Page 14 of A Midnight Romance

River

“ W here should we start?” Lux whispers, standing flush against my back.

I’m not used to having someone tag along during this process and question my every move, but to my dismay her proximity is a comforting nuisance. Besides, the closer she is to me, the better—the safer she is.

At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

“His office.” I keep my voice low out of habit while scanning the house. It’s the same typical coastal-style, like every other house I’ve seen in the neighborhood.

How mundane.

“You know we’re the only ones here, right?” She matches my volume with a hint of sarcasm, but I ignore it, needing to stay focused.

We walk past family photos lining the walls, feeding into this fake reality that men like him hide behind—a facade of the perfect family man with two kids and a dog.

“These look like the stock photos inside the store-bought picture frames,” Lux remarks, her face only inches away from the glass.

“Do you have trouble with your vision?”

She peers at me with a raised brow. “No, what makes you say that?”

“You’re like an inch away from the pictures.”

“It’s how I take in my surroundings. Focus on your own spying.”

“Don’t touch anything. ”

“I won’t,” Lux hisses, clearly unhappy with my constant hovering.

“Good.”

She shakes her head in exasperation, but remains close behind me while I inspect each room on the bottom floor.

I debate on whether to ask her for space because I can’t seem to concentrate when she’s rubbing against me like this, but we make it to Rich’s home office before I get to think about it too much.

I barely make it inside the musty space when suddenly, a loud thud echoes behind me. I bend to grab my knife strapped to my ankle, but stop short when I see it’s still only Lux and me.

“Sorry!” Lux shouts in a whisper, her hands up in surrender. I find a small table lamp at her feet. “I accidentally bumped into it.”

“I told you not to touch anything,” I snap, releasing my grip on the handle and rising to my feet.

Lux carefully places the object back onto the table. “It’s not like I did it on purpose.”

“I didn’t say you did it on purpose , but you have to be more careful.” I don’t intend for my words to be chastising, but I’m used to working alone. My urge to protect her and the need for control of everything is putting me on edge.

Lux folds her arms across her chest. “How many times have you done this?”

My brow furrows at her question. “I’ve lost count. Why does it matter?”

“Exactly,” she points out. “This is my first time so give me a fucking break.”

“Are you two finished yet?” Sebastian’s irritated tone chimes into my ear.

“Shut up,” I say, blowing out an exasperated breath .

She cocks her head to the side. “Your earpiece friend, I presume?”

“That would be correct.”

“Great. Shall we?” Lux asks, gesturing toward the room.

Now she wants to hurry?

I let her comment roll off me and refocus on what we’re here to do. “You check that scattered pile of papers on the desk while I look at his computer.”

“It’s probably password protected.”

“I can get into any device,” I say.

“Of course you can,” she quips, her eyes narrowing, and analyzing me like she did at those pictures earlier. “What do you do for a living, River?”

“I already told you, I work in tech,” I say, settling into the leather office chair.

Lux starts sifting through the documents. “But that’s not all you do.”

“But that’s all you’re getting.”

“Fine, but I’m going to keep asking until you tell me.”

I shake my head with a small laugh. The brief glimpse of her attitude are annoyingly addicting. “I’m well aware.”

I turn my attention to the laptop in front of me and connect my phone to its server, waiting for the program I designed to determine the password.

“His desk is such a mess which can only mean one of two things,” she begins, her fingers combing through each document. “Either he’s highly unorganized or he’s trying to use this chaos as a disguise for something more important.”

She keeps surprising me at every turn. Based on what I’ve learned, my instincts were correct that night at the cabin and there’s more to Lux Levinson than meets the eye.

She’s highly aware and has a solid understanding of motivations.

It only serves to remind me of my favorite poem by Edgar Allan Poe.

The Raven is a bird who understands the behaviors of other species and uses that skill for its benefit, and Lux’s keen profiling skills show she can sense human habits.

Perhaps she has something stirring below the surface that is more profound than what she is letting on?

“Good observation,” I praise.

“U-uh…” she stutters. “Thank you.”

I slip my USB cord into the port at the base of the laptop, then launch the information application on my phone. Pausing before hacking into his computer with the generated password, I glance at Lux. Drinking in her body covered in black, I wonder if there’s more driving her than pure rage.

We spend the next ten minutes or so going through Rich’s computer and drawers. As to be expected, I find a few hidden files that immediately capture my attention because they’re unmarked. With a quick flick of the mouse, I begin downloading each file onto my hard drive.

Lux breaks our rushed silence. “I think I found something.”

I finish with the last hidden file before disconnecting my phone from the computer and walking over to the bookshelf she’s crouched down next to. “What is it?”

“Look at this.” Lux points at the calendar she’s holding.

It displays the current month of July, where most days are empty except for the first and third weekends of the month—one of them being the day she was kidnapped.

“Andrew’s name is written on the weekend I was taken.

It’s not clear what his role is, but I remember Rich saying he was next when I was… ”

She pauses, but doesn’t have to say it for me to understand what she means .

Lux shakes her head and continues. “Either Rich was going to come back for me, or”—she points at the weekend where Rich’s name is written—“this is supposed to be his weekend.”

My brain reels at the idea of what this could mean. Wanting to confirm my theory, I gently grab the calendar from her hand and flip to the next month.

“Are these the other two guys you mentioned?”

“Yeah.”

When I finally get my hands on them…

“Are you sure?” Lux asks. I can see the unease dripping out of her.

I wasn’t planning on telling her this, but… “I’ve met them before.”

“What do you mean you’ve met them?” She gasps.

“I met them at a club the night you were taken,” I admit.

“Wait…you were at the—”

“Where did you find this?” I interrupt, knowing I’ve already said too much.

She points to the top of the bookshelf. “Up there.”

Lux will figure out sooner or later that we saw each other the night at the club, but right now is not the time for a full explanation. Because once we get into why I was investigating Andrew in the first place, she’ll find out who I really am.

Someone I don’t ever plan on showing her.

“Why would he be so careless as to keep a paper copy of their schedule?”

“Maybe he thought it would be safer, since things are easier to track electronically nowadays.”

“Sebastian?” I say, knowing he’s been listening to our entire conversation. “I’m sending you a photo of it. ”

“On it.”

I face Lux again, finding her sitting with her legs crossed on the hardwood floor. “We should get out of here.”

“I’ll meet you back at the house,” Sebastian tells me before disconnecting from the device.

I stand and put everything back in its place before I offer my hand to help her up, which she eagerly accepts. I gently tug her up and our bodies almost touch, but then suddenly a crash of thunder rattles the windows.

Lux startles and buries herself into me. Enjoying her delicate touch, I wrap both arms around her and rest one of my hands on her back.

“It’s only the storm outside,” I reassure her.

“Oh…sorry.” She backs away, apologizing, but I’m eager to hold her again. Her eyes flick upward, holding mine with a fiery gaze.

Intertwining my fingers through hers. “Let’s take you home.”

We sneak out of the house as easily as we came in—and without knocking over any furniture this time. Rain pours the entire drive to her townhouse. I guide my car to the front of her garage, turning the engine off.

I twist in my seat to face Lux. “Safe and sound.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, but she’s not looking at me.

I’m not sure what happened between the moment she made the discovery and driving her home, but she appears dejected, and I feel the strange need to know why. Cautiously, I reach over, gently slipping two gentle fingers under the fabric of her mask before sliding it off, gliding along her soft skin.

“What’s wrong?”

She sighs. “I hate knowing this is going to happen to other women.”

“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Lux’s large brown eyes dart up to mine. “How can you guarantee that? ”

I can’t tell you.

Letting the backs of my fingers glide along her arm. “Do you trust me?”

“I think I do. I know I want to.” Her fingers pick at the loose cotton on her pants. “But I don’t even know what you look like.”

Despite being a controlled and calculated man, I can be impulsive at times, especially when it comes to her.

She’s different—unlike anyone I’ve ever met.

Her presence draws me in to want to show her who I really am, even if she might not look at me the same way again.

With that, I have agreed to let her be part of this process and at some point, she’s going to see me without a mask, so what’s the point in waiting?

I straighten back into my seat, breathing in deeply.

Then without a word, I grip the bottom of my mask.

From my peripheral I catch her unwavering stare, watching me reveal the features hidden underneath the fabric.

When my face is free, I turn to her and notice a flush creeping up her neck and cheeks. It brings a lightness to my chest.

The air inside the car is thick with tension. Lux blinks a few times, then looks away.

“Now you know what I look like,” I say, trying to break palpable energy.

Lux’s head slowly turns back toward me, leaning over the center console. She brings her face only inches from mine. “You’re exactly how I thought you’d look.”

A light rumble of laughter catches me off guard. “I hope that’s a good thing.”

My eyes fall to her lips, so close her words dust my lips. “It is.”

Fighting the urge to bring my mouth to hers, I back up a little. But to my surprise, she moves with me, maintaining the same distance.

She wants to kiss me. And, fuck, I want to kiss her too .

But I can’t. I’ve already let her in too much, and if I’m not careful this would end badly for both of us.

“We should get you inside,” I say, while my insides twist with anticipation of the regret of not kissing her as soon as I get back to the manor.

“Okay,” Lux says. Slowly drawing back, I can feel the separation between us. She opens the door, but before stepping onto the street, she turns back facing me fully. “River, I do trust you.”

And if I wasn’t putty in her hands before, I am now.

After I watch her safety get into her house, I linger outside in my car for a little longer, finding the will to leave her.