The Boutique Owner Told Me to Stay Quiet Before I Heard Something I Was Not Meant to Hear

The boutique owner grabbed my wrist so firmly I nearly dropped my purse, pulled me behind a rack of evening gowns that rustled like birds startled from a branch, and put her lips close enough to my ear that I could feel the warmth of her breath.

“Do not say a word,” she whispered. “Stay right here. Trust me.”

Before I could ask why, before I could do continue reading …