Page 67 of Don't Look Away

“Thank you for coming,” Roman says, pushing off the desk. He takes a couple of steps toward me, but I take a step back, holding my hand out.

“Thank you for coming?” I repeat incredulously, narrowing my eyes at him. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

He looks confused by my abrupt hostility. “What’s going on, Lux?”

It takes everything to keep my shit together, and I force myself to take several breaths before speaking. “I’m going to ask you a question, Roman, and you’re going to give me a straight answer. No bullshit.”

I’ve asked him this question before, and now I know the answer he gave me then was a lie. Will he tell me the truth now?

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

Roman

Goddamn.Lux came in here looking ready to straight up murder someone, and now she has a question.

This can’t be good.

“Okay,” I say, spreading my arms. “Ask away.”

“At the Preference Ceremony, why did you chooseme?”

Fucking-A.

Tilting my head back, I rake a hand down my face. What the hell is this? She comes flying into the room in a fucking mood, and now she’s managed to zero in on the very question Idon’twant to answer.

Pulling in a breath, I drop my gaze to her. “I’m not doing this with you right now, Lux,” I answer, but in a tone that should tell her to drop the subject. Any other chick would take the fucking hint and let it go instantly, but not Lux. Of course not Lux.

“Tell me, Roman,” she says, walking to the other side of the room as she waits for me to answer. She stops in front of the unlit fireplace, then turns around to face me.

I watch her carefully, my heart hammering against my ribs. Something is off about this whole interaction. Like she’s fishing or she knows something. She can’t know the truth about why I brought her here, though. I buried the paper trail so fucking deep, Indiana Jones couldn’t even find it if he tried.

I narrow my gaze at her. “Is this about the initiation ritual?”

Reaching down, she pulls the iron fire poker out of its holder and twirls it like a baton. The guys all look at me like,what the fuck?But I reassure them with a subtle shake of my head. Lux has never been violent. That’s my inclination, not hers.

She takes a few steps toward me, then stops, and taps one of the large porcelain vases with the tip of the fire poker. “This is pretty,” she says before pulling her arm back and letting the fire poker swing, smashing the vase with a loud crash that reverberates through the study.

We all jump back as the priceless vase crashes to the floor, shattering into a million little pieces.

“What thefuck?” Christian yells.

“Whoops,” Lux says with an unapologetic shrug. “I should probably be more careful.”

She takes a few more steps toward us, then with both hands gripping the poker, she lets it loose on another priceless piece of art. A statuette this time. The loud crash jolts the guys as sharp shards of porcelain spray across the room. We all recoil, staring at her in horrified shock. If we had pearls,trustwe’d be clutching them.

“She’s lost her fucking mind,” Lucas whispers.

That comment catches her attention, and she faces us sharply, the poker resting on her shoulder.

“Oh, shit. She heard you.” Jackson this time.

“Oh, no, he’s right,” she says, approaching. “Ihavelost my fucking mind. But can you blame me? I’ve been lied to. Used. Manipulated.” Something on the desk catches her eye, and she pauses to take a swing at it. A bronze figure and a marble bust are violently swept off the desk, onto the floor.

A Tiffany lamp falls, too, and when it doesn’t shatter, she beats it brutally, bringing the poker down over and over, until it’s a pulverized pile of multi-colored glass that’s been ground into the carpet.

The guys and I just watch her, too shocked to move.

When she’s done, she straightens and pushes the hair out of her face. Then she continues her advance, her gaze locked on me. There’s a darkness in her eyes that I’ve never seen before, and fuck if it doesn’t terrify me a little.

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