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“Has he been fed yet?” I ask, not bothering to answer his question, the plan already formulating in my mind. Oh this is going to be fun!
“No, he hasn’t, would you like to do it?” he asks me, keeping his eyes on Kylo. I smile and nod my head as his shoulder sag in relief, and I have to bite my bottom lip to stop laughing. “Okay, Miss, I’ll make sure everything is ready for when you get there.”
“Thank you,” I say with a genuine smile. “Do you know if anyone else is in the house?”
“No, Miss, your father took the butler with him. They’re planning on being away for a while, so he asked me to keep an eye on the property and the zoo,” he says, and I smile.
Honestly, I want to do a happy dance right about now, because with the creepy butler gone, I know we can search the office freely without fear of being caught.
He carries on, both of us watching as he leaves through the front door. Waiting until it softly clicks behind him, I take off in the direction of my dad’s office.
“Now are you going to tell me who Mr. Tickles is?” Kylo demands from behind me, and I look over my shoulder with a smirk. His eyes narrow as I pick up my pace.
“You’ll meet him soon enough,” I say with an excited giggle. “Don’t worry, he’s real friendly.”
His eyes narrow further so he’s almost squinting at me, and I salute him with two fingers and take off down the corridor. I hear his cursing as I slide to a stop at the last door on the right. I try the handle and I’m surprised to see it’s open, I honestly thought I would have to get the lock picking kit from Jace’s room. The door swings open, and even though I know he’s not here, my heart still jumps into my throat from fear. I take a cautious step, a shudder washing over me as I remember the last beating I took in here, thanks to that asshole.
“You take the left side and I’ll take the right,” I say as I move to the first set of drawers on the bookcases, and he looks at me with a,what the fuck?
That’s the thing with my dad, he’s very meticulous so the walls are lined with shelves and drawers all filled with papers. I open the first drawer and sit on the floor cross-egged as I make my way through the pile of papers in the first box. There’s nothing in this one, so I move on to the next, and it’s the same thing.
* * *
My fingers are sosore from all the searching, I’ve got paper cuts on papercuts. But we found nothing. It took so long because before we could move onto the next box, we had to make sure to put everything back as it was. We didn’t want him to know someone had been in here when he comes home.
“I can’t believe we haven’t found a damn thing,” Kylo growls as I pull myself up off the floor. I knew he was having the same luck as me with the amount of cursing he did.
“There’s one other place that might have something,” I say, stretching backward. My back cracks, my muscles relaxing after being stuck in a hunched over position for so long as I pull my phone out of my pocket. Shit! We’ve been here nearly two hours searching.
“Where?” he asks with a snarl. Wow, someone’s definitely grumpy at the minute.
I make sure everything is in its place and head out of the door, making my way to the front of the house. I take the stairs two at a time, passing my old bedroom as I walk deeper into the house. I pass Jace’s door next and I stop. We’ve been here too long, but I open the door and lean against the door frame, taking in the room. All his stuff is exactly where he left it. Tears pool in my eyes as I look at all the photos of us together on his wall next to his bed.
“Is that your brother?” he asks. I feel him press into my back and I lean back to rest against him, taking the comfort I’m not sure he’s aware he’s offering.
“Yeah, he was awesome,” I say with a sad sigh. “I really wish things were different because I know you would’ve liked each other.”
“You really think he would have tolerated me stealing his sister away?” he jokes.
“The deal wouldn’t have gone ahead if he had been,” I say. “My father was adamant he was taking over, even though it wasn’t something he wanted.”
“This is selfish of me because I’m not happy you lost your brother,” he says, pulling me in tighter, “But I am glad the deal went ahead, because I don’t think you would have given me a chance otherwise.”
“I would’ve,” I blurt. My cheeks flame at the admission, and I’m so glad he can’t see my face at the moment. “You were growing on me, even when I told you I hated you and all the other shit.”
“So you liked me even then?” he teases, and I laugh.
“Don’t let it go to your head,” I sass, elbowing him in the stomach. I laugh harder at the oomph that leaves him as he lets go. “He thinks I didn’t know about this, but he has another office in the house.”
“Another one?” he asks with a quirked brow.
“Yep, it’s hidden near the bedroom,” I say with a shrug.
I close the door of my brother’s room, making a mental note to come back at some point and bring some of his stuff to the house so I can have a part of him close. I walk the final steps to my parents’ bedroom door, the ugly ass mirror on the wall next to it. I push the top corner of it and it swings open, the inside lighting up and showing a short hallway. I used to joke with Jace that this was the tower he was going to stick me in for punishment.
I step through the hatch carefully and walk slowly down to the door at the end of the hall. My feet echo on the weird makeshift stone flooring. I know it can’t be the real thing because it would destroy the roof in the lower rooms. I hear Kylo’s breathing behind me and I turn the knob, the door swings open with an ear-splitting creak and I cringe as my heart jumps into my throat. I have to remind myself he isn’t here. The room inside lights up from lamps dotted around the space, giving it a terrifying feel because everything is black and red. The artwork lining the walls makes it look like blood is running down the walls, and I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Kylo’s fingers twine with mine and he gives my hand a squeeze for reassurance, that’s all I need. I take my first step into the office, my skin feeling like it’s prickling as I take it all in.
“We doing the same as the last time?” he asks, and I nod in reply.
