Intrigued: The Dark Christmases

by Arkadie, Z. L.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “My expectations of there being an ‘us’ are nonexistent.”

  His eyebrows furrowed.

  I walked to the closet to put on a fluffy robe. “I mean we don’t do much but have sex. I don’t know who you are, not for real. And you certainly don’t know who I am.” Now that I was out of his sight, it was easier to restrain my tears.

  “I know who you are,” he claimed.

  I wrapped myself in the robe, walked back out to the main room, and stood in front of him. “You can’t know me.”

  There was a glint of intrigue in his eyes. “Maybe one day, I’ll share all of what I know about you with you.”

  Damn, those eyes. They always drew me in. I had to hurry and get the hell away from the Christmas mansion before Jasper broke my heart.

  “I’m all ears,” I said, wearing a fake optimistic smile.

  He studied me then checked his wristwatch. “I’m late for my own party.”

  We were staring at each other again, which made my insides flutter. I hated that Jasper Christmas had the power to make me feel that way.

  “Then you better go,” I barely said.

  He stepped closer. Our faces were so close that his escaped breath warmed my lips. Then he kissed me, making my head spin all the way to Venus. I was still somewhere in the clouds when he let go of me and turned to walk away. But I remembered something before he could exit through the secret passage.

  “Jasper,” I said breathlessly.

  The fire was still in his eyes when he turned to me.

  “I want to have free access to my car,” I said.

  “Who’s stopping you from gaining access to your car?”

  “Why is my side of the garage door locked?”

  I didn’t know if he was staring at me the way he was because he wanted to kiss me or spank me.

  “I’ll handle it,” he said and left before I could say thank you.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I rushed to the bathroom and pulled the trash bag out of the golden wastebasket. Just as I suspected, there were fresh bags at the bottom. I took three bags and put my panties drenched with Jasper’s saliva and my juices in the bag. I took the specimen along with the other two bags and put them in my suitcase. Tomorrow, I would drive to the UPS Store.

  Next, I put on my black dress, which had a boat neck and three-quarter sleeves and fit snugly all the way down to the bend of my legs. I stood in front of the mirror, studying myself. I looked smart. However, it would’ve been nice to tempt Jasper by showing a bit more skin. I’d never guessed I would end up in a sexual relationship with one of the Christmas siblings. Rich, arrogant pricks never turned me on. Usually, even the ones who appeared down to earth were faking it.

  It was time to move on and stop making sure I looked appropriate enough to mingle with the in crowd. I put on my patent-leather Mary Janes, which sexed me up a bit. One last hair fluff, another layer of red lipstick, and I walked out of the room to continue on the same mission I’d had in mind before I saw Jasper in my room.

  “Greetings, Miss Holly.”

  I jumped. I hadn’t expected to see William standing there.

  “Um, hi,” I said with a hand pressed over my heart.

  “I apologize for startling you.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “By the way, have you seen Gina?”

  He stood about an inch straighter. “She is no longer a guest here.”

  I jutted my neck forward. “She left?”

  “Yes, Miss Holly.”

  “When?”

  “This afternoon while you were out.”

  I sighed, disappointed. Damn it. I had to think fast. “She’s a great swimmer. Did you know that?”

  “No ma’am,” he said, wearing an indifferent expression.

  “I’m actually a better swimmer after our time together this afternoon. She’s such a professional that I promised to put her in touch with Dan Folks. Anyway, I digress.” I chuckled delightfully and thumbed over my shoulder. “I’m just going to go back in and shoot her an email with his contact information.”

  He bowed. “Whatever you like, Miss Holly.”

  I smiled, nodded, and went back into my room. “Oh,” I said before closing the door.

  William turned to face me. “Yes, Miss Holly?”

  “I’ll find my way to the party. Don’t worry about me.”

  He bowed again. “And Miss Holly, a garage door opener will be placed on your nightstand during turn-down service.”

  “Thanks,” I said, still smiling. “Oh, and William, could you please take the Miss out of Holly?”

  He frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

  “It’s just Holly, not Miss Holly.”

  William pursed his lips. I waited for him to say something. The fact that he had something to say was in his eyes. To help him along, I raised my eyebrows.

  “Ma’am, I appreciate your invitation for informality, but my job entails strict reserve.”

  I respected the way he put me in my place. I nodded. “I understand.”

  After one more bow, he walked down the hallway. I watched him until he was out of sight.

  * * *

  I needed to pace. After that last interaction with William, I had to rethink my next plan of action. I was kicking myself for having been in the house for two days without learning the location of everyone’s room. My glower fell upon the cabinet Jasper kept entering my room through. There was no need to question my judgment. Plus, exploring the mansion’s secrets had always lived at the back of my mind. So I switched my high heels for my running shoes. Figuring it would be cold in the dark hallways, I put on my long coat and grabbed my cell phone to use for extra light. Then I entered the cabinet.

  The first room I entered was some sort of parlor, which had two scarlet leather sofas with a lacquered coffee table between them. The room smelled faintly of cigars. There was no more to the space than that, so I quickly went back into the dark, chilly halls.

  I was walking down a hallway on the second floor and stopped to press my ear against the next door. There was no sound, not even the faint noise of open space. Slowly, carefully, I turned the handle. I was starting to understand that there was a tight, dark space before each room of the house I was entering.

  After clearing the darkness, I carefully entered another closet. I could hear a woman moaning and a man grunting. Two people were having sex. For some reason, my heart sank. Could that be Jasper and another woman? If he wanted to hurt me, banging another woman would do the trick, at least while I was still in the house.

  “I love you,” the man said, grunting. He was definitely coming.

  “I love you too,” the woman said.

  I stood up straight. That was Bryn. What the hell? When I’d asked if she were seeing someone, she wouldn’t cop to it. I fought the urge to barge into her room and say, “Aha! Caught you.” But I couldn’t very well do that when I was sneaking through the hidden hallways of the Christmas mansion.

  “Damn you, Bryn,” I muttered before shifting back into the hallway.

  At the end of the hallway was another door. I discreetly turned the knob and crept into the darkness.

  “You know what your fucking problem is? Randolph made you believe you control this whole fucking situation, and you don’t,” a man said.

  “I control who comes in and out of this mansion,” Jasper said. “And you were uninvited.”

  The other man laughed sharply. “I’ll own this fucking place if you keep fucking around with me.” He sounded like a wise guy.

  I waited for Jasper to say something. Finally, he did, but his voice was so low that I couldn’t hear what he said. I pressed my ear to the door. That was when I heard him say “journalist.” Then he said my name. I closed my eyes tightly so I could really concentrate on his voice.

  “You don’t think she knows who you are?” Jasper asked. “She sees you in here, and she’ll start asking questions.”

  “That’s your
problem, not mine,” the other guy said.

  “It becomes your problem if I’m not good to you anymore, Art.”

  There was silence again, the thoughtful kind.

  “How’s he doing anyway?” the guy named Art asked.

  “Not well,” Jasper replied. “He’s on his last leg.”

  “Can I see him?”

  “No.” Jasper’s tone was final. It was difficult to tell who actually had the power in their conversation.

  “At some point, I’m going to have to know how things are going with him. And if he dies, I need to see the fucking body.”

  Jasper’s laugh had an edge. “You fucking think I’m going to lie to you about my father dying?”

  “I think anything is possible when it comes to you. You know what you have to do. Don’t fucking think to test me. I’ll win. I’ll start with that little sister of yours and her sweet little ass, and I won’t stop until the last Christmas is wiped off the face of this earth. You understand?”

  I imagined Jasper standing there, glaring at the man like an angry wolf with his lips clenched. That was definitely the sort of question he would never answer.

  “Get the hell out of here before someone sees you,” Jasper finally said.

  There was silence. I could tell Arthur didn’t like being talked down to by Jasper. The tone of Art’s voice said he was much older, but the tenor of Jasper’s voice said he was a formidable foe. That pause said that Art knew this and hoped to God Jasper wouldn’t test him but sure as hell knew the younger man would.

  “I’ll be in touch,” Art said.

  If only I could get a look at the other man in the room. Apparently, it was someone Jasper believed I would recognize. I heard a door open and close. That was my cue to get out of there. I hastened back into the dank hallway, wondering why in the world Jasper would choose to navigate these passageways. They felt like being in a rendition of hell on earth.

  I hadn’t reached the end of the corridor when I heard a door open. My heartbeats accelerated as I reached for the first door on my right. As quietly as I could, I opened it and went into the darkness. I controlled my breathing as I pressed my ear against the wood. Footsteps, loud and deliberate, came down the hall and stopped right in front of the door I was pressed against. My heartbeats felt as if they had come to a grinding halt. Could he sense my presence?

  Then I heard a loud bang and turned toward it. The sound had come from the opposite direction of where I suspected Jasper was standing. At last he started walking again. I stood petrifyingly still until I was sure he was gone. The banging from the other room became louder.

  “No, stop,” a woman screamed. Then she let out a loud wail.

  “You’re just a liar!” a man yelled. “A filthy tramp liar!”

  Shit, it was Asher.

  “Leave her alone, Ash,” Spencer said.

  My mouth dropped as I realized they were both in the room with the woman.

  There was another loud pounding, and the woman cried out again. I knew that voice. It was Gina.

  Holy hell, I had to get to that room before they killed her. There was more bumping and a series of loud thuds and bangs. Asher started yelling at Spencer, calling him untrustworthy and a betrayer. Asher said that he and Gina could go off and die together for all he cared.

  “All right, it’s time for you to cool the fuck off,” Spencer said.

  “Get your fucking hands off me,” Asher yelled.

  More ruckus ensued. Asher kept yelling, then a door slammed. I could hear Gina whimpering. Now was my chance.

  I quickly opened the door, and Gina, who was lying on the floor, looked at me. Her eyes widened in surprise. Her face was all bruised. I didn’t know how I could have passed that room earlier without hearing her being beaten. It looked as though whoever did that to her had been going at it for a while.

  The two brothers were still out in the hallway. Spencer was still trying to calm Asher.

  I squatted and took Gina by the arm. “Come with me.”

  At first, she looked conflicted. But as I stood and pulled her up, she let me help her stand. I was relieved she was willing to go with me. I knew we had to get out of there and out of the house before they came back into the room.

  We ran down the hallway. She was limping and holding her side. Damn, he’d beaten her severely. Asher was not a good person. Sheer terror gripped me as we ran into the room where I was lodging. The only thing on my mind was getting Gina far away from the house as fast as I could. My legs drove me past the two armchairs and to the door that led to the main hallway. My breaths were heavy as I put my hand on the knob and squeezed.

  Gina’s laughing made me freeze. I whipped my face around and saw her slouched in an armchair, having a good old-fashioned belly laugh. I could hardly believe what I was seeing, and that sentiment apparently showed on my face because she pointed at me as she continued cackling.

  My mouth was stuck open, and all I could do was shake my head.

  “Don’t worry,” Gina said. “I won’t let them know you were there.”

  My neck jutted forward. “What?”

  “But I’m so impressed that you found your way to the rabbit hole.”

  “The rabbit hole?”

  She rose to her feet, although she was still bent over, clutching her side as though she were in pain.

  “But you’re all beat up,” I said.

  “I told you that Spencer likes it rough. He likes it this rough, and so do I. Asher’s a sniveling pussy.” Her eyes burned with lust. “Spencer’s a man.”

  I released the air in my throat after remembering to breathe. It was then that I noticed she was only wearing a pair of hot-pink thong panties and a black leather bra with the nipples exposed. I wasn’t one to judge, ever, but I had to say something.

  “That bra…”

  She looked down at her tits. “What about it?”

  “Did Spencer experience your tits?”

  Gina cracked a smirk. “And much more.”

  * * *

  I held the black leather bra by the strap. When Gina had taken it off, I’d asked that she be careful not to touch where his saliva most likely was.

  “He’s all over this bra, and so is Asher, by the way,” she said with a wink.

  She never asked what I wanted with the garment, but that little tidbit she gave me about Asher clued me in to the fact that she knew. I was still a little rattled by saving Gina only to find out she hadn’t needed rescuing. I just wondered why William had told me she’d left the house when she obviously hadn’t. That was strange.

  I put the bra inside one of the plastic bags then hid it in my suitcase with the panties. Now that those were safely tucked away, I took a moment to gather my bearings. Art. Who was Art, and what sort of expectations did he have of Jasper? As I put my sexy Mary Jane shoes back on, I ran through a list of men I’d heard of named Arthur, nicknamed Art, who had East Coast ties.

  With only one shoe on, I gasped and stood up straight. The first name that came to mind was the most compelling culprit—Arthur Valentine, the multibillionaire political donor. In 2012, Valentine’s company had been suspected of dumping toxic waste into the Gulf Coast. A reporter named Carlton Conway had been on their trail, looking to expose them, until he’d died abruptly of a heart attack. Carlton was only thirty-six years old. He’d smoked like a chimney, though, and drunk heavily, so not many people had questioned whether his health had ultimately given out. I hadn’t known Carlton that well, but I’d heard he was a dick. With his lifestyle and behavior together, it was clear why no one had ever questioned his sudden demise. I was beginning to wonder if he’d died by the hands of someone whose cage he’d rattled.

  I would have to figure out a way to confirm with Jasper that he was associated with Arthur Valentine. That would add a dimension to the secrets I was uncovering for Bryn, which, as a journalist worth my salt, I would have to pursue. Whether or not Amelia Christmas was Jasper’s or his other siblings’ mother was their business, n
ot the world’s. But an association with Arthur Valentine meant the possibility of corruption that could hurt innocent people. If the second man in the room had been Valentine, then I would need to know what he wanted Jasper to do for him.

  I put my other shoe on and walked out of my room, ready to make my way to the party. I couldn’t hear a thing until I stepped onto the first floor. I followed the faint sound of music until it became louder and mingled with chatter. A smattering of women dressed in cocktail gowns and men in nice suits socialized in the hallway. Every single person I approached watched me with intrigue. Not just anyone received an invitation to the annual Christmas holiday party. So I was sure they were all wondering who I was and what sort of social capital I had to offer. I kept my head held high, fighting the urge to shrink and hide. I had no doubt that some might recognize me as the reporter who’d made a name out of taking down their powerful friends, the Howsleys.

  I sped up my pace. The less time they had to figure out my identity, the less of a chance they would recognize me. I was taken aback by the amount of people present as I entered the wide-open ballroom. There had to have been hundreds.

  Next, I absorbed all the columns, which were lit from within. The glow of light from each one created a warm and festive ambiance. Chandeliers designed like round Christmas ornaments hung from the glass ceiling. Big open windows lined the wall on one side of the ballroom, displaying a view of the sound, where lanterns floated in the calm waters beyond the snow-covered lawn. A band played the standards. People seemed happy mingling. It didn’t take long to notice a few high-profile politicos and billionaires in the room. None of them were Arthur Valentine.

  I pressed my hand on my stomach when it growled. I was hungry and wanted to find Bryn and ask her why she was keeping her lover a secret, but first I had to eat. Waiters in black-tie uniforms walked the floor, balancing trays of champagne and hors d’oeuvres with one hand. But the real score was behind the tables along the wall, where real chefs cooked up beautiful plates of food. I scoped out a scallop dish and pork belly. There were so many choices, and I wanted to try them all, from savory to sweet.