Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Sandy felt like an invisible hand had suddenly clenched around her throat-she could barely breathe.

She stared down at the little girl in her arms, as if trying to unravel a mystery just by looking. Questions raced through her mind, a thousand doubts swirling. Panicked, she looked up, searching for Whitney. "Sis..."

But Whitney was already busy, checking Shane's pulse with obvious urgency. His heartbeat was all over the place, and whatever was in his system was hitting him hard.

Watching him grit his teeth through a cold sweat, Whitney hesitated, then made a tough call. “I didn't take you to the ER on purpose. I'm hoping you'll play along and not make things worse. I'll keep Sandy here, but Shane-promise me, you won't hurt her."

Shane's breathing was ragged as he cracked open his eyes, fixing her with a dark, unreadable look.

Whitney shot him a fierce warning glance, half-standing up. Before Sandy could blurt out any questions, Whitney scooped the little girl from Sandy's arms and dropped a bombshell. "This is bad, Sandy. He might be suffering from acute alcohol poisoning, and I have to find a doctor, now. And who knows what Sienna gave this kid-she's still out cold."

She shoved the girl back into Sandy's arms. "There's nobody else around. You have to take care of Shane until I get back, okay?"

"What? How did this happen? Did you check carefully? And listen, I got a good look at this kid's face-why does she look so much like me?" Sandy's eyes darted, her heart pounding out of rhythm.

"Go ask Shane. He has the answers

in her eyes as she saw Sandy standing frozen and bewildered at the top of the stairs. Then, before Sandy could snap out of it, Whitney steeled herself and

a second. She turned to the security guard standing by and said, "Lock it from the outside. Keep it sealed until

When are you coming back?" Sandy called from inside, twisting the doorknob. A moment later, her voice changed, laced with panic. "Why won't the

hesitated.

No matter what you hear from inside, don't say a word. And get two guys

from Felix's detail-Ludwik's team, highly trained

question the boss's woman. They nodded and got

let out a slow, shaky sigh, pinched the bridge of her nose, and forced herself to ignore Sandy's desperate voice. She clutched the little girl closer

eleven at night when she finally made it back to the

the child

and Sammy were fast asleep in beds

ready to check the girl over. The

back? And-wait, is that

nodded, putting a finger to her lips.