We continued on, but as we passed a blank stretch of wall, something seemed odd to me. I paused, then backtracked. All down the hall, a door on the left was mirrored by one in the same spot on the right. But here—on my left—was a blank space where a door should have been.
I frowned at the spot.
“Jolene?”
I looked up to find Peter, Daisy, and Xiu waiting for me at the end of the hallway.
I glanced back at the blank space one last time, about to chalk it up to a quirk in design, when a mouse scuttled out of the wall. I raised my brows in surprise, then dropped to a crouch in front of it. It literally came out of the wall—there were no cracks or holes it could have emerged from. I ran my fingertips over the corrugated metal.
Hey. Hold up. I let out a series of squeaks, and the little white mouse stopped in its tracks. It turned and glanced back at me, whiskers twitching.
You can… talk to me?
I glanced over at the others, who now moved back toward me.
“We must get going,” Xiu growled.
I turned back to the mouse and licked my lips. I had to hurry before they got close enough to overhear. Where’d you just come from?
Its big black eyes blinked. A room.
I grinned. There’s a room behind this wall? I knew there should have been a door there.
The mouse rose up on its hind legs. Yeppers.
I winked at it. Thanks, buddy. Also, don’t be fooled by any cheese you find around here—it’s definitely a trap.
Gotcha. Its pink nose twitched and it scampered away, hugging close to where the wall met the floor.
Peter and his dog rejoined me, Xiu hanging back.
Daisy huffed. Looking for snacks?
I couldn’t resist a quick growl. I’m not the one who licks her own butt.
She stiffened, her tail sticking out behind her.
I rose to my feet and grinned at Peter. “There’s a hidden room here.”
He blinked at me, eyes wide in surprise. “Really? How’d you know?”
“Call it an intuitive hit.” I shrugged and lightly touched my temple—I couldn’t help but remember Peter doing the same earlier. My cheeks grew hot, so I turned away to face the wall. “Plus, it’s the only space in the hallway that should have a door and doesn’t.”
Peter glanced over his shoulder to the door on the other side and blinked in surprise. “Wow. I didn’t even notice that.” He grinned at me, clearly impressed, and lowered his voice. “Nice work, Jolene.”
I winked back, trying to play it cool, even though warm fuzzies spread through my chest. As he straightened and turned his attention to Xiu, I let out a few grunts aimed at Daisy.
Peter thought I did good. I’d say I’d like to rub your face in it, but you’d probably enjoy that.
She bared her teeth and let out a low growl, ears flat.
I was saved from her retort when Peter spoke with deep authority. “What’s in there?” He kept his eyes on the foreman, but jerked his head toward the blank wall. “Are you hiding something?”
Xiu narrowed her eyes.
Peter pointed his wand, muttered a few words under his breath, and then in a flash of blue light, a metal door appeared where there’d just been blank wall before. He grinned at me. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“I’m just kinda the best, I guess.” I pretended to dust off my shoulder.
He stared at me, a dopey grin on his face. “Yeah… you kinda are.”
My heart thudded to a stop, and we exchanged wide-eyed looks. He must’ve realized what he’d said, and the way he’d said it, in exactly the same moment I did, because he shook himself and spun to face Xiu.
“Open it.”
I willed myself to focus on what was unfolding in front of me. Giant spider, murder, hidden room…. Still, my mind tried to wrap itself around Peter. Could he really be… possibly… a little into me? I shoved the thought, and the accompanying thrill/terror down so far it was buried where it’d never see the sun again.
Xiu slowly approached, key ring in hand, and shot me a scathing look. She slid an iron key into the door’s lock, turned it, and pushed it open.
Peter lit the room with his glowing wand, and I gasped. The huge space was stocked, floor to ceiling, with the exact same knockoff bag Heidi had, emblazoned with the double H of the House of Hahn.
I gawked at Xiu. “Oh shoot, son—you’re selling illegal knockoffs!”
THE KNOCKOFFS
Peter looked between Xiu and me. “What am I looking at?”
I grinned and stepped into the hidden storeroom. I spun, taking in all the bags piled high around me, then turned to face Peter. “These are knockoffs of House of Hahn bags.” I smirked at Xiu, who glowered at me from the doorway behind Peter. “No wonder you’d enchanted the door to hide these.” I raised my brows. “Yikes.”
Peter frowned. “House of Hahn… is that Bel Hahn’s line? The designer who died during her show last night?”
I nodded. “The plot thickens.”
Peter spun to face Xiu. “We’re shutting you down—now.”
“Wrong.” She narrowed her eyes. “These are not knockoffs.”
I scoffed, but Daisy wagged her tail. She’s telling the truth.
I curled my lip at the dog, then looked to Xiu. “You expect us to believe you just have a massive shopping problem?”
Her mouth pinched tight. “I don’t expect you to believe anything. A representative from the House of Hahn commissioned Li Fan to produce bags for them.”
Right, so likely. I smirked. “And why would they do that?”
Xiu sniffed. “Who knows? Maybe their own production team fell behind, or they negotiated a better deal with us.” She jerked her chin to the side. “I saw the commissioned designs myself, in Li Fan’s office. I can prove that it was all perfectly legal.”
Peter glanced down at Daisy, who wagged her tail and whined up at him. She’s telling the truth.
Peter narrowed
