Page 309 of Hide and Keep

I stomp over and rip the paper out of my dad’s hand a second time. I should’ve never given it back to him. I should’ve burned it. Thrown it in the fucking trash where trash belongs.

I can’t help but examine the picture again, trying to see what my mom sees. I remember when this was being taken. Ever wasn’t looking at Mallory at all. She was looking at me. She lovesme. She’s gonna marryme. I told her that.

“It’d be really smart if she did.”

“Why’s that?” I ask my dad, still staring at Ever’s beautiful face, wishing I was looking at it in real life, not on a newspaper.

“The Larsons own Infinite Energy. If Munreaux Motorcycles plans to deliver on that promise they made back in November to roll out a line of electric motorcycles soon, it’d be extremely beneficial for them to partner with a hydrogen company.”

“Partnering is one thing. This is…”

“Better.”

I finally tear my eyes off Ever and pin them on my dad.

“The marriage would guarantee exclusivity,” he explains. “Infinite Energy won’t be able to supply hydrogen to any other motorcycle companies, making Munreaux Motorcycles miles ahead of the competition. No pun intended.”

I didn’t even think of that. Why didn’t I think of that?

I can see Arthur doing that. But Ever? She wouldn’t agree to that. Ever hates her father. She wouldn’t agree to marry someone, sign her fucking life away, just to help Munreaux Motorcycles.

This doesn’t make any sense.

Her bracelet. If she’s still wearing it, I can track her. I send one last glance around the house before returning to my room to get my phone. On the screen is a notification of a large deposit into my bank account. Assuming it’s just the one from Friday about my paycheck, I flick it away with my thumb. My hand’s shaking so bad though, I accidentally press it too long and it opens to that instead of my home screen.

“Shit.” I don’t care about that. I care about—

Wait. What the fuck? How are there so many zeroes? That’s…

I count.

Then recount.

A million dollars?

I scroll through the history. A deposit of one million dollars was deposited into my account at 3:14 this morning.

How? It’s the fucking weekend. Nothing in banking happens on the weekend.

Unlike the other payments that came via Munreaux Motorcycles, this one’s from Arthur Munreaux himself.

Did he suddenly grow a heart and feel bad about stiffing me that million dollars I thought I was getting?

If I thought I wasn’t exerting every muscle in my body to hold myself together right now, I’d laugh. I’d fucking howl with laughter.

That didn’t happen. No way that fucking happened.

So then, what is it?

I don’t care. That’s not important. Finding Ever is.

I get the GPS app open and wait for it to update.

She’s on Nantucket. Where the wedding is. Fuck!

I scour my room. I ransack the fucking thing, searching for any clue to explain what’s going on, why Ever left to marry…Mallory, a guy who tried to rape her.

She’s not marrying him.

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