Page 31 of Baited

Ethan tipped hishead back and let a huge gulp of water run down his throat. He swallowed, and wiped the sweat that poured down his forehead with his sleeve. His legs shook as he walked back to the squat rack and added more weights.

“You’re killing it today,” Joe called from the dumbbell rack.

Ethan lifted his finger to indicate one minute. He settled his shoulders beneath the bar and lifted the weight. When he finished his last set, he made his way over to the water fountain where Joe was filling his water bottle. Ethan patted his face with the hand towel around his neck. “Hey, buddy. How was your workout?”

“It paled in comparison to yours.” Joe crossed his arms over his chest. “You should consider joining the police force.”

Ethan let a breath out. “No disrespect, but I’ve been there and done that. It’s not for me.”

“The police force is different than the FBI.”

“I know, but I don’t have the passion for it. I’m glad I bumped into you though, are you all done?”

“Yup, just finished my shift. I’ll be off for the next few days. Something you want to talk about?”

Ethan hefted the strap of his bag over his shoulder and followed Joe to the door. The morning sun painted the sky bright orange. It was going to be another beautiful day. It was Monday, and from what she had mentioned before, that meant Riley was off. Yesterday morning he’d opted not to bring up Hanna. He’d left the door open in hopes that she would come to him…that she would trust him. Stupid move. So far, she’d been a closed book.If he hadn’t proved she could confide in him by now, he never would.

“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about Hanna Wilson. Any new information on her case?”

Slowly, Joe shook his head. “I’m afraid not. When her parents put up that large reward a few weeks ago, we’d hoped we’d get some leads. All it’s gotten us are a few dead ends.”

He remembered hearing about a twenty-five thousand dollar reward for information leading to Hanna’s whereabouts. Damn, if that didn’t bring anyone forward nothing would.

“What about the boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyfriend. And again, a dead end. He and Hanna had broken up two years ago and he’s now engaged and moved three hours away. The weekend Hanna went missing he was on vacation. Already checked his story and it all lines up.”

Ethan stifled a groan. “What about the last place she was seen? Is that still at the night club?”

Joe stopped at his car, opened the rear door, and dropped his bag inside. “Even that has changed. The guy she was seen leaving the bar with ended up putting her in a cab. The cab company confirmed it dropped her off at home. It’s a real bitch. We have nothing to go on except maybe she left on her own accord. Got sick of being a teacher and moved away without telling anyone.”

“Only she left everything behind and didn’t touch her bank accounts, right?”

Joe gave one solid nod. “There’s that. Unless she met some rich guy, but still. It doesn’t add up. It’s like she… disappeared. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn’t be offended if your FBI connections could get involved. We haven’t had anything else suspicious like this in the area, but if you know something we don’t, I’d be happy to hear it.”

His brown eyes met Ethan’s. “She was a nice girl. Everyone loved her. She got a little wild in the last year, but Hanna wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

The use of past tense reverberated through his body. Joe suspected she was dead. The evidence—or lack thereof—was damning.

Ethan clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll see what I can find out; if you hear anything else, let me know.”

“Sure thing.” Joe’s voice tightened on the words.

Hanna’s disappearance had affected the whole town. Everyone he’d spoken to in the last two days had gotten choked up. Raw fear hid in the corners of their eyes. No one wanted to believe it was a friend or neighbor, or someone they’d grown up with. He knew better. The person behind Hanna’s disappearance was right in front of everyone’s faces. Call it intuition, call it experience, he was as sure of it as he was of his name.

He crossed the parking lot to his truck. He just hoped to god they could find her alive. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the number as he climbed in the truck. A grin split his face.

“Hello?”

“Morning, lazy ass.” Nate’s pleasant greeting rang through his ear. He shook his head and started the engine while Bluetooth kicked in and the call came out over the speakers.

“Lazy ass? I just finished a workout. You should try it some time.” He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.

“Sorry, it must be nice to take a hiatus. And I injured my wrist, you know that.” Nate’s tone turned defensive. Since being away, he missed his friends. Ethan and Cal had been like brothers to him since they’d met in the military. When Ethan had finally left recon, Nate had gotten him in with the FBI. At thetime, it had seemed like a good fit. It hadn’t taken long for him to outgrow that shoe.

“Yeah, yeah. And we all know how you did that,” Ethan chortled. He and Cal had come up with a million and one stories as to how Nate had hurt his wrist. All great payback for Nate’s constant needling at them over the years.

“When it heals, I’m going to kick your ass.”

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