Crazy In Love (Secrets of Suburbia #3) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,79

was a clock ticking down in my head, slowly counting to zero. I needed to be gone before Detective Torres came. And definitely before Noah came back. I couldn't play that game of high stakes hide-and-go-seek around the house again. I was going to hightail it out of here...

Shit. Shit, shit, shit! I threw the lid down on my suitcase. Noah had my car. That son of a bitch had a way of ruining everything.

I tried to take a deep breath. Go with the flow. Think of another way. An Uber to Mexico would literally cost a fortune. A plane or a rental car would require my ID. The last thing I wanted was to be stopped at the border.

I snapped my fingers. I'd hotwire a car. There was a knock on the front door.

I peered out the curtains and stared down at the top of Charlotte's head. Her perfect blonde hair glistened in the blinding light coming off the snow. She was holding another casserole dish. I didn't want her handouts. I let the curtains fall back in place as I lifted Snuggle Muffins into my arms.

I knew exactly where Charlotte was right this second. And it was the middle of the day, so her husband was at work and her kids were in school. It was their last day before Christmas break started. For all I cared, Charlotte could stand at my door all day waiting for news on my husband, gossip that she'd spread like wildfire. Actually I hoped she would stand there for a while. Because in the meantime, I was going to hotwire her car and get the hell out of here.

Chapter 25

Monday

I pulled a long wool coat over my ridiculous Mrs. Claus costume, grabbed Snuggle Muffins and my purse, and left out the back door.

Geez that's a lot of snow angels. I touched my forehead. It seemed like Noah was right about last night. I must have been out here for hours making all these.

For a second I just stared at the snow angels and dog paw prints everywhere. Noah knew I was high. And he'd slept with me. I should have felt betrayed. But Noah was an asshole. Taking advantage of women was just part of an endless list of terrible things he'd done.

I bit the inside of my lip. I'd thought he was high, and I’d slept with him. Actually, I’d thought he was way more high than I was. Because most of the weed was out of my system after running around the back yard all night. So actually...didn't that make me the one taking advantage of him? I smiled to myself. But then I immediately frowned. Kidnapper and rapist? God, what is wrong with me?

Also, why am I thinking about who raped who last night? I needed to focus.

I trudged through the snow toward Sally's fence. All I needed to do was get through Sally's yard undetected to get to Charlotte's. But if I wanted to go unnoticed, it would be best if I didn't go through her back yard. I made my way into the woods, being careful not to slip on any of the ice or trip on any of the snapped branches.

"Ensley? Is that you?"

God, Sally, give me a break! I turned to see Sally peering over the back of her fence at me. "Hey," I said and smiled. I would have waved but Snuggle Muffins was in my arms. I'd made him a promise about walking, and I was a woman of my word.

"Ensley, what on earth are you doing back there?"

"Just taking my dog on a walk." I was getting used to having a go-to excuse. Who knew that having a pet was so useful at getting away with weird things?

"Oh, well, let me join you."

What? No, you crazy bat. "I'm actually not feeling very well. I don't want you to catch whatever I have."

"Ah, probably because you were outside without a coat last night."

Oh, no. The image of her with a snake face came back to me. Had that actually happened? If it had...that meant she'd seen Noah through my kitchen window. Fuck me.

She opened the back gate and joined me in the woods. "Don't worry, it would be hard to catch anything from you with all this fresh air." She took a deep breath. "I love the smell of freshly fallen snow."

I wasn't worried about her catching a fake cold. I was worried about her catching me. If she told Detective Torres that