Page 94 of Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

I turned the key in the lock and opened it. But as I thrust the door open, I found Kyle and David there. Right in front of me.

“Where have you guys been?”

David looked at me. His brown eyes were practically aflame. There was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Kyle looked frightened too. I stared at his jeans and saw they were covered in mud.

“Kyle, what have you been doing, kiddo?”

I looked at David, whose eyes shifted. In his hands, he held a small, dark black book. It looked familiar except for the fact he’d wrapped it in a plastic bag.

“What’s that?” I said.

“Nothing,” said David.

“That’s not—” I said, reaching.

“NO!” thundered David. He turned and looked at Kyle, before bending down to his knees and taking him by the shoulders. He shook my son.

“Go to your room, you hear! Go to your room now. Stay there.”

Kyle backed away, and ran up the stairs. David stood. I almost couldn’t believe the way he’d just spoken to Kyle. I would have yelled at him for shaking my son were it not for the fear in his voice.

“David,” I said. “We’re in this together. You have to—”

But he wasn’t listening. My brother stepped straight past me and out of the door. I heard the car pull out, and then it raced up the hill.

My head was whirling, my heart hammering in my chest. I turned and sped up the stairs. Kyle had closed his bedroom door, and I pulled it open.

“What’s going on!” I said. Kyle was sitting on his bed.

“Uncle David told me not to tell you,” said Kyle, putting his head in his hands. I hadn’t seen him do that since he was eight years old and I’d told him off for putting his hands in the cookie jar.

“Uncle David,” I said, “can kiss my ass. I’m your mother, young man.” I knelt by his side, cupped his cheek in my hand and turned his face. “Now tell me, Kyle, what’s going on.”

Kyle turned and looked through the window. It was open again.

“What is it, sweetie?” I said. “Don’t you…don’t you know I’ll always love you? Don’t you know there’s nothing you can say that’s going to…”

“I snuck out,” said Kyle flatly.

“Where?”

“Lucien’s.”

“Lucien’s?” I said, feeling terror creep up my spine. “Kyle. Baby. When did you do that?”

“Couple of nights ago,” said Kyle. “It wasn’t anything bad or anything. I just…watched the garden. From the fence around the back.”

“Why? Don’t you know you could have been caught?”

“I just miss Lucien,” said Kyle, and I realized that he was crying. I pulled him to my chest as he started to sob.

“Sweetie,” I said, rocking him as he started to cry. “Please baby. Don’t cry. Just tell me what you saw.”

“I saw him bury the box,” said Kyle.

“The box?” I said.

“Yeah. The box. And when Uncle David caught me... it was the next morning. I was sneaking back into the house. He was... he made me tell him…”