Page 131 of Always Red (Chasing Red 2)

“Caleb, the party…”

“Don’t worry about it, Red. Really. They won’t even notice us gone. Especially now that my uncle has his shofar out. He likes showing it off when he’s pissed drunk.”

“What?”

“It’s a musical instrument made of animal horn. He said he bought it from magic peoples, but I’m sure he got it on eBay. Anyway, I saw you talking with my mom earlier,” he said cautiously. “Was she nice to you?”

I bit my lip. When I didn’t respond, he gently tugged a strand of my hair.

“She was…polite.”

“Polite,” he repeated. I could hear the frown in his tone.

Grabbing my hand, he led me to a spot hidden between jutting rocks and old, tall trees. There was a wide tree trunk at the edge of the water. He sat down before he pulled me beside him.

I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I knew he’d be more upset if I kept what happened earlier from him.

“Your mom wasn’t pleased that I wore the same dress as Beatrice-Rose. Apparently she told your mom I knew she was going to wear this dress and—out of the evilness of my black heart—I deliberately wore the same one.”

He let out a low, sharp expletive.

“The truth is that Beatrice-Rose saw me and Kar at the store yesterday. I was trying on this dress when Beatrice-Rose came in,” I explained. “There’s more.”

Caleb sighed, lowering his head. He looked tired.

“She was trying to humiliate me at the party earlier. And she succeeded when I dropped my clutch and my things spilled out. Do you remember when you put my things down somewhere, when we were dancing?”

“Yeah, I put them on one of the tables.”

“She must have planted it there.”

“Planted what?”

“The drugs.”

“The what?”

“The tiny plastic bag with white powder in it,” I choked out. “It’s drugs. I know it. Beatrice-Rose must have put it in my bag when we weren’t looking.”

He gripped my hand. “The same thing they found in my car?”

I nodded. “That’s why she deliberately knocked my purse out of my hands. She wanted your mom to see the drugs in my purse. But Damon picked it up, and he said your mom didn’t see it. But…” I froze. “What if she did?”

I reached for his other hand that was curled into a fist, squeezing it in comfort.

“Where’s the bag of drugs?” he asked.

“It’s in my purse.”

“Can you give it to me? I’ll send it to the PI. There might be prints. Maybe they’ll match the ones they found in my car.”

“Okay.”

He positioned me so that I was facing him and sitting on his lap with my legs dangling on either side of him. He gripped my thighs.

“Are you all right, Red? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

I rested my chin on his shoulder. “No. I’m fine, Caleb.”

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