Billionaire Wolf's MateDate - Serena Meadows Page 0,31
to see if they’d heard her, and began to crawl as fast as she could, not paying any attention to where she was going, only trying to get as far away from the attic as she could. The sound of Jeff and the other man clomping around right where she’d been hidden followed her until she’d taken several turns.
When her head bumped into a wall, her heart sank, sure that she’d hit a dead end and would have to retrace her steps in the darkness. Pulling the bag that she’d packed back in her room off her back, she dug out the flashlight she always carried, covered it with her hand, then turned it on. Only letting out a little bit of light through her fingers, she nearly cried out when she saw not a solid wall but another small door.
Chapter Thirteen
***Reggie***
Reggie was headed down the hallway to the kitchen, thinking that it was the most logical place to escape from, when he heard a crash in the music room. Retracing his steps, he poked his head inside, letting his eyes slowly sweep across the room until he saw the open cabinet door. He stood listening for a few minutes before stepping into the room, then followed the sound of labored breathing to a far corner.
Janice was crouched on the floor under a table, her eyes filled with fright, her body shaking, her chest heaving. “It’s okay,” he said, crouching down next to her.
She shook her head, her eyes bulging with fright. “Go away; leave me alone,” she whispered, trying to back away from him. “It will never be okay unless I can get away from here.”
Just then, a cry of alarm rang out through the house. It echoed through the empty halls and bounced off the walls, coming at them from every direction. The sound of pounding feet soon followed, and Janice started to crawl away from him. “I have to get away,” she said. “They’re looking for me.”
He grabbed her and stood, pulling her to her feet. “What’s going on?”
Janice looked up at him, opened her mouth, but before she could answer, his father’s voice could be heard coming from the study. “Well, find whoever it was and bring them to me,” he shouted. “Search the entire house; find out who isn’t in their room.”
“Oh, God, I have to go,” Janice said, pulling free from him and heading for the hallway.
“You’ll never make it back to your room,” Reggie said. “Come on. We’ll go to my room. I know a short cut.”
He pulled her across the room, pulled aside a tapestry, opened another hidden door, and shoved her inside. Taking her hand, he guided them through the darkness, hoping he’d remember the turns until a little glimmer of light caught his eye. He kept going counting his steps, holding Janice’s hand tightly, hoping that the door hadn’t been boarded over.
When he felt the latch in his hand, he sighed with relief and quickly turned it, opened the door, and shoved Janice through. He followed her, never so glad to see his room, but almost instantly, the sound of shouting came down the hallway, and he knew they weren’t safe yet.
Janice was standing in the middle of the room, her entire body trembling; her clothes were covered in dust, her face pale, and he was sure that she was about to collapse. He crossed the room and gently pulled her into his arms. “I know what you saw must have been terrible, but I need you to listen to me,” he said, pulling back and looked down at her.
She nodded, but he wasn’t sure she was listening. “This is going to sound crazy, but I want you to take off your clothes and get into bed,” he said.
Her eyes got bigger than they already were. “I can’t...I mean...”
The sound of more yelling cut her off. “Janice, they have to think that we’ve been together, and you’re covered with dust,” he said. “I’ll turn around so I don’t see anything if that will make you feel better, but you have to play along. Trust me, and I promise nothing bad will happen. I’ll protect you.”
She looked into his eyes for what felt like a long time, the shouting from the hallway getting louder, then nodded her head. “But you have to turn around,” she said.
Reggie spun around. “Hurry,” he said, almost wanting to laugh at the situation.
He could hear Janice taking off her clothes, the sound of her zipper, the