The Carrero Contract - Finding Freedom (Book 3 of Contract Trilogy)

11

The inside is a dark musty stairway, concrete with a wrought iron bannister edging the stairs. I can see other internal doors as though this is an apartment block of several small units and looking up shows a couple of floors in the space where the stairs go. Alexi heads right to the foot of them and I follow quietly. Intrigued by this run-down building and the lack of grandeur I'm used to seeing him surrounded by. It's borderline inhabitable and the kind of place you expect to find rats and cockroaches in every corner. A reminder of where I stayed after I left the hospital and reinvented myself as Meghan.

"Top floor, although it's only a couple flights." He adds, not looking back and I try to stay close. Uncertain about our surroundings and trying not to step on any creatures I'm convinced might be lurking in the dust and dirt of each solid step.

It's dark, no natural lights at all as there are no windows, the dim electric lighting overhead is all we have, which is dull as hell because most of the bulbs are out. That flickering, buzzing kind of light that gives you a headache. The building feels deserted, and the lack of maintenance suggests not many people use this.

"I thought you came from money. This place is a bit rough isn't it?" I point out when we climb the stairs quickly, passing more chipped and battered doors, and the concrete beneath our feet could do with a good sweep. It's so dusty it's choking me and stirring up all kinds of unwelcome smells. The clouds of dust circle around my feet. Definite signs of disuse. I'm guessing a lot of these apartments are empty nowadays.

"I did. I just didn't want to be a trust fund baby and always rely on my father's wealth in life. I found this place once I secured a job nearby and rented it. I went it alone for a while."

Well, that's a revelation and I wonder how old he was when he did that. Moved out to the city alone and stood on his own two feet. I blink up at his tall figure in front of me and really take stock of that little titbit of info. There really is more to him than most silver spoon babies from wealthy backgrounds.

Alexi leads us to a black, more recently painted glossy door that seems a lot more maintained than the rest of the building. Signs of cleanliness around it too as though someone tends to this hallway here and the apartment behind it. The overhead light at the entry is bright and clean and illuminates us more successfully. Making me blink as we stand under it.

Opening it, he pushes the heavy door inwards and reaches in with his carrier bag hand and flicks on some lights to illuminate the interior.

"I don't understand. I thought you went straight into the family business with your father?" Now he has me stumped and I blink as the smell of chemical cleaners and air fresheners waft strongly in my face, out into the damp stairwell and draw me into a much cleaner interior with healthier air to inhale. He obviously has someone regularly keep this place in check, there is not a hint of dust or dirt or any signs of disuse in here.

I always envisioned, after his mother turned her back on him, that he followed his father to the city and worked as one of his henchmen. I mean, I assumed after taking someone out, his father saw the promise in his son and mentored him to be his replacement. Took him under his wing and turned him into the cold leader that became infamous in this city.

"Nope. Come on, you can question me inside when I get this place opened up. It's been a while since I was here." Alexi walks in ahead of me as the apartment lights flicker on, both overhead and underlighting, as the cosiest looking loft apartment I have ever seen, comes into view.

It's nothing like the club or his apartment I stayed in before.

It's urban and industrial and homely. Leather armchairs all battered and scuffed, a wall lined with bookshelves, books, trinkets, photos. Neutral tone paintwork with lots of textures from various objects and soft furnishings galore. There are rugs on the floor and some that overlap for a warm, inviting floor space that requires barefoot investigating, and an electric fire already burning bright in a hearth in the centre of the wall, with lamps that came on when he flicked the main switch.