Page 176 of Hide and Keep

This better not be another setup.

“You’re accompanying me, aren’t you?” Her tone lacks its usual bitterness when talking about our arrangement. Maybe she’s finally coming around to her new reality.

My nod is slower. “Everywhere.”

I return to my room and change into my black suit as quickly as possible. Out in the hall again, Ever’s got her back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

Her gaze lowers to me, giving me her full attention for the first time in two days. She looks tired. Considering she’s been sneaking into my room every night—without triggering her door alarm or waking me—and vandalizing my shoes, I can understand why.

“Do you have my tiger’s eye bracelet?”

“I think so.” I know so. The microchips came in yesterday, so while Ever was tending to her butterflies, I worked on attaching the trackers to the two bracelets I have of hers.

“Can you wear it for me?”

“You don’t need—”

“Please…just get it.”

She sounds tired, too. Has she been sneaking out of the house?

I doubt it. She would’ve bragged about it.

Something else is going on with her.

“Is that the brown one?”

“Brown and tan, yeah.”

After I’ve got her bracelet on my wrist, we walk down the hall side by side.

“Are you sick?” I ask.

“Terminally.”

My feet, and heart, stop.

“Miss?”

She continues on, no longer concerned with waiting for me.

“Ever.”

Finally, she stops.

I catch up to her, giving her a thorough once-over. “What is it?”

“I’m screwing with you, Major,” she says in a tone that’s not even remotely humorous.

I don’t stop my scan of her, searching for anything that’d explain this behavior. She’s practically lethargic.

“So you’re not sick?”

Humor emerges, dancing across all her features, lighting each one up as it passes. Then without answering, she turns for the stairs to the foyer…where Arthur’s standing.

The first thing he does when he sees us is bitch.

“Black? I told you to wear red.”

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