Chapter Seven
Mia
I slowed the car to a crawl as my GPS politely informed me in an Australian accent that I had reached my destination.
“Guess this is the place,” I said to nobody in particular as I pulled off the country road onto the hedge-lined driveway, coming to a stop just before a thick, solid-metal gate that blocked my path and view of what lay beyond. “Definitely not creepy vibes at all. Why the hell did I agree to this?”
However, now that I was there and staring at the imposing gate, with two nasty-looking spikes protruding from the center, I was beginning to wonder if maybe I should have been a bit less impulsive in agreeing to the deal.
I hadn’t expected Torrent to live so damn far out in the country. It had taken me an hour to get there.
“Sure likes his privacy, that’s for certain,” I murmured as I stopped in front of the gate, staring at the stone wall spread out on either side, running the length of the property as far as I could see.
It towered over me, preventing me from seeing anything on the other side except the trees, many of which were veritable giants stretching up toward the sky as far as they could.
Returning my attention to the closed gate in front of me, I noticed a black box cleverly concealed among the hedges. “Hello?” I called. “It’s Mia? I’m here to clean.”
Just saying it, I felt so stupid. There was probably an army of people inside who took care of a property that size.
Why on Earth had he called me, then? Surely he could afford to employ housekeepers.
Except, he’d mentioned that the house hadn’t been lived in for some time.
So perhaps he was in the process of hiring staff.
“He better not expect me to become his full-time house cleaner! I did not sign up for that,” I hissed under my breath as I waited for an answer or for the gate to open. Any sign that I was welcome to enter.
None came. I called again, several times, asking for Tor and then Torrent. But the box remained silent. Irritated, I pulled up the picture of his invoice from my work to double-check the address.
I was in the right place. But nobody was home. Had he forgotten that I was coming or something?
“Hello?” I called louder. “Anybody home?”
Getting angry at the waste of my time, time I could have spent cleaning and getting closer to buying the car, I got out of my vehicle and approached the gate.
“Open up!” I shouted, banging a fist on the metal.
To my surprise, it swung open easily under the impact. It wasn’t locked. I peeked my head through, looking to see if anyone was on the other side.
The first thing I noticed was the lack of upkeep.
The lawns were overgrown, tall weeds as high as me stuck up among grass that came to my waist. Several dead trees were nearby, at least one of which had fallen haphazardly to block half the driveway.
Dead leaves and other plant debris swirled around in the idle winds that swooped underneath the canopy of the living trees.
“What the fuck have I gotten myself into?” I said, questioning my decision to come out there a little stronger with each discovery. The place was in a bad state. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see the inside.
“Who the fuck are you?”
I shrieked and stumbled backward at the snarled question as a man emerged from behind a nearby tree, his eyes ablaze. He came at me, raising both his hands. I swore I saw sparks shooting from his palms, but he abruptly lowered his arms before I could be certain.
“You’re not Rica,” he said in a calmer tone.
“What? No,” I said, wondering who the hell Rica was and why they warranted such a hostile greeting.
“Well, then, who are you? Why are you here?”
He stepped fully out of the undergrowth.
Tall like Torrent, he looked as at home in his multi-colored flannel button-up and dark blue jeans as Torrent did in his suit.
His hair was cropped short, a complete contrast with Torrent's, but they had similar sizes and builds. Not to mention the gray eyes.
“Are you Torrent’s brother?” I asked before I could stop myself.
The man shook his head. “No. I’m Ty. How do you know Tor?”
“Um, he hired me,” I said. “To come clean? My name is Mia.”
His face brightened. “Oh, so you’re the hu—” He coughed. “The humble saleswoman he talked about. He’s giving you a car for it or something?”
“Sort of,” I said with a half-smile, wondering what Ty had been about to say. It certainly wasn’t humble. Nobody used that to describe another.
“Well, come on in,” he said. “You’re more than welcome. Just follow the road up. It goes between the ends of the house, so follow it to the front door. You might have to ring the buzzer several times, but he’ll get there eventually. I’d guide you, but I have other things to do.”
I eyed his outfit and the overgrown property around us. “Yeah, I can see that.”
Ty grinned. “It’s been a bit neglected, but we’ll get it handled, you’ll see.”
“Sounds good,” I said, backing away to my car. I was both more at ease and more curious at the same time. Something was a little off about those two, Ty and Torrent, or Tor, as he liked to be called. I just couldn’t put my finger on what was so strange about them.
Ty busied himself with hauling open the gates for me, and I waved at him as I went past, driving slowly around the downed tree, then following the driveway as it rose and fell while twisting through the trees. Apparently, the house was built in the middle of a forest, or so it seemed.
Then, after what seemed like a mile-long drive, I emerged at the bottom of a slight incline that led up to the house.
“What the actual FUCK?” I shouted as I caught sight of the residence.
In an instant, I realized I’d been taken—and taken hard. I knew the house would be large. Six bedrooms, several sitting rooms, a full-on library, all of which he’d bought stuff to equip? It would be a long-ass couple of days of cleaning, but the pay was insane.
Now, as the house swelled to fill my view, the single-story affair spreading out farther to the left and right with every foot closer, I stared and wondered if I was being underpaid. The house I’d imagined cleaning could have fit into that place a dozen times over. It was massive!
The house was all smooth curves, spires, and turrets, despite being only one story high.
I figured the ceilings had to be huge. There was no other way about it.
It looked almost like it was some sort of mountain palace somewhere in the Himalayas.
There were definitely touches of Asian culture in it, though I couldn’t be specific. It was beautiful.
I followed the driveway between the two ends of the house, as Ty had instructed, not taking the other road that led somewhere off to the far side.
The house, as I realized, was like a U shape, or perhaps more accurately, C-shaped, with the driveway running between the two ends.
On the interior, the road split and ran around the perimeter.
I went right and stopped under the giant overhang that reached out from the entryway to cover a section of the driveway.
Tor was waiting for me on the front steps, but I didn’t immediately get out. I almost thought about driving away. I’d been fucking conned. There was no way around it. The mansion would take weeks to clean. Months, even. I wouldn’t have a day off until Christmas.
“Ah, Mia, I’m glad you came,” Tor said, coming around to the driver's side as I slowly cracked the door open.
“Yeah,” I said, still in a bit of a daze. “This is a big house, Tor.”
He laughed. “It’s not as bad as it seems, trust me. It’ll be fine.”
Oddly enough, I felt like I could trust him. I wasn’t sure why. I barely knew the man, but something about him was trustworthy.
“Come on, let me show you around,” he said, holding on to the car door while extending a hand toward me.
I didn’t need his help to get out of my car, but I took it anyway, feeling the now familiar surge of electricity shoot through my hand and the rest of my body.
I worked to calm myself, reminding all relevant parts of me that I would be spending a lot of time in proximity to him.
I couldn’t turn into a dripping horndog every time he looked at me or made physical contact.
“This is going to take me forever to clean,” I muttered in horrified awe as he led me through the front door. The hallway beyond seemed to stretch forever, and when we reached the first intersection of hallways, I felt even more doomed.
“You don’t have to clean it all,” Tor said. “In fact, there are large sections to which you aren’t to go.”
That caused my eyebrows to rise. Off-limits areas?
Interesting. What sort of secrets was he hiding?
My heart fluttered with nerves. Had I just walked into the home of a serial killer?
I swallowed, suddenly glad I’d told Ally where I was going.
If I didn’t come home, she’d be able to send the police to find my body, if nothing else.
“Don’t forget, I am paying you twelve thousand dollars for this job,” he reminded me as I hesitated at his next tug of my hand.
“Yeah,” I said, glancing at our clasped hands, wondering why I was still holding his. I abruptly dropped it.
Tor looked a little disappointed, but he didn’t say anything.
“Sitting room one,” he said, stopping beside two sliding doors. He pushed them back into the wall, and I peered beyond to see hardwood floors. There were marks in the thick dust where furniture had been until recently.
“We got rid of most of the furniture. That’s why you don’t have to clean the entire place. Some rooms are piled high with it,” he said.
“Oh.” That made a lot more sense than him being a serial killer.
He proceeded to give me a tour of the areas he did want me to clean. It was a total of ten bedrooms, three sitting rooms, two kitchens—one of which was humungous—and four bathrooms.
“Now, this is my favorite. It will require extra care.”
I frowned, wondering what was beyond the thick sliding double doors.
“Oh. My. God,” I gasped, overawed by the sight as we stepped inside. “This is amazing.”
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
“How high are the ceilings?” I asked, staring upward at the murals painted on the domed ceiling.
“Sixteen feet,” he said. “So be careful on the ladders.”
“Sliding ladders.” My voice was barely a whisper as I saw the sliding steps that would take me all the way up. “I didn’t think places like this existed.”
Tor didn’t reply. When I glanced over at him, I saw he was watching me with those swirling gray eyes of his. Something lurked in their depths. It wasn’t malignant or vicious. Just … watchful.
“This room alone is going to take a day or more,” I said, noting the thick layer of dust covering everything. Many of the books looked to be in sorry shape. I hoped they were savable.
“That’s fine. I would prefer you take your time when working around so many books. Unfortunately, they haven’t been cared for as they deserved,” he said, an undercurrent of anger tinging his voice. “I hope to change that.”
“Good,” I said. “Books deserve to be cherished. Especially ones like this.” I noted all the leather hardcovers, many with gold foil along the spines. Just beautiful.
“Now, come,” he said, gesturing me out through the far side of the library and into a hallway on the other side.
I followed, realizing we were back near where we’d started our tour.
“These doors,” he said, pointing at a set of rather ornately carved arched doors between one of the kitchens and one of the bedrooms.
“Yes? What’s in there?”
“This is private,” he said. “You do not go in here. Am I understood? It is off limits.”
The doors, stained darker than the others and full of far more carvings, were easily discernable. Maybe this was the master bedroom, given the nicer look to the entrance. Even the frame of the arch had been carved beautifully.
“Yeah, I understand,” I said, doing my best to tamp my curiosity into nothingness.
Twelve thousand dollars. Remember that. You already told your dad you’re getting the car. So don’t fuck it up by snooping, got it?!
“Good,” he said, breaking out into a brilliant smile that sent lightning through my veins.
My knees slightly wobbled as he straightened his spine, his black button-up pulling tight across his chest. Did the man even understand how much of an effect he had on me?
There was no furniture in the bedrooms, but I didn’t give a damn at that instant.
He could fuck me up against the window for all I cared.
“Just, um, just show me where the supplies are,” I said, desperately trying to focus on anything but the swell of his pecs or how his pants pulled tight over his crotch when he moved.
I’d been so focused on the house that I’d managed not to focus on Tor too much, but that had changed instantly. The man commanded my attention when he wanted to, and I couldn’t do a fucking thing about it.
I supposed I could let him have his way with me, assuming he was interested. Maybe after I’d been laid, my hormones would rest easier. Somehow, I doubted it, though. He just had an aura about him that I found almost irresistible.
“Supplies?” Tor questioned.
“Yeah, you know, for cleaning? Vacuum cleaner, dusting stuff, cleaner, paper towels, mop? All that?”
“You’re the cleaner,” he insisted.
“Yes, I am.”
“Did you not bring that stuff with you?”
“No? Why would I? I’m not a cleaning service. You hired me to come clean. If you needed me to bring my own equipment, you should have said so. But this is going to take a ton of supplies. I couldn’t have fit it all into my car anyway.”
“Well, I don’t have anything,” Tor said matter-of-factly.
“I …” What the fuck was I supposed to say to that? I almost started laughing at the ridiculousness of it.
Tor did start chuckling. “This is why I was going to hire a service. All right, come on, let’s go.”
“Go?”
“If the cleaner won’t bring supplies to the mountain, I’ll bring supplies to the cleaner. Or something like that,” he said. “Come on. We’re going into town.”
“We?” I squeaked.
It was an hour’s drive into town. An hour. Alone. Just Tor and me.
Fuck.