No way will I let him downplay his devotion. I lean into him, just for a moment, giving him a gentle hip check. “You’re here, Eddie. That’s what counts.”
He settles his arms on the fence, shooting me a soft smile. “Thank you for that.”
For half a second, I let myself stay there. But life isn’t content to let me bask in his warmth.
From the corner of my eye, I see a woman stop in her tracks, her gaze fixed on me.
Oh, no.
Maybe she doesn’t recognize me. Maybe?—
“What isshedoing here?” The woman directs her question to no one and everyone at the same time. “If I wereher,I sure as hell wouldn’t show my face in public.”
Color climbs my cheeks as my heart pounds, hard and fast, desperate to run away even if my feet remain rooted to the spot.
I grip the fence like a vise as the air thickens around me and my lungs struggle to keep up, my eyes fixed on the ground as I will it to swallow me whole.
A new voice chimes in, further twisting the knife. “She needs to crawl back to her cave and stay there.”
My body begs to collapse to the ground while my mind considers taking a few wild and poorly aimed swings at my attackers.
Neither option will help. Nothing will.
“Better yet,” the original accuser replies, “leave Sparkwood forever. We don’t want your kind here.”
I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.
So this is what being buried alive feels like, except with insults and hatred instead of snow or rocks.
“Okay. That’s enough of that garbage.” Eddie pushes off the fence with a grunt and turns around, his voice carrying across the field.
Oh my God, Eddie. Please don’t say anything.
I pivot on my heel, raising my hand to will him back, but he’s gone. His long legs carry him the few steps to the group ofwomen, where he fixes each of them with a glare. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
A tall redhead replies, her face one of exaggerated shock. “Whatever do you mean?”
Eddie jerks his thumb toward me. “Don’t play games. I heard you trash-talking Kiki. Everyone did. So, if you have something to say, she’s right here.”
I shake my head, my feet heavy as lead weights. “It’s fine. I’m leaving.”
But Eddie has no desire to let the issue die.
Neither does the gathering crowd at the side of the baseball field.
The woman plants her hands on her hips and purses her lips. “She shouldn’t be here.”
“Then take it up with me,” Eddie replies. “I asked her to come. What specifically did she do today to anger you? Did she wear the wrong footwear? Cheer for the wrong team?”
Another gawker lets out a harrumph. “You know who her husband is.”
“He’s not her husband anymore. Kiki filed for divorce immediately after his arrest. Or did you miss that part?”
“But she knew?—”
Once again, Eddie cuts them off. “Bull crap. She didn’t protect him. She didn’t hide anything. Kiki sat through hours of questioning. She’s cooperated fully with investigators every step of the way.”
My stomach lurches as Eddie airs his extensive knowledge of my situation.
