Chapter 175

Alexi leads me through patio doors into a large kitchen nestled to one side, and the house suddenly seems gloomy and silent compared to the outside sun and noise of babbling people. Eerily so. We walk across to the main door on a cold tiled floor, which is flanked by a couple of doors inside the kitchen that seem entirely out of place. We are almost at the exit when we catch the sound of his mother’s voice drifting this way and coming closer.

“Come to the kitchen with me, and I will make you a coffee before we head out.” Her shrill, Italian accented tone grates on me instantly.

Alexi flicks a look my way before changing route and hauls me into the door to the left, pulling me in fast and closing it as quietly as he can. So swift, he almost knocks me off my feet, and my heels barely touch the floor. We are suddenly encased in a dark room with no windows whatsoever, and I can’t tell if he just locked us in a larder. I can’t see shit.

“What are you doing?” I whisper h