Page 153 of Hide and Keep

If she wants to sit in here and draw on my belongings, she can do it every night for all I care. Most of the stuff in this room waspaid for using Arthur’s money anyway. It’s better than trying to track her ass down if she sneaks out.

Track her down… That’s exactly what I’m gonna need to do now that the sensors in her room aren’t working properly. But how can I get a tracker on her without her knowing it? Most devices are bigger than the size of a quarter. I can’t hide something like that on Ever. She notices anything that could potentially ruin her aesthetic.

My gaze falls to my wrist, where her purple bracelet sits. She didn’t ask for it back last night and I forgot to offer it.

That’s not true. I didn’t want to give it back. I still have the other one, too. Knowing her, she’ll probably demand I return both soon. If only I could stick a tracker on them before I did.

What if I could? Most devices are too big, but that doesn’t mean all are. Animal trackers aren’t.

When we first got Zeus, my mom ordered a microchip for him without fully understanding how it worked—underhis skin. She took one look at the syringe already loaded with the microchip and decided to go with a less invasive yet bulkier collar tracker instead. Even though I was younger at the time, I remember looking at the syringe, amazed how something as small as a grain of rice could not only track but also transmit that kind of information.

Hopping on my phone, I order a pack of twenty, springing for expedited shipping, then because those were the only sneakers I have, I look up the nearest shoe store and buy three pairs of the cheapest white ones they have, selecting the option to pick them up in-store. That should keep her busy until the trackers come in.

Now I just gotta make her think I hate what she did to my shoes. Ever’s talented. Without the property claim on them, I’d wear those shoes with her art added no problem. But the more shit I give her about defacing my possessions, the more she’llwant to keep doing it. If it weren’t for her conservation efforts, I’d swear Ever’s only objectives in life were to look amazing and piss me the fuck off.

“Haven’t you been paying attention?”

Bags of shoes in hand, I lead Ever up the manor’s front steps. I took her with me to pick them up, and while she’s been eyeing the bags with obvious suspicion ever since, this is the first thing she’s said to me.

“To what?” I mumble, acting like I’m barely payingherattention. I didn’t know what time she was gonna come out of her room this morning, so I had to stand outside it for two hours. When she finally did emerge, she was smiling like the cat that ate the canary, thinking she’s so cute for what she did to my shoes. I wasn’t wearing them but I acted mad anyway. I’ve been scowling ever since just to keep up the ruse.

If she were my girlfriend and did that, it actually would be cute. I don’t care. I’d wear that shit proudly.

But she’s not my girlfriend and she’s annoying.

“The Munreauxs aren’t cheap.”

“Okay,” I say with even less emotion.

“We don’t associate with cheap.”

I want to say she associated with Mallory Larson but don’t feel the need after making my feelings on the matter clear last night. Her association with him, and any man who isn’t me, is over.

For three years.

It’s weird to have a timeline on a… This isn’t a relationship exactly. It’s more situational. A situationship, I guess. Is that what the fuck this is? Not really. I’m her personal protection agent. She’s my protectee. We hate each other, but we’re fucking. We will be fucking. Eventually.

If we don’t kill each other first.

Which is very possible if she doesn’t spit out whatever the fuck she’s trying to say.

“What are you talking about, miss?”

She growls and I almost forget to keep my frown in place.

“Your shoes!”

We both stop in the foyer to face each other.

“They’re the cheap brands.”

I look down at the top box.

“So what?”

“You can’t wear them around me. Sorry. You have to return them. Immediately.”

I lift my gaze to Ever’s. Did she just apologize?

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