Page 83 of Ruthless Riches
21
Alexis
5 months later
Lockwood Estate, Avalon Island
I pickedup two matching bronze candlesticks from a bedside table in the eastern wing of the house and carefully placed them in a large cardboard box on the floor. Then I changed my mind, pulled them back out, and left the room.
I called out to Nate as I trudged across the hall. “Hey, I know we were going to put all this stuff in storage, but Colette always liked these candlesticks. Should I just take them over to her instead?”
There was no response.
I peered inside the room that Nate had been sorting through just moments ago. There were several boxes on the floor, all neatly packed with furnishings, but there was no sign of him. He must’ve decided he was finished and moved on to the next room. It didn’t look finished in here, though. There was still a lot of stuff lying around that needed to be packed up.
We’d recently started clearing everything out of the mansion, because we weren’t going to be living here for much longer. It was far too big for us, so we’d decided to convert the place into free accommodation for Blackthorne scholarship students who couldn’t afford the ridiculously-high dorm fees on campus. That way, they’d be able to spend their stipends on other necessary things, and they would never feel like they had to choose between paying for textbooks or a roof over their heads.
Clearing all the old knick-knacks and artwork out of the mansion’s many rooms was a long, boring job, but I didn’t mind doing it as long as I had help from Nate. However, he was still nowhere to be seen.
“Nate!” I called down the hall. “Where did you go?”
No response.
I was about to text him to find out where he was when I heard a faint shuffling sound behind me. I turned to see a man standing at the far end of the hall. He was tall and dressed in black, and a silver mask covered his face. His jacket hood had been pulled up to hide his hair.
When he realized that I’d seen him, he started moving, taking slow, measured steps toward me.
All the hairs rose on the back of my neck, and I took a step backward. “Who are you?” I asked.
The masked stranger ignored my question. “You thought you got away with it, didn’t you?” he said, low voice dripping with danger. “You really thought I wouldn’t find you.”
I sucked in a shaky breath as the man drew closer. “I’m calling the police,” I said, slipping a hand into the left pocket on my cardigan.
It was empty.
The man held up a phone. My phone. “Looking for this?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. “You dropped it earlier. You really should be more careful.”
My stomach flipped, and I took another step backward. “What do you want?” I asked, voice quavering.
“You know what I want, Alexis.”
With that, the man charged at me. I screamed and whirled around, feet practically flying over the floorboards as I dashed down the hall. If I could make it to the stairwell, I’d be okay. I could run downstairs and—
My train of thought was cut off as the masked man caught up to me, roughly wrapping his arms around my waist. “Stop!” I screamed as he dragged me backward. “Please!”
The man silenced me with a gloved hand, firmly clamping it down over my mouth. I kept struggling and writhing in his grip, but he was too strong for me. He roughly dragged me all the way into one of the guest bedrooms on the left side of the hall and threw me onto the bed. Then he shut the door behind him and locked it.
My heart hammered as I stared up at him. “You can’t do this,” I said in a broken murmur. “My boyfriend is coming home soon. He’ll help me.”
The man let out a dark chuckle. “You’re a little liar, Alexis. A troublemaker, too. Always have been.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Yes, you are. You don’t have a boyfriend, and this isn’t your home,” the man said. “Did you really think I wouldn’t see you sneaking through the window earlier?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Please, sir,” I whispered, lowering my eyes. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t. But only if I get what I want,” he replied. His words were laced with sinful amusement.
