Page 47 of Baited

Guilt curdled the lining of her stomach. She and Bailey didn’t agree on everything, but her sister had always been there. She took a deep breath and ran her palm over her bare knee.

“I’ve been so involved in Hanna’s disappearance I didn’t want to let anyone in the bubble I had created. I didn’t mean to shut you out.”

“I bet Ethan burst the shit out of that bubble.”

Riley threw her head back and laughed, the sound mingled with Bailey’s giggle and just like that, the weight that had been crushing her chest lifted.

“I can’t wait to meet him. I’m going to embarrass the hell out of you.”

“Yeah, well, it’s nothing serious.” A sliver of unease settled in her stomach. When all this was over, Ethan would be gone and so would she.

For right now, the only thing keeping them together was this case.

Bailey grew silent and the amusement from their conversation ebbed away. “I wish you’d stop this, Rye. What about your job? Your life? You can’t put all that on hold forever.”

A lead weight pressed against her chest. “Just until we find Hanna.” Tension crackled over the line.

“And what if you don’t?”

The bedroom door creaked open and Riley snapped her head up. Ethan’s vivid blue eyes searched her face and his brow dipped into a frown. “Who’s that?” he asked softly.

Riley gripped a strand of her hair and rotated it around her finger, and then mouthed, “My sister.”

Bailey’s voice screeched through the air. “He’s there isn’t he? I want a picture of his—”

“Call you later.” Riley disconnected and slowly met Ethan’s gaze. He stepped farther into the room.

“Everything okay?”

Riley dropped the phone beside her and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just had to tell my sister what’s been going on, that’s all.”

And Baily thought what everyone else did, but Riley couldn’t accept that Hanna was dead. Not because she was holding onto blind hope, but because a furious voice in her heart screamed at her that it wasn’t so.

The bed dipped beside her and her weight tilted against Ethan’s side. His arm slid around her shoulders and she let her cheek fall to his chest. She didn’t care about statistics, didn’t care that there wasn’t a single lead. She couldn’t be dead. Hanna’s voice echoed through her mind, a mantra she’d spoken since they were kids.

Never give up, Riley.

A true optimist, Hanna had been the pressing force behind everything Riley had accomplished. When she didn’t get accepted into the first two colleges she’d applied at, Hanna had urged her on.

It wasn’t the right one. She had said. She’d been right. The right one had been Boston University. As much as Boston wasn’t her first choice at the time, it had been the best one. She’d been happy there, but she’d also been alone. She’d had friends, and close coworkers, but no one compared to Hanna. And the dating had been brutal.

When her parents had pressured her to stay closer to home, Hanna had fueled her, insisting she went even though it had been hard on both of them.

Follow your heart, it will never lead you wrong.

And now, she had to do the same for Hanna. She wasn’t dead. If not for the simple reason that Hanna would refuse to give up.

Ethan’s knuckles dragged over her shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and his chest lifted on a deep inhale.

“I think we should go to your place so you can grab some things.”

Goose bumps prickled her skin. “Are you sure you want me to stay here?” She lifted her chin to look up at him and he tilted his head, his gaze skimmed over her face.

“I wouldn’t want you to be anywhere else.”

Her toes curled beneath her and she clamped her teeth together to avoid smiling too big. “Fine with me.”

CHAPTER 13

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