The first thing that goes through my mind at seeing the rage on Devon's face is what Jay-Jay said about how they treated Elena at Stay Gold. So many questions spin through my head, but the one that repeats over and over, louder than the others, is: how did they treat her?

The second one is, why did she leave if it's such a great, lucrative place to work?

I swallow. Conner's hand is still on my lower back possessively and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to back down from his territory.

Except, I'm not his territory.

I step away from Conner and towards the glowering, towering Devon. I can't help but notice he cuts a fine figure in his wool coat that he's left unbuttoned as if he ran out of his business meeting to find me.

Wait. A third question—how did he find me?

I groan. More questions....

Is he stalking me?

If this is how he treats me before I sign a contract, then how did he treat Elena, the incredible alto?

I intend to find out what has happened to her, just as I intend to get real answers about my brother, one way or the other. But to do that, I have to play nice.

"Technically," Conner says. "She's not your employee, and she won't be any time soon."

"Actually," I counter, addressing Devon, "I went to Stay Gold this morning to sign a contract after you told me to meet you there. I was alone until Conner showed up."

"Let's get back to my office. I have the papers drawn," Devon holds out a gloved hand for me to take.

I hesitate. There's another offer on the table, after all—Conner's invitation to go to his place.

This isn't just about getting a job.

Conner was there that night.

I turn to him. I blurt out, "Conner, I need to know about what really happened to Keith the night he died."

He instantly becomes someone else—someone cold and distant, hard and determined. It scares me.

Without blinking or hesitating, he says, "It was an accident. A horrible accident. We were in the abandoned building, talking and having fun one minute and the next, he fell."

I want to scream and hit him.

Just an accident?

They've been saying that for years.

I know my brother, he was the most careful of the group, the most reasonable and clear-headed. The one who looked out for the others, who looked out for me, protecting me from every danger, imagined or real. He didn't fall on accident—he didn't have accidents.

"In that case," I rasp—it's the most sound I can manage, "I won't be going back with you to your place to talk about my future."

"Avery," he says gently. It makes me want to hurt him even more. "I can't begin to imagine how this has hurt you, but please believe me, we are doing everything we can to make it up—"

Devon coughs, interrupting him.

I shake my head. "No, you can't imagine what this did to my life. I didn't just lose my brother that night, but my whole family, my future. Everything. I lost everything and you can't make it up, not to me, not to my parents, but mostly, not to him."

Devon motions for me to come with him. I feel lost. I know I can take the bus and go back to my tiny apartment, but I'd have to wait in the freezing wind on the street corner and right now I don't have the strength.

I let him lead me away, back to the underground parking lot and to his Mercedes. I don't see the buildings as we drive. I don't notice anything, in fact, until I'm sitting on a leather sofa in Devon's tasteful office, a mug of steaming tea in my hands.

I'm crying.

Devon kneels in front of me. He cups my face in his hands and wipes the line of tears on my cheeks with his thumb.

"I can't change the past. I can only help you going forward. I lost track of you a while after you graduated, but I've found you now and I'm not going to let you fall."

"I don't understand. Have you been keeping tabs on me?"

He sighs and doesn't answer for a moment. I study him, trying to read his intentions, his mind in his face. Everything about him says money and refined taste. His tailored suit, his thick, nearly black hair that's brushed back from his forehead, this office. He's devastatingly handsome—he always was. I might have had a crush on all my brother's friends, but Devon truly had my heart. With his shocking blue eyes contrasting with his dark hair and olive-toned skin, his smooth lips, strong chin.

Hell. If I didn't know him, if Keith had never died, if this was a different life than mine, I would invite him onto that sofa with me right then and there. I would draw him between my legs and pull off his suit jacket...

I have to stop thinking about what could be.

This is the life I have. And part of me wants to make him suffer as I have suffered.

He parts his lips to speak. "We took a vow long ago, all of us, your brother included, to watch out for each other. When Keith died, the rest of us transferred our vow to you. Yes, I watched out for you from a distance, making sure you were all right. I know the trouble you've had with your parents, but you were doing so great in college and then your career looked ready to get started, and I was...distracted for a few months. Suddenly, you were gone. Off the radar."

I don't even know where to start with unpacking that. "What the hell? How dare you?"

"Avery, I don't know what happened, but I'm here and I will help you now." He covers my hands with his.

I shake free and set my tea on the side table. "You had no right to stalk me like that."

"I should have approached you, but it just wasn't possible before."

"Should have approached me? You should leave me alone. Trouble with my parents? I have no parents, they've abandoned me. When Keith died my mother turned to alcohol and pain killers, and my dad turned to conspiracy theories. I can't talk to either of them anymore. They hate me for living while he's dead, for not fixing their lives. And you call that trouble?"

I stand up and make a move for the door. He blocks me, hands to my shoulders.

"Don't touch me," I snap.

*** ONC 1115 words. Thank you as always for reading!!! Is she really going to sign that contract, or get out of situation that's looking worse and worse? ***