Amanda scrunched up her face, thinking, ''These dudes are rude as hell. Are they really Alexander''s buddies?''


    Colin barged in with his crew, tearing through each room. The ce only had four rooms, but after checking them all, they found zilch-no Alexander.


    Amanda trailed behind them. Just a minute ago, Alexander was chilling on the bed, and now he was now nowhere to be seen.


    Colin spun around and barked, "Where is he?"


    Amanda shrugged. "I dunno. I just called him for dinner, and poof, he''s gone."


    Colin mulled it over, then told his men, "Spread out and search the area. He can''t be far."


    "Got it," they echoed.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org.


    Listening to them, Amanda got a gut feeling they weren''t Alexander''s pals. They were here to stir up trouble, not to hang out.


    Colin''s crew ransacked the ce, and Amanda kept her mouth shut. These guys looked like bad news, and she didn''t want to risk her family''s safety.


    After tearing through the house and finding nothing, they headed outside to check the surroundings.


    Colin followed. As he passed Amanda, he suddenly stopped.


    Amanda tensed up, watching him closely.


    Colin shed a grin and said, "Don''t worry. We''re not the bad guys."


    Amanda''s hand tightened around her phone, but she didn''t dare dial. She forced a smile, and Colin finally walked away.


    Amanda exhaled, relieved she hadn''t called 911. She''d noticed Colin had a gun tucked in his sleeve as he left.


    Colin and his crew scoured the open ins, but there was nowhere to hide.


    If you''re loving the book, nel5s.org is where the adventure continues. Join us for theplete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you!


    "What now? We got nothing," one of them said.


    Colin looked grim. He thought, ''Where could he have gone so fast? Maybe Quinn got him outta here. If he left around noon, no wonder we can''t find him.''


    After a long, fruitless search, they had to bail.


    Amanda watched them fade into the horizon and let out a huge sigh of relief. She quickly herded the kids back inside.


    But as soon as they walked in, there was Alexander, chilling in a chair in the living room. Amanda nearly screamed.


    "Where the heck did youe from?" she asked, still freaked out.


    Alexander tapped the wooden wall behind him. "It''s your house. Don''t you know?"


    If you''re loving the book, nel5s.org is where the adventure continues. Join us for theplete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! Amanda walked over, knocked on the wall, but didn''t find anything weird.


    "Nothing here," she said.


    Alexander grabbed his cane and headed to the side door. There was no actual door, just a frame.


    He ced his hand on the wooden panel of the door frame and pushed it up with a bit of force.


    Amanda stared in shock at the dark, narrow passage that appeared. It was just wide enough to squeeze through sideways.


    She was both surprised and thrilled. "We never noticed this. How''d you find it?"


    Alexander exined, "I saw this door was wider and hollowpared to the others, so I gave it a shot. There might be other spots like this. Check ''em out when you have time." Amanda gave him a weird look, like, "Dude, you''re a guest. Why are you snooping around my house?"