Page 54 of Say It Slowly

“You could have studied at the house,” I reply. “I don’t like you walking around campus on your own.”

“The house is a zoo most days,” she answers.

I shrug one shoulder. “So I’ll kick people out.”

The guys won’t like that. They like having their chicks around. But if Lux wants quiet, then she gets quiet.

“No, don’t do that. I also went to the library to research your family,” she says with a sigh.

I blink. Okay. Maybe that’s what all this newfound suspicion is about? I know she didn’t discover anythingtrulyincriminating, but she clearly discovered something.

I deliberately keep my tone even and unaffected. “And what’d you find? Anything interesting?”

“Yeah, see that’s the thing,” she says, turning to face me again. “I didn’t find anything. And you’d think with a family asprominent as yours,somethingwould pop up. But there was nothing, just a couple articles about your family’s philanthropic work.”

“We’re not very interesting, I’m afraid.”

“That’s bullshit,” she says under her breath, more to herself than to me.

She reaches over to open her door, but my hand flies out, and I grab her by the elbow, stopping her. “What do you mean by that? Why is it bullshit?”

I still get the feeling there’s something she’s not telling me.

“I’ve heard things, Roman, like the rumor that your half-brother is in jail now. Why is there no mention of thatanywhere? Seems like that would be pretty big news around here.”

The silence inside the car closes in around me, and all I can hear is my own heartbeat. She knows about my brother being in jail. Shock melts into anger, and I can’t help but lash out. “Who fucking told you that?”

Her eyes narrow. “Does it matter? The better question is why isn’t there any mention of it in the news or anything?”

I grip my steering wheel and squeeze until the plastic groans. “Is that something you would want out there, Lux? If it were your family?”

She doesn’t answer that. Of course, she doesn’t. “So, your parents just had the internet scrubbed, is that it?” When I don’t answer, she shakes her head. “It just makes me wonder what else you could be hiding.”

I glare at her, I can’t help it. I’m pissed at the accusation in her tone, even though I know how ridiculous that is. “So what about you, Lux? Is every dark moment of your life on the internet? How about that little incident you told me about this morning, huh? Is there an article about it somewhere forfucking strangers to consume, and judge? Maybe they’ll think you brought it on yourself?”

Darkness washed over her face, and I swear I canfeelthe hatred and anger radiating off her. “How dare you use my situation to make a point…” she spits.

I open my mouth to say something, but she’s already out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her. I chase after her, catching up to her quickly, my longer legs eating up the growing distance between us. I reach out and grab her elbow, pulling her to a stop. As she whips around, all I see is a fist flying at my face. My head whips back and pain explodes in my jaw.

Goddamn.

Holding my jaw, I pull my hand back to check for blood. “What thefuck?” Grown-fucking-men haven’t taken a shot at me like that, let alone a chick several inches shorter than me. She’s got to be, what, five-six?

I expect her to storm off, but she doesn’t. She’s standing in front of me, pissed, and she looks ready to draw blood. Her face is flushed, her eyes wild with anger. “If you ever fucking mention that incident again, I swear to God, I’ll castrate you with myteeth!”

She’s screaming at the top of her lungs in the middle of the parking lot. Thank God we’re alone. Not that I really give a fuck, but still.

“Lux,” I say, walking toward her. Damn, my jaw hurts. I’m still amazed she landed that blow. “Take a breath. Calm down.”

She takes a step back, looking very unhinged, but not crying, so that’s a plus. “You know what you’renotgoing to do,” she says. “You’re not going to tell me what to do.”

I take another step toward her, holding my hand out, like I’m approaching a rabid coyote that’s foaming at the mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that,” I say.

She allows me to get a little closer, so I continue to advance. “But my brother is very important to me, and you have to know, I’ll protect him at all costs. Is that so hard to understand, Lux? I know you’d do the same for Bree. ”

Mention of Bree seems to disarm her a little. Her shoulders relax, and she glances away. A few seconds pass in silence before she shakes her head, and sighs. “Let’s just go find the guys. I’m starving.”

I blink at the abrupt change in energy, but I’m guessing it’s her way of deflecting, and it suits me not to talk about my family, so I go with it.

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