Page 10 of Unmasked

Everleigh never told him the full truth of what happened, terrified of the fallout. At the time, she had done what she thought was right. It was the biggest mistake of her life. Even now, fourteen years later, she swore she could see the remnants of pain and distrust and hurt deep in his eyes. She wanted to tell him what had truly happened, but would he even believe her? Their previous conversation didn't fill her with much hope.

Lost in her thoughts, Everleigh blinked in surprise at her surroundings when she realized the tree line had ended and the Castillos’ land sprawled in front of her. She shielded her eyes against the sun and glanced over at the small clapboard house. It was little more than a shack, but it had been more of a home than her own when they were growing up.

A thousand emotions swamped her at once. She remembered vividly the last time she’d been there, right after everything had imploded. Swallowing down the tears that clogged her throat at the memory, she gazed around the open field and made a slow circuit of the land. Markers with little pink flags drew her attention, and her feet carried her toward them on autopilot.

Someone had marked off the property, and she couldn’t help the wave of possessiveness that rose up inside her. Her father told her a couple of years back that a developer had come through, wanting to snatch up the land to build some commercial property. She tried to ignore most of the stuff happening back home, but the thought of them turning the land into something commercial just to turn a profit hurt her heart.

He’d been relieved when that had fallen through, but it appeared someone else had purchased it and was planning to build something. Not that her father cared one whit about what happened to the Castillos’ land. He was far more concerned with how his own property value would fare if they zoned the surrounding areas for commercial use.

Everleigh's gaze roved over the stakes that had been pounded into the ground. The dimensions seemed to be too small for a plaza or something similar, and she didn’t see any signs declaring who’d purchased it. The thought made her want to cry. In her head, this would always be Knox’s home.

As long as she lived, she would always think of it as his. It was where he was meant to be. And, if things were different, she’d be right there with him.

CHAPTER

SIX

Knox tilted his head toward the sky and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist. He had been at it for several hours already, and his body ached from the exertion. It was a good feeling, though. He was extremely proud of how far things had come in just a few short months. He was slowly cleaning up the mess left behind and getting things in order.

He still wasn’t sure what he would do with the cabin once he built the new house. It was still fairly sound, structurally. Part of him didn’t want to tear it down. It was his childhood home, and it held memories both bad and good. Thankfully, he had plenty of time to decide. For the past several months, he had been dedicating his time between Vantage and the house. It was exhausting, but it would be worth it.

Another drop of sweat slid down his temple, and he lifted his shoulder to brush it away. His tee shirt was already soaked, and he made his way toward the house, yanking it off as he did so. Inside, he headed straight for the fridge. He stood in front of the open door, allowing the cool air to wash over him as he cracked open a bottle of water and chugged it.

Water trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he brushed it away, then closed the fridge. His gaze strayed out the screen of the back door, and he pushed it open, lost in thought as he stepped out onto the back porch. His parents had done many things wrong, but this, at least, they’d gotten right. It wasn’t considered the good part of town, but that’s what he loved about it. This far out, there was hardly any traffic, so the crime was almost non-existent.

He leaned his forearms against the railing, water bottle clutched between his hands as he stared out over the yard. He had always loved this view. It had been a boy’s dream growing up, plenty of space to run free and explore. Though he had had Vivi with him more often than not, he never minded.

The thought of his baby sister caused his heart to pinch. He couldn’t deny that the situation with her and Mason still bothered him. Truth be told, he felt a little betrayed. He wasn’t entirely sure how long they had been sneaking around behind his back before he caught them. Not that he’d ever admit it, but he was more than a little hurt they hadn’t told him. Instead of coming forward, they had felt the need to keep their relationship a secret. How long would that have continued had he not found out on his own?

He was sure Vivi had done things he wasn’t aware of, but she had never been one to hide things or lie to him. They had always been close, and he felt like that bond had been broken. Mason swore it was his choice not to come forward, but Vivi had confided that she had asked him not to tell Knox. She had apparently wanted to tell him on her own terms when she was ready.

That was almost worse; he hated that she had felt she couldn’t talk to him. All he had ever wanted was to protect her. He knew sometimes he could be a little opinionated and overbearing, especially when it came to her safety. But he had been taking care of her for so long, he didn’t know how to turn off those protective instincts. He knew he was only her brother, but in so many ways, he had been the one to raise her.

He had never wanted to be that man, the one people tiptoed around because they were afraid of what his reaction would be. Setting his water on the rail, he pulled a pack of smokes from his back pocket and shook one out. Flipping open the lighter, he watched as it caught the paper, then took in a long drag.

He had kicked the habit years ago, but recent events had triggered the need to pick it up again. He hated everything about it—the smell, the taste, the way the smoke filled his lungs. But it was the only thing that calmed his nerves. He hated himself for using it as a crutch, but not enough to stop.

Vivi was the only family he had left, and he was reluctant to let her go. Logically, he knew she wasn’t cutting him out of her life, but he had spent so much time worrying over her that he didn’t know how to stop. When a car accident claimed his parents’ lives the summer before his senior year, he became fully responsible for Vivi.

It was a delicate balance, juggling school and working as much as possible to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. She had been just a kid then, barely ten years old, and in many ways, he was more of a parent to her than theirs ever were. Even before they passed, they had left them alone most of the time. He almost felt guilty saying it, but things didn’t change much after their deaths; he just didn’t have two extra people to worry about.

Though he was only seventeen at the time, he and Vivi somehow made it work. Because their parents traveled so much as it was, he managed to hide the fact that he was raising his little sister alone. Had anyone caught wind of it, they surely would have alerted the authorities.

As it was, they lived on the wrong side of town, so no one paid them much attention. When Everleigh got pregnant, he was fully ready to enlist in the Marines immediately after graduation and get them into a stable home close to base. Then everything had fallen apart.

His phone beeped an alert, and the message on the screen made the hair on the back of his neck lift. The cameras he had positioned around the property had picked up movement. Immediately on edge, he opened the app to see what had triggered it.

His breath suspended in his lungs at the sight of Everleigh, standing just inside the tree line near the build site. He blinked, wondering if his brain was conjuring things he wanted to see. But when he opened his eyes again, she was still there, just as stunning in black and white.

Before he had even considered what he was doing, he stubbed out the cigarette on the rail, then hopped down into the overgrown grass. He couldn’t see her yet, but the camera told him she was hovering just along the tree line near the build site. His heart raced as he headed straight toward the new house, slamming against his ribcage with every step that carried him closer to her.

She came into sight then, blonde hair gleaming in the bright sunlight, and he stumbled before quickly regaining his balance. God, she was so gorgeous it was almost hard to look at her. She hadn’t noticed his presence yet, and for that, he was grateful. As he silently made his way forward, he took the opportunity to study her. She stood near one of the foundation markers, a frown marring her beautiful face.

What was she doing there? It seemed surreal, her showing up here. Not just on his land, but in the very spot where his house would stand— their house. It felt wrong... but at the same time, it seemed so right. For so long, he had imagined her right here with him, raising babies to run wild and free in the woods just like they had.

He shook the images away. Those things would never come to pass—they couldn’t. She had come to him for help, nothing else. He forced his heart to harden as he drew closer, now barely fifty feet away. Everleigh hadn’t moved an inch, just stood there looking lost in thought. It set his nerves on edge.

“What are you doing here?”