Page 32 of Don't Look Away

His words are meant to scare me, I think, but being campus queen has given me a whole new level of confidence, so instead of shrinking away, I just blink at him. “And what kind of trouble would that be?”

He takes his shot, sinking two balls. Then he straightens and shrugs one shoulder, his gaze fixed on the pool table. “Non-members who know too much don’t last very long around here…”

That statement catches my attention, because, in Bree’s unfinished note to me, she said she’d discovered something about the Sacred Sons—something serious enough to warn me about, and serious enough to want to leave Malibu altogether. Is that why she was killed?

I blink and take a step toward him. “What happens, exactly?”

He shakes his head and lines up another shot, then takes it and misses. He straightens and turns his focus on me. “Let me ask you a question,” he says casually.

“Okay.”

He leans forward, putting all his weight on the cue stick, and I wonder if it’ll snap in two. “What would you do for someone you love?”

I blink, surprised by his question.

“I mean, how far would you go to protect them?” he clarifies.

I’ve been asking myself that same exact question a lot lately. If I’d known Bree was in danger, how far would I have gone to keep her safe? The answer always comes easy.

“There’s no limit to what I would do,” I say with a shrug.

My mind is cast back to Tyler, and what Roman did to him. Tyler’s death was brutal and painful, and still, it doesn’t come close to what I’d do to Bree’s killer if I ever find him. There’s a special place in hell for a cunt like him, and I intend to send him there personally.

So, yeah, how far would I go? All the fucking way.

Nathan points at me with a nod. “There you go. Exactly. The Burning Crown is no different. We’re a family, and there’s nothing we wouldn’t do to protect our own.”

“Interesting.” I nod, making a mental note of his answer. There’snothing they wouldn’t do. Hmm. It’s just another piece of a very complex puzzle…

CHAPTERTWELVE

Lux

I’m still playingpool with Nathan when I hear voices drift through the open living room door. It sounds like they’re coming from the foyer, and my heart leaps into my throat.

I toss my cue stick down and flash Nathan an apologetic smile. “I should see if that’s Roman.”

Nathan nods in agreement. “No problem. Tell him if he needs anything, I’m here.”

Placing my cue stick back on the rack, I head to the foyer, but by the time I get there, it’s empty, so I climb the main staircase to Roman’s bedroom. As I approach the solid oak door, I pause. What am I going to find on the other side? Which Roman am I going to encounter? It’s so hard to know with him. Will he be angry? Sad? Dismissive? He’s so damn independent that getting him to open up to me is always a struggle. But I have to try. He needs to know he can talk to me about things.

Opening the door, I step inside the dark room. There’s a light on next to the bed, casting the room in a warm, amber glow. Roman is by the desk, and he turns to look at me as I walk in.

“Are you okay?” I ask gently.

When I found out Bree had died, he was here for me, taking care of me, and I intend to do the same for him. His brother didn’t die, thank goodness, but he attempted to hurt himself, and that’s got to be hard for Roman to deal with. He almost lost the big brother he looks up to so much…

Emptying his pockets onto the desk, he nods. “Just tired. It’s been a long day.”

I stand there awkwardly for a second, not really knowing what to do. How do you help someone who is as fiercely independent as Roman is?

There’s onlyoneway I know how to distract Roman...

Stripping down to my underwear, I pad across the room in my bare feet and climb onto Roman’s huge bed. Sitting cross-cross on the comforter, I pat the spot next to me. “Come to bed.”

His eyes follow my every move, and he turns to lean against the desk, arms crossed over his broad chest. “I know what you’re doing.”

Straightening my legs, I spread them wide, and lean back on one palm, tilting my head to the side. “No idea what you mean.”

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