True Colors (The Masks #1)(42)

“She’s something. We need to be wary of her. I don’t like the way she looks at me.”

Wow, so someone finally noticed. I knew they were definitely referring to me now and it did make me jittery. Indie clutched her turquoise cotton dress, squeezing the fabric in her hand.

Liam noticed and gently pried her fingers loose. “You know I don’t like it when you do that. It makes you look nervous.”

“Sorry,” she whispered. I could see she hated the feel of his hand as it skimmed up her arm and cupped her face. It looked gentle, but there was a pressure to his grip as he made her look at him.

“I don’t want to you get punished like you did last weekend. Don’t give Caitlyn anything else, okay?”

“I won’t.” Her lips quivered as they rose into a smile.

He kissed her forehead and smiled at her. “That’s my girl.”

With a light pat on the butt, he sent her on her way. Thankfully she headed in the opposite direction from me, so I could stay and keep watching Liam. I felt sick. He punished her? No wonder she was so scared of him. Ideas of the type of punishment he inflicted coursed through my brain, making me want to hurl. I never would have believed it before, but I’d seen the soft blue tone of Liam’s eyes become dark with malice. Oh yeah, he was no doubt capable of inflicting a lot of pain.

Liam’s phone jingled. He yanked it from his back pocket and his face fell. His mask was already off, so I saw his fear easily. Who could he possibly be afraid of?

He swallowed and answered after one more ring. “Yeah...no it’s not going to be a problem.” Liam rolled his eyes. “Yes, of course I’ve spoken to her...She’s not! And you don’t need to scare her like you did on Saturday. I’d already dealt with the problem.” His cheeks burned with color as he listened to the other caller. “My methods are just fine and they work.” He clenched his jaw. “I am not a sicko. I love her and having sex is not a crime.” A sudden shame lashed his features before his chin stuck out. “At least I never punch her. I know you made sure her bruises couldn’t show, but she was pretty stiff the next day. Someone might have noticed.” He paused to listen. His skin paled, his blue eyes filling with fear. “Don’t you dare. Indie’s mine and you will not touch her again.” He wanted to say those words more forcefully, but couldn’t. Whoever he was talking to had him petrified. “Yes, yes. The business is fine. I’ve done damage control and no one’s going to squeak.” He sighed. “She seems to have backed off. I don’t think she’ll be a problem...Dude, you don’t have to do that.” His usually confident gaze wavered. He kicked the concrete wall behind him, running a hand through his ashy blond hair. “Alright fine, but just control yourself this time. I don’t want anymore blood on your hands.”

He hung up, shoved the phone back in his pocket and swore. His limbs were shaking as he ran his hands through his hair again and cursed a few more times. But it wasn’t anger I was seeing. Much like his girlfriend, he was scared and for the first time since seeing him properly, I almost pitied him.

I would have stayed to see more, but he turned in my direction and I had to split before he caught me. My limbs were quivering as I raced into the human traffic that was now scurrying off to class after the post lunch bell. What I had I just heard? What did Liam do to Indie? I felt sick for her, weak for her. I wanted to cry and scream and hit Liam until his face bled, but that would only land me in trouble.

I shuddered.

Liam was a sicko, but whoever was controlling him was obviously worse.

For the remainder of the day my mind replayed the two conversations. As the impact of their sinister nature began to ease, one thought stood out amongst the filth - business. Liam was running some kind of business and I just knew Libby and her brainiac counterparts were somehow involved.





Chapter 19




“And be sure to lock the door each night before you go to bed. Check the windows as well.”

“Mom, I’m not an imbecile.” I rolled my eyes in the back seat. Thankfully we were nearly at the airport so I wouldn’t need to listen to this for too much longer.

“She knows that, dear. We just want you to be safe.”

Reaching forward, I squeezed Dad’s shoulder. “I will be. I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m eighteen and capable of looking after myself. Besides, Layla and Seth are both around if I need them.” I didn’t want to need them at all, but I knew the reminder would be a comfort to my fretting parents.

I guess I should be fair. This was the first time they’d left me alone for this long. They’d done a few weekends here and there, and I’d been away from them, but I could tell Mom felt guilty for leaving me. Not because she didn’t want to go to Hawaii, but because she was torn. She felt a responsibility to me, and as much as it hurt, I knew for a fact that she sometimes lamented the fact that she was way too old to have a child still at home. They had already moved past the baby stage when I came along. I knew they loved me, but it still must have been a hard pill to swallow. I saw through her watery smile as she turned in the seat to glimpse me.

“You guys are doing the right thing. You only see Holly once a year and I know she’s desperate for you to meet her new boyfriend. She needs you more than I do right now. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry.”