Page 179 of Hide and Keep

“Did you fuck him?”

“If I did, it would’ve been with my father’s blessing.”

“I gathered that,” I drawl. It’s painfully obvious Arthur Munreaux and Penn Larson are trying to set up their trust-fund babies for a possible love match. “So, did you?”

I hear her inhale, then exhale before saying, “No.”

Even though I probably shouldn’t, I believe her. Ever loves when she bests me, specifically when she gets to rub my face in it afterward.

“Is that all?”

She’s withdrawn again, just like earlier. What’s going on?Isshe sick?

“Is everything okay?”

I drop my arms and the front.Just talk to me already, Ever. Fuck.

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

For starters, you live with an abusive piece of shit. Second, you were subjected to a dinner with not only him but his crony and his crony’s old-ass offspring.

Mallory’s old. I said it.

“You’re just—”

“Trying to go to bed but can’t because my bodyguard would rather interrogate me? Yeah, tell me about it.”

For all I know, this girlisnocturnal. I’m not sure when she actually sleeps. But right now, she’s acting like sleep’s all she cares about.

Meanwhile, she’s all I care about.

She’s notallI care about. I just…

It’s been a rough week. I need her to be okay.

I need her to be okay where I can see her and talk to her and touch her.

Then maybe I’ll be okay because right now I feel as far from okay as possible.

“Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden? You spent all that time down in the maze—”

“How’d you know where I was?”

Shhhit.

“I saw movement out my window and thought the Larsons were leaving. But it was just you—andhim—going in the maze.” I keep the rest of my thoughts to myself. What did you two do in there? What did he do to you? What did youwanthim to do to you?

Just because they didn’t fuck doesn’t mean they didn’t do something else.

“It’s none of your business and I’m tired.”

“You’re my business. And you’re never tired.” She only pretends to be when she’s up to something. It’s not like I can depend on the shitty sensor I put on her door to notify me even if she was.

Or the bracelet tracker she already lost.

It should not be this hard keeping tabs on a five-foot-two cheerleader.

Without responding, Ever takes another step into her room, and I lurch forward, both arms out. They want her in them so bad.

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