Page 73 of Unmasked

“I won’t laugh. I can assure you.” I grab her and kiss her. “I know they’ll be perfect. Like you.”

She pushes a lock of hair back with a shaky hand. “Okay. Here goes.” She opens the closet door, reaches up, pulls out a sketchbook, and hands it to me. “I-I can’t look.”

I grab her, pulling her to the bed. Setting her on my knee, I open the book, sucking in a breath. “You drew me wearing the mask.” I stare at it in amazement.

She captured me sitting in the chair, shirtless, wearing the purge mask.

Her talent mesmerizes me as I flip through drawing after drawing of me. In the first several pictures, I wore themask. Later, she drew a series of me taking it off. The last one is a full view of my face.

“All the detail.” I run my finger along the pages lovingly. “Jesus, Mallory. You need to do something with this talent. You can’t let this go to waste.”

Her eyes sparkle with a mixture of happiness and awe. “You think?”

“Change your damn major, my little prey. Or don’t bother with college.”

“It’s probably better if I’d have formal schooling. I’m self-taught.”

“That makes you even more special. These are incredible.” I nod at the sketchbook. “Can I keep this?”

“Yeah… but just let me do one more before you leave. I want it to be a surprise, so I will need a room where you don’t have cameras.”

I grin. “I’ll turn off the ones in the living room. Will that work?”

She nods. “I can pretty much draw anywhere, so yeah.”

“I need to talk to Ryker, Jaxson, and Zayne about the guy you drew. I’ll call them while you draw… if that isn’t too much pressure?”

Her smile is blindingly beautiful. “No, I’d rather do it now while the image is clear.”

“You are amazingly talented. I’m not kidding.” I kiss her again. “I love you.”

She throws her arms around me, squeezing me tight, before pulling back. The happiness shining on her face heals me. All the scars from my past fade as she infuses me with her light.

“I love you, Stryker.”

CHAPTER 49

Stryker

“She drew this?” Zayne’s incredulous face fills the screen of my phone. “Holy shit. That girl is wickedly talented.”

“Wow! Fucking talented.” Jaxson’s face is awestruck.

“We need to figure out who this guy is and why he’s watching my girl.”

“Shit, Jaxson. While we’re freaking out about her talent, Stryker took over your role as the voice of reason,” Zayne jokes.

Jaxson scowls at Zayne before giving him the middle finger.

“Mallory said the guy was wearing black trousers and a black jacket. From her drawing, he doesn’t look like a college student. But that could be a ploy to throw us off.”

“Was she afraid of him?” Ryker asks.

“No. She assumed I had someone watching her.” Irritation courses through me as I run my hand through my hair. “She was inside the coffee shop, and he was outside by a tree when she spotted him.”

“Natural assumption, considering how possessive you are,” Jaxson adds.

“I’ve dealt with two problematic students. Now I have some asshole watching her…” I blow out a breath, trying to control my temper, which is about an eleven on a scale of one to ten.