Page 78 of A Midnight Romance
“Get back in your car, Lux!”
Suddenly the door cracks open and a small hand with black painted nails sticks up from the top. “Don’t shoot. I’m her sister!”
What?
“Stevie?” Lux shouts.
“Get out,” I tell her, still alarmed.
“Stevie, what the hell are you doing here?” Lux exclaims.
“What areyoudoing here?”
“It’s a long story.” Lux’s eyes flutter. She steps in front of me, but I reach for her hand. “It’s okay,” she says. “It’s just my sister.”
“Your sister?” My eyes bounce between the two of them as recognition forms.Oh, thatisher sister, Stevie Levinson.I remember seeing her photograph in the files Christian sent over when he did background research on Lux. I’ve also seen her at Lux’s house before. But tonight, she’s wearing a hoodie with her hair back, and driving what looks to be a different car from her usual.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t recognize her initially.My shoulders relax a little.
“Yes, hersister,” Stevie snaps. “Now can you get your gun out of my face?”
“Tell me why you followed us all the way out here,” I press, needing more before I can feel that she’s not a threat. “Then I’ll lower it.”
She directs her answer to Lux. “You’ve been acting weird lately. You barely said anything to me when you were at my house. And then I see you drive off in this expensive ass car,” she says. “What was I supposed to do? You’re my sister. I was worried something bad was going on.”
Lux sighs, meeting my eyes. Her hand comes to the top of my arm, indicating for me to lower the gun.
I do as I’m told before calling Sebastian. “False alarm, we’ll be up in a minute,” I say as soon as he answers the call.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
I tuck my gun into the back of my pants. “I’ll explain later,” I say, then hang up.
“This isn’t even your car either,” Lux says, walking over to her sister.
“I just got it, but none of that matters right now.” Stevie frowns before pining me with a glare. “Can you tell me what’s going on? What is this place and who is this guy?”
I wrap an arm around Lux’s waist. This might be a good time for Lux to explain to her sister what’s going on. “She’s staying with me. Why don’t we head inside and you guys can talk?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you until my sister gives me an answer,” Stevie demands, crossing her arms over her chest.
Great, I can already tell she’s going to be a pain.
Lux’s expression softens as she reaches for her sister’s hand. “We’ll talk once we get into the house,” Lux tells her sister. “Follow River and me up.”
Stevie’s eyebrows rise. “Oh, so he has a name?” She looks unsure but reluctantly agrees, and I lead them up the hill and into the underground garage. Lux takes the spot next to my car while Stevie parks to my left.
Sebastian is walking out of the elevator as we all exit the vehicles. “What the hell happened?” he asks.
Stevie leans against the side of her car, her legs crossed at the ankles. “Who the fuck are you?”
Sebastian cocks his head. “Who the fuck areyou?”
Lux blows out a breath, stepping between them. “Stevie, this is Sebastian, River’s cousin.” She then turns to Sebastian. “Sebastian, meet my sister, Stevie.”
I flip my hat backward. “Now that we all know each other, should we go inside?”
We make the short elevator ride to the main floor of the house and head into the living room, where Stevie casually takes a seat on the couch while Lux leans against the stone fireplace. Sebastian and I remain standing to the side near the window, letting Lux take the lead.
