Red Light: A Dark Stalker Romance (Book One) (Dangerous Games Series)

Chapter Twenty - Alanna

The house across the street stared out at us menacingly. Like it knew what we were planning and did not approve. I glared back at it. There was no stopping me, I was a woman on a mission. Flick looked at me and held a finger to his lips, signaling to stay quiet. We slip out of the truck and slowly close the doors with a soft click. I had made Flick apply WD-40 to his car doors before we left, and it was really paying off. It was eleven-thirty at night, so the street was completely silent. Not that the house was on the street.

No, the house was behind a black wrought iron gate and across one serious yard. It wasn't as big as mine, but it took up the whole block. A neighborhood sort of grew around it it seems. Every other street was dotted with homes. We were parked in front of a modest one. But in the center of the neighborhood was a house as old as mine, and just as massive. The Winters' Estate. Flick and I walk up to the fence and Flick gets down, lacing his fingers together and creating a support with his hands.

I put my boot in his grip and use his hands to step up and reach toward the top of the fence. "Higher!" I whisper, and Flick starts to stand, bringing me closer to the top. I grab the top of the fence and he begins standing again to boost me all the way to the top. I get one leg over and use my grip to steady myself on the top before I pull my other leg over and drop clumsily to the ground. Flick jumps up and grabs the top of the fence, landing his feet on the thin black bars before he half pulls himself, half climbs up to the top of the fence.

He jumps down and drops onto a roll before popping up and turning to me with a bow. I giggle quietly and press my finger to my lips. He zips his lips, locks them and walks over to place the imaginary key in my hand and closes my fist around it. I smile and roll my eyes at his antics. We quickly make our way across the wide expanse of grass. Doc must not like maintaining a yard, because there were barely any flowers or trees on the property. We make it to the side of the house and Flick takes the lead, slipping around the side of the place to a basement window in the back.

He gets down and uses a hanger wire to push in under the old window and unlock the flimsy lock. I was kind of impressed by how easily he had the window open and was motioning for me to jump in. I started to wonder if maybe the reason the town was so judgmental was because Flick never stopped breaking in places. I honestly hadn't thought about it before but I never even asked what he stole. He was ten, so maybe one of Doc's toys, or a dirty magazine? Something that made everyone judge him. But regardless, he seemed pretty adept at breaking in here, and I wasn't sure if I should be wary of that or not.

Was I just looking for reasons to push him away? I was kind of freaking out about the whole love talk I had with Addie earlier. And here he was, risking breaking into a cops house, after the town already hates him, for a break up in, all for me. Meanwhile, I'm trying to convince myself he's a thief because he's adept at it. How is that fair? It's not. I need to chill. I get down low and slide through the window opening and drop lightly to the ground. Flick follows suit.

He motions to me silently once he's on the ground and stays low as we weave through the basement, which turns out to be a wine cellar, toward the stairs. I follow his lead and stay low as we approach the steps. We slip up silently, Flick showing me where to step. He must have been good friends with Betty or something. Otherwise he wouldn't know where to step to keep the stairs from creaking. She did say she owed him one. I wonder what that was about.

I try to shake off all my thoughts and follow in Flick's wake through the dark house. He seems to know exactly where he's going. He must be really familiar with this house. He did say he was a handyman. Maybe that's why he knew all the spots in the house. We slip through the halls and come to a locked door. Flick curses under his breath and looks to the sky, closing his eyes tight. After a minute, he nods and leads me away from the door.