Looks Can Be Deceiving

Thunder shook the entire mansion as sparks of lightning illuminated the otherwise darkened sky outside. I flinched, all the commotion of the storm having sent my nerves haywire. Taking a painful breath, I reached forward and closed the large bay window in front of me, a strong gust of wind blowing my hair clear out of my face. While the air was cool against my skin, it was also moist, a clear sign that the rain was coming.

“I’ll get the other,” Lyndsey mumbled quickly from the other side of the room, hurrying to another window and pulling it shut. The room fell silent, leaving the noise of the brewing storm outside, “What the hell is with this weather?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” I shrugged, quickly moving away from the window as another bolt of lightning lit the sky, “But if it gets bad, we need to have some candles and flashlights ready.”

“I’m already on it,” Raychel called from the hallway, “Where does Matt keep stuff like that?”

I was at a loss, “I have no idea. You check downstairs, I’ll check up here.”

“Kay!” she shouted, her feet already padding down the hall and for the staircase.

“I’ll get some blankets,” Lyndsey nodded, hurrying out of the room, “Meet in the bonus room when you’re done!”

I giggled at how silly we must’ve sounded. Here we were, in the middle of this creepy storm in Matt’s huge house, running around like crazed fools in order to get our ‘just in case’ supplies together. Meanwhile, the guys were gone out of town, leaving us all to congregate in Matt’s monster of a house so that we wouldn’t be by ourselves.

I set off for the room next door in search of flashlights and candles. It happened to be yet another guest room, which I knew would only contain the basic living necessities: a bed, dressers, TV, desk, and couches. Okay, maybe those were just the basics for rooms in Matt’s house alone.

The guest room proved to be rather empty, and so I moved to the next room. I wasn’t quite sure what kind of room it was. It reminded me of a modern sitting room. Paintings adorned the wall, and only a sofa and armchair occupied the room. A couple of small end tables and a coffee table of sorts accompanied the seating arrangement.

Again, I found nothing. I continued searching through room after room, encountering more guest rooms and bonus rooms that seemed to be decorated for show. I knew nothing out of the ordinary would be found in those rooms because no one ever stayed in them. Going door after door, I made sure to at least try to find what I was looking for. Certain rooms had everything but what I needed, and others barely had anything. Some rooms were locked so that no one could get in.

“YOU SEE ANYTHING, RAY?” I called loudly, my voice bouncing off the mansion walls in an echo.

“NO! NOT YET!” I heard her reply.

With a sigh, I moved to yet another door. Locked again. I frowned to myself as I circled back around and came in front of the room I was staying in. I’d gone through every room upstairs and found nothing that could be useful to us in case of a power outage…not including my backup pistol under my pillow. My other one had been taken as evidence from the attack.

Speaking of the attack, I wasn’t quite sure what was going on with the charges I’d pressed. True to his word, Matt had taken matters into his own hands and had called in a full team of men to help. I highly doubted that it was necessary, but he’d fixed me with one of those firm looks of his, so I’d unwillingly kept my mouth shut.

I wasn’t sure what had happened to my second attacker, the one I’d injured. I didn’t know his name, or where he was for that matter. I avoided the news and the internet as much as possible. Reporters had started calling my phone, which Matt responded to by changing my phone number. The only way people could contact me was through his lawyers or by coming to the house, which for some reason was tight on security. The whole neighborhood was gated, and I knew for a fact that he had people watch the house whenever he was gone. No one came in unless we wanted them to come in.

In a way, I felt completely safe and at ease. Matt never let on to what was happening with the case, but did let me know that he was working things out just fine. Attempting to just push the bad memories out of my mind, I never asked him for details. He never offered any, either. It gave me a slight chance to bounce back from the traumatic event, no matter how little my progress was.

Lyndsey was doing better, too. Spending so much time with Brian lately had done her some good. She didn’t flinch as much, and she had a better hold of her emotions when she got upset. I doubted that she was really venting about what had happened, as she was probably not ready to yet. But Brian was patient and understanding with her. I respected him for that.

I grunted as I leaned down to pick up Shadow, tucking his stocky little body under my arm as I carried on walking through the long, dimly lit hallways. I wasn’t sure where else to look if there weren’t any kind of backup lights upstairs. Raychel already said that she wasn’t seeing anything downstairs, so maybe we were just shit out of luck.

As I stopped to think for a moment, Shadow leapt out of my arm and ran off, yelping happily through the hallways. Had he been completely house-trained – which he wasn’t – then I would’ve allowed him to wander off, but because he wasn’t, I knew I couldn’t allow him to go piss on Matt’s billionaire carpet. Muttering under my breath, I took off after him, calling his name between curses.

“Shadow! Bring your little butt back here!” I hissed, hurrying through the hallways as the rumbling thunder made another appearance. I couldn’t see him, but I could hear his little nails against the hardwood floors as he scuttled across them. “Shadow!”

I heard an excited bark come from a few feet away and took a sharp left. He’d managed to nudge open Matt’s bedroom door, and had apparently run right in. Rolling my eyes, I skidded to a stop in the doorway to see him sitting in the middle of Matt’s bed, tail wagging as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

“Shadow, c’mon,” I sighed, motioning for him to come to me, “You’re not supposed to be in here.”

Shadow looked at me and I swore he rolled his little puppy eyes. He didn’t move an inch. In fact, he curled up in the middle of the dark, silky sheets and laid down. I glared daggers at him from my spot by the door. I knew that smart little fucker knew what he was doing, and I didn’t like it one bit.

“Shadow, come.” Nothing.

“Right now, Shadow,” I sighed in frustration, pointing to a spot on the floor by my feet. Wasn’t working.

Grumbling profanities, I marched straight into the room and for the bed, intent on giving the puppy a little fussing about following directions. As I neared the bed, Shadow’s ear perked up, and within the blink of an eye, he was off the bed and flying across the room. I cursed louder as I attempted to catch him, watching as his ears flopped in the wind while he ran. Fast little fucker.

It was then that I realized just how huge Matt’s room was. I mean, the guest rooms were big enough to fit a full size apartment or two inside, but the master bedroom was truly something else. While the guest rooms contained basic furnishings and decoration, Matt’s room was more lively.

Decorated in dark tones, I marveled at the deep crimson painted walls. A mahogany oak lining went around the entire room, blending in perfectly with both the crimson paint and similar wallpaper that it separated. The floors were a dark brown shade and were hardwood, though some spots were covered with shag rugs. All the furniture matched; again, mahogany dressers, tables, chairs, wardrobe, and bench. Dark leather armchair and love seat stationed towards the back of the room, where the largest flat screen TV I’d ever seen resided.

In a sense, it was a true bachelor’s suite all on its own. Not a single feminine touch had been added to the room. Everything possessed a dark, manly look. At the same time, it was sophisticated. Nothing you’d expect a female to decorate herself, but everything a female would love in a man’s room. His signature scent cloaked the room. It was almost as if he were physically there. I found that comforting in his absence.

A bark snapped me out of my thoughts, and it was then that I focused on the task at hand. Looking over, I narrowed my eyes at Shadow, who was now sitting in the middle of Matt’s walk-in closet with a wolfish grin. I rolled my eyes and followed him inside, prepared to snatch him the second I got close enough. This was so getting old.

And just when I thought I had the sneaky little fucker, he ran off again, this time towards the line of hanging suit jackets. His little body disappeared in between two jackets, a grey one and a black one, and I cursed to myself. Stumbling forward, I pulled the two jackets apart, but my puppy was nowhere to be found. Grumbling profanities once again, I listened to the sound of his collar rattling against the wall as he scurried off.

“Dammit, Shadow!” I hissed, catching sight of his little tail by a chest of drawers and diving forward, “Gotcha!”

Smiling triumphantly, I snatched up the little dark ball of fur and held him to my chest, grunting as I landed rather harshly on my side. Tiny pinpricks of pain shot up my side, and it was then that I remembered my broken ribs. I was sure that I’d be paying for that rough landing later on, and I was also sure that Matt would not only notice but be upset.

Sighing, I scolded the puppy quickly before tightly clutching him to my chest. There wasn’t a chance in hell that I’d be chasing after him again tonight, and I refused to let him down from my arms. Cringing, I slowly sat myself up, breathing out when another spasm of pain hit my side. Scooting towards the wall, I allowed myself to lean back against it, already feeling exhausted from the pain in my ribs.

“Shadow, you will be the death of me,” I grunted, fixing him with a displeased look. He simply panted up at me, and I couldn’t help but to feel a little tug at my heart when he did that. It hadn’t taken me long, but I sure knew that I loved my puppy to death already.

Looking back down at the puppy, I frowned when I noticed something caught on his collar and reached for it. It was a thick piece of string of some sorts, and without another thought, I pulled it off of him. The string, however, didn’t come up like I thought it would. It came off Shadow’s collar just fine, but seemed to travel on beyond our bodies.

Letting out a sound of curiosity, I continued to yank at the string. Clearly, it ended somewhere else, as Shadow must’ve got caught in it and dragged it along with him. I pulled roughly at the string and jumped as a loud creaking noise sounded from across the room. Shadow let out an excited yelp and took off, causing me to groan.

At first I groaned, but then narrowed my eyes when I saw his little body disappear behind an open door on the other side of the closet…if you could honestly call it a closet. Standing to my feet, I frowned and followed behind him. I’d never noticed the extra door in my haste to catch Shadow when he’d first run in. Wherever he was, I took into account the echo that bounced off the walls as he continuously barked. It made him sound as if he were so far away, when in reality, I knew he couldn’t have been that far at all.

I stepped cautiously towards the door, which was covered by a large, full-size mirror. That would explain why I hadn’t noticed it before. Peeking around the corner, I spotted Shadow’s body in the middle of the darkened room, running around in circle. The room was somewhat small, but still rather large for the fact that it was hidden inside of the biggest walk-in closet that I’d ever seen.

“What in the hell,” I muttered, looking around the dimly lit room in wonder.

It looked like the rest of the house: dark, manly, and relatively clean. A few old band posters covered the wall, some of which I honestly hadn’t expected Matt to have. The room was like an office of sorts, which I didn’t understand because I knew that there was an even bigger office downstairs. What was the point of having one in his closet?

I didn’t want to be nosey, but I was just itching to look around. The mansion was huge; there were so many rooms that I lost count, and it seemed like I was always discovering something new whenever I went exploring. Ignoring the puppy, I eyed the leather furniture and file cabinets tucked away in the corner of the room. Next to the file cabinets was a large stack of boxes. I couldn’t tell what they were from the name on it.

Shadow’s growling from behind me caught my attention, and I turned to see that he was gnawing on some little chew toy. I rolled my eyes at his rambunctious behavior and continued looking around the strange room. A loud thud sounded as the puppy dropped the toy to the ground, yelping repeatedly at it as a strange noise came from it. I rolled my eyes and went to pick it up, but as I got closer, I squeaked and leapt back.

“Shadow, where the hell did you get that?!” I shrieked, looking incredulously at the puppy and yanking him away from the giant neon vibrator on the floor. With a yelp, he jumped out of my arms and began chewing at a box, which had several more vibrators falling out of it, “Oh my God.”

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Not only had my dog found a vibrator in Matt’s hidden closet room, but he’d pulled it out of a box containing several more like it. The same label that was tacked on all the other boxes in the corner appeared on the one Shadow had gotten into. Feeling a chill travel up my spine, I snatched Shadow from the ground and kicked the toy to the side with my foot, scurrying for the door. I cringed at the sight of a nude poster beside the door and hauled ass out of the closet.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,” I cursed, closing the hidden door behind me and hurrying for the hallway, “Wow, that was gross.”

“There you are!”

Turning with a yelp, I saw Raychel coming up the hallway with an amused expression, “What took you so damn long? We found some candles and stuff like ten minutes ago!”

Breathing heavily, I flashed her a weak smile, “Oh, y’know. Chasing after the puppy…little fucker is fast.”

She giggled, “I’ll bet. C’mon; Lyndsey said she found a few good movies to watch, and we have to get some snacks together.”

I didn’t hesitate to follow her downstairs, making sure that Shadow stayed right next to me. There was no way I’d let him loose again so that he could lead me on another wild goose chase like before…especially after the outcome of today’s chase. Lyndsey had just finished putting in the DVD by the time we reached the living room, and Raychel went straight to the kitchen to raid the pantry for snacks. I settled on the couch and watched as Lyndsey began lighting our just-in-case candles all over the room, my mind floating back to the things I’d seen in Matt’s closet.

I shuddered at the thought. Hopefully a good snack and movie would drive those memories from my thoughts.

***

“Talk to me,” Matt spoke gruffly into the receiver of the phone, gripping it tightly in his hand. Sitting calmly in the sleek, dark car, he leaned back into his seat and waited for a reply.

”It’s done,” came the reply he was looking for.

A smirk spread across his lips as he peered out the tinted window, catching sight of his home. He could faintly see a dim light glowing from the living room, and knew that the girls had to have been gathered in there, no doubt watching their favorite movies while they awaited their return.

“Good,” Matt nodded in approval, even though the person on the other line couldn’t see it, “Someone will wire the money in three days.”

With that, he simply ended the call. There was nothing he felt he needed to discuss any further. He looked to Jimmy, who sat in the passenger seat of the car, blotting at a spot on his shirt. Jimmy felt his gaze and looked over at him, arching a brow with curiosity. Matt nodded at him, causing a grin to tug at his lips.

The two took their time in straightening themselves out and stepping out of the car, meeting Johnny, Brian, and Zacky at the front of the long, winding driveway that ended in the front of the mansion. Silently, they each strolled up the walkway and allowed Matt to open the door. Laughter and dialogue from the TV in the living room met their ears the second they stepped inside.

Matt fought to contain himself as he and his friends moved through the foyer, coming closer to where the girls were surely congregated. It had been three days since he’d seen her, since his friends had seen their other halves. They hadn’t been too keen on leaving the girls on their own while they’d been away on business, but at the same time, it was obvious that the girls couldn’t have gone with them.

Turning the corner, Matt couldn’t help but to smile the second he heard light laughter. He could distinguish one laugh in particular from the other two and moved straight towards it. Her infectious laughter had the ability to warm him from top to bottom, even when he was in the worst of moods. This time was no different from all the rest.

He made a beeline for her the second he’d caught sight of her bright hair in the glow of the television, stopping to stand just behind her small body. He could faintly smell the soft, fruity scent that always graced her skin from the soap she used and grinned, waiting for her to notice his presence.

It didn’t take long. It was almost as if Brittany could sense his presence.

She yelped in surprise after seeing him standing there, but quickly threw her arms around his neck in a friendly hug. Matt was rather pleased to see that she was in such a good mood after having had several rocky weeks; he’d grown close to her since she’d become a guest in his home and hated seeing her so upset all of the time.

“How’ve you been?” he asked quietly into her neck, wrapping his arms around her petite frame, “Sleeping well?”

She hesitated, something he caught onto rather quickly, “Eh, a little.”

That didn’t please him.

It was no secret that she’d been having nightmares ever since she’d been attacked by those lowlifes, and if she wasn’t having nightmares it was because she was avoiding sleep altogether. He knew that much after having to watch over her at night because of the severity of her nightmares. He wasn’t quite sure what went on in those dreams, nor did she ever tell him. But if they were enough to drag her into near insomnia, then he knew that they were more than serious.

With a sigh, he said nothing else as she pulled him in the direction of the kitchen, pushing him straight to the bar and motioning for him to have a seat, “Are you hungry? I can’t imagine how well some swanky hotel restaurant must’ve fed you, but I know nothing hits the spot like a nice, homecooked meal.”

He chuckled as she sent a goofy smile in his direction, “You’re absolutely right. What’d you make?”

She was always cooking something. At first, he thought that maybe it just to show him her gratitude, and then again, maybe that was a small portion of the reason she did it. But with time, he grew to understand that it was just something she liked doing. There was always something to eat. Something classic and delicious, or something completely new and just as amazing. It seemed as though his house was always crowded with friends these days, and it was no doubt because of all the food she prepared.

“Well, there’s some leftover shrimp scampi linguine from last night, but for all I know, that’s too girly for you men,” she rolled her eyes, turning to stick her tongue out over her shoulder as she ambled towards the fridge, “So I made chicken with a maple glaze and apples; you can pair that up with the rice or a vegetable if you want. Then, I also made steakburgers. Pile whatever you want on those. They’re real good, if I do say so myself.” She smiled lightly.

She didn’t even give him the chance to think before she began loading a plate of food up. She claimed that he’d taken too long to come up with a response, so she’d decided to just fix him everything. He watched in awe as Brittany loaded his plate down and reheated it. The kitchen became packed with bodies once the smell of marinated meat began wafting through the house. Matt simply smiled. He knew she’d make sure he was the first to get a plate.

The more time he spent getting to know Brittany, the more she seemed to open up to him. It’d taken a while for her guards to at least come down a little bit; she was quite the cautious and untrusting individual. Matt simply chalked that up to the asshole that’d hurt her before they’d met. He didn’t know much of what had happened in her previous relationship and didn’t want to ask her until he was certain she was ready, but he knew she was slowly becoming who she once was. Lyndsey often mentioned how much change she could see in her friend’s eyes.

Once he’d finished eating, he cleaned his plate and brought her back over to the couch where she’d been before, taking a seat before allowing her to sit down as well. As a new movie loaded onto the screen of the TV, he reached over and pulled her small body into her side. Immediately, he felt her tensed muscles relax underneath him and smiled to himself. Matt had become close enough to Brittany so that he’d learned a little thing or two about how her mind worked, and he knew that physical contact, no matter how little, was just what she needed whenever she wasn’t at ease. He wasn’t much of a touchy person as she was; in fact, he was rather cold. But for her, he didn’t mind. It helped whenever she seemed upset, and he didn’t like to see her so troubled.

But now she wouldn’t have to feel so troubled anymore.

Matt thought about this and allowed a small smirk to creep across his features. Leaning back into the couch, he tucked one arm behind his head and curled the other around Britt’s waist, looking to see that Zacky and Brian had done the same with their girls as they happily ate in the kitchen. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that his friends were just as relieved as he was that the girls were in high spirits. Those girls had become so important to them all, despite the cold world they may have lived in. They’d do what they had to protect them. Brittany, as well as Raychel and Lyndsey, had nothing to worry about as long as Matt and his friends were around.

Nothing and no one got past them, ever.