The Keeper: Alexa LeGardien Read Online Free Page B

sentence under his breath. “I suggest you leave.”
    “Excuse me?” Matt asked in a confused tone.
    The two men in suits they’d met earlier approached the door. Neither looked happy, not that they had looked happy the first time Alexa and Matt saw them.
    Alexa quickly interjected the hassle. “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whatever this is, it’s him and me.” She waved her hands to Matt and back to herself. “He’s not going anywhere.”
    “You can’t trust this...” Leeman looked up and down at Matt’s appearance and was not enthralled. Matt had worn out converses on his feet and a slouchy plaid t shirt that was not trying hard to make him look presentable. “...boy.”
    “Well, that boy is Matt, and he’s my friend.” she looked over at Matt. “A very good one,” she added, not quite sure why she felt like defending Matt to a bunch of strangers that hadn’t yet given her a reason for her to do so. Alexa saw that his opinion was not wavering anytime soon. “I trust him with my life.” She spoke sternly, not caring what they thought about Matt. He’d been there for her for as long as she could remember. She threw a smile his way. “If there’s anyone I shouldn’t trust, it’s you guys.” She eyed Leeman and the two men in suits. “I have no idea who you guys are. All I know is that whatever this is, this... joke. It’s no longer funny. So when I open this box, I wouldn’t be laughing.”
    Leeman waved the two men away. “Fine.” He turned to leave.
    “Wait a minute. You can’t lock us in another room. That’s not cool,” Alexa pointed out.
    “Relax, the doors have been left unlocked this time.” He closed it and swung it open again to assure her and then he left.
    Alexa put down the box carefully in front of her and crouched in from of it. She still wondered if she really wanted to open it. For all she knew, this was probably the case where curiosity actually killed the cat as Matt had said earlier.
    It was more than a little strange, but whenever she looked at the box, she could swear it called out to her. Like somehow it was hers to open. She couldn’t even really explain it to herself, no doubt, causing her the slight hesitation she felt from opening it.
    “So, are you going to open it anytime soon or . . .?”
    “Uh . . . I’m thinking, maybe you were right. We should just go. Leave it and go.”
    “We came all the way here and you’ve been looking at that thing like you want to pounce it. So, I vote we open it.”
    She took in some deep breaths and played around with the key for a while trying to lower her breathing speed. The more time she wasted, the more nervous she felt about the context of the box.
    “I’m going to ask one more time, okay?” Matt said in a soothing voice as he noticed that Alexa looked like she was seconds away from having a panic attack. “Are you going to open it?”
    —             —             —
    A LEXA drove the gold plated key towards the keyhole and was literally micro centimetres from inserting it before she abruptly stopped herself.
    “What’s wrong?” Matt asked after seeing her hesitation.
    “Today has been weird. Really weird. The letter, the key, the envelope without a return address. I know I said it was probably a prank, but I didn’t believe that statement for a second, and I know you didn’t.” She stopped to breathe. “What if this is big? Much bigger than the both of us? I have this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that we’re in for more than we can handle.”
    “More reasons to open the box.”
    “Did you just hear what I said?”
    “Yes. A bunch of excuses for you to not open it. But I think that you know that you should. I know I said you shouldn’t, but when you saw it, I knew you wanted to. So, do it already.” Matt reached for her back and rubbed his hand around it. “Listen, I’m here, okay?” she responded with a grateful smile. “I’m here,” he repeated.
    “I know.