“Looking for something?” My heart plummets at the sound of his smooth voice directly behind me.
I never even heard him creeping up on me. He moves like a damn ghost.
Turning to face him, I try not to appear guilty, but I’m not so stupid as to imagine he’ll buy a line about getting lost on the way to the bathroom when I had one attached to my room. Going for a midnight snack is out too, since I passed by the kitchen to get here.
“People talk about this place like it’s a house of horrors. Hard to sleep while picturing bodies stacked up in the basement.”
Hands tucked into the pockets of his pajama pants, he leans against the wall, shirtless. I half expected the man to sleep in a silk suit, and seeing him so casual is actually more unsettling than the fact that he caught me snooping within ten minutes.
Canting his head to the side, he gestures for me to start walking down the hallway. Nervously, I shuffle forward, the feeling akin to a march to the gallows. He kicks off of the wall to follow behind me, and when we come to an adjoining hallway, he places his hand on the small of my back, coming to walk beside and guide me.
Fisting the fabric of my dress to pull me to a halt, he reaches out to grip the handle of the door in front of us. “Can’t have mysteries making you toss and turn.” He releases his hold on my dress, only to run his finger up my spine. “The others see you looking exhausted, they’ll wonder what’s keeping you up all night.”
Pushing open the door, he flicks the light switch, a series of lights flipping on to lead a path down the stairs. “No better way to put your mind at ease than facing your fears head on, don’t you think?”
I glance back at him as he simply smirks, getting off on my terror. With a sweep of his hand, he gestures for me to take the first step. Swallowing, I grip the wooden handrail, forcing my feet into motion. He doesn’t follow, and I have a surge of panic that he’s going to slam the door shut and trap me down here.
At the base of the stairs is plush, obsidian carpeting that my bare feet sink into. The finished basement is massive, divided into two parts. The first half is wide open, with a six person theater set up of leather recliners before a massive screen on the wall. A bit farther to the side is a bar, and beyond that is various exercise equipment in a mock gym.
Moving through the space, I head to the double doors that separate it from the other half, the chemical scent hitting me as soon as I get close. The carpeting ends at the doors, concrete on the other side surrounding the inground pool.
“See? No bodies.”
I jump, whirling around and clutching a hand to my chest. “Stopdoingthat!” Closing my eyes, I brace my hands on my knees, bending over and trying not to have a heart attack.
Chuckling, he waits until I straighten up before moving, far too close for comfort. “Anything else you’d like to see while we’re down here?”
Pretending that I don’t know what he’s suggesting, I gesture to the door on the far side of the pool. “And behind door number three?”
He rolls his eyes. “Supplies for pool maintenance. You’re welcome to check; it’s unlocked.”
Sighing, I shake my head. “I’m sorry I was snooping around. You can’t really blame me for being uneasy, though.”
He leads the way back to the stairs. “Why do you think I don’t allow any of my employees inside this place?” Waiting until I’m nearly at the top of the steps, he flips off the light switch and holds the door open for me.
“They’re professional thieves and you have a bunch of cool stuff?” I’m forced to slide by him as he remains intentionally in the way.
Scoffing at the ludicrous idea, we return to the staircase leading to the second floor. “I doubt any would be so suicidal as to attempt to steal from me. But you must understand, there are certain lines that need to remain uncrossed. Say one of my employees happened across a picture of my cousins. It might spur dangerous thoughts of attempting to go after them to use against me, to renegotiate the terms of our initial agreement.”
“Wouldn’t your family be a matter of public record anyway, though? This day and age, nearly everything can be found on the internet.”
We pause at the top of the stairs as he pivots to show me the sincerity in his pale blue eyes. “With enough money, identities can be altered, people hidden. Assuming anything is the first step to your downfall.”
Swallowing, I nod once. “Understood. I appreciate the trust you’re showing me by inviting me to stay here.”
He stalks closer, stopping a hairsbreadth in front of me, leaving me balanced precariously at the top of the staircase. “Make no mistake, Elysium. I don’t trust anyone, especially you. This was the best course of action to keep my men out of jail, to save me even more of a headache later on.” He holds my gaze for a moment before turning on his heel and returning to his bedroom. “The last woman that found herself within these halls didn’t last a week. Consider beating her record your next test.”
His door slams shut behind him, but the echo of it is drowned out by the sudden roaring in my ears. The way he phrased that…
Grave’s not here, so surviving shouldn’t even be a challenge on the table… unless Grave isn’t the one that killed her.
Sitting in the car, I strum my fingers over the wheel, anxiously waiting. Seth and Aaron are inside the museum while Caleb handles lookout, leaving Maverick in the seat beside me. Grave and Jake are handling the alibis for us tonight, so the two of us are stuck sitting on our asses; a getaway driver, and a failsafe in case anything goes wrong.
“It’s been three days.”
He doesn’t need to ask what I’m talking about. Hell, I haven’t spoken about much else since he came back from dropping her off, leaving her there alone. Logically, I know he didn’t have a choice, and I couldn’t do shit to stop it from happening. But we haven’t heard a word from her since that morning; Julian either. We’re just stuck carrying on with the plans that were already laid out before he went radio silent and it’s driving me out of my damn mind.
“Brilliant observation,” he snipes, staring out the window as we wait for the guys to come into view.
