I felt for what I had hit. It seemed to be a clothing rack, as I found a few wooden hangers with wire hooks dangling from it. I wondered, with the ribbon James had given me and the hanger, if I could make something MacGyver-esque and save myself from James’s plan.
Making my way back to the door, I found the ribbon on the ground where I dropped it. After a few twists of the ribbon on the hanger, I tried to pick the lock.
I concluded I wasn’t MacGyver after several failed attempts. I was a math nerd turned tech geek trapped in a closet, naked with a hanger, swaddled in festive ribbon. Definitely a new low for me.
This moment trumped the hot pepper incident. Just thinking of the incident hurt my cock.
I wasn’t much of a ladies' man, but I had dated a few women in my time. But ever since I made my billions, the women I dated were more interested in my money than my personality. Everyone realized that but me. And to say I did some crazy things to impress them was an understatement. The hot pepper incident was the worst of them all.
But I learned my lesson. Never feed a woman ghost peppers and then have her suck your cock. It’s not kinky; it’s horrific.
I took the hook off the hanger and tried to pick the lock. I knew nothing about it but felt somewhat confident as I had watched many movies involving heists. They always included someone who could pick locks. I couldn’t imagine it would be that difficult.
After several minutes and sweat forming on my brow, I gave up. I guess picking locks would never be a backup career of mine. There went my plans of helping in any heists . . .
“Change your mind, Monty?”
I gripped the hanger so tightly that I heard it crack. The only way out was to agree to whatever foolishness my brother wanted me to do.
There was an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe it wasn’t so bad being stuck in here for several hours. It might do me good to take a break. Be bored for a while. Maybe the next big idea would hit me, alone in my solitude—and perhaps madness.
I frowned because all the excuses I imagined didn’t make me feel any better. James held the key to my release. One day I would get him back . . .
I banged on the door a few times in frustration. “Yes, I have—”
Right then, as I was about to admit defeat to my brother, there was a noise. It didn’t come from the door where I stood arguing with James. No, it came from my right.
“Monty, if you just—”
“Shh!” I waved him off, even though he couldn’t see me. I stepped to the side as I hadn’t explored this area of the closet.
“Monty, I’m getting some hors d’oeuvres and something to drink. I’ll be back soon. I think you’ll change your mind by then.”
I stopped paying attention to my brother when I heard another noise and some mumbling. There was someone nearby. I didn’t know if a wall separated us or a door, but I had to find out.
I tripped over a few boxes but found my footing and the wall where the noises came from. It felt like there was a door, but I couldn’t find a knob or handle. Just a short, wide indent in the wall.
I knocked and was silent, hoping for a response. My heart pounded in my chest. The beats were so loud, I hoped it wouldn’t drown out any sound from the other side.
I eagerly waited as my smile grew. Finally, a chance for escape. If the person on the other side of the wall could let me out, then there would be no streaking, and I could get back to what I was here for—to play my happy, jolly part.
But after a lengthy pause, there was nothing. No voice. No movement.
Had I imagined it? My grin weakened and faded as the realization hit me harder than that clothing rack. There would be no rescue. No escape from my brother’s ridiculous plan.
I felt like a princess in a fairytale. Only the villain didn’t want my long locks or beautiful voice, just my candy cane cock.
Sighing, I unraveled the ribbon from the hanger, which I had never let go of, and wrapped it around my cock. I might as well accept my defeat now.
Just as I finished and tied up the end in a bow to add that extra bit of shame, something magical happened. Better than an angel floating down from Heaven. Better than a unicorn crapping out rainbow droppings. Better than chocolate chip cookies dipped in a frosty glass of milk.
That short, squat indent opened, and light poured into the room. It wasn’t bright, but luminous enough that I backed away and moved behind the boxes.
As I peeked out and my eyes adjusted, a beautiful figure appeared in the doorway. She had long, golden hair, and I wondered for a moment if she was an angel because it seemed like she had wings.
“Hello? Is someone there?” she asked, and I glimpsed her profile, taking in more of what she looked like as the light bounced off her face.
She was beautiful.
I was about to respond when she took a step forward and the door swung closed behind her with a loud squeak and a final resounding thud.
I chose that moment to respond to my golden angel, “Oh no, we’re trapped.”
Chapter 2
Julia
“DID YOU HEAR THAT?” I asked, tilting my head toward the back of the coat closet.
Laura pointed at me. “No. You. Don’t.”
Her blonde hair was pulled back in an impeccably coiffed bun. Laura’s foolproof, fire-engine-red lipstick on her gorgeous lips—that I secretly wished I had inherited—was perfectly applied. Her white button-up shirt, crisp and wrinkle-free, was tucked into her pressed black pants. My sister was the picture of perfection.
I was definitely not.
“I swear I heard something. Do you think this place is haunted? Is this the hotel Dolly Madison haunts?”
I was fucking with my sister. It was just what I did. She always looked immaculate and had the perfect life. While people could count on me to be the life of the party, she was the person people trusted with their secrets. I was the girl guys didn’t bring home to Mom but loved to get freaky with.
What I meant was, I was the fun one.
“This hotel isn’t haunted, Julia. I got you this gig because you said you needed money. Do nothing that might . . . you know . . .” My sister pursed her lips.
Bless her. She couldn’t do it. I loved my sister. She was sweet, kindj and hard-working and had just about every good attribute you could think of. And she never spoke ill about anyone, even as her own cousin fucked her boyfriend behind her back. But I digress.
I raised my eyebrows in mock innocence. “Fuck this up for you? I wouldn’t dream of it, Sis.”
And I meant that. Truly. I never hurt anyone on purpose, especially someone like my younger sister, whom I loved with all my heart.
Her lips thinned once again, the red almost disappearing. She didn’t believe me, but Laura would never say anything. She’d swallow her irritation and let it explode in a crying jag while watching an action movie. Tears shed for all the characters needlessly blown to pieces or shot point-blank in the head.
Laura reached over and tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear. “I worry about you all alone in Mom and Dad’s house. Since they went RVing and Jami’s away at college, you’re alone in that tiny town. Move here to D.C. There’s lots going on.”
My frown deepened the more she spoke.
“I’m a country girl. I understand the appeal of city life, but . . .” I picked at my fingernail and shrugged. Admitting something I never even told her before, and I always told her everything, like TMI everything, was going to be difficult. “I enjoy walking the trails of the mountains back in Castle Ridge. I would miss that. It’s too busy here, too noisy, and way too expensive.”