Page 215 of Hide and Keep

“They served me.”

“How much?”

Considering I’m still alive, not enough.

I put my hands at what I think is four inches apart. “About…” Then I pull them farther apart, hopefully to about eight inches. “Four inches’ worth.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“The feeling…is mutual.” I do remember him saying those words.

A smile teases those full lips I love so much.

“Oh yeah? You think you’re an asshole, too?”

I nod. Wholeheartedly I do.

“Why’d you even run away?”

“I didn’t run. I strolled out the door.”

“Why?”

“Asks the captor to his captive.”

“I wasn’t holding you hostage. I asked you if you wanted to go with me and you said—”

“I didn’t have a choice!” I yell. “I never do!”

“What else don’t you have a choice about?”

“You!” Now I’m the one scoffing. That face. How dare he be shocked by that. Has he met my father? “Do you really think this will end any differently than it did with Yasmin?”

“What? How are the two even remotely—”

“You think my father will let us be together?”

“I never considered asking him. It’s not his call.”

“Isn’t it? Come on, Crue. You were literally hired to gatekeep my pussy.”

“He’s trying to protect your reputation.”

I arch an eyebrow. “I’m sure that’s exactly what Yasmin’s father told himself, too.”

That shock turns into something a little less clueless and a lot more sinister.

“So, what? You just want to stop what we’re doing?”

“I guess,” I lie. “We only fucked once.”

“And it’s all I’ve been able to think about since.”

“Maybe try a crossword puzzle or something. It’s notthatserious.”

He yanks the sleeve on his shirt up to reveal his new tattoo. “Serious enough to get you inked into my skin.”

Under a transparent bandage, the ink is visible. The monarch butterfly wings are the ones I drew, but between them is the body of a bat I did not.

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