Page 82 of The Daredevil

“Brittany Parker. Do you remember her?”

A look of disbelief washed over her. “How could I forget her? She made my life hell. But gosh, that was so long ago. What happened back then was just something between rivals.”

“She’s in Iceland with her daughter Lily for a competition.”

Michelle leaned against the wall as a revelation splashed on her face. “Oh. Shit.” She placed a hand on her heart. “She was at the charity event. I didn’t recognize her at all. She looked different. Why does she want to hurt me now? I don’t understand.”

That was something I wanted to know too. I told Michelle about Brittany’s ex-boyfriend and how the police were searching for him. “Just be cautious about your surroundings.”

“Thank you for letting me know.” She blew out a breath. “I want to be informed about any updates, okay? I’d rather know, even if it’s bad.”

“You got it.”

“Go meet with your buddies. I’m going to chat with my girls too.”

CHAPTERFORTY

MICHELLE

After Royce wentinto his office and closed the door, I took a moment to absorb the information about Brittany. Never in my wildest dreams did I think she’d come after me. Could she have held a grudge for that long?

I opened a new browser tab on my computer and searched for her name. Her website offered current photos of her. She didn’t look like the Brittany I knew. Her cheekbones appeared higher, and the contours of her face looked smoother. The full lips were too pronounced. No wonder I didn’t recognize her during my flight to Iceland, at the grocery store, or at the charity event.

I sighed when I saw photos of Lily in the inappropriate outfits. Brittany was grooming her daughter to be like her.

What had I done to Brittany to make her want to hurt me? Jealousy? We weren’t kids in pageants anymore. If she wanted my tiaras and trophies, she could have them. They had no meaning other than as a reminder of my suffering back then.

Feeling exhausted and not wanting to look at stressful things, I turned off my computer and concentrated on the joyful news.

I sent a text to my group chat.You busy?Wanna catch up?

When they all replied yes, I started the three-way phone call.

“Give me the deets right now!” Kiera exclaimed.

“How do you know I have deets? Can’t I just call my girls because Imissthem?”

“You can, but we have radar for these kinds of things. Mine just erected. Spill it, Missy,” Audri said with a laugh.

“Nice choice of words, Audri! I love the word ‘erected!’” Kiera laughed over the phone. “Makes meuprightandalert.”

Gosh, I could always count on them to make me laugh.

“Royce and I are dating now,” I said.

Audri gasped. “I knew it! How did it happen?”

“Did you do the deed yet?” Kiera asked. “How is he in bed?”

My smile widened at their enthusiasm, and I told them how the fake dating turned into something real.

“I’m so happy for you!” Audri said.

“He’s a sex god in bed.” I beamed, thinking about our time in the wilderness.

Kiera purred. “He looks like a Nordic warrior, so I can imagine the power he wields.”

Oh, there was indeed some powerful hammering and then some, but I kept that to myself.

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