Page 34 of Baited

His thumbs met above her tailbone and they itched to caress her lush cheeks only inches away. He tapped them against her back to prevent them from wandering. Man, it was so easy to get lost in her wide, thickly lashed eyes. He cleared his throat. They had bigger fish to fry right now.

“Do you have any idea who’s behind the threats?”

She squinted at him. “The police already asked me that. No, I don’t.”

“And the person who broke into your house didn’t take anything?”

Her jaw firmed. “No. He didn’t.”

“And there was no sign of forced entry. So whoever it was went to great lengths so you wouldn’t know he was there.”

She wiggled in his arms. “That’s a big stretch. Look, if that’s all you wanted to talk about—”

“That’s not all,” he pressed.

“Then what?”

“It’s about Hanna,” he said evenly. A dark shadow crossed over her face. Her eyes grew stormy. She unlocked her ankles from the small of his back and pushed away from him.

“Don’t Ethan. Just don’t, okay?” She kicked, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her back.

“Riley, you have to talk about it.”

She spun around violently. “No, I don’t.” A large wave smashed into his shoulders. It washed over Riley, pushing her under. He grabbed her under the arms and pulled her to him. She coughed and sputtered on a mouthful of seawater.

He smoothed her hair out of her face. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m going back to shore, though.” She wiped a stream of water from her eyes and sniffed.

“I’ll bring us in more, okay? But please talk to me.”

Her eyes locked with his, but she didn’t resist when he repositioned her legs around his waist. He moved through the water toward shore. Her shoulders relaxed.

“Fine, talk.”

“It’s not a secret, okay? I heard about what happened to her…she was your friend?”

Her jaw worked, and she gave one sharp nod.

“I’m sorry this happened. It must have been terrible for you.” He spoke softly and carefully as he would to a spooked horse.

Tears shone in the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip.

“I’m going out on a limb, but I get the feeling you’re trying to find her. What I don’t understand is why you’re going to the bar and parties.”

Her gaze shifted over his shoulder, then came back to his. Green fire bore into him. “I have Hanna’s journal. In one of her entries, she talks about a man that came on to her at the bar. He was really aggressive and creepy and he fit Ryan’s description and behavior… at least based on what she wrote.”

He let out a curse. “Jesus, Riley. You can’t endanger yourself to find him.”

“What else am I supposed to do? The police are useless. They haven’t—”

Everything clicked into place. The irresponsible behavior, the parties, the switchblade… the roofies. “That’s why you’re carrying the roofies. You plan to find the perp and drug him?”

Her eyes rounded.

“I found them in your shorts after the Beach Bash,” he said.

Her gaze drifted over the water that settled between their chests. He shook his head, still trying to wrap it around her thought process.

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