He’s being cautious. He suspects everyone but me. It’s the key to survival in this world, the one thing that will keep you alive when you become somebody else. You have to always be on the lookout for your past catching up, you can’t ever truly reveal who you are. It’s a lonely and solitary existence.
Or it was. Before I met Tommy. Before he made me the luckiest man in the world. Because even if I have to abandon who I am once again, this time I will not be alone. I will have him by my side as I build a new life.
“Okay,” I say simply, reaching out and stroking his hair. “Let’s find out what Isi is hiding.”
Tommy’s gorgeous blue eyes go wide, his mouth hanging on an unspoken word. “What?” He blinks, the gears of his brain turning. “Really? You agree to this?”
I angle my head to the side, studying the ridges that appear across his forehead. “Yes. You harbor doubts about my friend. As much as I wish that wasn’t the case, I have my own suspicions. So, I hope you are ready to play detective, Tommy.” I peck his cheek. “And you better do exactly as I say so we don’t get caught.”
“Shit.” Tommy throws himself at me, hugging me tight. The snow globe almost slips from my hands, but I manage to place it back on the windowsill safely as I inhale his sweet scent, intoxicated and reinvigorated by it. “You are the best.”
No, he is. My cock jerks in agreement. He deserves the world, and I intend to serve it to him on a silver platter, but for now, I should put his mind at ease about Isidoro. Whether that means proving my friend is just weirdly attached to this gem or whether we might have to make use of the torture dungeon he keeps on one of the sublevels.
We stay put for a couple hours after dinner, stitching together a map of the place. I’ve been here a couple of times, but some areas and rooms are a bit fuzzy. The red door Isidoro mentioned earlier is the obvious culprit, our target. The issue is that I don’t remember exactly where it is, or if I’ve actually ever seen it.
His residence is a maze that spans multiple floors and sublevels. Why he needs so many is beyond me, but then again, why do billionaires need tens or hundreds ofhomes? The bigger and the more, the better, that’s their motto.
Tommy walks over to the door, cracks it open and takes a peek. “Ok, it’s clear. Let’s go.”
The golden clock above the TV shows one forty-eight in the morning. I imagine most of the staff would be sleeping already.
“Remember.” I halt my lovely accomplice as he makes to step out. “We are just exploring. Act normal if we run into somebody.”
“Yes, I know. We were doing nothing wrong and just accidentally ended up inside the room he specifically told us to stay away from,” Tommy confirms, grinning sweetly at me and wiggling those perfect eyebrows.
“Exactly. And leave the talking to me, if it comes to that.”
“Roger, boss.” He salutes me, the smile not dropping.
I can’t tell if he’s nervous or excited or both. Most people would be very adamant about snooping around somebody’s home like this—it’s extremely rude—but here Tommy is, being the one who suggested it. He’s got a knack for learning how to be a part of my world.
Consulting with our DIY map, we start our mission. The opulent hall leads us to the lounge, from where it splits into two. We take the left corridor, which leads away from where we entered the residence.
We open the door to every room we walk by. Half are bedrooms and the rest are for leisure, equipped with soft-looking couches, bars, big screens and foldable stages. I wonder why he needs so many. Does he throw big parties? But I don’t remember ever attending one. Weird…
“Okay,we should turn right here. This red door should be at the end of the hall,” Tommy says, pointing in the direction we need to go.
I let him lead the way, keeping an arm’s length between us as I trail behind. From time to time, I glance back to make sure no one is following us. Like I assured him, there are no cameras, so at least we don’t have to worry about that.
“There it is!” he cheers, jogging the last stretch of the corridor.
An emergency exit sign sits above the red door, illuminated in green. On the other side of the glass that spans its middle section, I can see gloomy stairs leading up and down.
“I hope there isn’t an alarm,” Tommy says and pushes open the door, not waiting for me to check.
We both freeze at the screech the old thing lets out. My heart bangs in my chest and adrenaline floods my blood.Damn, I hope nobody heard that.My breathing shallows, pinpricks covering my skin.The alarm will go off any moment now!
I wait, buzzing like I’m about to jump out of a moving train. But even after close to a minute, there’s nothing. No blaring alarm, no armed staff rushing to apprehend us.
Shiiiiiit. We got lucky.
Sighing as tension evaporates from me, I squeeze Tommy’s shoulder. The world spins around me from the rush of relief. “From now on, nevereveropen a door before I check if it’s safe to do so. Am I clear?”
He pokes his tongue out playfully. “Sorry, I got excited and didn’t think about that.”
I shake my head, fighting off the need to squish his cheeks and nip on his nose. “Am I clear, Tommy? If youwant to stay alive in my world, you can’t make mistakes like this.”
“Yes, okay.” A lovely flush of red settles across his face as his eyebrows hang low. “Sorry. Maybe you should take the lead? I’ll keep an eye behind us to make sure there’s nobody tailing us.”
