Page 1 of Don't Look Away

CHAPTERONE

Roman

I hadto tell her the truth, and I wish to God I didn’t. The look of shock and despair on Lux’s face will stay with me forever.

She’s staring at me, blinking, her expression blank. It’s like she’s completely checked out, disassociating.

I squeeze her arms and shake her a little. “Lux,” I say, panic clawing up my throat. “Say something.”

She blinks, and I watch her throat move as she swallows like she’s trying to speak. Finally, the words come, grating against her vocal cords. “It has to be a mistake.”

My guys had put out feelers earlier in the week, putting pressure on the police department to give us updates on Bree’s case, which, at that point, was a whole lot of nothing. But when a body matching Bree’s description washed up on the beach this morning, I was the first call Detective Garcia made.

“They’re running DNA samples to be sure,” I say gently, “But there was a distinct butterfly tattoo on her shoulder. It’s her, Lux. I’m so sorry.”

She doesn’t ask any questions, she just shakes her head as tears slide silently down her cheeks. Then she sinks against me, tucking her head against my shoulder, her entire body trembling.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” Detective Garcia says, standing up and moving to the door. “When I come back, I’ll have some questions for you, Ms. Anderson.”

“Thanks,” I say to the detective as I cradle Lux in my arms. I wish I could shield her from the pain I know she’s going to face, but I can’t, and that leaves me feeling helpless, and I’mneverhelpless. I’m usually in control, so this feeling is foreign as fuck.

And I can’t negotiate with death. It seems impossible, but therearelimits to my family’s power and influence, death being the first item on that very short list.

When the door to the conference room clicks shut, the floodgates open, and Lux sobs against my chest, her tears soaking my shirt. I stroke her hair and whisper comforting words, but I know it’s not enough. Nothing will ever be enough to take away the pain of losing a close friend.

We stay like that for…I don’t know how long, until she is so worked up, she can hardly breathe.

“Breathe, Lux,” I whisper against her hair. “Breathe, baby. It’s okay. I’m here.”

It’s all I can give her, and that guts me. I hate hearing her cry like this. I’d do anything to take this pain away from her. I’d give her the last breath in my body if it would take the pain away.

It takes a while, but her tears finally begin to slow and she pulls back to look at me. Her face is wet, and her nose is bright red, but she’s still so beautiful, it makes my chest ache. “Where did they find her?” she asks through sharp intakes of breath.

I don’t know if she’s ready to hear this, but delaying the inevitable isn’t going to do much good, either. If I don’t tell her, Detective Garcia will, and he won’t be delicate about it.

I stoke Lux’s hair as I look into her eyes. “Her body washed up on Pacific Beach this morning. It looks like she was stabbed several times.”

Lux’s eyelids flutter closed, and she nods slowly, absorbing what I just told her. “Isn’t that just down the way from that private beach, where we found her phone?”

“Yeah,” I say. “I’m sure Detective Garcia will want to go over all that with you.”

She opens her eyes, staring through me like she’s struggling to take this all in. And, honestly, I don’t blame her. This is a lot. Then she steps out of my arms, and looks up at me, her expression shifting.

“Who would have done something like that to her?” she asks, suspicion dripping from her tone. She can’t seriously suspectme.

I lower my voice and lean in, so any cameras in the room can’t pick up my voice. “Are you suggesting I had something to do with this?”

She pulls back so she can look me in the eye. “I’ve seen things.”

She’s referring to Tyler, and the violence she saw me inflict. My gaze scans the room, and I see at least two cameras pointed right at us. My gaze shifts back to her. “The answer to your question is no,” I say firmly. “I would never do something like that to you.”

I feel like such a fucking hypocrite saying that, and it’s true, I’ve done things, horrible things, but there would be no reason for me to harm Lux’s friend.

She seems satisfied with my answer because she nods and blows out a breath, her stance softening. “Why her?”

I shake my head, at a loss. “I don’t know, Lux. Sometimes there’s no good reason.”

There’s a sharp knock on the door a second before Garcia cracks the door open. “Hey. My partner and I would like to get statements from you two, so we can let you get back home.”

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