I spent part of the next day skimming the pool of fall leaves. As tempting as it had been to return to the passage in wall and find a way into the dickhead's secret lair, I couldn't get past how Larry told me their privacy was important to Hazel and to go against her wishes would be a dishonor to her memory. So, to keep from looking for the entrance to their room, I busied myself with menial tasks around the hotel and this one topped them all. No one in New England bothered with their pool in late October.
I pushed the net through the water until my arms ached, and I had no choice but to drop the pole on the pool deck and sit down. I watched the water ripple over the tiles in different shades of blue spotted with mustard yellow at the bottom. My mind ran rampant with question after question. If the twins were ghosts, why did they look so real? And who ever heard of an aging ghost? But what troubled me the most was the fact that two men were living in the hotel walls...since the 1800s. Or were they?
Maybe the women in my family were part of some crazy sex cult. They took young men and stored them away until they had a need for them. They tied them up on those cross things and used horse whips on them—the kinky stuff people always deny being curious about.
"For fuck's sake, Gemma. Why not just have a sex cult in the open? The world has seen more insane things than that. Hell, it would look pretty normal about now." I grabbed the pool net, walked to the side of the deck, and placed it along the wall inside the stone gazebo.
As I wandered to the back entrance of the hotel, a chill ran down my spine and I had the overwhelming feeling of being watched. I lifted my gaze to the balcony right below the bell tower, where a figure stood. He gripped the iron railing with both hands and stared down at me. I fought the urge to flip him off but was scared that it might be the wrong brother. So, I gave him a halfhearted wave before stepping onto the porch. I might as well play friendly with my new neighbors—even if they were lingering participants in Hazel's kinky cult—at least, until I figured out who they were and what to do with them.
After a quiet dinner with my brother in the bar and showing him to his room for the duration of his stay, I retreated to Hazel's room. My curiosity was getting the better of me, and I was anxious to calm it in some way. I gathered the plans with the passages and set off to do some exploring. Hazel would be disappointed if I intruded on her beloved twins, but I didn't think she would have any qualms about me searching the rest of the hidden passages.
With the plans and an extra flashlight in a satchel slung over my arm, I opened the first door I came upon, the one in the corner of the front room, and slipped inside. The corridor was pitch black, and I fumbled for the flashlight before I could freak myself out. I clicked it on, shining it down the narrow hallway.
The passage was surreal—the walls and floor made of stone, and the surface was could to the touch. My skin prickled with fear and unease, but I kept walking, determined to satiate at least a little of my curiosity surrounding the hotel layout.
I don't know how long I had been walking, but eventually I heard a noise coming from my left. I leaned closer to the wall and listened.
It was a man and a woman, and they were...moaning? I snorted behind my hand and kept moving. Nothing like a little after dinner treat, I thought, watching my feet as I walked.
I wondered what the purpose of these passages were. It made no sense to have a secondary way into the rooms when the hotel guests were prone to let the cleaning staff inside. Why would someone need to sneak around behind the scenes? My eyes grew wide and I clicked my tongue. This was how the hotel appeared to be haunted. If those guys were wandering these passages, they could be making all kinds of noises. What a clever way to ensure that guests left with a spooky story.
That still didn't answer the questions about my aunt and those two. But who could I ask now that she was go—
I collided with another solid form, and the shriek that left my throat was both unexpected and unearthly.
"Jesus Christ, be quiet!" a voice commanded, placing a palm gently over my mouth. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Oh, like I should just believe you," I grumbled, my voice muffled against his skin. I didn't have to shine the flashlight on him to know who it was.
One of the twins.
"Is it that I left you in the bar or that you had a run-in with my brother that makes you untrusting of me?" He cupped my elbow and guided me away from the escalating moaning.
I jerked my arm away and shined the flashlight in his face, causing him to squint and shield his violet eyes from the beam. "I mean, it could be both. Or maybe the fact that I don't even know your name and I'm meeting you in a fucking secret passage in a 200-year-old hotel. There are several options here, sir."
"Archer," he placed his hand over mine and lowered the beam, "My name is Archer Hyde."
I almost came back with a smartass reply, but I needed information that I had a feeling only he will be able or willing to give me. "Good to meet you," I replied, summoning every bit of acting chops I had from the half a semester of theatre arts I took in college. "I'm Gemma. Sorry for the reception, I'm just a little bit jumpy these days." I cleared my throat and spoke more honestly. "And yeah, I was a little put off that you left me in the bar. I didn't even get a chance to thank you properly."
One side of his mouth quirked up in an effortlessly sexy smile. "Do I get to choose the reward?"
Despite myself, my cheeks heated, and I was glad the flashlight wasn't pointing at me. "I don't know...I guess that depends. What were you thinking?"
He held out his arm. "Walk with me. I could use the company. Soren has been in a bitter mood lately, and I could use a nice conversation that doesn't consist of grunts."
I raised my eyebrow and linked my arm through his. "Soren? Is that your brother's name?"
"The one and only."
"It's good to know he isn't just an asshole to me."
Archer snickered, not at all offended by my comment. At least one of the twins had a good sense of humor.
"Would you mind if we exited the labyrinth? I'd like to be able to see you while we talk."
"We can do that," he said, leading me through the narrow passages.
Every step he took was sure like he had walked this route a million times. And maybe he had; he was strolling through the passageways without a light. He stopped, something clicked, and we walked out into the rose garden on the side of the hotel.
The moon sat low in the night sky, creating stretching shadows from the bushes and trees that seemed to reach toward us as we wandered through the garden. The crisp air was infused with the scent of dying roses and burning wood from the fireplaces of nearby houses. It was the epitome of a perfect autumn night.
"So, Gemma, what would you like to discuss?"
Were you running a sex cult with my 90-year-old Aunt Hazel? Are you immortal? Are you a ghost? Of course, I couldn't ask any of those questions, so I stayed quiet for a moment. As we walked, my eyes were drawn to his like a moth to a flame, and I couldn't resist the allure they exuded. Contrary to how I felt just moments ago, I felt like I could trust Archer.
"How did you know my aunt? I mean, besides the fact that she was the owner of the Reynard."
"She was an old friend."
"Then you knew her your entire life."
"No."
My eyebrow dipped and I pressed, "Okay, then when did you meet her?"
Archer stopped walking and released my arm. "Are you sure you want to know this, Gemma? Once I tell you, you can never go back. It will change everything, even you."
Never go back and change everything? I hated absolutes. But even more than that, I despised not understanding what was going on inside the Reynard with these men.
I licked my lips and met his gaze. "I'm sure; tell me everything."