Page 53 of Beautiful Prey

She was so scared she could hardly speak.

Emery’s words made my stomach flip and my mouth dry. Why did his words make me feel so…wrong?

I couldn’t finish. My patience was now worn thin. I looked at my phone and replied to Jamie.

Call me.

I grabbed my glass and took a long swig before setting it down. “I’m sorry I can’t.”

“Hey…” He tried to reach for me again, but I didn’t let him. I saw the irritation in his eyes. “It’s fine. I get it. Listen, maybe we can work something out. If you really want to keep this a secret so bad, maybe we can—”

My phone went off and I took it, not even bothering to look at the number. “Yeah?”

“You okay?” Jamie asked, sounding concerned.

“Hey, is everything okay?” I said, pretending to look concerned.

Jamie was silent. But almost immediately he picked up what I was doing. “No, it’s not.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Say something about Lena in an accident.”

“Lena was in an accident? When?”

“Say how.”

“How?”

“A car accident,” he said.

“She got into a car accident? Oh no, is she okay? No? How bad? Okay, I’ll be right there.” I hung up the phone. When your bestie is a crime nut like yourself, you learn to pick up on when they need out of a situation. I feigned urgency. “I’ve got to go. A friend just got hit by a car.”

His eyes darkened like he picked up on my little trick but he only smiled. “Alright. Another time then.”

I put money on the table for my drink, then rose. I opened my mouth to tell him bye, but he followed me. “I’ll see you to your car.”

“No, that’s okay.”

“There’s a lot of creeps around here. It’s no problem for me.”

I let it go, let him follow me out. I heard his footsteps crunching behind me as we walked the gravel path back to my car.

“Too bad we have to call it so soon,” he said when I got to the driver's side. I went to open the door and he put out his hand on top of the glass to stop me. He got close, but I couldn’t step back. He leaned in, and I put my hand out to stop him.

“Come on, Evee,” he said. “Give me another chance, huh?”

“I have to go.”

“Just wait a second.”

“My friend needs me.” I tried to open the door, but his hand was still in the way. “Move, Ethan.”

“Man, I really thought seeing your dad and brother get whacked would have humbled you a little.”

I stilled. “Excuse me?”

“You’re still stuck up. Still think you’re better. You had that spoiled princess act in high school. Maybe that’s why we messed with you, to put you down a peg. Get you to relax. See the world didn’t revolve around you.”

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