“Yeah. That’s what I said,” I groaned. Little by little, my anger and outrage were cooling. I didn’t want to be mad at grandpa. His death was still so fresh in my mind that it felt wrong. “But he must have some kind of plan. I mean, he said as much. Maybe I’ll understand if I actually go through with the list?”
“You’re considering it?” Audria asked. She was looking at me like I was insane.
“Yes,” I said. “It was his dying wish.”
“That’s a little dramatic,” Audria said.
“How? He literally wished it right before he died. Dying wish. Textbook example.”
Bree nodded slowly. “She does have a point. That sounds a lot like a dying wish to me, Audria.”
“It doesn’t sound like it’ll matter if you choose to do the list or not,” Audria said. “This Landon guy is just going to go to the lawyers and cut you out of the equation.”
“Not if I woo him.” I frowned at my own suggestion. “Okay, scratch that. I’m not going to try to woo the guy, but I can at least go find him and try to talk some sense into him.”
“I wonder if there are going to be videos for us, too,” Bree said.
“Probably. And I have no idea why it’s starting with me. I mean, other than the obvious fact that I was Grandpa’s favorite.”
“Yeah,” Audria said. “He liked you so much that he pretty much told a supervillain to take your inheritance unless you go on a sexual scavenger hunt with him.”
“What about the thing you said,” Bree asked. “Didn’t he promise Landon some kind of greater reward if he got you through the list?”
“Yeah,” I said. “But what would you choose? A sure thing, or some vague promise from a man you apparently hated more than Paula Deen hates the idea of cooking without butter?”
“I don’t know,” Bree said. “But the mystery would drive me crazy.”
“I think he’ll manage,” Audria said. “So, are you really going to go try to talk to him?”
“I don’t know what else to do,” I said.
“Wouldn’t you need to know where he is to convince him?” Audria asked.
“Kind of,” I admitted. “But I know where the club is. He said he had been helping Grandpa Willy run it. Wouldn’t it make sense for him to go back there at some point tonight?”
“You said he had some kind of cock key. Could you even get in without it?”
“That can’t be the only way in,” I said. “If it’s a real club with lots of people, then there’s a front entrance. Otherwise, we’d have known about it a long time ago when a constant stream of leather-clad BDSM enthusiasts were parading down to the basement every day.”
“Good point,” Audria said.
I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and put on my game face. “It’s time for me to do some detective work. Also, it’s time for me to raid my closet for a convincing outfit to get into a sex club.”
“Or,” Audria said. “You could just let me pick the lock. If a giant cock was the key, then it’s not a normal lock. I bet you could stick almost anything in there and get it to open.”
“I’m open to suggestions,” I said.
Audria unzipped her bag and fished around for a few seconds. She pulled out a floppy, purple dildo with a suction cup on one end.”
Bree and I both clapped our hands over our eyes and groaned.
“Jesus,” I said. “Would you stop waving that thing around? And why is it in your school bag? What does—just—”
“Don’t worry. I keep it washed and sanitized. It’s perfectly sterile,” Audria said, as if that was our primary concern.
“It’s more about the mental image,” I said. “And you probably fantasize about cell samples or beakers and Bunsen burners. Oh,” I mimicked. “Results would indicate this method of insertion is highly desirable. Oh!” I groaned again.
Audria shoved it back in her bag and stood. “Are you going to take me down there and show me the hole, or not?”
“Yes,” I said. “But I need to go to my room and change first.I walked into the club wearing the most aggressively conservative outfit I could find. Black turtleneck, thick, baggy black jeans, and even my most padded, ill-fitting bra. The strategy was simple: be invisible.
All I wanted to do was bust in the place, talk some sense into Landon, and get out.
Audria’s dildo had worked in the keyhole, but my sisters decided to hang back and let me do this alone.
I was in the hallway lit by candles again. There was an ominous, lacquered black door at the other end. To my left, the theater room where I’d watched grandpa’s video was empty, but the lights were still on and the projector hummed quietly.
I took a steadying breath and moved to the black door, pulling it open.