Page 40 of Lust

“Busted,” I say, slapping my thigh as I stop and face her. “Seriously though, keep an open mind, Syd. Forget what you’ve been told, and use your own instincts,” I implore as she gazes up at me, her brow furrowed. With a hand on her back, and not waiting for an answer, I guide her to the room beside ours. It’s the only other room with an en suite.

After showing her into the room and where everything is, I jog next door and grab her one of my T-shirts to wear and a pair of joggers, which will no doubt be huge on her.

Handing the clothes to her, I tell her to meet us downstairs when she’s ready. She nods, looking awkward, and I leave her to it.

Ro is exiting the bathroom as I enter, looking broody and not at all like someone who just got his cock sucked.

“What the fuck, Ro. That was a little harsh,” I say, grabbing some clean clothes to throw on once I’ve showered.

“Sure,” he mutters with no real feeling other than disinterest and pulls on joggers and T-shirt. “You showering?” he asks as he grabs the towel from where he dropped it on the bed and heads toward the bathroom.

“Yes. I told Syd we’d meet her downstairs to talk once she’s cleaned up.”

“You’ll need this then,” he says shoving the towel into my chest as he passes me.

I snatch hold of his arm, pulling him back. “What is going on? What happened at the hospital earlier?”

He’s all hard edges and fury, but as he looks at me, his eyes soften. With a deep sigh, he steps toward me, and I loosen my hold on his arm to more of a gentle caress.

“We fucked up,” he says, pulling back and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“What are you talking about? Do you mean with Syd?” I ask, searching my mind for what he could be talking about, but I’ve got nothing.

He shakes his head. “Kincaid.” His hands tighten on the bed, scrunching up the duvet. “He knows who I am. He’s known form the start.”

“No!” I say incredulously. “How the fuck does he know that, Ro? We were careful.”

Ro laughs. “Apparently not. But that’s not the funniest bit. He claims it wasn’t him.” He scoffs, then breaks into a hearty laugh that to anyone else would seem merry, but this laugh is laced with disbelief and fury and pain.

“Bullshit!” I hiss, gritting my teeth. “There’s no way we got the wrong guy, Ro. It was him. He murdered those women, he murdered Bell.” I crouch in front of him, grasping his face. “We aren’t wrong, Ro. Amos Kincaid is a fucking murderer, and he will?—”

A gasp behind me has me spinning to find Syd in the doorway, having pushed the door open fully. Her face is drained of colour, mouth open and tears on the precipice of falling from her eyes in a tsunami capable of drowning civilisation.

“Syd—”

“Wh-what d-did you say?” Her words are fractured, full of torture and a plea for her to have misheard me.

Ro gets to his feet, and I almost fall flat on my arse as he strides past me. He marches straight at her, forcing her to retreat, his muscular back contracting and his hands fisting at his sides. He doesn’t stop, despite my calls to him, until Syd is pinned against the wall in the hall.

She squeals as he cages her in, and I race to his side, tugging at his arm. “Hey, she’s not a part of this, Ro. She’s innocent,”I implore, trying to break through the dark haze that has fallen over him.

“She’s not innocent. Not anymore,” he says, his face twisting into a tortured frown. “We ruined her.” His words are solemn. “We got it wrong and ruined her in the process.”

I tug at him again, trying to pull his attention to me. “Roman, tell me what Kincaid said to you?”

“You spoke to my pa?” Syd says, finding her voice, which is now strong and full of accusation. I watch as she pieces it together. “That’s where you went at the hospital.”

Ro takes a strand of her wet hair and twirls it around his finger. She doesn’t pull away, and I’m not sure what to make of that. The fear I saw in her earlier has vanished or she’s masking it fucking well.

“Yes. And do you know what he told me, Sydney?” He pauses, waiting for her to respond.

I’ve known Roman for six years, we’ve been lovers for most of that time. I’ve seen him at his worst and his best, but I’ve never seen him this…lost. That’s the only word I can think of describe him right now. Not even after Annabel’s death. And that was fucked up.

But this right here? I have no understanding of.

“No,” she finally answers when she figures out she’ll get no more from him until she does.

He tugs on her hair, drawing their faces closer together, and if I didn’t know Ro as well as I do, I’d worry he was going to hurt her. Our lives are not spent playing happy families. They are dark, filled with death and destruction.

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