Page 24 of Lilies from Hell

I hand it to him and enter the huge house without waiting for a response. I walk down a hallway to a dining room. It seems to be connected to a kitchen through a giant door. I follow my way to the kitchen, mesmerized by the smell. My stomach growls ferociously when I come across some trays of brownies. One piece is not enough.

I wait until there is no one else in the kitchen to take another one. Then I decide it’s time to explore another part of the house. I keep looking over my shoulder for the source of my unease, but when I find nothing, I dismiss it and focus on other rooms.

10

I continue wandering around a game room until I find another one full of strange paintings and a giant organ in the middle. There are a couple of family photos on the mantelpiece, but her mother is not there. It’s just his father with him and another child. The two are very similar, almost like twins, so I guess it must be his brother. I don’t remember him having a brother.

I walk to the door, trying to make my steps steady, even though deep down I feel like I’m lost in a place I shouldn’t be. I want to see him and ask why he dislikes me. I want him to tell me to fuck off so I can forget him. I search for an exit to the garden, but the house becomes more confusing the longer I’m trapped.

The air is cold and thick despite the faint rays of sunlight streaming through the windows. I’m blaming the drinks and whatever else I consumed. Now, I’m focused on a guard with an SMG9 at one gate. This gives me a brilliant idea that might either succeed or get me removed from here. I walk up to him with a smile and toss my hair back.

“Do you know where Mr. Novikov’s room is? My friend and I have a deal with him,” I ask, almost dragging out my words to be more seductive. Then I wink at him, but he doesn’t see it because he’s too busy looking at my chest, which isn’t much. The man must be seeing things that aren’t there right now.

“What kind of deal?”

“He contacted us himself to do a special job,” I say. “If you tell me where he is. You could join us later, who knows.” I caress his arm while making eyes at him.

What else can I do? It’s not like I could plant a bomb inside, anyway. I don’t even have my bag on me because of another stupid rule. I have to bite my lower lip to keep from laughing when I see his face.

“The longer you take, the longer it will take you to join us, don’t you think?” I murmur, controlling my impatience with a smile.

“It’s the only door on the third floor. The key.” I don’t have time to catch it, and it ends up on the floor. As I bend down to pick it up, the man is staring at my cleavage, but fuck him. “When you’re done with him, let me know.”

“I will,” I say without turning around.

Standing in front of the door, I have more trouble than usual inserting the key into the lock. I curse when the keys slip out of my hand and end up on the floor again, and I bend down.

“Shit,” I mutter, feeling dizzy from getting up so quickly.

Once inside, the disconcerting cold air move my hair in a slight tickle on my shoulders. Seems someone forgot to turn off the air conditioning. My eyes go upstairs in amazement. It’s the same size or even bigger than the first one. Who the hell has two floors in their bedroom? I sweep my surroundings first. Then I find a circular bed on top of a large platform with thin black curtains around it. The thick legs of the bed resemble the columns with skulls that I saw at the entrance door.

The entire room is plunged into a darkness that battles with the light that somehow filters through the tinted glass of the windows. It does little to dispel the strange vibes that would make more than one person’s hair stand on end, besides his characteristic scent. A slight hint of tobacco and other masculine scents that most likely include pheromones. Otherwise, I can’t explain the physiological changes in my body every time I lay eyes on his bed.

I stand mesmerized, absorbing his fragrance as if it were some kind of drug, while my feet move on their own to the huge dressing room upstairs. I run my fingers through his collection of wallets and shoes, wrinkling my nose when the smell of leather mixed with a hint of iron is too strong. It’s almost as if they had skinned the animal and treated it just five minutes ago.

When I tire of the second floor, I go down the stairs, tripping on the last step. On top of the desk is a black notebook, open in the middle. The letters are in another language. Is not Russian. I leaf through the pages and find some black-and-white drawings of a girl with so many shadows that it’s impossible to tell who she is.

I frown when I find the photo that had disappeared from the frame stuck to one page. How did it get here? And why does he have it? I turn the pages with somewhat clumsy fingers, wanting to make sure there are no more photos. I find no more, but there are more drawings. I want to tear it out and take it with me, but that would arouse suspicion, and I’ve already taken enough risks.

I turn my head to one side to look at the framed photo, which is upside down. Just as I’m thinking about turning it over, I hear footsteps on the other side of the door. In less than a second, my senses are on high alert, making me fly up the stairs, stifling a curse when I trip over the same damn step again. In the end, I hide in the shoe closet. It’s not like he’s going to try on shoes now.

My hands sweat when his footsteps approach the stairs to get closer to the wardrobe. A couple of minutes later, I hear clothes sliding down his body until they hit the floor. I do not know what he does with them. All I know is that he then goes into the bathroom and it doesn’t take long for the shower water to start running.

I have to make the greatest effort of my life to resist the temptation to peer at his naked body up close. I tiptoe down the stairs and leave the bedroom as quietly as possible. If he finds out that I’ve been in his bedroom and gone through his things, this time he’ll kill me for sure. I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until I return to the garden. The image of the notebook is still in my mind as I head for the bar. The situation left an unpleasant taste in my mouth that I intend to get rid of.

“Damn it, Lena! I was about to look for you in the city’s sewers. Where the hell were you?” I almost drop the glass in my hands when I hear Jason’s reproachful voice behind me.

“Just walking around,” I say. He looks at me incredulously, with a hint of amusement, not believing a word I say.

“Around? And where is that?”

“I’m not feeling well, my head hurts,” I murmur in a somewhat pitiful tone, rubbing my head and changing the subject. Making the rest feel sorry for you always works like a distracting weapon.

“What were you expecting after eating all those brownies?” he asks before bursting out laughing.

The image of me devouring pieces of cake as if there were no tomorrow plays over and over again in my head. I should have realized it sooner, but my mind has been elsewhere the whole time. Or rather, on someone else. I’m already a distracted person, and his return doesn’t help.

“It won’t be long before they bring out more… authentic stuff,” Jason adds, raising his eyebrows.