Page 300 of Hide and Keep

“Mm-hm.”

It’s as if I can feel each and every one of my hackles rise. If I were a cat, my back would be bowed like a fishhook right now.

“Do you?” I counter.

“Yes—”

“Then you’ll know he’s no longer a boy. He’s a man. You’ll also know that he was never charged with anything, not driving under the influence, not manslaughter, and not anything elsebeing said about him. If the law didn’t persecute him, why the fuck do you think it’s your job to?”

At my curse, I sense her hackles get raised as well.

Raise them. Raise themall. I’m not a Brantley. I’m a Munreaux and I’m not afraid to make a scene. I’m already on borrowed time as it is.

Tick.

Tock.

“What he did to that girl—”

“Was fabricated. He didn’t hurt that girl. He wouldneverhurt a girl.”

The woman closest to me shoots her friend a look.

“I, however…” I close the distance so that when she turns back around, I’m nearly in her face. Luckily, she’s short as well, so it has the effect I want. Crue thinks I’m creepy. Hopefully she does, too.

She rears back, clutching her throat as if she’s seeking out her pearls. Or rosary.

“…have no such qualms. Speak poorly about anyone in the Brantley family again, and I will come to your house and prove it.”

“You don’t know where I live.”

A swinging lighthouse on her keyring catches my eye and I decide to take a wild guess.

“The one with the lighthouse mailbox?”

Her eyes widen to near comical proportions, telling me I hit the bullseye.

What is with this neighborhood and their matching mailboxes and keyrings?

“And next time you see Crue, try smiling at him. It won’t change anything in your life, but it might in his.”

“I don’t think so,” she sneers with a fake smile.

Matching her energy, I say, “Then avoid using this street ever again or I’ll pump water directly from the salt marsh in through your windows while you sleep.”

Everyone in this neighborhood seems to keep their windows open all hours of the day, even at night, like none of them have air-conditioning. I know not everybody in the area does, but don’tanyof them? The manor had air-conditioning installed before I was born, so last night was my first time sleeping with an open window.

It wasn’t terrible.

But I had Crue to protect me. This judgy bitch probably doesn’t have anyone to keep her safe.

That both delights and saddens me. She might be nicer if she had someone to love her.

Another sneer in my direction, then she and her bestie are strolling away.

Or maybe she drives everyone away with her holier-than-thou attitude.

I flip off her back, then go in search of my boyfriend.

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