Page 93 of Baited

The dog whined softly and a laugh caught in Riley’s throat. It was over. The nightmare that had started more than a month ago had lifted. As painful and terrifying as Hanna’s disappearance had been, it had given her purpose. Never in her life had she been so driven by passion and determination.

Except now. She watched Ethan’s face. They’d become so close in such a short time, but he owed her nothing. His mouth lifted into an even bigger smile.

“What are you thinking?” His hand left Murphy and came to brush her hair behind her ear. Her cheeks warmed. She had to get it over with. “It’s a little overwhelming that all of this is overwith, and I’m trying to see what the next step is…or where it is for that matter.”

He nodded and his hand drifted down her arm, then back up again. “Sounds like a lot of tough decisions.”

She swallowed. Her mouth opened and she snapped it shut. Tears tingled the backs of her eyes. She didn’t care where she lived. Didn’t care what she did. None of it mattered unless she was with Ethan.

Ethan’s eyes shifted to Murphy, and then back up to hers. The tanned skin at his eyes crinkled playfully and her stomach flipped over. “I’ve wanted a dog for a long time, what do you think Rye? Want to keep him?”

Her heart thudded in her chest and her throat tightened. The corners of her mouth lifted and a laugh tickled her throat. She threw her arms around his neck and he crushed her to his chest and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

“I was so damn scared of losing you,” he said softly against her ear.

Tears wet her eyelashes and a weight eased off of her chest. She gripped his shirt in her hands and breathed in his scent. She’d never let him go.

“I love you so damn much.” His voice cracked in her ear.

Moisture poured over her lids and trickled down her cheeks. She swallowed and inhaled the woodsy scent of his cologne. Relief spread through her. “I love you too, Ethan. And I knew you’d find me.” Had she not met Ethan, had he not been on this journey with her, Michael would have—

She squeezed her eyes tight and pushed the thought from her mind. He had found them, and that was all that mattered. Murphy let out a small, disgruntled bark. He stood up and wiggled his way between them. A smile warmed Riley’s heart. They were all going home.

***

“Oh. My. God,”Bailey hissed. Riley swatted her arm and shushed her. Bailey’s wide blue eyes didn’t change. “He looks like a Greek god. Seriously, how did you meet this guy? Does he have any brothers?”

Riley glanced over her shoulder as Cruz tossed Ethan his baseball and Ethan pretended to stumble back with the force of it. She dragged her gaze back to Bailey.

“No brothers, sorry.”

Bailey sighed. “I’m going to be a single mom forever while you get to have dirty sex with that.”

Riley laughed. She rested her hip against the back of Ethan’s truck, which put Ethan and Cruz in her direct line of vison.

Since Michael had been arrested, the police had uncovered the silver Dodge truck in a storage unit in Michael’s name. He’d used stolen plates and reserved the vehicle only for his hunts. They’d done a thorough sweep of the car and found DNA for four other missing women. He would be locked up in prison for a very long time. The evening breeze picked up and Riley shivered, folding her arms over her chest. Had she not found Hanna when she had, she would have ended up dead like the others.

But Hanna was on the road to recovery. The trauma she’d suffered made Riley’s heart ache, but Hanna was in good spirits now that she was home with her family and would be starting therapy in a few days.

Bailey settled beside Riley and folded her arms over her chest. Dusk crept over the sky and tomorrow they would start their journey on the road. Before they left town in the morning they would have breakfast at the diner.

She owed a big thank you to Jenny. Had she not called the police to report a robbery, Ethan wouldn’t have gotten the chance to get to her when he had.

Their first stop would be in Boston to arrange for all of her things to be delivered to Ethan’s house in Seattle. She had no ties to Boston other than her previous job, and she’d always liked the west coast. “I’m really glad you saw Mom and Dad. Mom was so happy.” Bailey’s voice grew soft and the weight of guilt that had settled over Riley dissipated. Her mom had made the choices she had, not because she’d wanted to divide their family, but because she’d needed to do what was best for her. Riley had done the same thing when she’d put them off to look for Hanna, so in a way, she understood.

“Me too. We’ll come back down at Christmas and stay a few weeks.” By that time, she’d be dying to see Hanna again. And hopefully come the holidays she’d be in an even better place after receiving the help she needed.

Riley giggled as Ethan let out a hoot of laughter as he ran backward while Cruz chased him. “Maybe you guys should take a trip to Seattle. These two have really hit it off.”

“They sure have.”

Riley pushed away from the bumper. “We’d better get going. We want to get an early start tomorrow.”

Bailey nodded and wrapped her arms around her. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but while you were playing with Cruz, I heard Ethan ask Dad about marrying you.”

Riley’s heart slammed against her chest. She pulled out of her sister’s arms and a ripple of excitement quaked inside her. “What? Are you sure?”

She lifted a shoulder. “Maybe, maybe not.” Bailey winked and a sneaky grin crept over her face. “Let’s chat soon. And maybe once Ethan opens his private investigating service, he can find me a man.”

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