A Second Look: A Forbidden Second Chance Romance

by Lexi Aurora

  “Who else left?”

  “Never mind,” I said.

  “No,” he said. “If it’s not just you, we have another suspect.”

  “Suspect,” I said dryly.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Give up the name. We’re going through the list anyway.”

  “Her name is Evelyn Fox, but—”

  “Is Ms. Fox on the list?”

  “She was there as press.”

  “I’m told you were there with a girlfriend.”

  “She’s not—she’s a—she’s a journalist. We were doing a piece together,” I said.

  “I see,” he said slowly. “Alright then. I’ll contact Ms. Fox and get back to you. Did she go home with you? Do you know where she was that night after she left the party?”

  “She went home,” I said.

  “So both of you were alone that night after you left the party. You’ve got no one to attest to what you were doing.”

  “I was sleeping at my house,” I said to him. “You told me I wasn’t a suspect.”

  “Well, it’s not looking like anyone else is suiting the criteria,” the man said. “Listen, we’ll look into the woman. Maybe she had something to do with it.”

  “Eve wouldn’t do that.”

  “Would you?” the detective asked.

  “No,” I said. “No, I wouldn’t.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” the detective said. “And I’ll contact Ms. Fox. Thank you for the information.”

  “No problem,” I said sarcastically, and hung up the phone. I rubbed my hand over my forehead and logged into my computer, checking my email for any sign of a distraction. Mostly, I was looking for some contact from Eve, though I knew with the way we’d left things, she wouldn’t be getting a hold of me any time soon. I sighed and checked my email, surprised to find something from my uncle. We hadn’t spoken since I’d sent the cops there and he’d refused to answer any of their questions. I was confused by the contents as I read the email.

  Sebastian,

  I was hoping you would join me for dinner tonight at 7. It’s important that I talk to you. Please don’t be late.

  Michael

  “Michael,” I said aloud, questioning the choice of name. As long as I’d known my uncle, he had always been Mike. I closed the email and looked at the clock to see that it was only five, and groaned as I lowered my head to my desk. It seemed like every minute now lasted an hour or more. My brother was gone and so was Eve, and all I could think about was her beautiful body in the shower, the way she’d kissed me and touched herself and let herself be seen. It had been the most tender, erotic moment of my life and now she was gone, and though I was angry at her for lying to me, I found myself missing her more than I wanted to admit, almost as much as I missed my brother.

  The hours passed slowly as I sat at my computer, doing nothing, listening to Daniel take calls for me in the next room. When I got up to leave, I found him in the hallway.

  “Do you want me to order dinner for you tonight before I leave?” he asked.

  “No, I’m actually going to Mike’s.”

  “Mike’s, really?” Daniel asked in surprise. “I thought you weren’t speaking to him.”

  “I’m not. He said he had something important to tell me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go over there.”

  “Good luck, Sebastian,” Daniel said. “And try not to be too angry with him.”

  “There’s no possible way that I can’t be angry at him,” I said to Daniel. “If I could—god—I’d do anything to get answers out of him.”

  “Maybe he’ll talk to you tonight. Just be patient.”

  “You’re right,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Do you want me to put this down in your calendar?” he asked. “I know you want to keep track of what you’re doing in case someone asks for a record.”

  “Sure, yes,” I said to him before turning to leave. “Thanks, Daniel.”

  “No problem. Take care of yourself.”

  I nodded and left him, going outside and to my car. I made my way to my uncle’s house slowly, and arrived only a couple of minutes before seven. I used my key to get in, freezing in the doorway in shock when I saw what was inside.

  “Uncle Mike,” I gasped, rushing forward toward him. He was choking, blood coming out of his mouth, a large knife sticking out of his chest.

  “S—seb—” the old man gasped. “L—she—help.”

  “It’s okay,” I said hurriedly. “It’s okay.”

  “P—please,” he choked, coughing up blood, his shaking hands moving toward the knife. “Take it out.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Hold on. It’s okay.”

  “Do—” he said, his voice cutting off as I gently pulled the knife from his chest. As soon as I did, he collapsed onto the floor, sliding out of his wheelchair. I felt panic race through me as I tossed the knife aside and flipped him over, my heart stopping dead in my chest when I realized that he was already gone. I glanced at the knife then, a cold feeling spreading through my limbs.

  “You fucking idiot, Sebastian,” I snarled aloud, looking around in a desperate attempt to find some answer to the problem. I barely stopped to think before I grabbed the knife, shoving it in my blood-soaked jacket, rushing outside and to my car. I pulled out of the driveway slowly, trying to be patient, trying not to give the neighbors any reason to keep an eye on my car. Nausea swirled hot in the pit of my stomach, making me feel like I was going to be sick as I drove past my house. I knew that my seat was getting soaked with blood, that the knife was still in my jacket, that I was in a whole lot of trouble that I didn’t know how to begin to fix.

  Chapter 12: Eve

  “What the fuck, what the fuck,” I repeated to myself as I drove after Sebastian, my hands shaking on the wheel. The images I had just seen flashed in my head again—Sebastian standing over his uncle’s body. Sebastian slipping the knife into his blood-soaked jacket, going out to his car, getting away from the house as fast as he could. I followed behind him slowly, numb with shock. I knew that I should call the cops but something told me not to. I wanted to find out what he was doing for myself. I needed to see more proof of his guilt—something in me craved to know that it wasn’t real, that I had seen wrong.

  I followed him for a long time, across the town and through the adjacent suburbs, out into a rural road where I stayed far behind him, following the lights. I saw him turn into a driveway and turned off my headlights, parking on the edge of the road and getting out of my car. The rational voice in the back of my mind was telling me to go back and call the police, get to safety and away from Sebastian. My curiosity and my horror compelled me to jog down the drive, staying in the shadows. I could see then that it was a junkyard, crushed cars stacked in mountains that loomed above a small building. Sebastian pulled into a gate and parked his car, getting out of it as a man came out of the building. I crept forward, able to get close enough to see them standing in the dark. There was a fire burning in a metal pot just outside the building, and the man who had come out started feeding it newspaper and wood.

  I watched as Sebastian stripped down to his underwear, tossing his bloody clothes, shoes, and jacket into the flames. I could see the look on his face in the fire—fear and confusion, not the face of a killer. When the clothes were burnt, Sebastian nodded to the man, and stood there, shivering in the cool air as the man got into the car and took it away to be crushed, the blood destroyed, the knife probably gone with it.

  I turned and hurried back to my car when I saw Sebastian turn towards the road again, walking mostly naked and barefoot. I got into my car and turned the lights on, making the split second decision to pull upnext to him. I rolled down the window as he looked into the car, his eyes widening.

  “Eve—what?”

  “Get in,” I said to him.

  “No,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Sebastian, it’s freezing. Get in the car.”

  “Not
until you tell me—”

  “I was tailing you, okay?” I said. “I wanted—I just wanted to make sure you were—not getting into trouble. And then I saw you at your uncle’s...”

  My voice trailed off. He gave me a grave look as he got into the car, turning towards me.

  “It’s not what it looked like,” he said, his jaw trembling in the cold, his voice filled with shock and horror. “I promise you.”

  “I know,” I said to him, fully believing his words. The look on his face wasn’t that of a guilty man, and when I looked into his eyes, I could see that he was telling the truth.

  “I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I don’t—I just—”

  “It’s okay,” I said to him softly, reaching over, taking his hand. His palm was cold against mine and I wanted to warm him up. We arrived at my place after a long drive, during which he stared out the window, quietly holding my hand. We got out of the car and he came inside.

  “Sit,” I said to him. He sat down obediently and I left to go into the bathroom, grabbing my robe off the hook. I brought it to him and he put it on, though it barely covered anything, unable to even close completely around his chest.

  “Thank you,” he said gratefully, putting his head in his hands.

  “What happened, Sebastian?” I asked him. “If you didn’t do this—”

  “I didn’t,” he said fervently. “I found him that way. He told me to pull the knife out and I did, and I knew I couldn’t leave it there.”

  “What did you do with it?”

  “Wiped it down, left it in the car. It’ll be nothing by now.”

  “Did you see anyone else?” I asked him. “Somebody must have been at the house just before you.”

  “I didn’t see anyone,” he said. “I didn’t see anyone but him. I tried to help him.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I know.”

  “Do you?” he asked, peering at my face. “Do you believe me?”

  “Yes,” I said to him. “I do. I have a guest room that I’ll get ready for you. You need to sleep.”

  “You want me to stay here?”

  “I don’t want you to go home alone,” I admitted to him. I feared for his safety now that two men in his family had been killed. He gazed at me for a moment before he nodded, letting out an exhausted breath.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “No problem,” I told him. “Get some rest.”

  He stood up then, the robe not even reaching halfway to his knees. It was a comical sight but I didn’t feel like laughing. Instead, I showed him to the guest room, where I lingered in the doorway for a moment as he took the robe off, laying it on the bed. He glanced over at me with a haunted look in his eyes.

  “Thank you again,” he said.

  “Sure. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Goodnight, Eve,” he said.

  “Goodnight,” I told him, and watched him disappear into the guest bathroom for a shower before going back to my room. All I could think about was the blood I had seen, Sebastian’s dead uncle, and how the hell we were going to get out of this situation.

  I went to bed after that, but laid awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling. By the time I finally did fall asleep, I had only been out for a couple of hours before there was a knock on my front door. I got out of bed and went to the front door, my heart stopping in my chest when I peered outside to see two police cars with their lights flashing, four cops standing on the porch. I swallowed hard and opened the door to them.

  “Hi,” I said, pretending as though I had no idea they were there. “What can I do for you?”

  “We’re here for Sebastian Cunningham,” one of the officers said, a man with a deep voice that resonated through the room. I heard the guest room door open then and looked at my shoulder to see Sebastian standing there, a grim look on his face.

  “Am I under arrest?” he asked.

  “We’re just taking you in for questioning,” the gruff officer replied. “Your uncle was found murdered this morning by his son.”

  “Oh,” was all Sebastian said.

  “Come with us,” said the cop, gesturing for Sebastian to join them.

  “He was here all night with me,” I lied. “He’s been here since yesterday.”

  “Is that true?” the cop asked Sebastian, who nodded.

  “Doesn’t matter. You can tell that to the detective. Time to come with us, Cunningham.”

  Sebastian gave a brief nod, turning his eyes to me.

  “Thank you,” he said before leaving with the cops, getting into the backseat of one of their cars.

  Chapter 13: Sebastian

  “I was with Eve. She told you that,” I said to the detective, who sat across from me with his arms folded across his chest.

  “Why don’t I believe you?”

  “I have no idea. Guess you’re jaded,” I said dryly. He chuckled.

  “So you’re telling me that two of your closest family members were murdered, and you don’t know anything about it.”

  “No, I don’t,” I said.

  “Listen,” Detective Brand said. “I don’t believe a word you’re saying. I think you did this.”

  “I didn’t,” I spat. “I had nothing to do with either one of them.”

  “Is that all you have to say?”

  “Yes,” I said. “That’s all I have to say.”

  He sighed, tapping his fingers impatiently on the table between us.

  “I don’t like you, Cunningham,” the man said. I raised my eyebrows at him, then sighed.

  “That’s fine,” I said.

  “It’s not fine. It means you’re on my list. And when someone’s on my list, I take them down.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “It is,” the detective said, a dead serious look on his face. “You can go if you’re not going to give me any answers, but you’ll be back.”

  “We’ll see,” I said to him, standing up. “That’s all?”

  “That’s all,” he said. “See you soon, Mr. Cunningham.”

  “Sure, detective,” I said sarcastically, waiting for the automated door to unlock. I heard it click from the other side and pushed my way out, leaving the station, hurrying out to grab a cab. I headed to my place, keeping calm, though on the inside I was panicking about what had happened. It was obvious that the detective knew something, and I knew that he could take me down if he wanted to. I had no choice but to run. I picked up my phone as I threw some things in a suitcase, dialing Joseph’s number.

  “Joseph,” I said when he answered. “This is Sebastian.”

  “Sebastian,” he said. “Did you hear what happened?”

  “The cops just took me in for questioning. Detective is dead set on pinning this on me.”

  “Was it you?” he asked, more curiosity in his voice than grief.

  “No,” I said. “I wouldn’t do something like that.”

  “You are a criminal,” he pointed out.

  “I am. But I’m not a killer.”

  “You’re right,” Joseph said. “I believe you. I’m sorry you got wrapped up in this.”

  “I’m sorry about your dad,” I said.

  “I know,” Joseph said. His voice was calm and even, but he had always been that way. My cousin had been quiet and reserved even as a child, which kept us from developing a close relationship. Still, I knew how loyal he was to our family—I knew I could trust him, and I hoped he had some ideas of where to get away.

  “Listen, I’m leaving the country. In about an hour.”

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “I was hoping you had some ideas.”

  “There’s a gathering at my place in the islands,” Joseph said. “It’s isolated. No way for anyone to get in or out without us noticing. Cops will never find you.”

  “They’ll look into any properties you own,” I said to him.

  “They won’t look into this one. It’s completely private. And we have plenty of places to hide you and ple
nty of warning in case the cops come.”

  “Are you sure this is okay?” I asked him.

  “I was going to invite you anyway. Most of us are getting together. Jeremy is coming. We just thought you wouldn’t want to come after what happened to your brother.”

  “How many people?” I asked.

  “I’m not quite sure,” he said. “But I can let you know.”

  “Do you really think I’ll be fine there?” I asked.

  “Sure,” he said. “You sound like you need a vacation. I’m going to be here through the funeral but I’ll be flying back to the island after that. You can go there whenever you want. Jeremy’s already there.”

  “I didn’t expect this to be a vacation,” I said to him. He chuckled.

  “You need a break. I need a break. I’ll see you there. I’m going to have Julian send you the coordinates.”

  “Thanks, Joseph.”

  “See you soon,” he said, hanging up the phone. I finished filling my suitcase and zipped it up, pulling it off of the bed. I hurried to the garage and got into my one remaining car, pulling out of the driveway. I cursed when I remembered Eve and hesitated at the end of the road, then made a turn toward her place instead of the highway. I parked outside and when I knocked on the door she answered immediately, gesturing for me to come in.

  “They let you go,” she said, searching me as if looking for physical damage on my body.

  “For now,” I said. “Listen, I’m leaving. I have to go.”

  Her brow furrowed in confusion.

  “Going where? They’re letting you go?”

  “The detective told me to stay here. He’s going to pin this whole thing on me. I need to go.”

  “Where?” she asked.

  “Joseph—my cousin—owns an island in the Mediterranean.”

  “I’m coming with you.” she said. “Stay there.”

  “No, Eve,” I said to her, taking her arm before she could turn to go and pack. She gave me a stubborn look.

  “I’m going with you,” she repeated, more firmly this time.

  “You’re not going to flee from the cops with me. I won’t let you.”

  “You won’t let me?” she asked. “Is that what you just said?”