Snake Eyes

by Melissa Pearl

  The idea that he may have had plans for her sent a shudder down my spine. Quella was walking a dangerous line hanging out in bars and getting drunk off her ass. Caity was trying to compensate and make her feel better about whatever the hell was bugging her, but this was not the way to do it.

  I’d have to talk to her about it. Surely Caity would see reason.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I waited for my smelly girlfriend to catch up with me.

  Quella groaned and leaned her head against my shoulder.

  “If you’re gonna puke again, let me know.”

  She mumbled something in Spanish before going floppy. I hitched her into my arms, her sleeping weight becoming that much heavier with each step.

  “You okay?” I asked over my shoulder.

  “Fine,” Caity muttered.

  “The keys are in my back right pocket.”

  She dug into my jeans and pulled the keys free, racing ahead to unlock the doors of my jeep. I laid Quella down in the backseat.

  “Do you have a towel I can sit on or should I just walk back?”

  I yanked a towel free from the trunk and threw it at Caity. She caught it with an apologetic smile. I waved my hand to indicate it wasn’t her fault. She had enough to deal with; she didn’t need me harping on at her.

  I could tell the only thing Caity wanted to do was get Quella into bed, then go and sterilize herself in a boiling hot shower.

  So much for the beach.

  18

  Caitlyn

  Eric carried Quella up to our room. I flung the door open and made room for Eric to shuffle past. He laid her on her bed while I whipped off my shirt and decided just to throw it in the trash. As if I’d be able to get the stench out with my washing skills.

  I stood there in my bra, gazing down at my roommate. She was still pale, but her color had improved a little since she puked all over me. I sniffed and glanced down at my hair.

  “Gross,” I muttered, flicking it over my shoulder and wanting to cry.

  I’d never felt so filthy in my life.

  “It’s on your jeans, too.” Eric pointed to my thigh.

  I tipped my head. “If you’re trying to get me into bed, you should know that I’ve never felt more unsexy.”

  He chuckled. “As much as I would like to take your fine form to bed and make sweet love to you, I think you have more important things to deal with right now.”

  His gaze adored me as he stepped forward and nipped my nose, running his finger between my breasts and down to my belly button.

  “I’ll take you up on it tomorrow, though. You, me, a private cove.” He wiggled his eyebrows and I had to laugh. He was so cute when he did that.

  I ran my hand over his shoulder and into his hair, wrapping my fingers into his long, straight locks. “Thank you for being there tonight.”

  “I’m always here for you.” His gentle look had a serious edge. “I know she needs to deal with some demons and I know you can’t tell me what they are, but I don’t know if this is the best way.”

  Caity stepped back with a sigh, placing her hands on her hips. “I know, me either. I’ll try to talk to her tomorrow, once she’s sobered up.”

  “Good idea.” He winked at me. Man, it was so damn tempting to invite him into my shower, but I still had to get Quella undressed and washed. He couldn’t really stick around for that.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Eric pointed at me as he backed toward the door.

  “Sounds good.” I nodded.

  He flicked the door open.

  “Hey, Eric.”

  “Yeah?”

  I drank in his sexy body and the beauty of his face, wishing I could just tell him everything. My lips wanted to say it, drag him back in and confess all. Even though he’d bought into my Quella lie, it still felt so incredibly wrong.

  My lips fought for the right words, eventually breaking into a soft smile. “I love you.”

  His grin was instant. “I love you, too, babe.”

  And with that, he quietly slipped out the door.

  I slumped onto my bed and gazed across the room at Quella. I hadn’t meant to let her get quite that drunk. I hadn’t realized how much she’d been throwing back...and now she was basically in a coma. I wasn’t going to get anything out of her and it felt like such a waste.

  With a sigh, I stood up, pulling off her boots and placing them on the floor at the end of her bed.

  “Hubiera deseado que me vieras visto esta noche.”

  I paused at her mumbling.

  “Mi amor, podríamos haber bailado por siempre.” She giggled. “Danced the night away.”

  I stood, gently squeezing her shoulder. “Hey, Quella. It’s Caity. I’m just getting you ready for bed.”

  “Yo lo amo.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Her eyes fluttered open and she stared straight at me. “I love him.”

  “Who? The guy you were dancing with tonight?”

  “No.” Quella’s giggle was high and squeaky as I pulled her forward to help her take off her vomit-splattered shirt. She raised her arms so I could wiggle her out of it, then flopped back onto the bed. She was still giggling. I pulled her mask away and caught her yearning. She was gazing at the ceiling as if the man of her dreams was floating above her. Her mask-less face gave whomever he was a dreamy smile, growing wider with glee. “I will see him soon at the secret mansion.”

  I stilled.

  Was she giving me something?

  I swallowed, fighting to keep my tone casual. “What mansion?”

  “El castillo escondido.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She ignored my question, throwing her hand in the air. “It is in the hills. We will hike and make love in the sunlight.”

  “Which hills? Where is this mansion?” I sat on the edge of her bed, flicking the hair off her face.

  “Shhh.” Her long finger smushed my lips to the side. “No one can know.” Her eyes grew large and she whispered with a dreamy smile. “All that matters is that he will be there. He is always there.”

  “Who?”

  “My true love.” She giggled again and then broke into a warbling rendition of a Spanish song I didn’t recognize. It was slow and painful, making me wince when she tried to hit the high notes.

  “Quella. Quella!” I tried to quiet her. “Tell me more about this mansion. What’s it like?”

  She ignored my questions, her voice growing stronger as she came to the end of the song. Her floppy arms fell onto her stomach and her body shook with laughter as she rolled onto her side. Ten seconds later, she was snoring.

  My shoulders drooped with a heavy sigh as I rolled her onto her back and wrestled her out of her skinny jeans. Throwing them in the laundry hamper, I then pulled Quella’s sheet back and with a little effort managed to get her floppy body under the covers. She curled into her pillow like a little kid and fell into oblivion.

  I stepped back with a sigh, rubbing my lower back and cringing.

  I smelled disgusting and as desperate as I was to have a shower, I had a phone call to make first. Grabbing a shirt that was still hanging over my desk chair, I threw it on, scrambled under the bed for my phone and snuck outside.

  “Kaplan,” she answered in her usually curt tone.

  I pressed my back into the dark alcove just outside my dorm. “Yeah, I think I got something.”

  “Finally!”

  My eyes narrowed, hating her attitude. She was such bitch sometimes.

  Or all the time!

  “What’ve you got?”

  “Okay, so two things...we were out dancing at Club Ultron tonight and I noticed this guy hanging out with her. He looked a little suspect to me. He was definitely eyeing the crowd and way more interested in them than Quella, yet he hung out with her all night.”

  “What was his name? Did you get any details?”

  “I think he said it was Carlos, but it was kind of hard to hear. I don’t know if we’ll ever see him
again, so it could be no big deal.”

  “You said he was scouting out the club?”

  “Yeah, I guess. He just seemed on high-alert, if that makes sense.”

  Kaplan cursed.

  “What?”

  “It’s probably one of Mendez’s bodyguards, sent down here to keep an eye on Quella.”

  “He’d do that?”

  “It’s Mendez; of course he would.”

  “Do you think he’ll pull Quella out if he knows what she’s been up to?”

  “Maybe. We need to cool it on the party vibe, Caitlyn.”

  “But that’s how I got her talking tonight.”

  “What’d she say?” Kaplan snapped.

  “Most of it was in Spanish, but she said something about a secret mansion in the hills. She said el castillo escondido or something; I don’t know if I’m saying it right.”

  Kaplan muttered my terrible Spanish back to me and said, “That means hidden castle. Did she say anything else about it?”

  “Her true love is there.”

  “Who the hell is that?”

  “I don’t know.” I nibbled my lip. “She didn’t say anything else. She’s pretty hammered, and after throwing up all over me, she fell asleep.”

  Kaplan snorted. “She threw up on you?”

  “Yes,” I clipped.

  Kaplan snorted again and I was tempted to throw the phone into the bushes and quit on the spot.

  “Listen, Caitlyn, you’re doing a good job.”

  I nearly dropped the phone. Was that a compliment?

  “Keep working on the true love angle. Girls love to chat and we might be able to get something out of her that way. And watch your back with this Carlos guy. I’ll see what I can find out, but if my bodyguard guess is right, he’ll probably be hanging around a lot more.”

  “I don’t think Quella knows that’s what he is.”

  “I guarantee she has no idea. After what you told me about her dad finally letting her go free, she’d be pretty pissed if she knew he didn’t trust her and was sending out a bodyguard.”

  “Maybe rumors have reached him that she’s partying.”

  “Hmmm, we could use this, though. If Mendez thinks you’re the girl who’s going to lead her astray, he’s going to want to meet you. He’ll definitely be looking into your history.”

  I swallowed, my stomach bunching into a tight knot. “I don’t—”

  “Don’t worry, we’re making sure your files are clean and there’s no mention of your involvement in either the Donovan or the Hoffman cases.”

  “I was going to say, I don’t really want to meet him, especially if he thinks I’m leading his daughter astray. Won’t he be super-pissed with me?”

  “Let’s not focus on that just yet. Stay close to Quella, get her to keep talking and we’ll see where that leads us.”

  It took me a second to find my voice.

  “Caitlyn?”

  “Yeah, o-okay.”

  “Keep up the good work.”

  Kaplan hung up, but it took me a minute to move. Mendez might want to meet me? And do what with me?

  I mean, I knew this was what we wanted, but it sounded terrifying.

  I blinked at the unbidden tears and sucked in a breath. My pride at doing well for Kaplan disintegrated as the reality of where it might lead hit home. I felt paralyzed as I stood in the alcove imagining my fate.

  What the hell was I doing?

  If Mendez was stealing girls and selling them, what could happen to me?

  I closed my eyes. “No, surely not. Not his daughter’s friend. Besides, you’re too old.”

  The statement made me sick. Images of the girls’ faces fled through my mind. I leaned my head back against the building and wanted to weep for them.

  “Don’t let fear stop you, Caity,” I whispered. “Just remember these girls are going through far worse and you have the chance to save them.”

  Standing tall, I sucked in a breath and headed back inside to shower and get some sleep. I needed to stay focused and fresh. I had a job to do.

  19

  Caitlyn

  So much for my job.

  Since Quella’s drunken confession and the arrival of Carlos into our friendship, it was basically impossible to get anything out of her.

  Oh, yeah, Carlos was still around. She’d given him her number that night, before she’d puked all over me, and he’d called it. In fact, he’d called it every day that week, and in spite of the fact that she claimed to be in love with some mystery guy back at her secret mansion, she didn’t seem to mind getting cosy with Carlos.

  Hopefully her true love wasn’t the jealous type.

  Quella seemed drawn to Carlos’s charm, but when I looked behind her mask, it was obvious she wasn’t overly interested in him; she was just enjoying the flirt-a-thon.

  She woke up with the world’s worst hangover on Sunday morning, which had dampened the whole party scene for her just a little, so there’d been no mid-week bar-hopping or drinks after class. And with Carlos wheedling his way onto the scene, we’d ended up doing a lot more quiet, subdued things like going out to dinner, watching movies and shopping, shopping, shopping. Unfortunately, this did not bring out Quella’s imprudent chatty side...I really needed liquor for that, and thanks to Carlos she wasn’t getting much anymore.

  I guessed it was a good thing. It really wasn’t cool to get an underage girl drunk just to get her talking. Part of me wanted to screw my conscience and start spiking her drinks, just so I could get the damn job over with. I was sick of hanging out with Quella and Carlos—the refined, snobby Spaniard who didn’t know how to smile...or relax...ever!

  Oh, yeah, and they spoke in Spanish all the time—so not helpful! It totally made me feel like a third wheel, too.

  I missed my friends. I was sick of lying to them and constantly saying I couldn’t join them for stuff. I missed hanging out at Eric’s place, watching him surf, chatting with Piper over coffee. I hadn’t seen her in forever.

  I wasn’t even conscious of it happening, but over the last month, basically since she moved in with Scott, we’d drifted apart.

  It sucked!

  And the worst part was, I was about to head into yet another weekend where I could actually see her, but I’d be forced to hang out with Quella instead.

  Checking my watch, I hitched my bag onto my shoulder and glanced at the sky. A light shower was starting. No big deal, but the sky was pretty grey and the light shower looked to be strengthening. I had no rain jacket or umbrella. Thankfully it wasn’t too heavy, so I decided to enjoy the wet sweetness and amble back to my dorm. It didn’t really matter if I got there soaking wet.

  Quella was still in class, Eric was surfing—a little rain would never stop that from happening. Piper and Scott were no doubt tied up with other things. I kind of had the afternoon off to do as I pleased.

  The idea of popping home and catching up with Holly flittered through my head, but I quickly dismissed it. We’d no doubt end up talking about babies, and I wasn’t ready to see what they’d done with my bedroom.

  Feeling a little lost and sorry for myself, I blinked the raindrops off my lashes and wiped a wet curl off my face.

  My phone started singing. I ducked beneath a tree and pulled it out of my bag, answering it just in time. “Hey, Scott, how’s it going?”

  “Not great. This day is falling to total shit and nothing’s going as planned. I really need your help.”

  “O-kay.” My eyes narrowed as I listened to the slight panic and major frustration in his voice. “What do you need me to do?”

  He sighed. “I need you to meet Piper after her class and stall her...for about an hour.”

  “Can I ask why?”

  “I—” He cleared his throat and let out a breathy chuckle. “I have something special planned.”

  My eyebrows wrinkled as I tried to think what it might be. It wasn’t Piper’s birthday and I didn’t think it was their dating anniversary.

  Wait.r />
  It couldn’t be…

  My eyes grew large as the thought hit me. “No way. Are you going to propose?”

  “Please, help me,” he whispered, his voice pitching with either excitement or terror; I couldn’t quite tell. Man, I wished I could read him at that moment. “It was supposed to be a gorgeous day and I was going to take her to the beach and this really fancy restaurant that overlooks the ocean, but the place just called and said there was a fire last night so all bookings are cancelled for the next month. Damn it, Caity, it was going to be perfect.”

  “Why don’t you just wait?”

  “Because I picked up the ring this morning and I can’t stand the idea of it not being on her finger as soon as possible.”

  A smile bloomed on my face. “You’re so cute.”

  “So, you’ll help me?”

  “Of course.” I giggled. “This is so exciting.”

  “Don’t make it worse.” He puffed. “Just be calm.”

  My laughter grew. “Are you talking to me or you?”

  He let out a shaky chuckle.

  “Where do you want me to deliver her?”

  “Bring her to our place. I’m setting everything up there.”

  “Okay. Where is she now?”

  “The Humanities Building.”

  “Cool. I’m not too far from there.”

  “Her class is due to finish at four.”

  I glanced at my watch. “I can make that. Good luck.”

  “Yeah, thanks, and don’t say anything.”

  “Of course I won’t. I’ll fudge my way through and give nothing away, I promise.”

  I hung up, wincing at the fact that I was getting pretty damn good at fudging my way through things.

  The rain was falling steadily. I jumped into it, running across campus to the Humanities Building. I hovered around the main entrance, hoping I wouldn’t miss my friend.

  After about ten minutes of leaning against the wall, a wave of students emerged. I stretched on my tiptoes to see above the crowd and waved.

  “Piper!”

  Her head popped up and she jerked in surprise when she saw me. “What are you doing here?”