UNMASKED: Sequel to Behind the Mask

by Heather Carnassale

  He allowed her hand to release the tension for a couple of minutes then reluctantly sat back up. “Thank you,” he said, giving her lips his undivided attention one more time before taking his perch back at the table. She piled the clean clothes into the basket all the while licking her lips, tasting the remnants of Liam’s. Ironically, he was doing the same thing as he took his post ten feet away. Remi saw him do it then the smile he produced afterward lit up his entire face. Knowing she had that kind of effect on him felt good. Damn good, she thought. And on that note, she walked over to him, pecked his cheek and said, “Goodnight.”

  Once again, she managed to bring a smile to his face. “Don’t stay up too late,” she said, winking. Liam replied that he wouldn’t then whispered, “Goodnight.”

  After Remi had settled into bed, Liam got quite a bit work done, but then began thinking about his meeting with Detective Weston, the next morning. He knew once that took place; there would be no turning back. Not like he had much of choice as it was, being that they already had his DNA. He looked at the design in front of him then turned his head towards the bedroom. He put the pencil down then turned off all the lights. He then joined his sleeping mate in the bed. Careful not to wake her, he quietly lied down and faced her. The night before that spot had been vacant, something he found surprisingly unlikable. He reached his hand out to touch her face, just barely though. The softness of her skin felt unbelievable underneath his fingertips. Everything from the slight upward turn of her nose to the way her lips curled into a tiny smile while she slept, Liam found himself taking in all the little details. Fearing that soon, all those delicate features that he’s come to appreciate greatly would be taken away from him. With his index finger, he gently traced along the outside frame of her face, almost as if he were imprinting her image into his psyche. He then draped his arm around her body and kept her as close as possible.

  CHAPTER 19

  The next morning, the odor of freshly brewed coffee permeated the bedroom, awakening Remi senses. She instantly sat up and spotted Liam wearing black sweat pants, sitting on the side of the bed, tying his sneakers. “Going for a run?” she asked groggily. He nodded somewhat tentatively and told her good morning. “Did you get any sleep?” she questioned, sounding maternal. “Yeah, right there, next to you,” he replied, pointing to the mussed sheets. She just smiled, feeling stupid for not noticing. He leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips, but when he reached into the closet to grab a hoodie, she sensed he wasn’t really going for a run. That said, she kept her thoughts to herself. A rarity, she just didn’t want to argue by tossing out accusations. “Do you still want to go see my grandmother later?” he asked after pulling the sweatshirt over his head. Remi got off the bed and tugged the hoodies’ strings. “Of course,” she replied while playing with the dangling cords. Liam wrapped his arms around her body, hugging her tightly. As Remi dropped her head against his chest, she sighed at how wonderful he smelled. Whether it was the laundry detergent or the soap he had just used in the shower, it was intoxicating. “I’ll be back in a little while,” he said, as she peeked up and kissed him just underneath his chin. Liam smiled widely, savoring the feeling of her soft, warm lips touching his skin. That made his soon-to-be meeting with Detective Weston all the harder. Lying to her sucked, which was rich coming from a guy who had made a career out of being dishonest. “I gotta go,” he whispered. She unwillingly stepped out of his embrace and told him to be careful. As soon as those words left her mouth, Liam knew Remi’s intuition had kicked in, and she hadn’t bought the jogging bit. All the more reason to appreciate that she kept quiet about it. With a quick kiss goodbye, Liam headed out, for what he hoped would not be a huge mistake.

  He arrived at LOVE Park thirty minutes early, fully conscious of his surroundings, but for some reason trusted Weston enough to know that their meeting would be just the two of them. He still didn’t want to take any chances though, so he scoped out the area, to see if there appeared to be any undercover agents lurking around. Convinced there weren’t, Liam took a seat on a bench and waited. It gave him the extra time he needed to conjure the nerve to get through the meeting. Just then, Weston walked up to him. Not a single pleasantry exchanged. Instead, Weston asked, “Does Remi know that you are here?”

  Liam stood up and replied, “No.”

  Dressed in casual jeans and a dark brown Carhartt jacket, Weston looked like an average Joe instead of the usually tough and gruff detective. He immediately warned, “You do know, I’m required by law, to disclose anything you say to me?”

  Liam nodded, highly aware of the dangerous consequences of his impending actions. Weston then asked, “Okay, so why am I here?”

  Liam removed a small notepad from his coat pocket and let Weston read the words on it:

  Just in case you were followed or that you’re wired, come with me to the warehouse. Nothing will be said until I’m sure this conversation is strictly between you and me.

  Weston nodded and agreed. Liam then flipped over another piece of paper for Weston to read:

  Disable the location services on your phone then turn the phone off.

  Weston took out his phone and grudgingly complied. His agitation palpable, as he didn’t appreciate Liam calling the shots, but Weston would just have to bide his time a little longer. Liam then motioned for the detective to walk with him. They headed towards Sanson Street and for about three minutes not a word was spoken. That was until Weston finally muttered, “No one knows I was meeting you today; I swear.”

  Liam offered up nothing, even though being out on a crowded, loud street was probably a safe place to speak, Liam was leaving nothing to chance. Luckily the distance was short therefore it didn’t take too long to get there. When they did, Liam unlocked the door and had Weston walk in first. “If you have any weapons, display them now,” he demanded. The detective obliged by carefully setting down his Glock 22 pistol on a nearby crate and stating that was all he was carrying. He then unzipped his jacket and emptied all of his pockets, which included the cell phone and wallet, which he placed both by the pistol. Liam then patted the detective down. Once convinced Weston wasn’t wired, Liam took a few steps back and said, “I set this meeting up because I’m going to give you something that you want and in return, I need your help.”

  The detective’s curiosity was beyond piqued at that point, so as he leaned back against a beam of wood, he encouraged Liam to start talking. After releasing an exaggerated sigh, Liam bluntly announced, “Look, you and I both know my DNA is going to match the sample taken from the red velvet bag.”

  Weston gasped, stunned that Liam just blurted that out so casually. “Okay, so that proves you handled the bag at some point.”

  Liam nodded.

  “My question is,” said Weston. “Was this during or after the bank heist?”

  With a stone cold expression, Liam boldly and shockingly admitted, “Both.”

  Weston echoed, “Both?”

  “Yes,” said Liam. Weston cleared his throat, and questioned, “You are openly admitting that you were one of the gunmen in the Bank of Philadelphia Columbus Day heist?”

  Liam nodded, “Yes.”

  Completely shocked that he was even having this conversation, Weston inquired, “Why would you tell me this, knowing you could be arrested?”

  “Because I’m not the only one you want,” he said then purposely added, “I’m willing to give a full confession and possibly give up the co-conspirator and as a bonus—the mastermind.”

  “You do know what happens to rats, right?” teased Weston.

  Liam mockingly laughed, “Yes, I know, but what I will be doing isn’t exactly ratting, it’s more like beating them to the punch.”

  Weston furrowed his brow and asked, “Okay, you give a full confession, give up the names, what is it that you need my help with?

  Liam cut right to the point. “I want full immunity for Remi.”

  The realization that Liam was, in fact, guilty all along was sobering
for the detective. Not that he hadn’t suspected him it was hearing it from the horse’s mouth that put things into perspective. “Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee you anything,” he said.

  “Why not?” Liam angrily countered. “She was dragged into all of this because of me.”

  Weston asked, “When did she realize who you were?”

  Liam sighed then replied, “Couple days before Tom’s death. She got her memory back and figured out who I was.”

  The detective just shook his head in amazement. “And she didn’t turn you in, why is that?”

  Liam stayed quiet for a moment. So, Weston probed. “Did you threaten her if she turned you in?”

  Liam smirked as if that was the most preposterous question ever. “Not even close.”

  Weston put his hands up and urged, “Well!”

  “Remi was found at the bank’s back exit, right?” countered Liam. Just as he was about to answer, yes, the detective looked Liam directly in the eyes and replied with his own theory, “You put her there.”

  Liam nodded.

  “Which explains why Remi is so protective of you,” said Weston.

  “And why she felt indebted to help me even though it went against her better judgment,” said Liam, a rare hint of guilt in his voice. Weston declared, “I gathered something was going on with you two the night of the shooting, I just wasn’t sure what that was exactly.”

  “Remi was an innocent victim that unfortunately got caught up in all of this, and I swear to you, I tried hard to distance myself from her,” he said, his voice trailing someplace somber. “But it wasn’t easy especially when we ended up living right next to each other, and then issues arose that required me to watch out for her.”

  Weston rubbed his chin with his hand, all the while uttering a simple, “Hmm.”

  Of course, Liam automatically jumped on the defensive. “What?”

  “I’m just a little perplexed by you saying that you were required to watch out for her.”

  Liam sighed. “I guess you could say; I gained a conscience.”

  “I’d say lucky for Remi you did, but then again,” Weston said as Liam finished the sentence for him. “She wouldn’t have ever been put in those predicaments if it wasn’t for me.”

  Weston nodded.

  “I’m well aware of that fact,” stated Liam.

  “I know that, or you wouldn’t be giving up your freedom for Remi’s.”

  “Do we have a deal?” asked Liam.

  Weston walked around for a minute before replying. “It’s not just up to me. I’m not the lead on this, DeGrazerio is.”

  “I figured as much,” groaned Liam.

  “Will you come down to the station with me now?”

  Liam scoffed. “Oh, hell no!”

  “Then what are you planning on doing?” asked Weston.

  “I’m still working on it, but my priority was immunity for Remi.”

  “You have to give me something to work with here,” urged Weston. Liam thought it about it for a moment then pulled out the small pad and pen from his inside coat pocket. He then asked, “Have you identified the other dead gunman from the heist?”

  Weston shook his head, “No.”

  Liam handed him the pad and pen then told him to write the following, “Wyatt Murphy, a twenty-two-year-old college student from Belfast, Ireland.”

  Weston couldn’t believe the information he had just obtained in the last ten minutes. Liam continued, “While visiting London, he crossed paths with a charismatic and quite persuasive man, who boasted about scoring big jobs in the United States, so the two jetted over and set up a crew.”

  Weston wrote down every single word Liam spoke. “Who’s the Englishman?”

  Liam smirked. “In due time.”

  Weston tapped the pen and asked, “This Wyatt just ditched everything and followed this man over here?”

  Liam shrugged. “Pretty much.”

  The detective laughed in a condescendingly way then thanked him for the information.

  “Now do we have a deal?” Liam again asked. “If you can deliver me the man from London, whoever else was involved and your word that you will give a full confession, I promise you; I’ll do my best to see that Remi gets immunity.”

  Weston ripped the paper from the pad then handed that, along with the pen back to Liam. He then extended out his right hand to shake on it, but Liam hesitated. Deep down the reason, he chose Weston was because he knew the detective was trustworthy when it came to Remi, and since the deal involved her, he was confident in what he was doing. So with that, he shook the detective’s hand. “There’s something going down in a couple of days, the details are still a bit sketchy, but when everything is finalized, I will give you what you want,” said Liam. Weston nodded as he retrieved his belongings from the crate. Before he left, Liam asked, “By the way, did you guys have me under surveillance?”

  While he grabbed his phone and wallet then stuck his pistol back in the shoulder holster, he replied matter of fact, “Yup.”

  Weston then laughed. “Guess we didn’t do a very good job if you figured it out.”

  Liam grinned slightly. “I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling.”

  Weston admitted, “Sadly our budget wouldn’t allow us to keep it going, so once you were back from Miami, we had to call it off.”

  The cynical side of Liam thought maybe he shouldn’t believe the man, and that maybe they were still having him watched. However, it would have been pointless for Weston to make that admission if they wanted to keep that on the down low.

  Once Weston had gone, Liam breathed a sigh of relief. It went better than he had hoped, but now that it was over, there was no turning back.

  Since Melanie and Justin had gone away for the Valentine’s Day weekend, Remi took advantage of no one being around and cleaned up a little. With her and Melanie both gone a lot of the time, the apartment had been neglected. Therefore, she scrubbed up the kitchen and bathroom and vacuumed all the rooms. It had also given her an excuse to kill time while she had waited for Liam’s return. After a couple of hours, he showed up at her door, carrying a large bouquet of flowers. “Aww, you shouldn’t have,” said Remi, ushering him inside. He smirked. “I didn’t; these are for my grandmother.”

  Remi laughed with relief. “Oh, thank goodness, cause I didn’t get you anything.”

  He had contemplated about getting her flowers too. Of course, he still had the sapphire charm in his possession and considered that night a good time to give it to her. With Liam, timing was everything. The drive to his grandmother’s was somewhat silent. Liam tried his best not to let all the bad shit dominate his thoughts, but that was next to impossible. However, Remi perceptively picked up on it, but surprisingly she again decided not to pursue an inquisition. With going to meet his grandmother and just being with him, she’d rather roll with it than sabotage it. They stopped halfway there to pick up food at one of Marlene’s favorite restaurants. Liam wanted to surprise her. When they arrived at the retirement village, Marlene excitedly greeted them in the main lobby and immediately looked Remi up and down. “You are beautiful,” she remarked. Remi blushed as she thanked the kind woman. Liam kissed his grandmother on the cheek while handing her the bouquet. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  She thanked him then noticed the large bags he and Remi were carrying. “You brought food?” she asked while peeking in the bags, instantly recognizing where it came from. Her smile beamed, as her love for her grandson undeniably shined through. She escorted them down to her residence, and once inside, Marlene offered them something to drink, while Remi looked around. There were tons of photographs hung all over the walls. Many were of Liam, in various stages of his life. There were baby photos where his blue-green eyes were even prominent then. Remi studied one specific picture, of a two-year-old Liam drawing with crayons, all the while smiling happily for the camera. “He was such a cute, lovable boy,” commented Marlene. “Who happened to grow into the most handsome man,” she boasted.
Remi certainly couldn’t disagree with that. Liam removed the aluminum containers from the bags then got out plates, utensils, and napkins. Remi offered to help, but he declined, so she just watched him instead, and Marlene couldn’t help but notice the obvious adoration in Remi’s eyes. They soon sat down and began passing around everything from the garden salad to the perfectly grilled New York strips and sides of garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Marlene thanked them again for everything and Remi, was quick to highlight that she had nothing to do with the flowers or the food, that it was all Liam’s idea. “Well, regardless, it’s so nice to finally get to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” said Remi, smiling. The initial conversation, though kept to trivial things, such as Remi’s family and job, didn’t take long to shift towards her relationship with Liam. “You two met as neighbors, right?” his grandmother asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice. Liam conspicuously chewed on a large mouthful of steak, evading the question, so Remi took one for the team. “Yes, soon after I moved into the apartment next to his, we became fast friends,” she said, ecstatically. Marlene enjoyed Remi’s lightheartedness. “But you didn’t start dating until after that awful shooting,” she surmised. Again, Liam kept quiet while Remi confirmed it with a simple nod.

  “I still can’t get over that you were a hostage in that horrific bank robbery and then you had to go through the terrible incident with that gunman,” she said. “Thank goodness, Liam was there.”

  Remi glanced across the table at him and thought if she only knew the half of it. “Yes, I was very fortunate that he was there to save my life.”