Page 40 of A Love So Wrong
Chapter 10
"Gideon," Jade's hiss echoed off the tall walls of the shadowy grand living room. "We shouldn’t be doing this!"
Overlooking her fearful face, Gideon turned around in place, taking in the massive house. Inside the mansion, it was so quiet every footstep seemed to echo off the marble floors. With just one couch, a rug and no paintings, pictures, or anything else hanging off the towering white walls, the place felt empty.
Feeling the mounting pressure of her stare on the back of his head, Gideon inhaled and exhaled heavily before turning around. Jade was still standing by the sliding glass door that they came through. The pool behind her glowed through the door, eerily outlining her in the dark.
Having got his attention, she gave him a fierce look though it was still lined in fear. "I want to leave right now," she said, pointing to the floor where the pressure cooker sat in front of her feet.
Tired, Gideon leaned on the granite bar counter behind him and gave her a thoughtful look. "You said Toby gave you two free nights at some hotel in Vegas, right?"
"Yes," she waved her phone at him, clearly aggravated. "I've been telling you that since we left the shop. Toby sent me the vouchers in my email."
Something about Toby coming to save the day rankled Gideon, but he knew it was a foolish feeling.
"Yeah, well, that only covers two days, and we need three," he explained and held out his hands. "This can be our third night."
"No, Gideon," Jade stomped. "This is wrong, and we could get caught and go to jail."
He wanted to groan aloud, but he knew she would probably hit him. He wanted to say he had on good authority that they would not get caught, but he doubted a bunch of burnouts and their YouTube buddy would hold up for her. Instead, Gideon simply walked over to her and braced her by each shoulder. It killed him to see the pleading look on her round freckled face silently begging him to understand her.
"Come on, Jade. Let's just for once, just for tonight, do something a little bit reckless in this clearly unlocked and unguarded mansion, and tomorrow we will go back to taking life's balls to the face," he gave her a coaxing grin, but he knew it wasn't his best. He knew she could see the tired stress lining his face.
For a few minutes, she didn't say anything, and he feared she would renew her argument. With a slump to her shoulder, Jade dropped her gaze from his and looked to the ground as she nodded, giving him the softest "ok" he had ever heard. For some reason, that felt a million times worse.
~
Scrubbing both hands up and down his face and back through his hair, he stared at the closed double doors that led to the bedroom. The reckless, throw caution to the wind adventure he had imagined for them when they rode the bus here was not turning out at all as he planned it. Going up the stairs, it had been pretty obvious what room was the master bedroom since all the other doors were single doors. Walking into the master bedroom, he was surprised to find it very bland and empty. There was just a bed inside and absolutely nothing else. A curious part of him wanted to explore the rest of the house together, but when he walked back to the hallway, expecting her to follow, Gideon had found the spot at his side empty.
Standing in the bedroom, Jade slipped off her bag and sat it next to her pressure cooker. Without even looking at him, she just sat on the bed and folded her hands. "I'm going to shower and go to sleep. Wake me up when you're ready to leave."
The dejected-sounding words hit him like bullets. Closing the door behind him, Gideon stomped down the hallway. Could she not give him this?! He thought savagely as anger curled inside of him. Why wasn't she even trying to understand? He was tired, so very fucking tired. He was tired of driving, and he was tired of pretending like everything was fine. They had been on their way to their goal, they had a clear path in mind, and with that, he was making it. If he earned so much and drove so many miles, they would soon get a house together and begin their lives together as one. With each day, he could feel her awareness to him growing. He could feel himself gaining ground. But between this morning's odd distant behavior from her and the fucking accident, it felt like he was thrown back to square one and all his work was for nothing.
He couldn't do this, not like this. Not for much longer.
Fine, Gideon thought. He would look around by himself. Walking up to a door, he opened it. The room was empty, not even a bed or a dresser furnished it. The next few rooms were exactly the same, except for one. Jiggling the handle, it did not budge. Glancing down at the knob, he realized unlike all the other matching door knobs down the hall, this one was different; it had a keyhole. Why would anyone lock a door from the outside in their own home?
Ignoring it, he continued through the house. The kitchen wasn't necessarily empty. The pantry had a few canned goods, dry goods, and bottles of wine, but the refrigerator was empty. Walking past the laundry room, Gideon opened a door, and despite its pitch-black interior, he could feel the change in the air and the slight smell of rubber and knew even before he flicked on the light switch to this left that it was a garage. What he did not expect was to see a bright yellow Lamborghini and a shining black Lotus sitting side by side in the three-bay garage. Gideon felt as if his breath stopped completely. Not daring to step forward, he flicked off the switch and quickly closed the door. His heart was still trying to calm itself when he went into the final room across the kitchen, and it immediately spiked at the sight.
The tiny room looked as if it was meant to be another laundry room with its narrow galley-like design. Instead of washers and dryers, however, on the right wall sat a bank of monitors, all displaying images of each room. Gideon felt his stomach drop. Carefully stepping further inside, his eyes went from each monitor as they cycled through their various shots. Dozens of different angles from the outside drive, front lawn, backyard cycled past him as well as every spot they must have taken to get there. Other screens showed the inside of the house, the living room, kitchen, and numerous empty rooms. Gideon's gut twisted as he stared at one screen, which was turned off. It was the biggest screen out of all of them, and it sat prominently in the middle. Sitting down at the stool, Gideon reached out and clicked the monitor's power button powering the screen to life.
His insides froze.
The picture showed one room in night vision gray-scale, but Gideon didn't need color to make out every detail of the room. Along one wall hung an assortment of whips, paddles, belts, and straps while a black harness-like swing hung in a corner. In the middle of the room was a frameless bed covered in what looked to be black sheets. Shelves and cabinets were fully stocked with bottles, plugs, and dildos. This had to be the locked room, he surmised.
"What sick shit is this?" Gideon mumbled.
Seeing a number icon in the corner of the screen, Gideon looked down at the keyboard and clicked the arrow button. Immediately the screen toggled to a new camera—the master bedroom. Framed perfectly over the bed, whoever was watching would have the ultimate view at whatever activities were going down. Staring at the pressure cooker sitting near the bed, Gideon felt his pulse quicken as he looked at the corner of the screen to yet again see another number indicating another shot. Somehow, he knew what the next shot was, and a small part of himself told him not to do it, but his finger didn't pay any heed. Clicking the arrow button, the screen toggled again, bringing up the master bathroom. Beautiful marble floors sparkled under the crystal sconces in the bathroom. Sitting on the rim of the tub wrapped in only a white towel, Jade held her face in her hands. From the slight shake of her shoulders, he knew she was crying.
Shame began to carve itself through his veins. Angrily he clicked the monitor off, hating himself for what he tried to do. Why was he even here right now? He could be in a hotel watching Jade's smiling face as she cooked him something in her stupid pot. He could be consoling himself with her upbeat smile instead of in here acting like the creep who owned this shitty house.
Standing up, Gideon walked to the door and paused. Turning back, he stared at the equipment letting his eyes follow the wires. He may not be the future engineer of their family, but he knew how to uninstall a hard drive. He couldn't take the risk of having their images recorded. Finding and removing the hard drive and backup drive, he pocketed them both.
Upstairs the master bedroom was quiet. Knocking softly on the door, he waited.
"I'm dressed," the soft voice called from the other side, and a lance of guilt went through him at that.
In the dark, Gideon could make out the lump lying on the far side of the bed. Deciding to shower in the morning, Gideon stripped off his shirt and jeans leaving him only in his boxers. Pulling back the covers, he crawled into the bed, making his way across the great divide until he was right next to her. With only the moonlight streaming in through the windows on either side of the bed, Gideon couldn't make out every detail, but he could feel her flinch as he laid a hand on her hip.
