Page 234 of Hide and Keep

Without thought, I attempt to scoop her under me again. “So the bees can’t get you—”

“What? What bees?” she asks, holding me off. And pissing me off. I’m trying to save her.

“The ones you put—”

Hold on. She isn’t scared of the bees. She doesn’t even know about them.

I flop onto my back and look up at the ceiling. I don’t see anything flying around up there.

“Crue? What bees?”

Now that I’m semi awake, that doesn’t make any sense. Ever’s diabolical but she’s smart. She said it herself, she wouldn’t stick around after putting a yellow jacket nest in my room.

“I thought there were yellow jackets…”

“Yellow jackets aren’t bees. They’re wasps.”

That is absolutely not the point here. I don’t think. Jesus, I’m out of it. I must’ve been out cold.

If it wasn’t wasps though, what was that noise?

I shake my head, clearing it some more, then squint over at my nightstand, the light from my phone’s screen barely visible from it being face down. It’s probably my mom. She texts me every couple of days now. Just not this late usually.

Checking it, I frown when I see the notification. “What the fuck?”

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” I tell her before setting my phone back down, face up this time. “Your door’s piece-of-shit sensor’s acting up again. Go back to sleep.”

It hasn’t malfunctioned since Ever started sleeping in my room, so I haven’t had to keep an ear out for that sound.

I pull her back into my arms, exactly where she was, exactly where she belongs.

“Sorry I woke you,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to her head.

“You were gonna sacrifice yourself for me, Major?”

If I wasn’t so damn tired, I’d think she was surprised.

“I am your personal protection agent.”

I bury my nose in Ever’s honey-scented hair. We moved all her products over to my bathroom last week because even though she didn’t mind smelling like me, I did. I like Ever to smell like Ever.

Our bodies meld into each other’s again, but not ten seconds later, another notification comes through.

Ever lifts her head again while I give mine a shake.

“Just ignore it.”

“What if it’s somebody?”

I’m about to say that’s highly unlikely until I remember Chef Ryan getting our doors mixed up that one time. Would he really do that again? If he was in a panic, maybe.

Pussy.

Sighing, I get up.

“Stay here.”

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