Poker Face (The Masks Series Book 4)
Page 22
My lips parted.
“For Mitchell and Alice Clayton. They’ll get you through and if you ever need a new identity, there’s an emergency contact in the back of the book. He’ll help you out, no questions asked.”
“Clayton,” I whispered, opening the passport and looking at my mug shot. “Gramps’ name.”
Dad shrugged. “I knew it was risky, but his first name works as a surname and...” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just wanted you to have a part of him with you. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
“No, I like it. Thank you.”
“I’m trying to do everything I can to set you up. Keep you safe.”
A cold sadness crept through me. “You’re not planning on staying with us, are you?”
His sad smile mirrored mine. “I thought I might go check out New Zealand. I’ve got your note for Mom. I figure why post it when it can be hand-delivered.”
I sniffed out a chuckle and nodded, scratching my eyebrow and trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
“It’s gonna be hard leaving ya.” He sighed. “I’ve been watching you from the shadows for a long time now, flitting between Vegas and L.A.”
“You never told me you came to L.A.”
“I just had to see you guys every now and then.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t talk to you, so it didn’t really change anything.”
“Yeah, it does.” I grinned. “It changes everything.”
A look of regret swept over his face before he could pull it into line. His lips pressed together and he stood from his spot. “I’m gonna be heading off this morning. I’ve paid enough to see you through one more night and then you guys need to get moving.”
I looked up at him and nodded, feeling the weight of my unknown future.
“It’ll kill me to be so far away from you, but...” He cleared his throat. “You’re a man now and I, uh, I have to trust that you can look after yourself.”
I tapped the table, my throat too thick to speak.
“I’m proud of you, buddy. You’ve become an amazing man.” He gripped my shoulder, his eyes glistening. “And I’m sorry I let you hate me, and I’m sorry for letting you down.”
With a firm nod, he spun and quietly made for the door.
“I love you, Dad.” My voice wobbled over the words.
He paused, slowly turning to face me. I stood, running a hand through my hair and squeezing the back of my neck.
“I get why you stayed away.” My eyes ran over Caity, my heart squeezing with just how precious she was to me. I nearly lost my life trying to save her. “I really get it now and, um...I...forgive you, you know. I forgive you for leaving, and I don’t blame you for Gramps. That was never fair. You would have saved him if you could’ve. I—You...” I let out a breathy chuckle. “I’m proud to call you my dad.”
His face bunched and he nodded, his voice catching. “Thank you.”
We both straightened, pulling back our shoulders and lifting our chins, our heads bobbing as we fought the sting of tears.
“Would you guys just hug each other already,” Caity murmured from the bed.
She was still facing away from us, so she couldn’t see our duplicate frowns. We glanced back and noted our mirrored expressions. With a chuckle, we hesitantly walked towards each other. Dad’s arms came around me first, his strong hand giving me a few hard pats on the back, just like Gramps used to.
I squeezed back, closing my eyes and trying to forget that this was probably the last time I’d see my dad in a very long time...possibly ever.
He left shortly after that. Another mumbled goodbye, a kiss blown to Caity, and he was gone.
I stood in my spot, my eyes locked on the closed door. Caity’s gaze was on me; I could feel her quietly studying my pain and I let her.
“No matter who comes and goes from your life, you’ll always have me,” she whispered.
I turned to her then, a slow smile tugging at my lips as I crawled onto the bed and leaned over her. “That’s all I need.”
I brushed my lips against hers and knew it was true.
Epilogue
Caitlyn
The sun was setting, a bright orange globe sitting on the horizon. The waves were pink, the sky a magical canvas of orange and red. I drank it in, loving the view and the feel of the cooling sand between my toes. Eric stood behind me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders and his chin propped on the top of my head. I played with his fingers, loving his strength behind me.
It’d been six months since I’d left on my dreaded weekend to Quella’s house. Six months since my life had been shredded and patched back together. Dreams still chased me in the night, but peace found me each time I opened my eyes. I’d roll into Eric’s arms, always there, always willing to hold me.
“I wonder if Dale and Nicole are married yet,” Eric murmured.
I smiled. “I bet they are. A summer wedding; I can picture it already.
“Sorry we couldn’t be there.”
I shrugged. “Do you think we’ll ever see them again?”
“I hope so, but I can’t say for sure. Who knows what the future holds?”
Yeah, so unnerving, yet so true. I had no idea what each day held, we just seemed to be living it day to day. We never stayed anywhere longer than a few weeks. We never unpacked our bags. It was like being on permanent holiday, but without that giddy freedom.
I had to admit, we’d seen some pretty cool stuff. We’d stuck to the coastlines whenever we could, finding small resorts and hotels in under-populated beaches the length of South America. Eric surfed each morning now. It took him a while to get back into the water, the dreams of his near-drowning holding him back, but he was getting antsy and I knew he needed to face it head-on. Eric had a special bond with the ocean. Surfing had always been the thing that calmed his soul. So about a month ago, I bought him a board and we went out there together. It was a cathartic exercise and one that he now liked to start his day with. We didn’t always manage it, but I had noticed that the more time passed, the less antsy he got. He was finding his balance between the ocean and the land...finding himself again.
My heart stirred, knowing I needed to do that same thing...find my place...my way.
I bent forward and kissed his forearm, hoping he’d understand. The waves lapped into shore, a peaceful soundtrack for this conversation.
“It doesn’t matter where we go or what we do. As long as you’re there, everything’s going to be fine.”
I smiled at Eric’s soft words. “We can’t live in limbo forever.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I’m not sure, but...” I bit the edge of my lip. “I still have this gift...”
Eric went taut behind me and I spun in his arms before he could react. Lightly touching his cheek, I tried to ease away his immediate fears. “Caity, you can’t use it again. I—”
“It’s not your choice, babe,” I murmured. “I’ve been thinking about this more and more with each passing day. If I’m not going to use this gift to help people then what’s the point of having it?”
He shook his head, but I kept going.
“Indie, Libby, Nicole, Connor...those girls. If it wasn’t for my gift, how long would they have suffered in silence? I helped rescue those people.”
“You nearly got yourself killed...more than once! You were sold, Caity!”
“But I’m free now. No one owns me, not even you, Eric Shore.”
His eyebrows dipped together, his unmasked expression flooding with insecurities.
Rising to my tiptoes, I kissed his lips, holding his face in my hands and rubbing my thumb long his cheekbone. “I love you and we belong to each other, because that’s our choice. You don’t force me to be your girl. It’s a privilege.” I dipped back down, my feet landing flat on the sand. “Rhodes made me promise never to let anyone use me again, and I won’t.”
“But...” He groaned. “Don’t do this to me, please.”
I chuckled. “I’m not
saying I want to throw myself back into dangerous situations. I never want to feel that vulnerable and hopeless again. But I can’t just hide away, either. I’m ready to start reading people and actually choosing to do it. I’ve been fighting this power since the day I got it. Sure, I’d accept it for short bursts of time out of my need to help people, feeling guilty if I turned my back, but hating this eyesight throughout it all. Then as soon as the crisis was over, I’d pretend I didn’t have it and try to be normal. I can’t be normal, Eric. That homeless man, he changed my life forever and it’s time for me to embrace this gift, make it my own. If I can help people, even in the smallest way, I should do it.”
He sighed. “You mean like how you’ve helped the lady from housekeeping realize the guy at reception is in love with her?”
I grinned. “Maybe.” I bit the edge of my lip, my smile dying. “Eric, there’s real suffering out there. I want this gift to mean something.”
“So, what are you saying? You want to go back? Apply for a job at the FBI?”
I scoffed and shook my head, laughing softly. “No way. I want to move forward. This world is full of human beings, and culture, color, language...none of that matters. We all feel the same things, and I can see them...I can help the ones that need me.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, threading my fingers together. “Why don’t we just go exploring and see what’s put in our path? I didn’t look for any of those other situations, so maybe there’s some higher power at work who was forcing me to acknowledge what I had. Maybe I missed a bunch of other stuff, because I wasn’t willing to look for it. I only found the big, scary things that were impossible to ignore...and I might come across those again, but in the meantime, regular life is full of so much angst and heartache. Maybe I’m the one who’s supposed to help fix it.” I cringed, my nose wrinkling. “I’m not trying to be arrogant. I don’t think I’m God’s gift or anything—”
“I do.” Eric brushed his knuckles over my cheek. “That homeless guy chose you for all the right reasons, and the fact that you don’t want to run kills me, but it also makes me love you even more.” He nipped the tip of my nose with his lips. “And I will follow you wherever you need to go, and I will protect and love you the best that I can.”
My smile bloomed to full sparkle as I read him. “Yes, you will.” I nodded. “My Hercules.”
He chuckled, running his hands up and down my back.
An impulse surged through me then. I had no idea where it came from, but I knew it was right.
“You want to marry me?”
His eyes rounded, his lips parting before pulling into a smile. “You already know I do, Mrs. Clayton.”
I chuckled at the use of my false identity. “You never told me you wanted to make it official...as in Mr. and Mrs. Shore.”
He rolled his eyes. “Caity, you read me every day. You can see how much I love you. You knew the second you asked what my answer was going to be.”
I giggled, dipping my head. “Busted.”
His finger came under my chin, gently lifting my face. My heart swelled with that familiar feeling, that overwhelming emotion that was for him alone.
“I love you,” I mouthed.
With a soft smile, he said it back, his lips finding mine and sealing our engagement with a kiss.
Eric was right. We had no idea what our future held, but we had a direction and we were going to travel that unknown course together.
As he lifted me against him and I wrapped my legs around his waist, I knew I’d just been set free.
It seemed ironic that the peace I’d been craving came from accepting the one gift I’d tried to run from.
But that homeless man was right.
I was going to have a full and happy life.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading Poker Face. If you've enjoyed it and would like to show me some support, then please leave a review on the sites you purchased this book from.
If you'd like to stay in touch with all my other Romantic Suspense Novels, please sign up for Melissa Pearl's Evatopia Press Newsletter at http://eepurl.com/1cpuv
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Writing Poker Face was a very emotional experience. Caity and Eric's story was intense and harrowing, but the thing that made it so heart-rending for me was the truth that human trafficking still happens in this world. Some of the research I did while writing this brought me to tears. It breaks my heart to think that there are people in the world—men, women and children—who are forced against their will to do all manner of things. They have no voice and are treated with no respect. It's hard not to feel a sense of helplessness. All I can really do is make people aware that slavery is a very real thing in this world today. There are organizations out there fighting against it and I support one of them financially—Love146. It doesn't always feel like enough, but it's something that I can do for now.
Thank you so much for investing your time in The Masks Series. It has been an honor to write it. Caity is such a beautiful character and I can't help grinning and swooning over her hot-headed boyfriend, Eric. I've cried many tears, had a few chuckles and plenty of "awwww" moments while working on this series and I will miss these guys. Thanks for being a part of their journey with me.
xx
Melissa
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I end up thanking the same people each time, but that's just because I have such a great team working around me.
Margery - my publisher and editor. We did good.
Kate from Dwell Design & Press - holy smokes! Poker Face was the perfect cover for this book.
Cassie Hart and Rae Sontheyon - thanks once again for your invaluable feedback and input.
Lindsey, Karen, Kristin, Suzy & Marcia - yay. Thanks for your hard work.
Mark My Words Publicity - love working with you guys. Thanks for helping me spread the word.
Indies Ink and Inklings - love checking in with you guys on a daily basis. Your encouragement and constant support means so much to me.
My Fan Club - you guys rock!
My readers - THANK YOU!!
My dear friends and family - I love you guys so, so much.
My Lord and Saviour - thank you for the life you have given me. I know how lucky I am and I never want to take it for granted. I'll love you forever.
OTHER BOOKS BY MELISSA PEARL
The Masks Series
True Colors — Two-Faced — Snake Eyes
The Betwixt Series (Dale & Nicole's Story)
Betwixt -— Before — Beyond
The Fugitive Series (Upper YA Romantic Suspense)
I Know Lucy — Set Me Free
I'll Find You & I'm Not Lying (due for release 2015)
The Time Spirit Trilogy (YA Urban Fantasy)
Golden Blood — Black Blood — Pure Blood
The Elements Trilogy (YA Fantasy)
Unknown — Unseen — Unleashed
The Mica & Lexy Series (YA Romance/Suspense)
Forbidden Territory (due for release March 2015)
The Songbird Novels (Adult Contemporary Romance)
Fever — Bulletproof
Everything (due for release 2015)
Find out more on Melissa Pearl's website:
http://www.melissapearlauthor.com/news
ABOUT MELISSA PEARL
Melissa Pearl is a kiwi at heart, but currently lives in Suzhou, China with her husband and two sons. She trained as an elementary school teacher, but has always had a passion for writing and finally completed her first manuscript in 2003. She has been writing ever since and the more she learns, the more she loves it.
She writes young adult and new adult fiction in a variety of romance genres - paranormal, fantasy, suspense, and contemporary. Her goal as a writer is to give readers the pleasure of escaping their everyday lives for a while and losing themselves in a journey…one that will make them laugh, cry and swoon.
CONNECT WITH MELISSA PEARL
You can contact Melissa Pearl online:
http://melissapearlauthor.com
YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/melissapearlauthor
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/melissapearlauthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MelissaPearlG
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/melissapearlg/
You can also subscribe to Melissa Pearl's Book Updates Newsletter, covering all genres of work. You will be the first to know about any book news, new releases and giveaways.
Follow this link to sign up.
http://eepurl.com/p3g8v
EVATOPIA PRESS
For more information about Evatopia Press visit http://www.evatopia.org/evatopia-press/
Learn more about other Evatopia Press authors...
Lizzy Ford - http://www.guerrillawordfare.com/
Mia Fox - http://miafox.net/
Cindy Mezni - http://www.cindymezni.com/
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24