by J. S. Cooper
“Stay.” Wade stood up. “I’ll go and get some bottles.”
“Would you like me to help? So, I can see where the wine cellar is.”
“No.” He sounded almost angry. “It’s in the basement and I don’t want you down there.” He started walking away. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
“Okay.” I shrugged and turned away from him. I looked over at Lucy, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. “What’s up with the basement?” She mouthed to me and I shrugged. “We need to explore later.”
“Okay.” I mouthed back and nodded.
“So, Henry, Savannah tells me you don’t live in the house here with Wade?”
“No way.” He laughed. “That definitely wouldn’t work out well. We’re both too alpha for that.”
“So, where do you live?” She continued questioning him.
“I travel quite frequently. Right now, I’m staying in another property on the land.” He took a bite of potatoes and moaned. “This is absolutely amazing, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Lucy said and then continued. “So you’re staying in the hunting cabin as well?”
“Hmm?” Henry looked up at her, a slight wariness on his face. “Yeah.”
“So, are you hunting the bears as well?” Lucy cut into her meat as she grilled him.
“Bears?” Henry laughed. “What bears? We have deer, elk, moose, squirrels, and rabbits. I’ve never seen any bears. Did Wade say he was hunting bears?” He laughed again. “Next thing you know he’ll be saying he caught Big Foot red-handed as well.”
“Oh, maybe I misunderstood.” Lucy laughed lightly as well. “I thought there were bears up here. So, you’re a big hunter as well?”
“Not really.” He shook his head. “It was really my dad and Wade that were into the hunting. I was more into the eating.” He took another bite of his meat. “In fact, maybe you girls could cook up some of the venison Wade shot? Maybe a nice stew. I love me a venison stew.”
“Maybe.” Lucy shuddered and I knew that it was never going to happen. “So Henry, do you have any other siblings?”
“Wow, what is this, twenty-one questions?” He put his cutlery down for a few seconds and looked at her. “I have one brother, Wade and that’s it.”
“What about any other siblings? Half or step?” Lucy continued and her voice trailed off slightly as Wade walked back into the room with two bottles of red wine in his hands.
“Wade, Lucy was just asking if we have any other siblings?” Henry looked up at his brother and made a face. “What do you think?”
“Our mother seems to think it’s a possibility.” Wade put the bottles down on the table. “Savannah, do you mind getting some wine glasses, please?”
“Sure.” I stood up and walked to the kitchen, my mind racing. Lucy was really going hard tonight and I wondered if she was going too hard. What if she asked a question that the brother’s didn’t like? Henry was joking around and being goofy, but what did that really mean? Gordon was all lighthearted and goofy as well, when I met him and I was pretty sure that had all been a front. As I reached for the wine glasses, a heaviness fell over me. Where the hell was Gordon? How could he have just disappeared and not even have sent me a message? At the end of the day I’d thought we were friends. I leaned back against the counter and took a few deep breaths. I could feel a wave of sadness passing through me and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe my anxiety about this whole ordeal was finally catching up with me. And another part of me was mad at myself. Maybe I should have told Gordon I was on his side. Maybe I should have told him I knew his secret and I wanted to help him find the answers. Instead, I’d been more loyal to Wade and why? Just because I was attracted to him and had slept with him? Nothing I knew about Wade told me I could trust him more than Gordon. Well, nothing on a conscious level. My sub conscious was telling me that there was something more nefarious in Gordon’s intent and that had nothing to do with Wade and I. It was just all too much now. I was driving myself crazy. It all seemed to be one crazy riddle that didn’t make sense. And now the fact that Wade didn’t want me to go into the basement made me even more suspicious and crazy. I didn’t even know where the basement was. I’d been throughout the house and never even seen the door. Why was that? What secrets was he hiding down there?
“Did you get lost?” Wade entered the kitchen, a questioning look on his face. “Or did you have to wash the glasses or something? What’s taking so long?”
“Sorry, I just needed a minute to myself for a moment.” I didn’t look into his eyes as we spoke. I didn’t want us to have that connection. I needed to start distancing myself from him. Lucy was right. The closer I got to him, the harder it was going to be to accept the possible truth and move on.
“You’re not mad at me, are you?” He stopped in front of me and touched my chin, lifting it so that my eyes were gazing into his.
“Why would I be mad at you?” I blinked, trying not to be too dazzled by his mesmerizing eyes that seemed to be looking into my very soul.
“Because I called you my bedtime whore. I suppose I could have said wrench, but I don’t think you would have liked that either.”
“Neither one of those comments are funny, Wade.” I shook my head at him and tried to ignore my trembling body as he came in close to me.
“I know, but I never said I was funny.” He kissed the side of my cheek. “Did I tell you how hot you look tonight in that dress?” His hand touched the hem. “How I just want to slide my hand all the way up and…”
“Let’s take the glasses into the dining room. I’m sure Henry and Lucy must be wondering what’s happening.”
“I think they can wait.” He whispered as he kissed down my neck lightly, his hands now on my waist pulling me into him. “I think we have time for a little fun, don’t you?”
“No,” I whispered as his hands lightly grazed my breasts. “Wade?”
“What?” He groaned as he played with my hardening nipples. “Can I help it if I’m attracted to you? I want you so badly right now.” He pushed his hardness against my belly and I whimpered at the feel of him.
“Wade, we’re in the middle of dinner. This is not appropriate. Oh.” I gasped as his tongue slid into my mouth and we were kissing passionately. His body was warm against mine and we I could feel my legs trembling. I wanted him so badly, but I knew that there was no way I was going to let him have a quickie with me.
“Wade, no…we have to go back to the dining room.” I pushed him away from me and he groaned.
“I should spank you.” He rubbed his forehead. “So what’s with Lucy and all these questions?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why is she grilling me and my brother?” His voice was soft, but I could tell that my answer was important to him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Wade.” I shrugged. “Let’s go back. I’m hungry and the food is getting cold.”
“You can’t make excuses all night, Savannah.” He grinned. “You will succumb at some point.”
“You wish, Wade Hart. You wish.”
“I’ve got the first bottle open.” Henry stood up as we walked back in. “Everyone ready for a generous pour.”
“I’m more than ready,” Lucy looked over at me with a questioning look and I gave her a reassuring smile. It was the best I could do in that moment. I was close to crumbling.
“I will have some as well, thanks.” I sat back down and waited for Henry to hand me a glass. When he handed it to me, I took a small sip and then moaned. “Wow, this is absolutely amazing. What is it?”
“This is a Pomerol, Bordeaux.” Henry smiled and took a sip. “Aw, yes, one of my favorites. This is a 2011 bottle from Petrus.” He said as if I’d ever heard of the company before in my life.
“We should get a couple of bottles.” Lucy grinned at me. “I wonder if they have them at Whole Foods or Trader Joes.”
“They don’t.” Wade smirked. “A bottle will set you back about thirty five hund
red dollars.”
“Thirty five dollars?” Lucy questioned him.
“You wish.” He laughed. “Three thousand five hundred dollars.”
“Oh.” She laughed. “Yeah, I guess we won’t be buying any bottles.”
“That’s an expensive bottle of wine.” I sipped it a little slower this time. “But now I understand the saying you get what you pay for.”
“Well, this one pairs perfectly with the meat.” Wade beamed as he sat back down. “Now let’s enjoy our dinner.”
“Yes boss.” I laughed as I cut into my meat and continued eating. There was a comfortable silence around the table as we all enjoyed the meal. To anyone looking in from the outside we most probably looked like two happy couples enjoying a nice dinner together. But outside eyes couldn’t feel the tension in the air that was building up with every second. I felt like I could cut it with a knife and I almost groaned out loud as Lucy started talking again.
“So have you guys met Savannah’s friend, Gordon?” She asked as she finished up the remains of the Cesar salad on her plate.”
“No, I’ve heard about him a lot though.” Wade sat back and then poured everyone some more wine. “Do you like him?”
“I haven’t gotten to meet him yet.” Lucy said. “But Savannah tells me he looks a lot like you guys. And I was wondering if he might be an unknown brother.”
“What?” Wade’s eyes flew to mine and his eyes narrowed. “You never told me that.”
“Told you what?” I muttered, furious at Lucy. How dare she spurt that out?
“So do you think that he could be your brother?” She prodded and then looked at Henry. “What do you think?”
“What do I think?” He held his wine glass in his hand and swirled the liquid around for a few seconds. “I think I’d have to ask my dad if he sired another child for me to know the answer, but seeing as our dad is dead, that will be kinda hard.”
“That’s enough, Henry.” Wade jumped up, his face furious and then he turned to Lucy and me. “I don’t know what you guys are playing at, but you both need to step back. Savannah, I told you that you can’t have friends here or your mutt and you disobeyed me. We’re going to have to talk about this later.”
“Oh Wade,” Lucy called out to him as he walked out of the room.
“Yes,” He snapped.
“Are you going to get rid of Savannah, just like you did with your last assistant?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” His eyes narrowed.
“Why don’t you tell us?” She said in a low voice.
“Henry.” Wade barked at his brother. “Let’s go.” And with that he was gone. I looked at Lucy, who was grinning, her eyes afire with adrenaline.
“You really went and poked the bear, didn’t you?” Henry shook his head as he stood up and stared down at Lucy. “You’re a very dumb girl?”
“Am I really?” She glared up at him, looking even more beautiful than normal.
“Yes.” He stared at her for a few seconds. “And if I was a dumb man I’d kiss you right now.” He rubbed his lips and sighed as he straightened his back. “But, unfortunately for you, I’m not dumb.” And with that he turned around and left the room as well. I counted to five under my breath and then I exploded on Lucy.
“What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get us kicked out?”
“Would that be so bad? Wade is a psycho.”
“He’s not a psycho.”
“Girl, I hate to say it, but whatever he’s hiding is huge.” She bit down on her lower lip. “He went from flirting and happy to explosive in a matter of minutes. We’re getting close girl.”
“Are we?”
“I think so.”
“You keep saying that, but we still don’t know anything.”
“But that’s where you’re wrong, Savannah. You keep saying we know nothing, but that’s not true. We actually know a lot. The problem is we don’t know what we know.”
“Huh? You’re confusing me.”
“Because we don’t know everything, we don’t know what the information actually means.”
“So we don’t know anything?”
“Do you think Henry was going to kiss me?” She changed the subject and I took another sip of wine. “Like if you weren’t in the room, do you think he would have gone ahead with it? Or do you think he was just teasing me?”
“What the hell, Lucy?” I frowned. “We were just talking about this mystery, why are you talking about kissing Henry now?”
“There’s something about him.” She smiled dreamily. “I wouldn’t mind him being my first.”
“Oh hell no.” I groaned. “Girl, we’re literally in the middle of getting kicked out of the house and you’re asking about Henry?”
“I know.” She looked slightly embarrassed, and I could see that her face was slightly pink. “I’m not sure what’s come over me.” She groaned. “I guess it’s that Hart magic, you’ve been talking about.”
“Oh shit.” I sighed. “We can’t both be mesmerized by the Hart boys, but it did look like you guys had a lot of chemistry.”
“He’s gorgeous though, he wouldn’t really be flirting with me.”
“Lucy, you do know that you’re gorgeous as well, right?”
“Hold on.” She put her fingers to her lips and stood up and walked slowly to the door. “Come.” She whispered and waved her hands for me to go and join her. I stood up, took another long swig of wine and walked over to join her. “Listen.” She said as I stood next to her. I could hear the distant echo of shouting. “Someone is pissed at someone. Come on, let’s go a little closer.” We headed towards Wade’s office and stopped in the hallway. My heart was pounding as we stood there trying to listen. If Henry or Wade opened the door and walked out, they would see us standing there and they would know that we were eavesdropping.
“You just don’t know when to keep your big mouth shut, Henry.” Wade was shouting. “What the hell are you trying to do?”
“Obviously, I wasn’t going to say anything...” The rest of Henry’s sentence was muffled and we couldn’t hear what he said.
“Do you want them to fucking find out? Do you want to go to jail?”
“We’re not going to go to jail.”
“We’re fucking going to get locked up. What we did, it’s criminal. Do you understand what that means? And it’s all going to blow up in our faces.”
“They have no idea, Wade. Trust me. They....” Muffled again.
“They are asking too many questions. What if they venture...” Now Wade was muffled. Lucy and I stood there, holding onto each other, eyes wide. I didn’t even dare to breath and I was scared that even my heartbeat was too loud.
“They’re not going to venture...” Henry’s voice was up and down. “They don’t even know how to get there...”
“What if they find...”
“They won’t.”
“Find what?” I mouthed to Lucy and she just shook her head.
“Shh.”She whispered and I wanted to tell her that her shush was louder than the words I’d mouthed, but I kept my lips closed.
“Wade, at some point we’re going to have to figure this out. We can’t just keep....”
“Henry, enough. You need to stop flirting with Lucy and leave.”
“She’s cute, why can’t I flirt with her? It’s okay for you to be fucking Savannah on all fours, yet...” He shouted. “God damn, what was that for?”
“Don’t talk about Savannah, like that?” Wade growled and we heard a loud bang. “She’s not just some...”
“Wade, I don’t think this is about me, this is about Savannah.” Henry almost sounded like he was laughing. “She’s the one that’s causing all this trouble. Maybe it’s not me that needs to leave.”
“I don’t know what the hell to do.” Wade was shouting again. “She can’t be here. Especially now she’s questioning me and figuring things out. If she finds out...”
I froze as his voice became muffle
d again and made my way closer to the door. Lucy tried to grab my arm to stop me, but I wasn’t going to stop. I needed to hear more. I needed to hear everything. I needed to know what was going on. What was Wade so afraid of?
“And what’s she going to do if she finds out?” Henry said softly.
“That’s the problem, I don’t know.” Wade sounded like his voice was going to crack. “But she’s getting too close.”
“Like the last girl.”
“Yeah, and I don’t want to do to Savannah what happened to her.”
“So what next?”
“I have to send her away for good.” Wade sounded as distraught as I felt. “I have to protect her.”
“From who?” Henry asked the words I myself wanted to ask.
“From me.” Wade said and then I heard footsteps and panicked. I stepped back, grabbed Lucy and hurried towards my bedroom. I closed the door behind us and locked it.
“What did you hear?” Lucy asked me, her face pale.
“Not much.” I pulled her towards the bed and we sat down on the mattress. “I think Wade is going to send me away. He thinks we’ve been asking too many questions. And he’s worried he’ll have to do something to me, to shut me up.”
“Do what to you?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I just don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense. There’s something in the basement they don’t want us to find.”
“Oh?”
“Henry said something about what if they venture and Wade cut him off and said they we won’t find it.”
“The basement?”
“Well, he didn’t say the basement, but what else could it be? He was pissed off that Henry mentioned it, remember? And he told me to stay away.”
“True.” She nodded. “So what’s in the basement?”
“Or rather who.” I felt faint. “Lucy, what if the last assistant is dead.”
“What?” She sounded sickly. “Like murdered.”
“Well, what if it wasn’t a murder exactly. What if some accident happened or something and she died and they hid the body in the basement.” I felt lightheaded. “And they’re worried I’ll find the body and they’ll go down for murder.”