The red light kept flashing. Every alarm screaming that someone was in the house. The sound drilled into my skull like a dentist's tool.

"Stay put." Adrian moved toward the door, his grip tight on the pistol.

I grabbed his wrist before he could take another step. "Don't you dare."

"Celeste—"

"No." My fingers dug into his skin. "You're not leaving me here alone."

Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. Whoever it was felt they had all the time in the world and knew we weren't going anywhere.

Then, calm as anything, they knocked three times on the steel door.

Adrian's weapon snapped up, finger on the trigger. "Markus?"

Silence. Not even breathing from the other side.

Another knock, lighter this time and almost playful. Then a soft, mocking woman's voice as though she was telling a joke only she understood.

"Still playing hide and seek?"

Adrian went completely still. I'd never seen him freeze like that before.

The lock clicked open from the outside, which should've been impossible, and the door swung wide open. She walked in like she owned the place. Hell, I would believe it if someone said she did.

Everything about her looked so expensive, I immediately knew she the kind of woman who'd never worn anything off a rack in her life. With her dark hair swept back in a perfect knot, her wine-colored silk that probably cost more than my car, and her jewelry that caught the light just right, she was beautiful in an untouchable way that made you feel very underdressed just looking at her. She'd stepped out of some fancy magazine and into our nightmare.

"Hello, Adrian." she said in a honey sweet voice.

His gun stayed up, but his hand wasn't quite steady. "Allegra."

"Ah, let's not be hasty. Put that down, darling. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be bleeding out on this lovely floor." She glanced around the panic room with obvious disdain, like she was touring a particularly disappointing hotel room. "Really? This is what you've been reduced to? Hiding in a closet with your little pet?"

"What do you want?" Each word coming out like he was spitting nails.

"What I've always wanted, sweetheart." Her gaze slid to me, cold and calculating. To her I was a piece of furniture she was deciding whether to keep or throw away. "Though I see you've picked up some new... complications."

I stepped forward, done with being talked about like I wasn't there. "I'm standing right here."

"Yes, you are." She smiled, and it wasn't friendly. A shark showing teeth would've looked less threatening. "Celeste, isn't it? The gardener."

"Among other things."

"I'm sure you are." She moved closer, and I caught her perfume, something dark and expensive that probably cost more than most people made in a month, It made my head spin. "Tell me, sweetie, do you know what your husband did for a living before he became so... domesticated?"

"Allegra." There was warning in Adrian's voice, sharp as a blade.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not here to ruin your little fairy tale." She circled us like a predator sizing up prey, her heels clicking on the concrete floor. "Though I do have to ask, did he mention that someone's been watching your pretty little garden? Taking pictures?"

My blood went cold.

"The ones Victor's been collecting, darling. You really should be more careful about those early morning walks, such a creature of habit."

Adrian lowered his weapon slightly, confusion flickering across his face. "Did he put you up to this?"

"I'm sure you already know Victor Greaves doesn't give up easily, and neither do I, perfect student that I am." She leaned against the control panel like she belonged there, one would think this was her office and we were the visitors. "You remember Victor, don't you Adrian? "

Adrian's face went stone. Dead stone. "Victor's been in the hospital for three years."

"Hospital?" She laughed, and the sound made my skin crawl. "Darling, he may be ancient, but he's very much alive and well. He's also very much interested in your new wife." Her gaze flicked to me like I was a bug under a microscope. "Victor was Adrian's predecessor, Celeste. Before Adrian took over the whole operation. He's the one who's been sending those charming visitors to your garden, through proxies of course."

My stomach dropped through the floor. "The men with guns."

"Oh, those were just the opening act, sweetie. Victor likes to make a statement before he gets down to business." Her smile turned predatory. "Unless, of course, you'd rather I handle this my way."

"Which is what, exactly?" My voice came out smaller than I wanted.

"Simple. I take you somewhere Victor can't reach, Adrian deals with his old friend, and when it's over, we sit down and discuss terms for what he owes me."

I stared at her, trying to process this. "Terms for what?"

"For me not destroying everything he built after he screwed over Victor, after he screwed me over too."

The air in the room shifted, got heavier and Adrian's jaw was locked so tight I was surprised his teeth didn't crack.

"You see, darling," Allegra continued, examining her perfectly manicured nails, "when Adrian decided to take over from Victor, he didn't just steal the operation, he also stole my place in it. Victor was grooming me to be his successor, not this one." She gestured dismissively at Adrian like he was some kind of disappointment. "But Adrian had other plans."

"Victor was selling weapons to terrorists," Adrian said flatly, like he was reading from a report.

"Victor was running a business, and a damn profitable one at that, until your bleeding heart got in the way. Now the company does what? Tech or finance or some bullshit? Pennies on the dollar compared to what we used to be making."

"My bleeding heart?" Adrian's voice went dangerously quiet. "Is that what you call not wanting to arm psychos who blow up schools?"

The silence stretched taut as a wire and I could feel the weight of history between them, years of bad blood and buried grudges.

"Tomayto, Tomahto. The important thing is that now Victor wants his operation back," Allegra said softly, like she was sharing a secret. "It will be handed over to me, with interest of course. Starting with taking everything you care about." Her eyes found mine again. "That would be you, darling."

My mouth went dry. "What? Why me? I had nothing to do with anything. You said it yourself, I'm just a gardener."

"Because you're his weakness, the one thing that can make Adrian Westwood bend. At the very least, even if you may not have the bond I suspect you two have, you're the wife of a billionaire. I bet I could make a lot of money off you." She pushed off from the control panel, straightening her jacket with a casual air.

"Enjoy your little garden project, Celeste. I'll be in touch about our arrangement sooner that you'd like. Try not to get yourself killed before then."

She headed for the door, then paused with her hand on the frame. "Oh, and Adrian? You might want to check your north wall. You've still got that blind spot."

The door sealed behind her with a soft hiss. I stared at the place where she'd been standing, trying to make sense of what just happened.

"What the hell was that?"