who had managed to kick one of the wooden chair legs loose and was using it to snap his wrist ties. With a grunt, he finally won and pulled his hands free.

  “Turn around!”

  I spun and held my ground as he yanked at my bindings. They cut into my skin, but finally snapped. I flicked the thick plastic off my wrist and helped Dad free his other leg. Scrambling to my feet I made a run for the scaffolding, my weak body lacking. I tumbled twice on my way, tackled down once by Dad who was trying to save me from a flying bullet.

  “Would you watch your ass!”

  “I thought that was your job!” I yelled back, covering my head when a loud explosion sounded from the side of the room.

  Dust bloomed from the entranceway and I took the sudden pause in attack to stumble my way to Caity. Rhodes was by her side, gently holding her under the arms.

  “Her foot’s caught!” He indicated with a flick of his chin. I ducked through the rickety framework and unjammed the board of wood. Rhodes tugged her free and lifted her into his arms.