Page 53 of Baited

“They knew each other?”

Riley nodded. “Of course. We all grew up here and went to school together. It’s not unusual that he’d say hi to her.”

Ethan chewed, his furrowed brow hinting that he wasn’t quite convinced.

Riley continued, “She wrote that she was scared and felt someone was always watching her. She was worried about going to the police in case he found out.” Riley sunk her teeth into the warm crust and the tangy marinara hit her tongue.

She swallowed and pressed a napkin to her lips. Her stomach flipped over. Hanna had been scared shitless and Riley hadn’t had any clue. What kind of best friend was she? At the time in her life when Hanna had needed her most, she’d been in Boston.

She took another bite but her appetite was diminishing. Ethan was already onto his second slice.

“She didn’t think it was someone random, which makes sense with how long it went on. I’m interested if Joe knows about this. I don’t think he does, because I don’t recall him telling me about it. Joe faxed the file over to my buddy Nate, and he didn’t mention it either. I just hung up with Joe and he was heading to your house now to check things out.”

At the mention of Ethan’s friend Nate, Riley perked up. “That’s who you called when we got here? The FBI agent?”

“Yup. He found a flight and lands tomorrow night.”

“Oh my god, that’s great news. Do you think he’ll be able to help?”

Ethan wiped his chin with a napkin. His eyes darkened. “Not exactly. He’s doing this as a favor, so the FBI isn’t officially involved. Turns out he had some vacation days to use up, so he was able to get off last minute. I need someone else here so I can investigate more.”

“What do you mean? We’re doing this together.”

“Absolutely we are. But some things are dangerous and I don’t feel safe leaving you here.”

“What things?” She set her pizza on her plate and folded her arms on the table. She squinted at him through heavy lids. What exactly was he getting at?

“After what happened this morning, I want to stake out your place. My bet is he’ll return there at some point.”

She shifted her gaze to the smooth, mahogany table. He was trying to help find Hanna, for that, she was grateful. But he was too worried about her. With Ethan trying to protect her, it was hindering their investigation. She ran her tongue over the inside of her teeth. In the beginning, Ethan had made her promise that she wouldn’t use herself to find the suspect. What other option was there?

She lifted her eyes to meet his, and her fingertips dug into her elbows. He was going to refuse, but she had to get through to him. It was the only way. “I’m sure he’ll figure out soon that I’m not staying there anymore. If you’re right and he plans to return, I should be there. That may be the only way we catch him.”

Ethan took a bite of salad, his eyes widened on her. He coughed, slammed back half the glass of water, and cleared his throat.

“Are you serious? You want to stay there in hopes that he comes for you?”

She lifted one eyebrow and didn’t flinch. “You got a better plan?”

“Uh, yeah.” His gaze shifted away and then back to her, “How about not getting you killed?”

She flashed a smile at him. “Well, you’ll be there, silly.”

His eyes darkened. He set his fork down and leaned back against the chair. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Of course. And now, we have back up.” She picked up her fork and scooped a bite of salad. “What can go wrong?”

He scratched his whiskers with the back of his knuckles and slowly shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a very good idea, babe. Give me some time—”

Her eyebrows snapped down and she dropped her fork to the plate with a clatter. “No, dammit.”

His mouth parted.

Tears stung the back of her eyes. “Ethan, she’s been gone a month. A month.” Her voice cracked, but she forced it to steady. “Every day matters…every minute.” She rested her palm on his folded arm. His eyes searched hers, and his brow crinkled with strain. “Please…”

He gripped her fingers in his and lifted them to his lips. “All right, fine. But we have to wait until tomorrow when Nate gets here. Deal?”

Indecision made her hesitate. Shit. That was longer than she had wanted to wait, but it was better than nothing. “Okay.”

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