Idon’t know how long I sit in bed, but by the time I move again, my whole body is numb.What have I done?Because of me, my grandmother is in the hospital and my mom is missing.I swipe at my cheeks, not wanting to cry anymore because the tears do nothing.Me sitting here feeling sorry for myself isn’t doing anything either.I’m not sure what I can do at this point since I’ve already made such a mess of things.
“Jade?”I hear a soft feminine voice call my name and then there’s a knock on the bedroom door.
“Hold on.”I jump up and run toward the bathroom and find a robe before I answer the door.
A tall, beautiful blonde stands at the threshold, towering over me in killer heels.She could be one of my roommates except she’s not dressed scandalously.She’s in wide-leg slacks and a buttoned-up silky top.The woman is put together from head to toe.
“I’m Lena.”She holds her hand out, and I take it.
“I’m Jade, but you seem to already know that.”Who is this woman and why is she knocking on Gray’s bedroom door?
“I do.”She lets out a small laugh.“I know a bit about you.”
“You do?”What’s happening here?
“Gray gave me the details I needed to get you a few things to hold you over.”I still don’t have a clue as to what she’s talking about until she steps to the side and I see two other women holding up a bunch of bags.
I step out of the doorway to open it fully and let them in, which is when I see their arms are overflowing with items.“Sorry, I didn’t know he was having things brought up.”He’d off-handedly mentioned it, but with everything going on, I hadn’t given it much thought.I do need clothes, but there were too many other things to focus on.
“He sent an email last night to his tailor asking for him to find someone.I’m that someone.Jackson can make incredible suits for men, but when it comes to the ladies that’s where his skill set ends.”
“Thank you for doing this all so quickly.”
“Of course.Is that the closet?”She points over toward the doors.
“Yes, but maybe we should leave them out here.”Wouldn’t that screamneedyif I put all my crap in his bedroom closet?I guess technically he did cum inside me, but I decide to shake that thought from my mind.Now is not the time, Jade.
“I was instructed to put them away.”The two ladies carrying the bags are already making their way toward the closest.They both pause to look at me expectantly.
“It’s fine,” I concede, not wanting to make them carry that heavy load any longer than necessary.
“All right then.We’ll be out of your hair shortly, but here is my card.If there’s something missing that you might need, or anything else at all, let me know.”Her eyes move up and down my body appraisingly.“Everything should fit.Mr.Malice described you to a T.Most men that try to do that fail, but clearly he’s got a good eye.”She winks, and I see the corner of her full lips turn up.
“Thank you.”Damn, she’s charming.
It doesn’t take them long to make room for the items and put them away.Needing to get out of this room, I quickly pull myself together and take a shower.Afterwards, I get dressed in the overpriced clothes that obviously fit me perfectly.
The whole time my mind goes in circles.How did those men I’d overheard at the club catch on to me?It hadn’t been them I’d been digging into.I was researching Gray Malice’s side of things since I thought he was the key link.I suppose they keep an eye on him too maybe?They might have seen me poking around him and remembered me from that night.They’d been drunk and had other women hanging on them, so I thought I was pretty much invisible.
I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.What if I’ve been the one that was played?My heart sinks at the thought.I know what I heard, and it was that Gray was working with deep underground organizations in other countries.How could I have misunderstood that?They even spoke of the technology he was giving them.
I latch on to Gray’s words that not everything is as it seems.I so badly want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but last night, I was the only one that could get tangled up in this.Now I’ve somehow pulled my family into it as well, and I don’t have the room to be stupid or naïve.Each second he’s away, my emotions and thoughts start to create new scenarios.
Opening the bedroom door, I slip out of the room and decide that I might as well do what I do best.Be freaking nosy.It gets me into trouble sometimes, but it also gets me information.
I open one door after another, only to find spare bedrooms and a library.As I reach another wing of the house, I realize just how ginormous it is.Every door I encounter opens easily, except for one.
When I grab the knob, it doesn’t even turn, and there isn’t a spot for a key.I step back and glance down the hall, seeing that although this door looks like all the ones around it, clearly it’s different.There’s a painting next to it, and I move closer as I inspect the frame.
Deciding I’ve got nothing to lose, I grip the bottom and pull it back, but somehow, it’s not budging either.I’m about to call this door a bust when I reach for the side of the frame and push.This time, it slides over five inches, revealing a screen that is completely useless to me.I can do some low-level hacking, but there’s no way I’m getting into whatever this is.It wants a handprint and a face scan.
This has to be Gray’s home lab.I push the painting back in place and think for a second.
“House?”I call out, and then there’s a gentle chime.
“Yes, Ms.Sky.”
“You want to open this locked door for me?”I point my thumb toward it.