Magical Midlife Madness (Leveling Up 1)

His hands were at his sides, so no phone, and there was no one else in the room. This wasn’t even a good talking-to-yourself mumble. The words had been crisp and clear, even from this side of the hidey-hole.

Mr. Tom was the last person I wanted to spy on.

Quietly, because if I could hear him so clearly, I assumed he could also hear me, I returned to the passageway and continued to explore. Another small room, this one looking into the laundry room. Moving through the house, I found the kitchen, the drawing room, and worked all the way around to the front sitting room across the foyer from where I’d started.

The fish-eye lens showed Mr. Tom’s back as he stared out the window.

“Yes, yes,” he said. “Quite.”

“What a weirdo,” I whispered, barely loud enough to hear myself. He didn’t turn around.

The small hallway through the walls kept going, and so did I, feeling a little like a rat running through a maze. Another corner led to a small stairwell. At the top, I noticed a latch in the floor, and a coil of rope next to it. An escape hatch, probably.

I stepped well over it so as not to fall through.

On the other side was a viewing orb, this one without a frame. The ceiling was low enough that I had to hunch a little. When I looked through the lens, I saw Mr. Tom standing at the front door, opening it. I hadn’t heard the door knocker or a door bell.

“Hello, Austin Steele,” Mr. Tom said, and a little flutter rolled through my belly. I wondered how big of an ass I’d made of myself last night. He’d texted this morning, so he couldn’t be too mad about anything. He’d made a joke about the rocks. And I hadn’t made a pass at him, so that was good.

Still, I’d been drunk and he’d been sober. I was sure I had plenty to be embarrassed about.

“I’m here to see how Jessie is getting on,” Austin said.

“Ah. Yes. That unbearable woman across the street filled me in. You hope Miss Jessie doesn’t acclimate to the house, is that correct?”

I lowered my brow, anger coursing through me. He hoped I failed? Why in the world would he hope that?

“Correct,” Austin said. “I think you know why.”

“Because you enjoy being the master and chief of the town, and don’t want to step aside for someone more powerful.”

Austin shifted his weight, either angry or uncomfortable. “It’s not about power. You know as well as I do that this house calls to the wrong sort of people. This town doesn’t need that sort, plain and simple. It’d be better if—”

Irritated and a little hurt, I moved away from the orb. The sound cut off as I did so. There had to be some acoustic trick to that, or maybe these viewing areas made use of modern surveillance technology. Whatever the reason, I didn’t need to hear any more.

A sick weight had settled in the pit of my stomach. I felt disillusioned. I’d thought I’d become a better judge of character over the years, but I’d clearly read Austin wrong. He’d acted like he cared about my opinion, my perspective—hell, he’d gone out of his way to make sure I got home okay. All of that, and he was actively rooting for me to fail. Was this some messed up keep your friends close and your enemies closer situation?

And why would he see me as a threat, anyway?

I huffed out a breath, hitting a T-intersection, and straightened all the way up as the ceiling rose higher. I chose right randomly, checked out a bedroom, felt creepy, and checked out the next.

This wasn’t right. These passageways shouldn’t be looking into bedrooms.

Dread filled me at the realization that this loop likely led to my bedroom, and Mr. Tom had access to it.

The third orb I came to had a handle just below it. I grabbed the handle, turned and pulled. Nothing happened. I pulled again, giving it a few little yanks. I pushed out a little on one of those yanks, which made me realize I’d been trying to open the door the wrong way.

“Dummy,” I muttered, pushing the large door open.

No, not a door. The back of a closet.

No shoes lined the shelves and no clothes hung on the hangers. I left the passageway open behind me, intending to return as soon as I got my bearings, and pushed out through the closet door.

A murky room greeted me, the hall light spilling in through the open door. Bright moonlight streamed in through the windows, the full moon a few days away.

A shape loomed in front of me. “Good evening, miss.”

I froze. My heart thumped wildly.

Mr. Tom stood in the center of the space, his hands at his sides, facing me.