Page 48 of Baited

Ethan shot hishand out to catch her arm. “Give me the key and wait here.”

He took the heavily decorated key chain and edged her away from her front door. Last night’s rain had left the sky thickly overcast, but the late morning sun peeked through the clouds. They’d just picked up her rental car and once she got what she needed from her place, she’d have no reason to come back until this was settled.

Her brow furrowed at him, but she did as he asked. “Do you think he’d come here again?” She hissed. The delicate skin on her forehead crinkled and her eyes clouded with worry.

Shit, he hadn’t meant to scare her.

He jabbed the key into the lock and mustered his best nonchalant shrug. “Better to be safe. I’ll have a quick look around and then come get you.”

“Wait, you’ll need the alarm code.” She rattled off four digits and he moved his hand to the Glock at the small of his back.

He slipped inside and the keypad near the door beeped in warning. He entered the code, silencing it. The cool air conditioning blasted over him when he walked into the entryway. He kept his gun low and his finger near the trigger.

The old hardwood floors creaked beneath his shoes. To his left was a warm family room adorned with dated furniture and a ratty oriental rug.

Aside from that, the house was clean. Nothing appeared out of place or tampered with, but his concern was someone waitingfor her to return home. In the kitchen, an abandoned glass of water took residence on the counter next to a bowl of fruit.

Other than that, and the full dish rack of clean dishes next to the sink, the cream laminate surface was free of clutter. He stopped at the laundry room off the kitchen, and peered out the navy-blue curtain at the back door. A wooden fence with a gate at the rear and extra parking secured the good-sized yard. His fingers twisted the cool metal of the dead bolt. That too, was untampered with.

He weaved down the narrow hall and around to the two bedrooms and bathroom. The master bedroom held a queen-sized bed and overlooked the backyard. Like the rest of the house, it was clean and tidy. On his way back to the front door, he peeked into the empty spare room and immaculate bathroom.

“All clear.” The screen door creaked in protest as he opened it. His free hand returned his firearm to the waistband of his pants.

Riley entered, her palms pressed firmly to her flat stomach, her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes round. Her usually sun-kissed skin was now pale. His insides curdled at her obvious discomfort. She slipped her sandals off on the doormat, and inched past him.

“Nothing is amiss?”

His hand rested between her shoulder blades and he kept her close to his side. “Everything looks good to me.”

She moved away from him and drifted through the living room and into the kitchen, her arms folded tightly across her chest. “I should turn the air conditioning off. It’s freezing in here.” She stopped at the window and hit a switch. The constant rattling of the running fan stilled. “That’s better.” She dragged her fingers through the end of her ponytail and looked around. “It feels different in here.”

Ethan lifted his eyebrows. He rested his back against the counter and kept his gaze on her. She was so damn uneasy, he didn’t doubt something would feel off. “How so?”

One shoulder lifted slightly and her eyes met his. “I don’t know if it’s just me, but I still feel his presence here. And it feels more intense with what happened last night.”

He nodded. “Your privacy was violated. That’s a hard feeling to shake. Why don’t you look around some more as you pack a bag, be sure nothing is missing?”

She took a soft, audible breath. “Good idea.” Slowly she turned and headed toward her bedroom. A minute later, she came back out, her face white.

“Ethan, can you come in here please?”

His body tensed and he pushed away from the counter and met her in the hall. “What’s the matter?”

She wrung her hands in front of her and the smooth alabaster of her cheeks hollowed out. “Nothing. I—the room feels funny. I’m being ridiculous—”

“Don’t be silly.” He pulled her to his side, her hip nestled into the palm of his hand. He led her back into the room “I checked it out, but how about I stick around while you pack?”

She turned in his arms, rested her head on his chest, and her shoulders heaved on a sigh. “I don’t know what’s shaking me up.”

He smoothed his hands down the gentle curve of her back and pressed his nose to the top of her head. The faint scent of strawberries filled his nose. “You’ve had a hell of a month, that’s what. Now pack some stuff and let’s go.”

She nodded, turned from his arms, and straightened her spine. She scooped an overnight bag from the floor of the closet and began selecting some clothes. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled a leather-bound book from the shelf in the closet.

“Is that her journal?”

Riley dropped down to her heels and tucked the journal in her bag. Her cheeks were tense, her jaw firm. “Yeah. I still have a lot of it to read.”

“You’ve had a lot going on. How about you relax once we get to my place and try to finish it?”

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