Two-Faced (Masks #2) Read online

  Two Faced

  Masks #2

  Melissa Pearl

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  1. Caitlyn

  2. Eric

  3. Caitlyn

  4. Eric

  5. Caitlyn

  6. Caitlyn

  7. Eric

  8. Caitlyn

  9. Caitlyn

  10. Eric

  11. Caitlyn

  12. Eric

  13. Caitlyn

  14. Eric

  15. Caitlyn

  16. Caitlyn

  17. Eric

  18. Caitlyn

  19. Eric

  20. Caitlyn

  21. Eric

  22. Caitlyn

  23. Eric

  24. Caitlyn

  25. Eric

  26. Caitlyn

  27. Eric

  28. Caitlyn

  29. Eric

  30. Caitlyn

  31. Eric

  32. Caitlyn

  33. Eric

  34. Caitlyn

  35. Eric

  36. Caitlyn

  37. Eric

  Epilogue

  Dear reader…

  Two Faced copyright © 2014 by Melissa Pearl

  Cover design copyright © 2018 by Emily Wittig Designs & Photography

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

  Two Faced, Book II, The Masks Series by Melissa Pearl

  1st Edition published by Evatopia Press

  2nd Edition published by Melissa Pearl Author 2018

  www.melissapearlauthor.com

  Acknowledgments

  You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child? Yeah, well, it takes the same to publish a book.

  So many are involved in this journey from start to finish and I couldn’t do without any of them. I feel like every book needs to have rolling credits just like in the movies :)

  So here are my THANK YOU credits....

  Original publisher and editor extremo: Margery from Evatopia Press

  One of the world’s best cover designers: Emily

  The lady with the best critiques: Cassie Hart

  My eagle-eye proofreaders: Lindsey, Karen, Kristin, Marcia

  My what-would-I-do-without-you assistant:

  Rachael

  The people who make this journey possible: MY READERS!!

  My sounding board and the world’s most patient man: my husband

  The two little creatures who make me smile everyday: my sons

  My best-friend and sister: Brenda

  My unwavering supporters: Mom & Dad

  My constant source of hope & inspiration: God

  For Nadine,

  One of those one in a million friends...my little quote buddy and my karaoke girl.

  Thanks for making my life better.

  xx

  Love you

  1

  Caitlyn

  “Use your legs, Caity. Push, rather than pull.”

  I gripped the wall in front of me, trying not to think about how high I was. Eric stood below me, holding the ropes and being the perfect belay partner. He’d pull the rope tight if I slipped and then I’d dangle mid-air in my harness, reminding myself to breathe.

  Scrunching my nose, I took his advice and pushed up with my right leg so my hand was now below me. It felt so unnatural to not reach for a new hand-hold while I was moving up, but Eric was right. Pushing up gave me the distance I needed to easily reach the next hold.

  “Woohoo! Good job, baby. You’re nearly at the top.” Eric called up to me.

  I grinned, reaching for the next hold and pushing myself a little higher. My insides were quaking as I let go of the wall to tap the top beam. I hated that part...the letting go. It always freaked me out. My hand fled back to the bright red hold as soon as I’d hit the beam and I breathed a couple of times, trying to will my body to obey.

  “I hate this part, too.” I looked across at Indie, who was on the climb next to mine, and giggled. We probably looked ridiculous—two scaredy-cats clinging to the wall.

  I was so glad she and Micah were down from Berkeley for the weekend. I’d started UCLA a month ago and was missing my friends. We’d had the best summer together, practically living at the beach, but now that school had started, we’d all gone our separate ways. I knew a few people at UCLA, but no girls I was close to and my roommate, well, yeah...that was another story.

  “Anytime now, beautiful,” Micah called up from the floor.

  Indie’s face lit with a smile, her bright eyes dancing. It didn’t matter what she was doing these days; Micah’s voice always made her sparkle. Man, she was new a woman now. Whenever I thought back to her dark days with Liam, I couldn’t help cringing. She suffered in silence for so long, but that had all changed. She was finally with someone she could be herself around...and her unguarded self was simply beautiful. I basically didn’t have to read her anymore. She had nothing to hide and if I ever did pull away that invisible mask—the one only I was able to see, because of the gift I had magically inherited—her expressions were usually the same.

  “Come on, Caity, you can do it.” Eric chuckled, wiggling the rope to get me moving.

  “Should we count to three?” I looked at Indie.

  Her face shimmered with a flash of fear, but then she bit her lip and nodded.

  I squeezed my eyes shut. “One. Two. Three.” I squealed and let go of the wall, my body dropping slightly before the harness caught me and held me safe. I clutched the rope and let out a breath, opening my eyes slowly.

  “Okay, letting you down.” Eric gently lowered me and I laughed at myself. For all the angst I went through to let go of the wall, as soon as the harness had me, I felt safe and free. With a small giggle, I pushed myself off the wall, enjoying a few carefree bounces as I abseiled down.

  I landed on the soft padding and Eric caught me to his side, gently kissing my nose. “Well done, you.”

  “Thanks.” I felt that giddy rush as he winked at me and then went about unclipping the carabiner from my harness. We’d been together nearly eight months and he still made me weak in the knees. He was so damn sexy I could barely control myself around him sometimes.

  If only I could actually do something about it, but that aspect of our relationship wasn’t going so well. I turned away to hide my frown, trying not to think about the fact that we still hadn’t slept together. All it did was confuse me and sting.

  I glanced across at Indie and Micah. He had his strong arms wrapped around her tiny frame as he kissed her. I loved watching them together. The contrast of black and white was so beautiful. Indie placed her arms on Micah’s shoulders as he gently flicked a wisp of her auburn hair off her face with his thumb. The way they looked at each other made my heart melt. They were so in love. Most people would be rolling their eyes and gagging at the way they acted around each other, but I knew better.

  Those guys deserved it. After the shit Indie’s ex-boyfriend, Liam, put her through, I wanted her to have all the happiness the world could offer.

  I would never be able to free my mind of the image of Indie strapped to the bed while Liam beat her with his belt. Those red welts on her pale, white skin...and then he went and shot Micah. If that bullet had been half an inch in any oth
er direction, it could have seriously ended Micah’s chance at a basketball career. And the guy had a chance...a really, really good one. He was eight weeks into his freshman year at U.C. Berkeley...on a full basketball scholarship. The guy would be scouted and picked up within the year. That was Dad’s prediction, anyway.

  Eric ran his hand down my back. “Mind if I do one more climb?”

  “No, of course not.” I rubbed the back of my neck as I followed him. I adored watching Eric climb. His sleek body moving up the wall...the way his muscles rippled as he negotiated climbs I wouldn’t even dream of doing. The only thing I found hard was that my neck hurt from looking up and watching him. But hey, it was a small price to pay.

  He stopped in front of a narrow climb, the holds far apart and the wall protruding out at the top. It would be a tough one for him. He handed me the belay rope and I clipped myself in while he did the same on his harness.

  He placed his hands on the wall then turned back to me. “Good to go?”

  “Ready when you are.”

  He moved quickly up the first part and I had to pull the rope through fast in order to keep up with him. I liked the sound it made as I yanked it through. Leaning back, I watched him move, marveling at his expertise. When it came to the outdoors, he really did kick ass. Surfing, climbing, hiking, camping...he was a pro, and I really loved that about my boyfriend.

  As his agile form moved up the wall, my mind wandered back to the last time I’d seen him naked.

  The water droplets ran down his rippled torso as we stood in the shower together. The look on his face as he glided his hands over my body—feather-light, but enough to ignite every skin cell—melted my heart. I still couldn’t get my head around the fact he was into me. I called him Hercules for fun, but he really was like Hercules—not a broad beef-cake or anything, but a tall, sinewy work of art.

  I’d reached up on my tiptoes, running my hands around his neck and wondering if it was finally going to be it. We’d been trying to make it happen for months, but something would crop up every time.

  “Eric, I need the bathroom!” Lacey’s voice shattered yet another attempt.

  Gripping my waist, Eric pressed his forehead against mine and cursed. “They weren’t supposed to be home until tonight.”

  “Eric!” The panic in her voice made me wince.

  “Can’t you use the other one?”

  “Mom’s in there.”

  I stepped away from my boyfriend, trying to hide how disheartened I felt. No matter when or where we tried to have our “first time,” it always got thwarted. It was like the universe didn’t want us to have sex.

  I grabbed the towel off the bathroom floor and snuck out the other door so Lacey couldn’t see me.

  That was two months ago and Eric hadn’t tried again. I couldn’t figure out why and I was too scared to ask, so we remained in limbo. We were a couple, but we weren’t taking things to the next level. We were still happy together and I still loved hanging out with him, but we weren’t like Indie and Micah, that was for sure.

  They came up behind me, Micah’s arm slung over Indie’s shoulder. Their fingers were threaded together and she leaned her head against his shoulder as he opened a text message.

  “Woah, good job, Eric!” Indie called up to him, but I couldn’t look.

  I was too busy watching Micah’s face as he read the text. His eyebrows bunched together for an instant and his fingers were shaking just a little as he replied.

  “Okay, Caity. Coming down!” Forced to focus, I glanced back up at my boyfriend and repositioned my body to let him down. We all watched him descend and gave him the congratulations he deserved as he unclipped himself. His hands were trembling after the exertion, but he’d recover quickly.

  I pecked his cheek. “You’re so amazing.”

  “Thanks, babe.” His soft lips on mine were perfection, but I couldn’t enjoy them because my damn eyes wouldn’t stop wandering over to Micah. He had a smile on his face and was giving Eric a thumbs-up, but he was hiding something.

  I whipped his mask off and saw it. Whatever had been in that text had unnerved him big time. He looked nervous, his fingers fidgeting with Indie’s small hands, his big white teeth chewing on his bottom lip. I studied him as we walked back to our gear.

  “I think I’m ready to call it a day.” Micah passed Indie a water bottle before unscrewing the cap on his.

  He skulled the water back; his hand shaking. As he placed the bottle on the table, he threw Indie an anxious look, which she seemed oblivious to.

  “Are you okay, Micah?”

  He looked at me, his eyes widening for a moment. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

  I mustn’t have looked convinced, because Indie stepped toward him. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing, it’s...I’m good.” He shrugged and cleared his throat.

  “Who texted you?”

  “What?” Micah licked his lower lip, his eyebrows rising as if he didn’t quite hear her.

  Oh, he heard. What was he hiding? I didn’t think he and Indie kept secrets from each other.

  Indie crossed her arms and tipped her head. “Who texted you, Micah? What’s going on?”

  He touched her elbow. “Please, trust me, beautiful. It’s nothing.”

  “It’s something,” I muttered, but not quietly enough.

  Indie’s gaze snapped toward me and then straight back to Micah. He threw me a black look which, unmasked, was pretty mean. I bit the edge of my lip and looked down.

  Part of me felt bad, but another part felt justified. Indie had been through enough. I didn’t want Micah hiding anything from her.

  I could feel Eric gazing down at me and didn’t want to look up. I had promised him I’d never read him, but I was guessing that whatever expression was on his face just then, he wanted me to see it.

  I scratched my head and flicked a long curl over my shoulder, raising my chin and trying to feel justified in what I was doing. That homeless man I’d met earlier in the year had gifted me the ability to see behind people’s masks. One touch of his hand and my life had been permanently altered.

  I hadn’t asked for it to happen and I certainly didn’t want it, but I’d had no choice. The man had chosen me for a reason. There were many days I thought he was insane for doing it...and that day was one of them. I so wasn’t cut out for that kind of ability.

  I wasn’t denying that it didn’t have its uses. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to help Indie the way I did, but right then, I was questioning just how helpful I was really being.

  “Talk to me,” Indie said softly, rubbing Micah’s arm.

  His expression folded. Her touch was like opium and he was addicted to it. Those silky white fingers of hers could probably make him do anything; I could see it all over his face. Unfortunately, my sweet feelings were railroaded by the look of anguish flickering over his features, and the feeling that I should have kept my mouth shut grew even stronger.

  “The text was from my mother.”

  “Is everything okay?” Although Indie no longer lived in fear, the emotion was quick to surface when anything went wrong. Her unmasked expression was pasty white.

  “Yeah, everything’s...okay.” He pressed his lips together. “She was letting me know that...” he cleared his throat. “That Liam Donovan was found dead in his car yesterday morning.”

  She gasped and covered her mouth, her wide eyes glossing over with fear, then relief, then anguish, then guilt...I couldn’t keep up with the switching emotions. I put her mask back on and saw a girl with her lips pressed tightly together. Her gaze darted to the floor as she pushed her fingers into her lips. She blinked rapidly, trying to pull herself together.

  “Where?” I whispered, my own mind reeling. The threat of Liam had disappeared the day we rescued Indie. He’d taken off, never to be seen again. To hear his name after so long was unnerving. Had he been living in L.A. the whole time? Had his brother, Mason? Terror clutched my belly as I remembered his finger
s squeezing my throat.

  “San Bernardino. He was in an accident.”

  “Was Mason with him?” I touched my neck, feeling numb as Eric slid his arm across my shoulders and pulled me close.

  “I don’t think so.” Micah shook his head. “Mom just said the reports are coming through that he was seen driving erratically before swerving off the road and plowing straight into a tree. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and they think he died instantly.” Micah shot a cautious look at his sniffling girlfriend. “Are you okay?”

  He held out his hand to her and she stepped into his arms. He cupped the back of her head with his large hand and shushed her as she began to cry. “I’m sorry, I was going to wait to tell you.” He flicked a look at me.

  I swallowed and stepped back, pushing my body against Eric’s. He squeezed my shoulder and kissed the top of my head.

  “I just feel...” Indie sniffed and pulled away so she could talk properly. “I feel so relieved and broken at the same time. I can’t even explain it. I hate him. I’m so glad he’s gone, but we were like a married couple. I just...I can’t explain...I just...”