Page 13 of Baited

She tilted her head to the side and squinted at him. The nickname slipped out of his mouth like smooth brandy. Part of her wanted to correct him, but the endearing short form made her insides tingle. Ethan had the strangest effect on her. On the one hand, he had her belly quivering with desire and on theother, he invoked annoyance or frustration at the drop of a hat. He wasn’t invasive, but he gave the impression that he wanted to get to know her.

As much as that piqued the old Riley’s attention, it made her build a stone wall around herself. She couldn’t get involved right now… not with anyone.

Except him. The sick prick who’d taken Hanna.

A soft laugh tickled her throat. “No, I’m not mad.”

“Good. Then let me give you a ride and I’ll come back and change your tire.”

She dropped her head back, taking in the full height of him, and blew out a breath. Walking wouldn’t make her late, because she always came to work early. It was hotter than hell right now and a ride would sure beat dripping with sweat. But she had to be careful with Ethan. It wouldn’t take much for her to completely lose herself in his cerulean eyes.

“I can walk. I have lots of time to kill and it’s a nice day.”

He folded his arms across his chest and lifted his shoulder. “It won’t take me long to fix it if you want to wait.”

Sitting with Ethan while he changed the tire would only give him more opportunity to talk to her. And she had no doubt he’d bring up the note and pester her about talking to Joe. She’d already called the detective from work yesterday, and he’d come by to collect the note and take a statement. Not that it’d do her any good.

She lifted her key fob and popped the trunk. “I appreciate you changing it, thanks. But I’m going to walk to work. The exercise will do me good.”

“How will you get home?”

“Jenny will give me a ride.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’m going to change into shorts before I get heatstroke. See you later.” He turned and strode toward his house. The second the screen door banged shut sheopened the driver’s side door of her car and pinched the edge of the paper between her thumb and forefinger.

She’s waiting. Come and get her, Riley.

***

The scent ofsteak and mashed potatoes wafted to her nose as she slipped the plate onto the table of the waiting customer. Her stomach rumbled and a quick glance at the clock showed it was time for her break. She caught Jenny’s eye, tapped her finger to her wrist, and pointed to the back. Jenny nodded and Riley made her way to the staff room.

She tugged the apron off and whipped up a plate of food. Sitting at the small dinette table, she reached for her purse. Bile mixed with the mashed potatoes and gravy in her stomach that had smelt so darn good five minutes ago. She swiped her finger over the screen.

No messages. Thank god. Her spine molded to the plastic chair and she concentrated on slowing her heart rate. After several deep breaths, she lifted her fork and forced down a couple more bites. He was getting more and more ballsy.

She’s waiting. Come and get her, Riley.

He was taunting her, but she didn’t care. Hanna was alive… She had to be. The notes, vandalism, and voicemail reaffirmed her suspicions all along: the person who’d taken Hanna was a local. There was no way he’d been a visitor or someone passing through. He was right here in her hometown and he was watching her.

She pushed all the threats from her mind and scrolled through social media on her phone. The headline “Beach Bash” caught her eye. She froze. This Saturday night a famous DJwould be hosting a beach party. She took another bite and kept reading. This thing was going to be big. She had to go.

Josh leaned past her to grab his water bottle off the table.

“You going to the Beach Bash this weekend?” He took a swig.

She grimaced. “I’d like to, but I’d have to take Saturday and Sunday off. Are you going?” She could possibly come into work Sunday but it’d be better to have it off. Who knew how long she could be out looking for Hanna’s kidnapper.

“Hell yeah. It will be a blast.” He set his bottle back on the table. “See if Ashley wants to switch with you. She mentioned something about needing more hours.”

It was a good idea, but she did need the money. That was why she was working after all. Her savings and credit cards could only take her so far. But, she couldn’t forget the reason she was here.

“Thanks, I’ll ask her.”

He went back to work, leaving her with her phone. She checked the event status on Facebook, over three hundred people were going, and another two hundred interested. She couldn’t pass up the chance that he could be there. Hundreds of intoxicated young women? No doubt it was on his agenda.

Riley sent a quick text asking Ashley to cover her shifts on the weekend.

She pinged back immediately—no problem.

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