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My mouth dropped open. “How the fuck did you get to be so wise? That’s like exactly how it feels.”
Maureen batted her eyelashes. “You’re not the only one with secrets, Bales. I’ve had a spicy rendezvous or two.”
We’d been friends for so long that it was hard to believe we didn’t know everything about each other. But I had been distant this past year. It only made sense that she would have had some adventures without me.
A wide grin spread across my face. “Touché. Maybe one of these days you can tell me about them.”
A rustle of orange and gold leaves blew past me, drawing my attention to the street. The lampposts were decorated with strings of black and purple fairy lights. At the base sat carved pumpkins on haystacks. The storefronts boasted skeletons, ghosts, and broomsticks, and had already put out buckets of candy for the kids.
Wickford Hollow went all out for Halloween. Funny how they had no clue that the veil between the living and the dead really was about to come down. In just seven days, it would come and go. But I lived it every day.
Maureen broke off a piece of her chocolate-dipped biscotti and handed it to me. “How about another girls’ night then? I can tell you all my dirty secrets.” She winked.
As much as I hated being away from my guys, that was exactly what I needed. Raine had scrambled my head. I couldn’t think clearly with him breathing down my neck. And I didn’t have any answers for Poe, Grim, or Saint. Not yet, anyway.
“Yes, let’s do it,” I mumbled through a bite of my cookie.
Maureen clapped her hands together. “Yay! Okay, I’ll get all the food and drinks this time. Ooh, maybe we should do a tarot reading or a séance.”
My stomach knotted. “Maybe. I think I have more ghosts than I can handle right now.”
Maureen pouted her lips. “Well, maybe I want in on some ghost dick too, Bales. Ever consider that?” she teased.
I snorted into my pumpkin spice latte. “You’re right. How selfish of me. Maybe one little séance.”
We both burst into a fit of giggles. But it was short-lived.
Maureen tensed as she looked past me, the muscle in her jaw clenching. “Fuck.”
A flutter of nerves danced in my belly. “What is it?”
Her leg began to bounce as she tapped her nails on the table. “Douchebag alert. Headed this way.”
Billy and Chad. Fuck.
I surveyed the table, searching for anything I could use as a weapon. It didn’t matter if it was broad daylight or a public space. No one would jump to our defense against these assholes. Both their dads were on the city council, and I was the town freak. Maureen had some pull with her dad being the sheriff but not enough to garner any sympathy for me.
As Maureen’s tapping increased, I assumed they were getting closer. I saw their shadows on the sidewalk before I heard them approach.
“Well, if it isn’t Sheriff Gray’s mouthy daughter and the town freak,” Billy drawled.
Chad planted his feet beside him and snickered. “More like the town slut.”
My cheeks were hot.
Maureen flipped her hair. “Don’t you assholes have anything better to do?”
Billy planted his hands on our table and leaned over her. “Come on, Maureen. We used to have so much fun together. Remember when you sucked my cock last Halloween?”
“Fuck you,” she spat. “You got me so drunk I could barely stand.”
My blood was boiling. I had never wanted to punch anyone before until Billy. I wanted to smash his face in and wipe that smug look off it. I gripped my spoon, wishing it was a knife.
“Get away from her, Billy.”
He turned his attention toward my hand. “Or what? You going to feed me to death?”
Chad laughed. “That would be a sight.”
