Page 185 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘I want to get out of here as fast as possible.’ He speed-read the letter inside. ‘An interesting job you have, watching people struggle to work out the clues. The diversions, red herrings, complications. Do you enjoy seeing them sweat?’

She did want to see him sweat, actually. ‘What do you think that says about me?’

‘That you like to play but you keep yourself safe. Distanced.’

‘I offer assistance when required.’

‘Benevolence?’ His laugh was low. ‘No, you just like to display your superior intellect.’

‘Not superior,’ she countered. ‘I have the advantage only because I know the rooms inside and out.’

‘Because you designed them. You’ve set this trap for me.’

She watched him unlock the first cabinet and gritted her teeth. He was too quick. He was going to do this in less than an hour. ‘You’ve been doing your research.’

‘I stayed up all night finding everything I could about you.’

‘That would hardly have taken all night,’ she said uncomfortably. What did he think he knew now?

‘The night was very hard.’ He grinned. ‘Will you give me extra time given my performance might be impaired due to the lack of sleep you caused?’

‘No.’

‘I won’t forget that small lack of mercy, Elodie. Maybe there’ll come a time when I show you no mercy.’ He stood still and stared directly into the camera. ‘Here’s the deal. When I escape this room—in less than an hour—you’ll elope with me.’

Even though there were walls between them, she felt that look burn through her. ‘You’re not really in a position to make demands.’

‘I have copies of your parents’ accounts,’ he said softly. ‘You’re going to want to see them.’

Her stomach dropped. ‘How bad are they?’

‘Can’t say right now, I’m concentrating on decoding this cipher.’ He pushed a series of buttons—in the right order. The cloth providing a colourful backdrop for the musicians’ platform fluttered, swallowed into a small gap in the floor and leaving a bland basement wall exposed.

‘Oh, that’s impressive,’ he commented.

Elodie refused to feel pleasure at the praise. She clicked to another screen and adjusted the temperature of the air conditioning. Willing to play dirty to win.

Only a few moments later Ramon removed his jacket, put it on the wooden table and rolled up his sleeves. ‘I appreciate your efforts to make this even more difficult for me.’

He flexed his hands and stepped forward to line up a series of cocktail glasses.

‘Copa de balón...’He angled his head and read the gin bottles. Understanding he needed to read the colours in the mirror to input them in the right order. ‘This business is for sale. The owner wants to retire. Meaning your job is potentially at risk. His asking price is steep.’

Elodie froze, hating him.

‘It must be disappointing that you don’t have the money to scrape together a bid when you’re the one who’s made such a difference to the bottom line with rooms like this and thus have inflated that asking price,’ he added. ‘You’ve brought in another stellar worker and everything. It must be nice to work with a friend. Bethan, right? The brunette on reception. She’s in some of your social media photos.’ He ran his hand over the knobs and lined them up. ‘Wouldn’t it be a shame if she lost her job too?’

‘I’m not going to let that happen.’

‘No? But the business leases this building and that’s also coming up for renewal shortly. What if the landlord decides to sell? A new building owner might want to do something else with the space given it’s such a central location. It could even be a good boutique hotel.’ He paused. ‘All that could be avoided ifyouwere to buy the business.’

Elodie turned the audiovisual feed off completely. It was a calculated risk but one she had to take given he was at the three-quarter mark already. She ran down the secret fire escape passage to the compartment that was about to be flipped into the room and stepped onto the small space just in time. She heard the creak as the mechanism started. Lifting her chin, she pressed back as she was swung around on the small platform and into the room. Because what had been a shelf in front of him was now a hollow holding Elodie herself.

She met his stunned gaze with a defiant glare.

‘Wow...’Ramon pressed his hand to his chest. ‘Quite the jump-scare.’ He regarded her with wide eyes as she stepped into the centre of the room. ‘You really do know how to make an entrance. Here was me thinking the object of the exercise was to getoutof the room.’

‘There are surprises for the clients,’ she muttered. ‘Sometimes a mannequin, sometimes a fake skeleton—’

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