Chapter 4 Held At Gunpoint

“Are you sure?” Casper questioned.

She tilted her chin up defiantly. “What do you think?” She pressed the barrel harshly against his waist, trying to put her point across.

His eyes narrowed further, but the deathly glare that was permanently embedded in them gave way to amusement. He pulled the hand away from the sliding door and placed it over his head in surrender.

“Mrs. Beckett, what do you plan on doing to me?” he asked as he slowly turned around to face the door and away from her. His jacket moved over her hand, the glimmer of the gun falling into the eyes of the man in grey.

His gun was out and pointing in her direction in no time. She ducked behind Casper’s towering form, finding safety in the knowledge that he encompassed her small form, not allowing anyone to see a shred of her skin, much less get an accurate shot at her.

“Down, Mathew,” she said softly, stunning both the men.

Mathew, the man in grey, glanced at his boss in question. Casper’s responding nod was so small that only Mathew’s practiced eyes could catch it. He lowered the gun, but his posture remained stiff.

“Make him leave,” Aurelia ordered.

Casper smirked and looked pointedly at Mathew. He bowed slowly and stepped backwards until he was outside.

The banging next door continued.

“Walk,” she shoved at him. She put all her force into it, but the man in front of her didn’t budge. He paused a moment, as if to irritate her, before stepping forward at a leisurely pace. There was no sense of urgency or danger in the way he walked, and it frustrated Aurelia further.

He didn’t see her as a threat at all.

“Do you plan on waving that gun around, or do you have a plan?”

She kept silent until they were at the door.

“Is this the front desk?” Aurelia heard Luther speak into the phone. She perked up.

The scene had already changed. From the scathing reports from others, Kevin should have opened the door by now and wondered why someone was pounding on his door for so long.

But the door didn’t open.

“Talk to him,” she whispered to Casper.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell him we’re having an affair?”

Aurelia’s eyes glowed in excitement. “Go ahead. I also want to know how he would react to that,” she urged.

Casper’s smile fell, and he peered outside. Luther was pacing as he explained to the front desk how his wife was feeling unwell and he had forgotten the keys to his room. Now he couldn’t get inside and was worried about her safety.

He wanted to laugh at the irony.

“Your wife is unwell?” he questioned loudly.

Luther spun around and looked at his uncle in horror. “Un—Uncle Casper… what are you doing here?”

Casper glanced at the door he was struggling with. “This is the second time someone has asked me that,” he sighed.

Luther’s eyes dimmed. “Who else would dare to question you?” Through the calmness, Aurelia could hear how nervous he was.

If there was one person Luther feared more than his grandfather, it was Casper. He both hated and was jealous of Casper’s achievements. And Luther feared the man’s power.

To be caught in such a humiliating moment was a death sentence for Luther. While his wife allegedly cheated on him and he rushed over to catch her in the act, his uncle was waiting to watch him clown around in the hotel hallway for everyone to see.

Luther gritted his teeth.

“Your very unwell wife,” Casper announced, not wasting more time. He moved away, leaning on the door so that Aurelia was visible.

Aurelia stiffened, knowing it was her turn.

From where Luther stood, he could tell Aurelia was unnaturally close to Casper, but he couldn’t see the gun guiding their movements.

Luther’s eyes flitted between the door in front of him and the woman whom he loathed with all his being. Contrary to his belief, she stood next door. The stiffness in his shoulder dissipated at the thought that she hadn’t betrayed him.

“What are you doing in Uncle’s room?” he questioned immediately. “Didn’t I tell you to wait for me? Can’t you see I was locked out?”

Aurelia’s resulting smile was pinched.

“Sarah said you were waiting in the room for me, but I saw Uncle Casper and greeted him,” she responded calmly.

He was weaving a story to make himself look good, so she decided to take full advantage of it.

“Sarah?”

Aurelia blinked in surprise. “Yeah, she watched me go inside the room and went down to tell you where I was… didn’t she mention I met Uncle Casper?” she asked innocently, pinning the blame on Sarah.

“She…” Luther cleared his throat. “She failed to mention that.”

Aurelia narrowed her eyes in pretend suspicion. “Don’t tell me… did she say I was meeting someone else?” She raised her voice so that more people could hear.

Luther’s commotion had dragged out curious people from their respective rooms.

Luther gritted his teeth. “No!” he barked.

“Of course, this ‘Sarah’ did,” Casper snickered. He pressed back, the gun digging into his bones. It was a nudge that caught Aurelia off guard. “And here I thought your wife was approaching me with evil intentions.”

Aurelia couldn’t help but level him with a glare. Indeed, Casper didn’t care for anyone. He didn’t care if he exposed everything she had done in front of Luther. In the end, he wasn’t a good person. Why would he help her?

“Why didn’t you bring Sarah with you? I think we should talk to her about boundaries,” Aurelia pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand. “I understand she has a little crush on you, but spreading rumors about me to the servants and now you?” She shook her head in disappointment.

Casper chuckled. “Dad was right. You are a disappointment.”

Luther inched forward, reaching out to grab Aurelia and drag her away before she could say more.

“Mathew, open the door, I want to see who is colluding against the Becketts,” Casper announced.

Mathew had a talent for blending in and going unnoticed. It wasn’t until he was called on that he appeared out of thin air. He walked past them and shoved Luther out of the way to stand in front of the closed door. Without regard for the law of social politeness, he pulled out his gun and aimed precisely at the doorknob. He shot at it twice before the knob fell on the floor.

He kicked the door open, only to find a half-naked man stumbling forward in an attempt to protect the woman from the intruder’s view.

“Found you,” Mathew sneered before grabbing Kevin by his neck and dragging him out into the hallway, dressed only in his boxers.

Luther’s brows were furrowed as the young boy glanced around the hallway cluelessly before his eyes fell on him. His victorious smile was hard to catch, but Luther saw it nonetheless.

“What—what are you doing here?” Kevin stuttered, but his eyes betrayed his true intentions.

Casper clapped his hands, thoroughly entertained. “Luther, how could you come here and ruin this young man’s plans?” he teased.

Aurelia tapped his rib twice, willing him to stay quiet and not ruin her plan. Casper rolled his eyes and whipped around. He wrenched the gun out of her hand, twisting her wrist in the process, and she hissed in pain.

She staggered as he pointed at her head. His fingers lingered on the trigger. “Little girl, you shouldn’t point a gun if you don’t intend to shoot,” he warned her.

“Like you are?” she challenged.

He scoffed. His hand moved ever so slightly, and he pressed the trigger without hesitation.