It was old and merely functional, but clean. Cement floors and walls that at least were in good condition. Good news–I hadn’t bought a house with a bad foundation. Bad news–cement walls meant digging a tunnel to freedom was out. I sat down on the bottom steps, gulping in cool breaths of air. My heart rate slowed to a manageable speed, and my thoughts cleared. Felix didn’t seem to be insane. And if he was a vampire, he would’ve already chained me up down here. Instead, he had saved me from hurting my hand when I attempted to break a window. He had explained the situation to me, as best as he was able to. I thought…I was safe. For the time being. The house didn’t seem spooky, which helped. Rather, it gave off a forgotten vibe, like a memory not important enough to cling to.

“You must be the reason Felix was losing his shit this morning.”

I whipped my head around to find a shirtless man a bit younger than me looking at me curiously. He held a mason jar filled with a dark liquid. I was so shocked, I couldn’t speak. I hadn’t expected to see another living houseguest in here, but I supposed it made sense.

He took a sip of the drink in his hand and offered me an easy smile. “I’m Theo. It’s nice to have a pretty face to look at instead of those two fuckheads.”

Theo was completely different than Felix. His smile was relaxed and real, his ripped jeans slung low on his hips. Even the way he complimented me didn’t seem forced. I smiled back, then paused. “Did you say two fuckheads?”

“Ah. Guess you haven’t met Luther yet then.” Theo took another sip of his drink. “Oh, I’m sorry, how rude of me. Would you like a drink?”

I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until he offered. Should I be accepting drinks from a strange man in a house I was supposedly trapped in? Absolutely not. But logic had gone out the window about the time I crossed the threshold. Besides, he was drinking it, so it couldn’t be poisonous. “Please. If you don’t mind.” Hopefully it was iced tea.

He shrugged, holding it out to me as he walked over. “Be my guest. Unless you have cooties. Then you can fuck right off.” Theo winked, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

Something about his personality was so likable, and made me feel like I was at home, even in this fucked-up situation. Felix on the other hand…he was handsome, but an ass. I grabbed the glass. It smelled vaguely alcoholic, and I gratefully took a swig, expecting wine.

It wasn’t fucking wine. I spat it out onto the concrete floor, looking up at Theo in horror as he laughed. “What the hell is this?”