Page 16 of The Prize

I smiled, appreciating him wanting to soften his past.

“I’ll swap out the bulbs for you,” he said. “I don’t tend to come in here.”

“Tobias, I have to call Abby.” I hadn’t mentioned her until now but we’d settled here a little and I hoped he’d let me call her. He had my phone somewhere, and so far I’d not come across a landline. I couldn’t bear to think of my colleagues back at Huntly Pierre believing I’d abandoned them with no thought of the consequences.

He closed the book and slid it back. “Not yet.”

“When, then?”

“Do you want to see the rest of the house?”

“Not right now.”

“You’re right. It’s been a long day.” He headed for the door and opened it for me. “I’ll walk you to your room.”

“How long will we be here?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I can find my own way back. I’d like to stay in here awhile.”

He gave a nod and turned to go before hesitating in the doorway. “I’ve got this, Zara. I’ve got you.” He turned to face me as though needing to see I believed him.

After managing a nod, I watched him leave.

I felt like running away from LA was the worst mistake of my life. This dread of having let everyone down clung to my chest like deadwood. Returning my gaze to the row of children’s books I knew this house would reveal even more secrets of who Tobias was and maybe I’d get to discover them if I was brave enough to stay.

CHAPTER THREE

IHADN’TSEENTobias since he’d left me alone in the library.

I’d dreamed all night long and woken up with the East Coast sun glaring between the blinds to jolt me back to the reality of the mess my life was in. This was not how I was meant to be starting a Thursday morning.No, I was meant to be getting ready for work and heading in for a job I loved.

Barefoot and wearing one of Wilder’s T-shirts and nothing else, I padded downstairs to the front door and tried the handle. It wouldn’t give and there was no key. At the back of the house the door appeared impressively modern with no lock which meant there’d be no access to the large garden that I could see through the window.

Trust had always been an issue for me.

I’d told myself it was first broken when my boyfriend Zach ran off with Natalia Donate, but when I dared to peer back further the truth was more painful. It was probably that car crash that took my mom from me that planted a seed for a life of fear. Even though I was too young to remember being strapped in the car seat at the time of her careening off when a drunk driver hit her.

Holding on, holding back, was the only way I knew how to survive.

I made my way back upstairs.

The hot shower warmed my bones and I reassured myself that this and a nice cup of tea would make me feel a little better. Heading out of the bathroom en suite, I stopped in the doorway to see the wardrobe was open. Inside I found a row of brand-new clothes hanging with their labels still on. In a corner were neatly staged female shoes of every kind from heels to sportswear. On the central aisle were more boxes and these were embossed on the top with Saks Fifth Avenue. When I explored them, I found new underwear. I was pleasantly surprised and a little unnerved to find everything was in my size. Either Tobias had gone out shopping or more likely he had someone working for him. I wondered if whoever they were knew we were here.

I put on the pretty lace underwear and after a few minutes had dressed in the Levi’s jeans and Ralph Lauren sweater to tame the chill of this big house. I chose a pair of navy blue pumps that were comfy.

A hunch told me Tobias was in his man cave. I headed downstairs for the drawing room with the Persian rug and the panel of King Henry the III of France. With a tap the corner frame snapped away from the wall and I eased it the rest of the way.

There was a steel door at the end of the hallway and I remembered our conversation last night about him returning my access to his AI system.

“Jade, open the door.” My command sounded calmer than I felt.

The door behind me slammed shut.

There came a hissing noise like pressure being released and the chrome door before me opened. I exhaled a shaky breath of wariness and peered down at a long metal ramp leading off into the dimness. The passionate voice of a tenor singing opera carried and I recognized Luciano Pavarotti’s powerful “Nessun Dorma.” This space went deep underground and from the street level I’d never have imagined this existed. I guessed that was the point for a secret man cave.

And what a cave it was—