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She exhaled and ran a hand over her hair. Most of it was still held by her bun. “Sorry. I really put a damper on the mood, didn’t I?”
“It’s okay. I want to know what’s going on with you and your family, and not just the surface stuff. I don’t want to stay surface with you.”
Surface. Like, how she was being. His words sent a shot of pain through her heart. How could she be anything but surface with him? She was lying to him. And she couldn’t tell him the truth about herself. That depressed her, and neither of them spoke the rest of the way to the resort.
When they got to their rooms, Shadow leaned against his door. His gaze traveled over her face. “I’ve upset you.”
Yes. But she didn’t want to admit it. “I’m okay.”
“Do you want to come in?”
Those words held a deeper meaning than Riley wanted to explore at the moment. She shook her head. “It’s late. I should probably…” She pointed to her door.
“Yeah. Okay.”
As she dug in her bag for her keycard, her heart sank to her toes. Tonight had been good. She’d clicked with Shadow, and they’d had a good time. But all of a sudden, things had turned complicated and heavy. She found her card and pulled it out. Hesitating, she took one last chance to look at Shadow.
There was a sadness in his eyes she’d never seen before. It descended over her like a shroud. Before she could think too much about it, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Good night.”
He pulled her close and kissed her back, a much slower and more thorough job. “Sleep well.”
She tried to unlock her door, but it took three tries before she could get her keycard in the right spot to work. It was a little embarrassing, with his security standing there, watching. Finally, she entered her room and closed the door, leaning up against it, her heart in her throat.
Through the wall, she heard Sir-Barks-a-Lot yapping out his welcome to Shadow. She smiled and walked into the bathroom, pulling out her makeup remover. As she scrubbed her face, something tugged at her brain, but she couldn’t quite understand what it was or why it was bothering her. She dressed for bed and took out her toothbrush.
Sir Barks made another yipping noise next door, and she froze. Wait. Why had Jalen left his dog with Shadow? That was odd, right?
A tingle went down her spine as she brushed her teeth. Shadow had Jalen’s phone as well. That had been strange too. And when she went to talk to Jalen about her foot, he’d been so weird, all wrapped up in the blanket.
CouldJalenbe Shadow?
She shook her head and smiled at her silliness. “I saw them together in the lobby,” she said out loud. “It can’t be.”
Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been obvious all along. If Jalen was Shadow, it would explain a lot. Why he couldn’t catch a break before he donned the mask. People were shallow. She could see the burn on his face making it difficult for people to see his talent. And why he’d known about Miles Davis and her saying she loved jazz.
But she’d seen them enter the buildingtogether.
After she dressed in her pajamas, she flipped open her laptop and started it up. There should be an easy way to prove it wasn’t Jalen. She called up a Google window and searched Jalen Carter and Shadow Walker. Dozens of photos came up showing them together, at awards ceremonies and other social events.
She was wrong. It wasn’t Jalen. Disappointment settled in her gut as she shut her laptop. She hadn’t uncovered the truth. She was no closer to the job she needed, no closer to the large payout she’d receive if she broke a massive story like this one.
Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility that somehow Jalen was the one behind the mask. He could have hired someone to dress as himself, at times when he needed to be seen with Shadow. That was a possibility, right? Or was she grasping at straws? Thoughts kept niggling at her brain until she could no longer think, and sleep overtook her.
Chapter 16
Why was it so hot? Jalen struggled to move, the heat pressing down on him. Everything blurred before him. He blinked, trying to see. He was back in his childhood home, standing in his bedroom, smoke pouring in through the crack above his door. He heard his mother scream.
His heart pounded in his chest. He had to save her. He opened his bedroom door, thick smoke choking him. Flames licked the wall in the hallway. Where was his mother? He ran into her bedroom, but it was empty.
More screams, but he couldn’t see his mother. Fire dripped down from the ceiling, onto his back. Terror shot through him as the flames ate at his skin and clothes. He was surrounded by flames now. Too many. Too hot. He couldn’t breathe.
Jalen woke with a start and gasped for air. Another nightmare. The same, as always. He grabbed the glass of water he always kept by his bedside and drank. He was okay. There was no fire. He took in a calming breath, his hands shaking. He was fine. He just needed to keep telling himself that.
* * *
The next morning,Jalen stared at his face in the mirror, still a little shaky from last night’s dream. The sunburn had faded enough that he was pretty sure no one would notice. Still, he’d told Riley that he was out of town for two more days. He had to play the part of Shadow until then. Unless…
…he let her take off his mask.
