Page 82 of Finding Home with You

Erin says nothing now and I can’t help but wonder if there’s a part of her that’s a little hesitant to play such a big role in sending her ex-boyfriend to prison.

“Okay, I’m in,” she suddenly says. “Let’s do this.”

“Oh my god, Red,” I say, chuckling at her excitement. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she says, twisting now to give me a kiss. “I can think of a few things.”

Afterwards, just as we’re both drifting off to sleep, Erin pulls herself against me and mumbles. “By the way, I’m pretty sure your sister had sex with Chris.”

“What?”

“They fucked.”

I laugh. “No, they didn’t,” I tell her. “Not a chance in hell that happened.”

“Um, have you met your sister?” she asks.

“Ah, yeah, but I’ve also known Chris for a long time and I know how professional he is.”

“Whatever,” she says, her cast arm resting on my chest as her fingers slowly move over my skin. “But your sister can be pretty hard to resist.”

“Yeah,” I say, trailing my fingers up and down her spine. “That’s because she’s a stubborn ass, just like you.”

“Hey,” she says, slapping my chest.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Erin

As I lay in bed listening to the slow steady rhythm of Ryan’s breathing and the ceiling fan humming, the quiet stillness of my house, I can’t help but hope that in agreeing to help with the arrest of Anthony my life will return to normal.

While I know Ryan and his team have enough on Anthony to put him away for a long time, I know it’s not enough to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. He’ll take a plea deal and he’ll be out in less than ten years. I’ve learned enough watching my father’s friends go down for major shit, but ending with minor results.

The secret I hold, deep and dark, I know could be Anthony’s undoing. It’s a secret that only Finn knows, a whisper in the dark, an admission on the tip of my tongue that I can’t bring myself to share with Ryan, because what if after all these years, it takes me down with it.

I agreed to help because as much as I fear him, I no longer want to live in fear, and not just for myself, but for Ryan and our baby, too. I can’t let this go on any longer, and I know I’m at a point where I need to admit to Ryan what I know about Anthony. I often wonder if I hide what I know or if I’m hiding from what I know.

I slowly find myself drifting off to sleep, my mind swirling with what I remember from that night, and as my eyes grow heavy, my dreams fill in the missing pieces. A nightmare that only fear can create.

Ryan’s alarm rings out softly, but even in its hushed tone, it still cuts through the darkness and forces its way into the sleepiness of the room.

We both groan at the same time knowing that even the black sky doesn’t give away exactly how early it is.

Early is an understatement—four o’clock a.m. Because any later and Ryan wouldn’t make it back to the station in time. Traffic begins to build with commuters around six, and suddenly a one hour commute turns into two hours.

Normally I’d roll over and act like his alarm wasn’t going off, but with Sarah here and after our discussion last night, we need to talk about how we proceed from here.

I roll over and cuddle into the side the of Ryan’s body, warm and comforting, and for a second I forget that I agreed to lure my ex-boyfriend into being arrested.

What the fuck have I gotten myself into?

“We need to talk more about last night,” I mutter, my voice still raspy from sleep.

“You backing out?”

“No, but I probably should be.”

Ryan lets out a long sigh, and I can’t tell if he’s bothered by me not coming to my senses and bailing, or if he’s annoyed that I’ve still decided to go through with it.

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