Blackmailing The Untouched

The Motive Behind The Mask

But just when I'm shaking it off as being a coincidence, I watch as the door opens and Zach walks in, carrying a twelve-pack of Heineken beer. He's changed clothes since our last encounter and is now wearing a pair of black jeans with a smoky grey t-shirt. His blue eyes look over the crowd and find my surprised brown ones, a shifty grin pulling at his lips as he begins walking toward where we are standing.

Sally brings her cup to her mouth as she tries to get away.

"Hold it!" I grab her by the elbow and stare into her face, "Did you know him when you were at my house?" My eyes are dark and demanding.

"Sort of." She admits.

My face messes up in confusion, "Sort of?"

She brings the cup away from her face, "I knew of him. He isn't my friend, and I don't know him per se. He knows Anna because of her boyfriend."

"I could kill you right now," I whisper before Zach is standing right in front of me.

"I'll go get you a drink." She offers and then disappears quickly before I can object.

"Told ya we'd be seeing more of each other." He says with a confident grin.

The coldness is gone from his eyes, and he is close. I can smell the freshness of his clothes mixed with the intoxicating scent of his cologne. His voice is deep, and it commands my attention.

"I don't have anything to say to you, so if you'll excuse me -" I huff at him and try to turn away. I don’t know why he would think I'd want to be anywhere near him after today.

His hand is on my wrist faster than I would expect possible, preventing me from going anywhere. The sudden contact makes me gasp as that familiar shiver travels down my back.

"Who the hell do you think you are!?" My hand is over his, trying to pry myself free from his grasp. "Let go of me!"

"We have to talk." He lifts dark arctic eyes to pin me in place.

"No!" I rebel and attempt to wriggle myself free, "I don’t ever want to speak to you again." My voice is laced with ice, my blood boiling in my veins.

"Trust me, you want to hear what I have to say." His grip becomes tighter, and then he pulls me flush to his body and starts walking us toward the hall, handling me with expertise. 

It all happens so fast that I don't have time to register what is happening. I want to fight him off, but I’m stopped by the heat of his hard-muscled chest.

We stop at the open doorway to what could be my bedroom, and then he forcefully pulls me inside and shuts the door.

Once we're closed in, he lets go of my wrist and turns to face me slowly. His eyes are on mine, beautiful, icy blue pools of water watching me closely. He doesn't turn the light on. Instead, he stands before me, a shadow in the dark.

My nerves are shot. I don't know what's going on, and right now, I'm scared.

"I have to tell you something." He finally says as he flicks a switch on the wall and bathes the room in light. "Your father, he isn't who you think he is."

Something in his voice tells me to pay attention, so I risk a glance his way.

"Three years ago, I went to prison." He begins to confess with a tick of his jaw. His eyes never waver from mine, even though I try to break the powerful connection. "I went to prison for a crime I didn't commit..." His tone transforms, and the anger he's dreadfully trying to hide spills out in his hardening eyes. "While I was in prison, my mother died..." His jaw clenches again, and I watch as he makes a fist with his hand, the muscles in his arms tensing and bulging. "When my mother passed, I didn't get to go to her funeral. When she passed, she was on her way to bail me out for a crime I did not commit..." His voice breaks, but he quickly recovers and shakes it off, rolling his shoulders."She died, and then I spent two years in prison for something that I didn't do! She died, and I was blamed for it! She died, and I didn't get to say goodbye!"