Page 62 of Lust & Lies

My gaze darted back to the four-wheelers. Freedom was right there. But my feet didn’t budge. What was behind that door? Could it be the real reason Aiden hadn’t wanted me to come into the shed?

Now, I had to see what was hiding behind it. I moved toward it, unable to resist its pull. My hands trembled as I reached for the panel. Well damn. There was no keypad to input a code. Instead, there was a fingerprint scanner. Shit.

What if it only worked for Aiden? What if trying it would trigger an alarm or something? I should’ve walked away. I should’ve gotten on those four-wheelers and escaped like I’d planned. But I couldn’t.

I knew I was being reckless, but I needed to know what was behind that door. I pressed my finger against the scanner. The panel blinked once, then flashed green. A robotic voice echoed from the panel.

“Welcome to the Dungeon, Mist. You have five seconds to verify your identity. Scan your left eye before the alarm sounds.”

Wait. What? Mist? Who the hell was Mist? Was I Mist? I couldn’t be. And why did I have to scan my left eye? Why not the right one?

5...

The screen was counting down. Damn it. I should’ve left well enough alone.

4...

Panic gripped me. My heart was in my throat again.

3...

Shit. I stepped forward and positioned my face in front of the scanner.

2...

My left eye lined up with the small lens. A red beam scanned my eye, and all I could think was, please work, please work, please!

“Identity confirmed. Welcome back, Mist.”

The door unlocked with a loud click, followed by the sound of mechanisms shifting inside the steel. I exhaled hard, chest rising and falling like I’d just finished a sprint. My legs nearly gave out beneath me. I couldn’t believe it actually worked.

I stood there, blinking, trying to process what the hell had just happened. Mist? When the hell had my name become Mist? The door opened with a slow mechanical groan, revealing a stairwell that disappeared into darkness.

That’s it. Just a stairwell inside a small room. I stood there, staring down at it. If this were a horror movie, I’d be yelling at the screen, telling the dumb chick to turn around and run. Don’t go down there. Don’t check it out. Whatever’s in the creepy-ass basement can wait.

But this wasn’t a movie. And I wasn’t some dumb chick. That scanner had recognized me as Mist. I couldn’t leave without finding out what the hell that meant. I glanced behind me. The shed door had already closed. Locked, probably.

Even if Aiden came in here, he might not make it through this door. Perhaps this room was mine and mine alone. Decision made. I turned back to the stairs and started down. With each step I took, lights embedded in the walls blinked on, illuminating my way.

I swallowed and kept going, my fingers brushing against the cold railing as I moved lower. The moment my foot touched the final step, lights overhead flicked on, exposing a massive, high-tech space I didn’t even know existed in real life.

What the actual hell? This wasn’t a basement. This was a spy room. A real, full-blown surveillance room like the ones you saw in those movies about assassins and espionage rings. The walls were lined with surveillance equipment.

I’d complained about Aiden’s cameras at the house, but look at what I had going on. The fuck? Five huge monitors stretched across the far wall. Each monitor was split into six smaller squares, each of them broadcasting a live feed from different locations.

I stepped forward, drawn to the closest monitor. I gasped. The first square showed Aiden’s bedroom. He was asleep. The time stamp at the bottom of the screen proved it was live. He didn’t know I was awake.

Didn’t know I was down here. Didn’t know I’d found this. I looked at the other screens. One said Dolores and Tomas Estate at the bottom. Another read Estate Perimeter. Another was labeled Hatfield Orchards.

What the hell? Why was this all here? I swallowed hard and turned in a slow circle, taking it all in. Was this my setup? Had I been spying on everyone? My heart thudded harder, and the cold reality of what I was seeing began to sink in.

If I’d had doubts before, I didn’t now. There were parts of my life I hadn’t even begun to uncover. I didn’t even know if I wanted to know the person I truly was. Perhaps this was why Aiden had chosen my twin.

Perhaps he’d feared the real me. What man in his right mind would want a woman who did... I turned in another circle.... Whatever the hell I did down here. What did I do down here? At the center of the room was a long desk with three computers on it.

I sat down at the one in the middle. There was probably information on there that could tell me more about my past. I’d learned a lot about myself from my memories. And this setup was proving those memories to be true.

Apparently, I was a killer. Had been raised to be a killer. Trained to be ruthless and brutal. My father had been a killer, too. I’d followed in his footsteps. This room had to be my workspace. Of course, killers couldn’t have regular offices inside their homes.

They had to use murdery sheds and secret basements. Taking a deep breath, I turned on the computer, noticing the little pad next to the mouse. The screen blinked, then gray letters began typing across it:

YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO SCAN YOUR THUMB BEFORE THE INTRUDER SEQUENCE IS ACTIVATED.

Fuck! Not again.

FIVE.

I pressed my thumb against the pad.

FOUR.

A green infrared beam scanned my thumbprint.

THREE.

The screen flashed, and I flinched. The screen turned blue, and more words appeared on it.

Type in your code to access your files, Mist.

I guess I really was Mist. What was my code? Could it be the home security code I’d used earlier? I typed that in.

FAIL.

You have two more attempts before the intruder sequence is activated.

What the absolute fuck! What was on this computer that required such security and secrecy? I was scared to know, but desperate to find out. Who was Mist, and what was she really hiding down here?