Eye for an Eye (Take a Chance #2)- Lisa Helen Gray Page 0,5

as wide as the main ones.

My boots hit the red carpet runner that leads all throughout the upstairs until it reaches a door. Some rooms are carpeted, and some are laid with dark wood floorboards partially covered with old, tattered rugs. The house is ancient and the guy who lived here clearly struggled to maintain its upkeep. From what I’ve seen of the interior, no one has been upstairs in years. There’s dust and cobwebs in every corner and surface up there, whereas downstairs, although outdated, is clean and tidy.

Turning left at the first hallway, I stroll towards the door leading to the library. I can hear Reid cursing from here, so when I reach the doorway, I’m not surprised to see him still half-hanging out of the window.

The soft beige curtains are pulled open, and although visibility is skewed by the dust and grime living on the glass, it doesn’t take away from the breath-taking view of their land. Two blossom trees sit on either side of the main gate, the arched branches elegantly bowing and bobbing in the wind. The place has character, a sense of home, even if it does need a lot of work done to it.

I scan the large room. The once full honey-coloured shelves that span the entire room, from floor to moulding, even above the door, are now empty of books. The boxes left are dumped in various places, not even taped and ready for transport. A few boxes are stacked upon the large, unpolished oval table that sits idly in the corner.

I head over to the shelf with the ladder leaning against it, fascinated by the sight. I’ve never seen one in my life, only in children’s movies. It’s off its runner, but once upon a time, you would have been able to slide this to whichever bookcase you needed to grab a book from.

I move over to the next shelf, where a book still lies on the floor. I bend down, picking it up, when the scuff marks dented into the wooden floor pulls my attention.

“Holy shit,” I whisper, gently placing the book in the nearest box, not making a sound.

Straightening, I take in the edges of the shelf, seeing at a closer look that they are different to the others, thicker and wider. I run my finger over it, feeling a rougher edge than the others.

Reid was fucking right.

I grip the shelf edge and the tiny bit of frame and pull, taking a step back once I feel the shelf come away from the wall.

“Hey, Lily,” Reid yells, still unaware of me in the room.

Grinning, I step inside quickly, briefly taking in the set of concrete stairs before slowly shutting the door behind me, leaving only the tiniest of spaces for me to see Reid.

“Oh alright. Fucking hell. I’ll get back to work,” he yells, before pushing himself away from the window. “Reid, you can’t do this; Reid, you can’t do that. I’m the fucking man, Jaxon, not you.”

I struggle to keep the laughter at bay, but I manage, waiting for the perfect moment to jump out. He steps towards the box I threw the book inside, his brows pinched as he goes to lift it. Knowing this is my moment, I push the door open, screaming, “Boo,” in his face.

He screams, dropping the box and falling flat on his arse, trying to backwards crawl away from me in terror.

I roar with laughter, my hands on my bent knees as I take in his petrified expression. Seeing me, he lies back on the floor with a thud, his arm covering his eyes.

“Fucking hell, I think I’ve shit my pants.”

“Your face,” I tell him through laughter.

He lifts his arm away, glaring at me, and before he can open his mouth, his gaze goes over my shoulder, widening in wonder.

“Holy fucking shit. I was right.”

He gets up, standing next to me as we both stare down the stone steps.

“It’s pretty dark down there,” I pointlessly tell him, knowing he can see for himself.

“Bro, I’ve seen the horror movie. Now I’ve found it, I’m not sure if I want to go exploring, if you know what I mean. I’m too fucking handsome to get killed by some whacko with mummy issues. You go down first.”

I turn to him, my eyebrows pinched together. “Are you fucking serious?”

“You found it,” he snaps.

“You wanted to find it,” I snap back, pushing him down the first step. He grabs onto my arm, pulling me with him and