Chapter 30: CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

He slammed the drawer shut loudly and sighed.

They’ve been searching for three days but all they found were papers related to clients. It was nothing out of the ordinary, only contracts and NDA agreements. Vlad stood with a groan and placed his hands on his hips. He glanced around the office with narrowed eyes. The appearance of Cora’s mother was also a new complication.

Vlad’s shoulders sagged. He should probably head upstairs and check on her but she had demanded to be left alone. According to what he knew about her mother, the woman had died shortly after giving birth to Cora. Andrew had never mentioned Julia. Why would he lie to his daughter about something as important as her mother?

He licked his lips. What if this Julia Woods was somehow also involved with Mike? What if she suddenly decided to show up and lead the danger right to Cora’s doorsteps? They already had enough problems and they didn’t need any more.

“V-Vlad?”

His head snapped up at the sound of her soft voice. Cora hovered in the doorway. His eyes trailed over her small frame. He took note of her red-rimmed eyes and trembling lips. Vlad moved towards her with his hand held out.

“What’s wrong?” he questioned. “Did something happen?”

“I just. . .I got mad so I headed to my father’s room and I started trashing it.” A blush slowly trailed up her neck and into her cheeks. “I might have thrown a statue at the wall and now there’s a hole in it, but I found something.”

He gave her a small smile. She sure made a picture! Cora grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs and down the hall toward Andrew’s room. The room was a mess and Vlad was glad that Cora had let some of the bent up anger out. He followed her to the hole inside the wall. It wasn’t as big as he expected it to be.

“Look like there’s something behind it.”

He leaned down and studied the dark oak behind the drywall. “Do you have a light?”

“Here.”

Vlad took the light and leaned forward again to get another look inside. It looked like some kind of door that led to another room. Excitement hit when he realized it could lead to more answers. Taking a step back, he stared at the hole before glancing around it. There had to be another way in—one where they didn’t have to break the wall down.

“What are you looking for?”

“A way to get to that door without having to break the wall down,” he muttered.

“You think there’s—” she gasped loudly and then hurried forward. “I think this should do the trick.”

She fumbled around with a statue that stood on the small table a few feet away. There was a loud click and a second later the drywall swung open to reveal a big oak door. Vlad gave her a smile. He gripped the door handle and turned it, but the door didn’t budge.

“It’s locked,” he told her as he turned away from it.

“Great. Now we have to search for a key.”

“Not necessarily.”

He sent her a secretive smile over his shoulder as he walked out of the room towards his. Vlad had just the right tools to open that door. He was a little worried about what she would think of him, but there was no time to think it through. There had to be a reason why Andrew had hidden that door and they were about to find out what it was.

Vlad glanced at Cora as he entered the room again. She had taken a seat on the edge of the bed but she stood when she saw him enter. Her eyes dropped to the small black case in his hand before darting up to his in question. He winked but continued to walk to the door. Crouching in front of the door, he opened the box and grabbed the correct tools.

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” she said softly.

His smiled widened but he stayed silent. A satisfactory click filled the silent room. Vlad glanced up at Cora as he put the tools away. She rolled her eyes but a small smile hovered around her lips. Straightening, he gripped the door handle and turned it. The door opened easily. Vlad gestured for Cora to stay back as he glanced around. He wanted to make sure there were no surprises.

It was another room, smaller than any other room in the house. There was a desk against one wall that was covered in papers. Steel cabinets lined the remaining walls. As Vlad stepped deeper into the room, his eyes caught the painting hanging to the left of the desk. It was really just a canvas with paint spatters on which made it suspicions. Why would such an ugly painting hang on one wall while the other walls were completely bare?

“Why would he build another room and hide the entrance?” Cora muttered, glancing around.

“Maybe it’s related to his work,” Vlad said softly.

Cora shook her head as she walked over to the desk. Was she thinking what he was thinking?

“I’ll take the desk, you can take the steel cabinets.” Cora smiled at him. “It looks more interesting than those cabinets.”

“You think so?”

She nodded, but the smile slipped from her face when she pulled open the first drawer. It was littered with papers. “You know what, I’ll take the cabinets.”

“Too late, sweetheart.”

Vlad moved to the first cabinet and pulled the drawer open. It was empty, and so were the rest except for one cabinet that was locked. He sighed and turned towards Cora.

“You wouldn’t happen to have found a key in there?” he questioned.

“Haven’t found one yet.”

Another sigh fell from his lips as he walked towards her. He stopped behind her and leaned forward to look what she was reading. He recognized Mike’s name. So this was the evidence he had on Mike. Vlad glanced over his shoulder at the locked steel cabinet. So if this was all the evidence, what was locked inside the cabinet? It had to be more important than whatever was in the desk.

His frown deepened. A bad feeling filled him. They shouldn’t have found this room. Once they find out that Cora and he knew about the evidence on Mike, Mike would definitely send someone to take them out. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

With his mind made up, Vlad turned back to Cora and grabbed the file from her hand. He threw it onto the table before gripping her arm to pull her up. Cora started to protest but she fell silent when she saw the look on his face. He cupped her cheeks and leaned down slightly.

“I need you to listen to me carefully,” he said softly.

“Vlad, what—?”

“Cora, listen to me.” She pursed her lips and gave him a nod. “You can’t tell anyone about this room. If anyone asks, you threw something at the wall and it created a hole in the wall. There’s no room, no papers, and no evidence against Mike Williams. Do you understand?”

“Why?”

He licked his lips. “Because it could put you in even more danger than you’re already in. Promise me.”

“I won’t tell anyone about this, I promise.”

“Good.”

And because he couldn’t help himself, he smashed his lips on hers. Cora moaned and reached up to grip his shoulders. She pressed her body against his as she parted her lips. His hands slid down her sides to grip her hips. Vlad stepped forward, forcing her to step back. He lifted her onto the desk and stepped between her legs. His hands slid under her shirt.

“Take me,” she breathed against his lips.

Vlad made quick work of the buttons of her shirt. He pushed the shirt off her shoulders and reached behind her to un-clip her bra. His lips slowly trailed down her neck. Her shaky hands gripped the hem of his shirt and tugged it upwards. He stepped away so she could pull the shirt over his head. The moment it was off, he smashed his lips on hers again.

Her hands slipped to the front of his pants. A groan slipped from his lips when her knuckles brushed against his hard length when as she pulled the zip down. Vlad reached for her skirt and pushed it up to her hips. Cora’s head dropped back when he slipped his hands into her panties.

She was soaking wet and ready for him. He leaned back to pull his cock out of his pants. Vlad stopped long enough to put on a condom and then he was inside her. They both moaned. Cora’s nails dug into his skin as he started moving. It was over within minutes. Their heavy breathing filled the silent room. Cora dropped her forehead against his shoulder after pressing a kiss to his skin.

“That was amazing. Better than last time.”

Vlad smiled. “Next time we’re trying a few new positions.”