Page 58 of Something Unavoidable

“I think our viewers would like to hear your thoughts as the person who knew Joshua best—and yet didn’t learn his dark secret until the end.”

“Joshua Martin cared about three things. Being the center of attention, having complete control, regardless of the situation, and winning at any cost. I believe he realized he’d lost all three of those, and taking his own life, especially so publicly, was his last-ditch effort to get them back.”

The reporter looked like she’d won the lottery and was trying to control her excitement. “And finally, if you could say something to Josh now, what would it be?”

Izzy gathered himself and turned his intense blue-gray eyes on the camera. “You lost anyway,” he said, voice steely. “We won. I hope you rot in hell.”

As soon as the camera was off, Keegan brushed Xavier aside and beelined for Izzy. He crouched next to him, careful not to get in Riley’s way. “Baby?”

Izzy’s eyes were dull with exhaustion when he looked at Keegan. “Hey,” he said softly. “What are you doing here?”

Keegan cupped his cheek, and Izzy leaned into it with a sigh. “I came as soon as I found out you were giving an interview. I know you asked for space, but I couldn’t stay away.”

“How’d you find us?”

Keegan braced himself. “I used the GPS tracker in Riley’s collar.”

Izzy’s brow furrowed, and his hand went to Riley’s neck.

Keegan cringed. “Sorry, I forgot to remind you about it. I promise I haven’t been stalking you.”

Izzy huffed and fiddled with the strip of leather until he found the tracker tag. “Good to know,” he said, then let it drop again.

“You did well, Izzy,” Xavier said as he made his way over. “They have everything they need, and in the event they have follow-up questions, they know to come to me.”

Keegan stood, keeping a hand on Izzy’s shoulder. “What happens next?” he asked Xavier.

“The interview will be part of an exclusive special on Joshua Martin’s abusive behavior and the cover-up of it, which we believe goes higher in the organization than anyone realized. The focus will be on the young women he hurt, but Izzy’s account of his confession is the final nail in the fucker’s long-buried coffin. Just from the current publicity, there are already calls for the IOC to posthumously strip him of his medals.”

Keegan wished they could do more. Destroying the man’s legacy didn’t feel like enough. “And for Izzy?” Keegan asked, squeezing Izzy’s shoulder.

“There may be a few more reporters poking around with questions, but it’s my job to handle that. We’ve made it very clear that this was an exclusive interview. Izzy has moved on. And because I’m also representing Emma and Samantha, who are both ready and willing to talk, I’ll be able to control a good chunk of the narrative moving forward to keep Izzy’s name out of it.”

Thank god for that. Hopefully that meant Izzy could stop flinching at every ringing phone and notification buzz.

Izzy covered Keegan’s hand with his own and squeezed. “Henry?”

“Yeah, baby?” Keegan caught Xavier’s eyebrow going up but ignored it. Xavier wouldn’t start any rumors, and even if he did, Keegan wasn’t bothered by it. Izzy was his now, and everyone else would learn that soon enough.

“Can we go?” Izzy asked, looking like he might put his head down on the table and take a nap if Keegan said no.

Xavier gave his approval, so Keegan wrapped an arm around Izzy, who had Riley’s leash in his other hand, and led them out to his still double-parked car. He waited for Izzy to make a quip about the ticket on his windshield but got nothing.

The drive back to his house was quiet, with Izzy staring out the window and Riley watching them from the back seat. Keegan tried not to worry when Izzy didn’t comment on theirdestination either. He was exhausted from the interview, and he needed time to process. Keegan couldn’t imagine what it was like to dredge up all that history for the cameras, knowing that the world was going to see it.

Izzy still wasn’t himself.He’d napped for a while when they got home and was now sprawled out on the couch under a pile of blankets with Riley curled against his chest. The herbal tea Keegan had made him was on the coffee table, cold and untouched.

Keegan didn’t know what to do, what to say, how to help. He didn’t even know if he should be doing or sayinganything. The helplessness ate at him. He found himself pacing the house, cleaning things that didn’t need to be cleaned, and straightening things that didn’t need organizing.

The other two dogs had wandered through several times as well. Chance had even sidled up to Izzy, greeting him with a lick to the back of his hand, before he and Lucky vanished upstairs.

Keegan returned to the living room for the hundredth time, feigning looking for a book. He gave up the charade when Izzy continued to stare into space without acknowledging him. Keegan sighed. Everything about this felt wrong. His brat wasn’t built to be this quiet. He crossed the room and perched on the edge of the couch. “Hey,” he said, carding his fingers through Izzy’s curls.

“Hi,” Izzy said back, his tone listless.

Keegan resisted the urge to force him up, to poke him until he reacted. “You’re worrying me, brat.”

“Sorry,” Izzy said, turning his head and squinting up at Keegan. “I don’t mean to. I’m just really tired. I don’t think I’ve slept right since I left the cabin.”

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