Page 63 of Baited

The hard line in her shoulders sank as if a weight had dropped on them. Ethan inched closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to soften the blow of Nate’s words. This close, the delicate line of her profile etched with strain. Moisture collected at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked furiously. She hadn’t thought it through, and dammit, he hadn’t either. Classic mistake of getting emotionally involved. He may not have the ties to Hanna that Riley did, but his ties to Riley made him vulnerable.

“So what do we do?” Her voice was small, her fingers intertwined with his at her shoulder.

“It can work, but we have to be smart.” Nate rubbed his knuckles over his jaw. “We need to come up with something, a reason that you’d be by yourself.”

Ethan massaged his temple with his fingers. They couldn’t screw this up. “What about a party?”

Riley swirled around to face him, her brow crunched over her eyes. “A party? How is that going to help?”

“Wait a minute; E could be on to something.” Nate’s index finger wagged in the air as he mulled over the idea. “And, no one knows who I am”—his eyes widened—“right? You didn’t tell anyone I was coming or that I’m with the FBI?”

“Nope.” Ethan shook his head.

“I’m not following you guys.” Riley shook her head, her emerald eyes clouded with confusion.

“It doesn’t have to be a party.” Ethan’s wheels began to turn as he squeezed his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Just as long as we publicly have a falling out—an argument maybe. You tell a few people that I’m a dick and it appears as if we’re on a break or something.”

“And I could solidify that assumption.” Nate’s flashed a smile.

“How do you mean?” Riley sat up straighter, her eyes wide with interest. “Well, maybe I could be the reason you two fight. We could pretend to bump into each other at a bar, where there’s lots of people. Jealous E”—Nate nodded at Ethan—“gets pissed off, you two exchange some words, and poof! Word gets out that you two are finished and it’s not a red flag that you’re back at your place alone.”

Riley’s shoulders loosened beneath his arm as she nodded. She turned to Ethan, her eyes round and hopeful. “That could work.” Then more carefully to him, “Don’t you think?”

Unease swirled in his gut. It was dangerous. The reality of what they were exposing Riley to settled on his chest with the weight of a dump truck. If the bastard knew she was unprotected, he would undoubtedly make a move.

Riley’s eyes searched his face, fear hardened the soft lines of her cheeks.

Fear that he would say no.

“I’m more worried that it will work.” He rasped through the tightness in his chest. “You know she’s not actually going to stay at her place alone, right? We can’t do that.” This he directed to Nate.

Nate chewed his bottom lip. “I’m not sure how we’re going to sneak you in there, bud. An elephant would draw less attention.”

“Fuck you,” he bit out.

Nate chuckled and poured another shot of rum into his glass, then reached for the bottle of Coke. “I can set up cameras inside—”

Ethan snorted. “Not good enough. What the hell is a camera going to do?”

“It will alert us if someone gets into the house.”

“No. Hell no. I’m going to be in that house with her or the plan is off.” Riley rested her elbow on the table and dropped her head into her hand.

He smoothed his hand down her spine but she shook him off. Was she mad? Hell, he didn’t care. When it came down to her life that was all that mattered to him. She could be as pissed as she wanted.

“We’ll go through with the fight at the bar, and Ethan will leave angry. I’ll stick around for a bit and then take a cab home.” She brought her attention to Ethan. “You can cut through the neighbor’s backyard and let yourself in through my back door. It’s the only option.”

Nate shrugged. “Could work.”

Riley smiled and lifted her eyebrows expectantly at him. “What do you say?”

“Sounds like a solid plan.”

She took a sip of her wine, strain crinkled the corners of her eyes. She lowered her glass and took a deep shaky breath. “If he finds out we’re onto him…that the FBI is involved…what will he do to Hanna?” Her voice broke on the last words.

Ethan’s chest constricted and his pulse slowed. One glance at Nate showed he’d picked up his phone, pretending to be distracted. Ethan rubbed his hand over her wrist, his eyes locked with hers. His teeth clenched, making his jaw grow stiff.

“What will he do if we do nothing? You said yourself that every minute counts. Either way, we’ll have to take some kind of risk.”

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