Page 47 of Two Hearts Reunited

“Don’t you want your bag?” she asked.

He winked. “I’ve got some extra t-shirts and underwear in there along with a pair of sweats. I was planning on leaving it here.”

She grinned. “Okay. I’ll leave it on top of the dryer in the bathroom so you know where it’s at.”

“Sounds good,” he said, zipping his coat before pulling her into his arms and kissing her very thoroughly. “Last night was incredible.” He sighed. “But then again, I have a feeling that it will always be like that.”

She smiled widely, still clinging. “Me too. See you later.”

He suddenly frowned as he let her go. “You be careful. I’m going to be more worried about you now, you know.”

She nodded, watching as he walked through the doorway and out to his truck.

Anya locked the door behind him, sighing heavily as he drove away.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Brian grinned at him knowingly as Eric walked into the mudroom from outside, pulling off his coat and hanging it on one of the empty hooks.

But Eric must have looked worried because Brian’s expression turned serious.

“We got your note. What’s wrong?” Brian asked. “What did Anya have to say about her sister getting pregnant?”

Eric grimaced. “You know what? We never even discussed Shanna much this morning. After we talked with Jake, we discovered that there are even more things going on than both of us realized.”

Brian looked taken aback. “Did Jake say it was okay to share?”

“Have you got any coffee made?” Eric asked.

“Are you kidding? With two sets of parents visiting, we have coffee and chocolate latte.”

Eric grinned. “I think I’ll stick with the coffee. Come and sit with me at the table, and I’ll tell you what’s going on. You need to keep it between us, although I think it would be fine to share it with Ashley.”

“Good. She’d worm whatever it is out of me anyway. What’s happened?”

Eric went on to explain about the phone call Anya had received from Shanna and detailed exactly what Anya had been doing to investigate Shanna’s disappearance.

Eric continued, “And then there are these two notebooks that Jake said they’ve been looking for since last year, when Ashley was kidnapped.”

Brian blinked. “He found the other notebooks?”

“He thinks so,” Eric admitted.

“Hopefully it’ll be okay to eventually tell Michelle and Jeff, since they found the first one at their place. They’re sticking close to home, which is right down the road. They would have visited here for Christmas except she’s pregnant and there have been all kinds of horror stories going around about pregnant women who can get incredibly sick if they get COVID.”

“I’ve been hearing about that too,” Eric agreed. “Anya actually had the notebooks. She thinks that her dad had possession of them, and her mom probably found them after he died. We’re wondering if her dad might have had something to do with the trafficking ring.”

“Wait a minute.” Brian’s eyes went wide. “I wonder…”

“What?” Eric asked.

“It’s too horrendous to think about,” Brian admitted, apparently concerned. “But from what I remember, their dad was such a slimebucket.”

Eric was suddenly stunned, realizing what Brian was thinking.

“It would explain Shanna’s behavior, wouldn’t it?” Eric finally said quietly.

Hesitating, Brian nodded his agreement.

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