Page 11 of Don't Look Away

I kiss her on the forehead. “Get some clothes on. I’ll grab the food.”

“Yeah,” she says, turning to find her clothes.

When I get downstairs, the usual crowd is gathered—Wyn, Gabriel, Nathan, and a few others. I motion to Jackson, Lucas, and Christian. “The study, now.”

Christian has a girl on his lap and groans audibly. “Fuuuuck, dude.”

As I pass through the room, on my way to the study, I motion to Nathan. “I have food arriving in the next fifteen minutes. Put it in the kitchen for me.”

“Will do,” comes his reply.

As I walk into the study, the guys follow me, Jackson shutting the door behind us.

“Dude, what was happening upstairs? It sounded like you were ripping her apart up there,” Lucas laughs, falling into one of the upholstered chairs. “I thought I might have to intervene.”

“Yeah, that shit wasloud,man,” Christian adds, laughing as well. “I’m surprised none of the neighbors called the cops.”

“Whatever,” I say dismissively. “It’s not like you guys are fucking quiet.”

“So what’s up?” Lucas asks. “Did you manage to talk to her between orgasms?”

Of all the guys, Lucas knows me the best, and he must realize something is up. He knows I wouldn’t call us all together like this without good reason.

I pace the room. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve talked to her, and uh…I need more time.”

Jackson glances around like he’s looking for a hidden camera or something. “Is this a joke? More time? Roman, we haveone fucking weekuntil shit goes down.”

I rake my hand over my face, the tension in my shoulders making me feel like I’m going to fucking snap. “Okay, so we buy more time somehow.”

Christian shakes his head slowly. “We’re out of time. Roman. You know that. It’s why we put this whole damn plan in place. You assured us you had this shit under control.”

I shake my head. “I couldn’t have anticipated howfucking stubborn she is,” I yell that last part, becausefuuuck,I have to admit to losing control, and that just doesn’t sit well with me. But I have no choice but to tell my boys what’s up.

“What’d she say?” Jackson asks stoically from a chair in the corner of the room. “I mean, word for word.”

Crossing my arms, I just shake my head.

“What the fuck, dude?” Christian says, and I can see the rising anger in his eyes. I have to be careful with him. He’s a chill guy…until that fuse is lit, and then who fucking knows? When he’s pissed, he’s a beast.

“What am I supposed to say, Christian? Tell me.” When he doesn’t immediately answer, I glance around at the other guys, looking for an answer. “How the fuck is this supposed to go exactly?”

For all of our planning, and all of our scheming, we never thought out exactly how this conversation would go. And if I’m being honest, I didn’t think it would take much persuasion at all. Maybe I’m a little too used to getting my own way, I don’t know. But one thing is clear—Lux has a mind of her own, and she isn’t afraid to tell me to go fuck myself.

“Just make your fucking case,” Christian says.

“And if she runs, and tells the police?” I ask. “Then I’m fucked.”

“How did wenotthink about this before we brought Lux here?” Jackson asks.

Last summer, I set up a scholarship so specific, there was no way Lux wouldn’t qualify. My people even reached out to her high school English teacher to encourage her to apply, under the guise of an Exeter University West recruiter. The only catch was that Lux would have to maintain a certain GPA. I don’t give a fuck about her GPA, but it’s standard language for a scholarship, so we went with it in the interest of looking legit.

“We didn’t think about it,” Lucas says, his critical gaze shifting to me, “because Roman assured us that convincing her wouldn’t be a problem.”

I spread my arms wide. “I was wrong. There. Happy?” Goddamn. “The question is, what the fuck do I do now?”

“Cut her loose,” Jackson says with a shrug. “She doesn’t know anything yet. Her friend is dead. There’s no reason for her to stay here. If she leaves, then none of this gets exposed.”

“Yeah, except we’re right back at square one,” Lucas adds.

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