Page 42 of A Deceitful Pact

“I wanna know everything.” She surprises me when she tilts her head slightly and takes a bite.

Not only is she gonna eat for me, she’s gonna let me feed her.

“He’s a womanizer,” I tell her, watching her chew and waiting for her to swallow.

“A worse one than you?” She takes a low blow, but I let her have it. I’ll let her take a hundred more if that's what it takes to keep her eating.

“He was dating Jace’s mom before she died.” I ignore her question and offer her more useful information, and she offers me a reward when she takes another bite.

“Do you think Jace might have killed him?” she tests, surely she knows that I’d never rat on my best friend. She wants me to lie to her again so she can push me even further away.

“IknowJace didn’t kill him,” I speak honestly, reaching the finger from my free hand to scoop up a crumb from the edge of her mouth. I slide it between her lips and the way she gently sucks my finger almost has me losing control.

“And how can you be so sure?” she asks, taking another bite and almost looking as if she’s having fun.

“Because, if Jace wanted him dead, he’d have done it while he had the chance. We’re all just as much in the dark over who killed that asshole as you are,” I assure her.

“So, he is dead?” She smirks as if she just played checkmate.

“I can assure ya that he’s dead...” I wait until she’s finished the last bite before leaning in closer so I can whisper. “...I buried the fucker’s body.” I got what I came here for. Riley has eaten, and I’ve proven to her that I’m not gonna keep any more secrets from her. I just gave her every ounce of my trust, and knowing that the more time I spend around her, the weaker I become, I decide I should quit while I’m ahead.

Standing up from the table, I place the chair neatly back under the table head for the door.

“Wait!” she calls out to me, sounding a little desperate herself, and when I turn around, I expect her to press me some more about Billy McGee.

“Thanks, all this was really sweet, the muffin was nice too.”

“You feel better?” I feel a warm, satisfied feeling in my chest.

“Looks like I’m keeping it down.” She does a little celebration dance, and it’s goofy and so fuckin’ cute it hurts and makes me laugh at the same time.

I nod my head before reaching for the handle, and when I see all the extra locks, I turn to question her.

“Hank fitted them for me, just as a precaution,” she answers before I even get a chance to ask. “I got them installed on the back door, too.”

“Any reason why?” I frown at her suspiciously.

“It’s not just me I have to protect, now.” I watch her smile as her hand presses against her stomach, and knowing there's a little piece of me inside there makes me so proud I wanna yell it out and make sure everyone knows.

“Good girl.” I smile before seeing myself out and feel like I made a little progress.

RILEY

TWO WEEKS LATER

Itry not to worry, as I head from the doctor's office toward my car, but my hands are shaking so badly that I drop my keys.

“Riley.” Sawyer’s voice calls from behind me, and when I spin around, I see him jogging across the street to catch up.

Now isreallynot a good time for me to have to face him.

“Everything good? I saw you coming out of the doctor's.” He looks back over his shoulder toward Dr. West’s building.

“Jesus, have you got a tracker on me?” I snap and continue to walk down the street.

“Hey, hey, wait. What's wrong?” He chases after me, taking my arm, and this time, when I spin around, I can’t hide the tears in my eyes or lie to him.

“I woke up and had some spotting this morning,” I tell him under my breath. “So, I went to Dr. West and–-”

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