Page 90 of Unmask
Unfolding my legs, I inched to the center cushion. Without saying a word, he put the bowl between us. We munched through the first five minutes of the movie before he picked up his drink and offered it to me.
I took a big swig, thirstier than I realized before the presence of booze registered. “Is there rum in this?”
He shot me a cheeky grin. “Is there any other way to have a Coke?”
“Should you be drinking on the job?”
He shrugged. “The way I see it, I’m the one who lucked out tonight. I’d rather be here with you than out there hunting monsters.”
I took another sip before passing it back to him, and the message on the burner phone sat heavy on my chest. Mythoughts were too loud. Too fast. Racing like a hamster on a wheel that wouldn’t stop spinning.
Alone. No cops. No Elite. No Crew.The words kept going off in my head. Each repetition made them feel more real, more urgent, more impossible to ignore.
They’d said to come alone, and I believed them. Believed that deviation from their script would mean blood on my hands, consequences I couldn’t live with. I didn’t trust that Kenny would survive if I didn’t follow their rules to the letter. So, I’d go. I had to. The decision sat in my chest, heavy and cold and absolutely final.
It was a decision I’d been teetering with all day, and getting the text just seemed to solidify what I had to do, but that was the easy part. The hard part was going to be getting past Mason, Maddox, Raine, Brock, and eventually, inevitably, Kreed.
I slid a glance toward Mason, who had stretched his long legs out on the coffee table and was now chewing popcorn like it was his job, completely relaxed despite the undercurrent of suspicion radiating from him. There was no way I could sneak out with all of them on watch, not unless I leveled the playing field somehow. Not unless I made them sleep through it.
The idea came like a whisper in the dark, but it stuck to my brain like a burr, impossible to shake once it had taken root.
Sleeping pills.
Aunt Char suffered from insomnia, and I was positive I’d seen a bottle of sleeping pills in her bathroom when I’d gone hunting for a toothbrush. I didn’t want to kill anyone, just knock them out long enough for me to escape. Nothing Google couldn’t help me calculate: the dosage, timing, and delivery method. I could crush the pills into powder. Mix them into drinks. Hot chocolate, perhaps, or booze.
So, while Mason watched his movie, I silently planned my own death sentence. If he only knew what was going on insidemy head. The betrayal they would all feel. I’d wanted revenge, just not like this.
The thought made my stomach stab with self-loathing. I hated the idea of tricking them, especially Kreed, but what other choice did I have? They wouldn’t let me go. Not willingly. Not when they found out what I was planning. Kreed would lock me in a room before he’d let me walk into what was obviously a trap, and part of me, the smart part, the part that wanted to live, knew he’d be right to do it.
But Kenny’s life was still hanging in the balance, and I was the only one who could tip the scales.
“Hey,” Mason said, tossing a kernel of popcorn into the air and catching it in his mouth. “You’re thinking too hard over there. I can practically hear the gears grinding.” He flashed me that trademark grin, but his eyes remained assessing. “Want me to change the movie to something more romantic? Or a comedy? Something that doesn’t require actual brain power?”
I startled, my body jerking as if I’d been caught doing something criminal. Which, technically, I was about to be doing. “No, this is fine. Just…” I forced what I hoped was a believable smile, but it felt like stretching plastic wrap across my face. “When will Kreed be back?”
“Late. Could be hours yet, depending on what they find.” Mason’s expression softened slightly, genuine concern creeping in around the edges of his suspicion. “Maybe you should try and get some sleep. Come here.” He opened his arm, his fingers indicating for me to move.
I chewed on the corner of my mouth, my lips tasting like buttery salt.
“Just sleep.” He gave me a lopsided grin. “I promise not to cop a feel…unless you want me to.”
I rolled my eyes, contemplating if resting in his arms was a very bad idea, but I always slept better in Kreed’s. Mason wasn’tKreed, but he was as close as I would get. “You swear to keep your sneaky hands off me.”
He lifted both hands in the air. “You have my word.”
I double-checked to make sure he hadn’t crossed any of his fingers, because that was just the shit Mason would pull. Grabbing the throw blanket, I scooted into his arms, my head resting on the space below his shoulder, and curled into him. His arms came to rest around me, and he felt warm and safe. Different from Kreed, but it did the trick. I closed my eyes, trying to clear my head of thoughts, but a dose of guilt hit me, and it had nothing to do with using Mason as a human pillow.
Tomorrow’s deadline loomed like a thundercloud on the horizon. I had a mission. A terrible, dangerous, probably suicidal mission that would either save my best friend’s life or end mine.
And for better or worse, I was going alone.
Sunlight filtered softlythrough the curtains, warm and golden as it washed across my skin. I blinked slowly, muscles still heavy with sleep, my eyelids fluttering against the brightness. The familiar ache in my lower back told me I’d been lying in one position too long, but as awareness crept in, I realized I wasn’t where I’d fallen asleep in Mason’s arms.
I was in my bed, but I wasn’t alone.
How did I get here was my first thought. My second…
Fuck.
