He nodded, reaching over to grip my hand. “I love you, wife.”
“I love you, too, husband,” I grinned.
The garage door was open for us up ahead. We pulled inside and the doors immediately closed. But before we could get out, machine guns swiveled in the corners, directed right at us.
Parker sighed. “I fucking hate technology.”
Our first glimpseof the inside of the mansion was not at all what I expected from a man like Knight. Instead of sterile walls and metal furniture, marble coated almost every inch of the house.
“Is this the Venetian palace?” I murmured, taking in the opulence.
“Something like that.” He dropped our bags on the ground and stared up at the gigantic winding staircase in awe. “This thing is…
“Over the top?”
“Exactly. And to think, we might have stayed here instead of ending up in the torture kingdom.”
“I’m not sure this is much different.” I walked over to a painting on the wall and studied it. “This has to be from Kate. I can’t see Knight having a painting unless it depicted a murder.”
“Hey, do you think he has a torture basement?”
I spun and faced him. That was a very interesting thought. “Let’s check it out.”
We wandered around the house, searching every nook and cranny along the way. So far, there was nothing too crazy.
I opened the pantry door in the kitchen and studied the contents. The expiration dates were all good. “Do you think he sent a maid out here to freshen things up?”
Parker snorted. “Do I think Knight trusted anyone to come on his property and rifle through his stuff? Are you crazy?”
“Possibly,” I said, grabbing a box of Cheez-It. “I mean, how else did he get this stocked in time for us?”
“Maybe they come out here regularly,” he said, searching the fridge. Picking up a half-gallon of milk, he looked at the date. “It’s fresh.”
“See? That’s weird.”
“Unless…” His eyes scanned the room. “Unless we’re not alone. Maybe he has house guests.”
“Who do you know that Knight would invite out here to stay? Better yet, who do you know that would come willingly?”
“We came,” he pointed out.
“We didn’t know we were coming to his compound. I highly doubt I would have said yes to this.”
He wandered down the hall past the kitchen, taking a right. “Hey! I think I found the basement!”
Rushing over, I waited with bated breath as he jiggled the handle. “It’s locked.”
“Really? I didn’t get that when I jiggled the handle and nothing happened.”
“Hey, don’t get snippy with me, mister.” Popping another Cheez-It in my mouth, I munched on it as Parker studied the keypad. “What do you think he has down there?”
“Torture chamber. Definitely. Probably a panic room. Possibly a few dead bodies just rotting away.”
He punched in a few numbers, but nothing worked. The damn door wouldn’t open. “I guess we’re not going to find out.”
“What?” I gasped. “Are you telling me that after two minutes, you’re just giving up?”
“I don’t know the code,” Parker snapped. “What do you want me to do?”
