Page 178 of Hide and Keep

Arthur’s hand, no longer on Ever’s elbow, is a fist at her side and something about it causes her to arch away from him.

Ever whips her head away from her father, giving me her side profile. Her face is strained and…glistening. She wipes at one cheek, causing a drop of something to fall to the floor below her.

Holy shit, she’s crying. Ever’s crying and I’m not with her to comfort her.

I grip the banister so hard my fingers burn. What did Arthur do to make her cry?

Her hip. The bruises there.

Motherfucker. The call’s coming from inside the goddamn manor.

Unable to focus on the hair in my hands, I pick up my phone and refresh the app. Again. The damn dot on the map remains right where it is. Again.

It’s been in the same spot for over an hour. What the fuck are they doing in there? I know Mallory’s with Ever.

After a torturous ninety-seven minutes of watching that dot sit stationary, Ever must’ve finally left the dining room to go outside. From there, I switched to a live view by spying out my window, where I saw her and Mallory walk out together before disappearing into the hedge maze. At first, I was relieved. Anything to get her away from Arthur. But now, an hour fucking later of her dot sitting idle, I’m anything but relieved.

Back and forth, back and forth, from one side of my room to the other. I’m probably wearing out the hardwood floor, but I don’t give a fuck. If Arthur didn’t want this room trashed, he shouldn’t have banished me to it. For the night. Without my protectee.

Should I go after her?

I could.

Assuming Arthur’s entertaining Penn Larson and his wife somewhere in the manor, most likely overindulging on limited-edition liquor and imported cigars, my employer might not even notice if I were to take an evening stroll out front. I’ve been through that maze once already. I can find Ever in it again.

I will. I’ll find her.

I’m going.

I’ve got one shoe on when Ever’s door notification appears at the top of my phone screen.

If she’s down in the maze, who the fuck’s at her door?

I’m ripping my own open the next second, only to see someone just opening hers. I squint through the darkness.Ever?Her body’s turned the opposite way and she’s got the bottom of her dress bunched in a fist, but it’s her.

It’s her. Thank fuck, it’s her. She’s here.

And she’s alone.

I draw my first full breath in…hours? Was I holding it the entire time? I couldn’t say. I have no fucking idea what I did after I left Ever in that foyer with Arthur. From that moment to now, it’s all a blur of trying to keep my mind busy and failing miserably.

I ask the first thing that pops into my head. “Why are the lights off?”

“They must be malfunctioning, too,” Ever says with a shrug.

Leaning against my doorjamb, I cross my arms over my erratic heart. Between that and the single shoe, the pose isn’t giving me the confidence boost I was hoping for.

“Have fun tonight?”

“Loads,” she says, indifference weighing down her tone. “You?”

“Loads,” I echo in the same manner. “Where’s your bracelet?”

“My—” She pauses to examine her wrist. “Oh, it must’ve fallen off.”

Her back to me, she hasn’t looked at me, her head down as she lingers in her doorway. Her hair’s messed up and she lost her bracelet. I wonder how those things happened?

Goddamn it. I should’ve gone after her sooner.

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