As mentioned in my January 21, 2019 post, my novels Behind the Mask and its sequel UNMASKED will have a third novel join them. A series/trilogy it will become!
I have no definite date on completion; therefore, I cannot give a date on when it would be available. I can start giving little teasers, though. Now let me preface these teasers by stating…though the story will not change, some things could be altered after editing the final draft.Â
Teaser 1:
Remi had fifteen minutes left in her shift, and with her feet aching and the customers slowly dissipating, she was more than ready to call it a night. However, for one customer, in particular, a twentysomething woman, who had spent the better part of an hour watching Remi move about the restaurant, chose to stick around until closing, which on a Sunday evening was ten o’clock. It was at that time, Doug, the server for that customer’s table, found Remi helping the busboys clean up. “See that woman over there,” he said, indirectly pointing her out. Remi peeked over his shoulder, as Doug explained that the woman had inquired about her last name. An immediate red flag went up as her suspicious senses kicked into high gear. “Do you know her?” asked Remi. “Nope, but I think she’s been in here before,” he replied, as Remi tossed used linen napkins into a laundry bin while keeping an eye on the stranger. Doug went over to the table and informed the woman that she needed to leave that the restaurant was closing. She just smiled facetiously while handing him the bill holder. Then instead of exiting, she made her move. “Excuse me, Remi?” the strikingly tall brunette posed as a question. “Can I help you?” countered a somewhat skeptical Remi. “I’m Zoe,” she announced in such a way as if Remi might already have been aware of that name. The woman then extended out her right hand. Hesitant but curious, Remi shook it while asking, “Do I know you?”Â
Zoe smiled, fully displaying her cherry red matte lipstick on her overly augmented lips. “We have a friend in common,” she declared coyly. Remi studied the woman’s face, trying to figure her out, but still drew a blank. With disappointment in her voice, the woman muttered, “Liam.”Â
Taken aback by hearing his name spill from the stranger’s mouth, Remi wasn’t sure what to say or how to respond. Then she recalled the conversation she had with Chris on that one train ride together, where he had told her how Liam wouldn’t have saved Zoe from a bus speeding directly at her. “I know I’m probably catching you off-guard, but I’m an ex-girlfriend of his and had thought maybe he had mentioned me, which obviously he hadn’t,” she explained, sounding slightly offended. Still surprised by this random encounter, Remi asked how Zoe knew who she was. “I used to live in Newtown Square, and my parents are still there,” she said then paused for a second. And Remi instantly knew what was coming next. “They told me about Liam and the heist.”
Remi looked around to see if anybody was listening to their conversation, and though there didn’t appear to be, she still opted to speak quietly. “So, your parents told you about me?”
Zoe shook her head no while admitting that Remi’s name popped up in Internet searches of the heist and things regarding Liam’s legal case. Though a part of Remi felt irritated that one of his exes dug into her life and possibly even stalked her, she couldn’t deny being intrigued. “Look, I know you’re probably wigged out right now, but I swear I’m not a crazy stalker,” she said, laughing, which made Remi snicker after thinking that herself. “Do you want to get a cup of coffee at the diner across the street?” she asked. “My treat,” she added for good measure. Though she sounded sincere, Remi still had to debate whether that was a good idea or not. But feeling that Zoe was more than likely harmless and wanting to know more of what she had to say, Remi agreed to go. – Untitled Book III
Heather Carnassale 