Troy rolled over to his side. Lexi struggled to turn over. Her wrists and part of her hands had fallen asleep in the restrictive bindings. Troy let out a low sigh and slowly sat up on the edge of the bed.
Thunder rumbled outside. It started pouring again.
Troy groaned with satisfaction as he slowly stood up. He pulled his jeans up and turned around to face Lexi on the bed.
Lexi looked up at him. “We had a deal,” she whispered.
He smiled at her as he zipped his pants. “We did, beautiful, and I intend to keep it.” Troy buttoned his jeans, and then looked at his watch. “Let me help you up.”
Troy helped Lexi off the bed. He pulled her skirt down, and copped a feel of her breasts before he pulled her turtleneck down, covering them. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out her car key and the burner phone. “Here you are.”
“Um, my wrists?”
He smiled. “That wasn&rs
Lexi came out of the bedroom of the four-bedroom Dallas home that Brock owned. He had purchased it when he had first moved to Texas. It had been two weeks since that horrible weekend at the Mosley Estate.Lexi had made it back to the estate that stormy night. By the time she had made it back to the mausoleum, Brock had made his way outside. He was holding his shoulder as he grimaced in pain.She had called 911. The cops had found Blake’s body, but Troy and the camper were gone. They put an APB out on him. The camper was found one hundred miles away from Dallas. Troy and the gold were gone. The cops believed he had crossed the border. He was still at large. Brock doubted that they would find Troy. He had connections all over North and South America from being in the Marines for ten years. Also, he spoke Spanish fluently. Troy wouldn’t be found unless he wanted to be found.Troy’s suspicions about what happened to Lindsay and Nicole were correct.
The sun had set. Alexis ‘Lexi’ Brown looked at her cellphone. She was only a few minutes away from her destination. Lexi had become a travel blogger and writer after her mother had won the state lottery six months ago. Lexi’s mother had split the eighty-four million dollar jackpot with her daughters.This was Lexi’s third big trip. Brock Lockhart, an old school friend, found her travel blog online and contacted her. They hadn’t seen each other since they had graduated high school. He had joined the Marines and served five years. After he left the Marines, Brock got into construction. Two years ago, he started his own construction company in Dallas. He was successful, but he wasn’t filthy rich until his grandfather passed away eight months ago, leaving him a sizeable inheritance. He used the money to purchase an old mansion outside of Dallas. The estate was eight
Lexi had changed into a long-sleeved light brown dress. She had curled the ends of her dark hair. Lexi walked down the large staircase. She wasn’t sure if she would be the last one to arrive in the den or not. However, she had heard voices in the hallway as she got dressed in her room.She walked through the sitting room that was to the left of the staircase. She saw a sliding door across the room and heard muffled voices. Victor had told her that the den was behind the sliding door in the receiving room.Lexi slowly and gently slid the door open. The people in the room stopped talking and looked at her.“Hi,” a white woman chirped. She walked over to Lexi. She wore a pink dress with a sheer pink scarf around her neck. Her brown hair was piled on top of her head. “I’m Lindsay, I’m Brock’s realtor,” she said and offered her hand to Lexi.Lexi wanted to smack her for unloading this house of horrors on Brock.
According to Victor, Brock got pulled into an emergency business call. He had instructed Victor to serve dinner without him. They were all seated at a long wood dining room table. The only light in the room was the chandelier above the table. They could see to eat, but Lexi couldn’t make out their surroundings. The first appetizer was a Caesar salad. The main course was duck a l’orange. Lexi never had duck before. She liked it, but it was a heavy dish. Victor had disappeared into the kitchen to get dessert. While Victor was gone, Connor stressed again that the place was really haunted. No one paid attention to him. The guests chatted away until Victor came back into the room pushing a food cart.&nbs
After dinner, everyone had gone to their separate corners. Lindsay and Nicole thought the game was fun and decided to team up to look around the house before going to bed. Troy and Barry went to the smoking room with Brock to smoke cigars.Lexi decided to go to the den. She needed more alcohol if she was going to get through this corny weekend. The door was cracked open. She heard people talking.“Why don’t we just leave?” Jennifer whined.“What are you, a party pooper?” Jeffrey said in a teasing tone.“You’re damn straight,” Jennifer answered seriously.“I’m with Jennifer,” Conner said. “This place is haunted.”“You’re still crying that same tune?” Jeffrey said. “I’m sure it was just a breeze from a vent.”“I know a light breeze when I feel it,” Conner said with an indignant tone. “And that wasn&rs
He smiled as he unzipped the back of her light brown dress. Lexi reached for his tie and slowly loosened it. They kissed each other. This time, Lexi opened her mouth, and Brock wasted no time dipping his tongue inside.Brock pulled the sleeves down on her dress as he ravaged her mouth. She moaned against his lips. He tore his mouth away and kissed her neck. His fingers slipped under her bra straps, and then pulled them down. Brock kissed his way down her shoulder. As he did, his hands reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Lexi exhaled with relief from being freed from the snug binding.Brock stood up straight and aggressively pushed down her dress and bra. Lexi pulled her hands out of the sleeves. He watched her with heavy lids as she let the dress and her bra fall on the wood planked floor. She pushed her black panties down to join the pile of clothes, and stood before him in nothing but tan high heels and brown thigh highs.Lexi reached for the top button o
Brock zipped the back of Lexi’s dress for her. He kissed her on the cheek from behind, making her smile. He really was a sweet guy. He always was. She hoped that what they just did wouldn’t ruin their friendship. Good friends were hard to find. Especially now, that she had money in her pocket. Before Lexi decided to hit the road as a travel blogger, people that she and her family hadn’t heard from in years came out of the woodwork. They knew those folks were looking for a handout. That’s why she was so careful about telling people that her family had won the lottery. Luckily, the Brown women aren’t fools. Lexi and her sister, Mercedes, had changed their cellphone numbers. Their mother had her landline changed. Their mother was old-school; she never thought of using a cellphone.The thought reminded her about what she wanted to talk to Brock about. “Brock, did you tell Jeffrey that my family won the lottery?”Brock was slowly bu
It was 10 a.m. Friday morning, and Lexi couldn’t find her cellphone. She thought she had left it on the nightstand last night before she went downstairs for dinner.When she came back upstairs last night, she couldn’t find it. Lexi thought she might have left it in her purse instead on the nightstand. She emptied her purse on the bed. It wasn’t there.“That’s odd. Where the hell did I put it?” she asked herself. It wasn’t unusual for Lexi to misplace things sometimes, but she couldn’t imagine where else she could have put it.There was a knock on her door.“Come in,” she said.The door opened. It was Jeffrey. “Hey, Lexi, sorry to disturb you, but do you mind if I borrow your cellphone? I want to check in with the office and I can’t seem to find mine.”Lexi’s eyebrows arched up. “Really? I can’t find mine either. It’s one hell of a coin
Lexi came out of the bedroom of the four-bedroom Dallas home that Brock owned. He had purchased it when he had first moved to Texas. It had been two weeks since that horrible weekend at the Mosley Estate.Lexi had made it back to the estate that stormy night. By the time she had made it back to the mausoleum, Brock had made his way outside. He was holding his shoulder as he grimaced in pain.She had called 911. The cops had found Blake’s body, but Troy and the camper were gone. They put an APB out on him. The camper was found one hundred miles away from Dallas. Troy and the gold were gone. The cops believed he had crossed the border. He was still at large. Brock doubted that they would find Troy. He had connections all over North and South America from being in the Marines for ten years. Also, he spoke Spanish fluently. Troy wouldn’t be found unless he wanted to be found.Troy’s suspicions about what happened to Lindsay and Nicole were correct.
Troy rolled over to his side. Lexi struggled to turn over. Her wrists and part of her hands had fallen asleep in the restrictive bindings. Troy let out a low sigh and slowly sat up on the edge of the bed.Thunder rumbled outside. It started pouring again.Troy groaned with satisfaction as he slowly stood up. He pulled his jeans up and turned around to face Lexi on the bed.Lexi looked up at him. “We had a deal,” she whispered.He smiled at her as he zipped his pants. “We did, beautiful, and I intend to keep it.” Troy buttoned his jeans, and then looked at his watch. “Let me help you up.”Troy helped Lexi off the bed. He pulled her skirt down, and copped a feel of her breasts before he pulled her turtleneck down, covering them. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out her car key and the burner phone. “Here you are.”“Um, my wrists?”He smiled. “That wasn&rs
Lexi was soaked to the skin as she stood in the camper. Troy closed the door and stuffed Brock’s pistol in his jeans pocket. Then, he unzipped his jacket and quickly took it off. Lexi watched Troy pull his ivory polo shirt over his head. His pale chest was smooth and muscular. She didn’t know he had all that under there. “Aren’t you going to untie me?” Lexi asked as she raised her wrists up. He chuckled. “I’m horny, not dumb.” Damn, she was going to have to go through with it. Oh well, it was better than her being dead. She nodded. He stepped closer to her as he undid his j
Victor and Troy loaded the large satchel of gold coins and jewels in the back of Lexi’s SUV. The rain pounded on the vehicle.“It’s done,” Victor said breathlessly.“All right,” Blake said. “Brock, I’m afraid this is where we part ways.”Before Lexi knew it, Troy had shot Brock. The gun shot was ten times as loud because of the walls in the mausoleum. If the doors weren’t wide open, they would have gone deaf.Lexi screamed in terror as Brock stumbled backwards and fell back on the floor.“Jesus!” Victor exclaimed.“Oh come on,” Blake yelled at Victor. “You know we couldn’t keep him alive.”Lexi ran over to Brock. She knelt down next to him. His eyes were closed. Blood was seeping from his shoulder. Troy could have hit his heart.Blake grabbed her arm and yanked her up.“He’s still your brother,” Victor
Blake’s dark thick hair was soaking wet from the rain. He was wearing a dark trench coat, black slacks, and black boots. Everyone was flabbergasted, especially Brock. He had gone pale.“Hey, big brother,” Blake said as he walked towards them with his gun up. “Why don’t you slowly take that gun out of your pocket?”Everyone looked at Brock.Brock’s cheeks started glowing red.“Do it, Brock, or I’m going to plug one in Lexi right in front of you,” Blake said and pointed the gun at Lexi. “I’ll shoot her way before you can stop me.”Brock exhaled. He slowly pulled the gun out of his pocket.“Put it on the floor and kick it over to Victor,” Blake ordered.Lexi flinched at the sound of metal skidding across the cement floor.Victor knelt down slowly and picked up the gun. He didn’t take his eyes off of them.“What . . . how .
Brock and Lexi came up with a plan and told Troy about it when he came back outside. Lexi insisted on being with them when they confronted Victor. To Brock’s dismay, he gave in. Lexi thought she would be safe as long as Brock was around because he had a weapon. Besides, she needed to be there. She had become fond of the elderly butler and she wanted to know why Victor would do all these awful things. Didn’t he know that Brock would have provided anything he needed?Troy was supposed to tell Victor that he needed his help with searching the mausoleum. Troy was also going to tell Victor he believed the killer might have hidden the missing spark plug cables there or had a getaway vehicle on the grounds.Brock and Lexi brought tools from the shed into the mausoleum. Brock was prying off the loose white marble tile that Victor had pointed out to Lexi when they were in the mausoleum together.A realization struck Lexi like a ton of bricks. “Bro
Everyone had packed up their things and moved down to the den. There was a full bathroom downstairs, so everyone took turns showering and getting dressed. Victor had found some old camping gear in the basement. Everyone had helped him carry sleeping bags, flashlights, pillows, and blankets to the den.They didn’t sit down to breakfast until ten. The mood was somber, tense, and stressed. Nicole was eating slowly. Troy and Brock were stone-faced. Blake quietly ate. Lexi fought not to wolf her food down like a carnivore because she was a stress eater. Lindsay picked at her food. They were able to calm her down a little bit, but the joint that Nicole had in her purse had helped Lindsay more. The kitchen door was propped open because Brock didn’t want Victor to be closed off from the rest of the group. He didn’t care if he was just in the next room or not.Brock cleared his throat at the table. “I think we should talk about recent events.”
Lexi opened her eyes to find Blake gone. She turned her head to look at the clock. It was covered with a note. Lexi rolled her body to lie on her side and picked it up.Dear Lexi,Last night was the most enlightening and sensual experience of my life. I will never forget it. Because I am a man of the cloth, I should be ashamed, but I am not. I hope you are not either. I thought it best that I go back to my room to keep both our reputations intact. I’ll see you in the morning.BlakeLexi smiled as she laid the note next to the clock. After they had made love, they had held each other and listened to the rain. They had made out as well. She didn’t mean to fall asleep.She wasn’t ashamed of herself. For the first time in her life, she had sex with a virgin. Feminine power and confidence flowed through her. Most women would be horrified that they had de-virginized a priest. Not Lexi. She was proud of it. She
Barry walked Lindsay to her room. Brock, Troy, and Nicole were in her room. Victor’s quarters were in a separate house in the backyard, but considering what was going on he had decided to spend the night upstairs in the main house. Lindsay was more nervous than a cat in a tree. Seven years in the Marines had conditioned him to keep calm in life or death situations. Barry turned to leave Lindsay in her room. “Wait,” she said nervously. “Can’t you stay for a while?” He supposed he could. It’s not like he had anyone else to talk to. Nicole was drunk and flirting with Troy and Brock like c