I wouldn’t dream of it.
I pulled the door closed behind me and headed upstairs to one of the guest rooms. I honestly didn’t mind the task if it got me out of that room.
I found her Louis Vuitton luggage next to the bed in a room around the corner from my father’s and went through her things as slowly as I could, hoping Kai, Rika, and Will would be gone by the time I was done. Unfortunately, she hadn’t brought as much as I thought she would.
Of course, she’d be going into the city to shop, so she only packed a few bags. I hung up most of her clothes, placing sweaters, workout gear, and underthings in the drawers and arranging all of her products—moisturizers, cleansers, make-up—neatly on the en suite counter out of consideration for the staff who’d have to tidy the room, instead of for Vanessa.
I tucked the bags under the bed, straightened the comforter, and gave the room a once-over, making sure drawers and closets were closed before heading back into the hall.
It had been more than an hour. Maybe they’d left by now.
But when I headed for the window on the upstairs landing, I noticed the door to the third floor was cracked.
I’d closed that.
Opening it up, I looked up to the top of the stairs, seeing light coming through the open door at the top.
I climbed the stairs softly, on guard. No one went up there except Damon and me.
“Of course, he would have snakes,” I heard Rika say and heard her footsteps across my brother’s floor.
What the hell was she doing in his room?
“What’s the matter with you?” Kai asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.” She sounded worried. “Have you completely lost your mind?”
I tensed on instinct. Why had they snuck off together? Was Will in there with them? I stopped at the top and hung back, listening through the cracked door.
“This is stupid,” she pleaded with him, “and what I’ve respected about you is that you don’t do stupid.”
“I have a criminal record that says differently.”
She let out a scoff, and I heard more footsteps.
“A long time ago you told me something important,” she went on. “‘Whenever you want to make an impression and you think you’ve gone far enough, go one step further. Always leave them wondering if you’re just a little bit crazy and people will never fuck with you again.’”
“And?”
“And you’ve gone more than one step further.”
I heard some shaky breathing, and I wasn’t sure who it was from, but Rika’s tone sounded upset. Concerned as a friend would be.
“I like who I am now, and for better or for worse, you’re partly responsible,” she told him. “But this? This mistake could ruin you. This isn’t the life we want for you.”
I heard more steps, and since I couldn’t see them through the crack, I gathered they were near the tanks on the other side of the room.
“There’s a plan here,” he told her, speaking softer. “You have to trust me.”
There was silence, but I almost wanted to hear more. She was concerned for him, and she sounded as confused as I was. What was this plan? I wanted her to press him further. He might tell her things he wouldn’t tell me.
But the conversation was over.
I pushed open the door, seeing Kai turn and Rika look up as I stood there.
His eyes flashed to my gloves, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “No one’s supposed to be in here.”
Kai approached. “But you are,” he said, tossing me one of my hats he must have found in here.