The urge to tell him to mind his own business burned her tongue. Nope. She wasn’t taking the bait. Every time he set her off, it seemed to draw him closer. It might kill her, but kind and patient was the road she was going to take…or try to.
“I went to a party, Ethan. That’s all.”
His left eyebrow cocked. “C’mon. You don’t expect me to believe that was your motive.”
Geez. Was he always so skeptical? She dragged her fingers through the wet strands of her hair. She hadn’t bothered to put on makeup even though of all days, today was the one day she needed it. “I heard about the Beach Bash and thought it’d be fun. That’s all.”
Ethan crossed the kitchen, pulled out a chair from the table and sat. “So like the casual sex you were after that night at the bar?”
Her teeth sunk into the inside corner of her mouth and her chest flamed. “I appreciate you ensuring I made it here safely, but I’m a big girl and don’t need to explain myself.” Her lips stretched into a smile, hurting her face.
He scowled. “Did you hit your head or something?”
“No, damn”—she licked her lips—“I mean, no. I’m fine.”
He snorted and his eyes flashed with humor. “You suck at trying to be nice, you know that?”
She glared at him through lowered lids. He laughed and caught her hand, pulling her closer and her annoyance melted.
“I like it when you’re feisty.”
The icy irritation melted from her body. Being around Ethan was like her body reacting to rapid global warming. One minute she wanted to throttle him and the other she wanted to straddle him.
Ethan let her go, rubbed his hands on his knees, and stood, bringing the length of his body right against hers. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to…but I wish you would.”
She rubbed her fingertips together at her sides. Ethan had a way of draining her willpower with the force of a sinkhole. The urge to let everything loose ebbed through her, but god, where would she start?
When she didn’t reply he nodded slowly, but his blue orbs darkened.
“I’m going to head home,” he said.
She nodded and followed him out the kitchen door, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her loose, gray T-shirt hid her slight curves and covered the waistband of her shorts. Though her shorts were still short, they weren’t dangerously so like the ones that she’d worn last night, now tucked safely in her bag. He slid his sandals on and opened the front door. The warm morning sun danced across the front of the porch, warming her feet as she stepped out.
“Are you hungry? We could swing by the diner and grab a bite.” He grinned at her and her heart palpitated. Her stomach rumbled and she pressed her hand against it to quiet it. She needed food, but right now she also needed distance. If she spent another minute with Ethan she would come undone.
“No. I’m fine, thanks.” She squinted against the sun’s rays and the playful glint dimmed from his eyes.
“I seriously doubt that you’re not. But if you want to be stubborn, fine.” He flashed her a smile. His sky-blue eyes twinkled. She let out a breath.
“Do you have to challenge everything I say? Or are you always this pleasant?”
“I’m always pleasant.” He turned and moved toward the porch steps but didn’t descend. “But I think you know that. You’re the one with the stick up her ass.”
Her temper soared. “I do not have a stick up my ass, Ethan. I feel like shit and you keep pressing my buttons.”
He slipped his aviator shades over his eyes. “Sorry, I’ll be sure not to ask if you need anything again.”
She moved her tongue across the inside of her teeth. A beat passed. He wiped the front of his shirt where a wrinkle creased it and then dropped his hand to his side.
“I know I’m pushing you, and I’m sorry.” His tone was soft, caressing. “To be honest, you have a big, thick wall of armor around you and I’m trying to get inside it.”
Her breath stalled. She kept her gaze on the porch’s wooden planks, waiting for him to say more. Part of her wanted to hear what he had to say, the other part dreaded it.
“You can’t keep doing this, Riley. You need to confide in someone.”
She lifted her head to face him. “I’m not discussing this with you—I can’t.” Her tone lacked venom, and her voice broke on the last part. If she talked about Hanna, she would fall apart. Especially with Ethan.
He held up his hand. “Fine, I won’t push. But I want you to know that if you need help with anything or even just an ear to listen, I’d be more than willing.”
She chortled. “You’d be more than willing to sleep with me is what you mean.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” His eyes sparked at her. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. If that’s all I wanted, I would have obliged last night.”
Now what could she say to that? It was true. He easily could have made love to her all night and she wouldn’t have complained one bit. A dull hum started behind her eyes. She pressed her fingers to her forehead.
“Look, I know that, Ethan. You’re a decent guy, all right? But I have a pounding headache.” Hesitation hardened the protective wall around her. As kind as he was, she couldn’t let this go any further. She was here for one purpose and one purpose only. That in no way included Ethan.
He nodded, concern etched the lines on his face. “All right. I’ll see you around.” He turned from her and froze. She followed his line of vision to Michael, her upstairs neighbor. He stood on the sidewalk, watering the flower bed. She hadn’t noticed him when they’d come outside, all of her attention had been on Ethan.
“How well do you know him?” He nodded at Michael.
Michael’s tall, gangly form moseyed around the flower bed, spraying what looked like freshly planted flowers.
“Michael? Well enough. He lives above me and thankfully he’s a quiet neighbor.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed on Michael. His jaw set in a firm line.
“Why?”
He shook his head and the tension left his face. “Just curious. I’ve only chatted with him a couple of times since moving in.”
She shrugged. “He owns one of the dentist offices in town and mostly keeps to himself. Thanks again, Ethan. I’ll see you later.” She hadn’t meant to sound dismissive, but the nausea built in her belly and she badly needed to anchor it with food and Advil.
“Be careful,” he called, as he descended the stairs, his voice hard. He needed to chill out. Michael was in his midforties and Riley had known him for years, though not as well as she knew most people in town. He was friendly, did a nice job maintaining their shared property and that was as far as her interest went with him. Michael smiled warmly and waved as he made his way toward the flower bed beneath her porch. Ethan skirted across the lawn and waved to Michael.
The entrance to Michael’s unit was a flight of stairs at the side of the house. The white and yellow two-story character home was cheerful and bright, and if it weren’t for Michael’s diligent watering, it wouldn’t be half as nice.
“Morning, Michael.”
He stepped closer, angling the spray at the flowers. His wire-rimmed glasses slid down the long, slim bridge of his nose. With his middle finger, his pushed them up.
“Morning, Riley.” Michael’s gaze drifted over her. Her cheeks burned. She had nothing to be embarrassed about. But Michael’s pinched features told her what he was thinking about Ethan spending the night. Her spine stiffened. Even if it had been a romantic incident, it was none of Michael’s business.
“Morning. The garden looks lovely by the way.”
His dark brown eyes shifted away from Ethan and down to her. “You came home late.” His tone lacked accusation, and was more of an observation but nonetheless her hackles rose. His long finger pushed his glasses up again. Irri
tation bubbled inside her. She opened her mouth to speak, but a soft smile touched his lips, stopping her. His eyes flitted to Ethan’s form as he reached his yard and then back to her face. “Do you like the lilies I planted? I remembered you saying those are your favorite.”
Her brow furrowed. Had she? She couldn’t remember ever mentioning that to him. She shook her head. She must be getting forgetful.
“They’re beautiful, thank you.” She turned to find Ethan hovering outside his front door. She gave him an exaggerated wave. He wiggled his fingers at her, his stubborn smile visible from here. A laugh threatened to bubble from her throat. He was incorrigible “I’ll see you later, Michael.”
She turned and walked inside. The hot eyes of both men on her burned through her skin. One more than the other.
Chapter 9
Ethan tipped his head back and let a huge gulp of water run down his throat. He swallowed, and wiped the sweat that poured down his forehead with his sleeve. His legs shook as he walked back to the squat rack and added more weights.
“You’re killing it today,” Joe called from the dumbbell rack.
Ethan lifted his finger to indicate one minute. He settled his shoulders beneath the bar and lifted the weight. When he finished his last set, he made his way over to the water fountain where Joe was filling his water bottle.
Ethan patted his face with the hand towel around his neck. “Hey, buddy. How was your workout?”
“It paled in comparison to yours.” Joe crossed his arms over his chest. “You should consider joining the police force.”
Ethan let a breath out. “No disrespect, but I’ve been there and done that. It’s not for me.”
“The police force is different than the FBI.”
“I know, but I don’t have the passion for it. I’m glad I bumped into you though, are you all done?”
“Yup, just finished my shift. I’ll be off for the next few days. Something you want to talk about?”
Ethan hefted the strap of his bag over his shoulder and followed Joe to the door. The morning sun painted the sky bright orange. It was going to be another beautiful day. It was Monday, and from what she had mentioned before, that meant Riley was off. Yesterday morning he’d opted not to bring up Hanna. He’d left the door open in hopes that she would come to him…that she would trust him. Stupid move. So far, she’d been a closed book. If he hadn’t proved she could confide in him by now, he never would.
“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about Hanna Wilson. Any new information on her case?”
Slowly, Joe shook his head. “I’m afraid not. When her parents put up that large reward a few weeks ago, we’d hoped we’d get some leads. All it’s gotten us are a few dead ends.”
He remembered hearing about a twenty-five thousand dollar reward for information leading to Hanna’s whereabouts. Damn, if that didn’t bring anyone forward nothing would.
“What about the boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend. And again, a dead end. He and Hanna had broken up two years ago and he’s now engaged and moved three hours away. The weekend Hanna went missing he was on vacation. Already checked his story and it all lines up.”
Ethan stifled a groan. “What about the last place she was seen? Is that still at the night club?”
Joe stopped at his car, opened the rear door, and dropped his bag inside. “Even that has changed. The guy she was seen leaving the bar with ended up putting her in a cab. The cab company confirmed it dropped her off at home. It’s a real bitch. We have nothing to go on except maybe she left on her own accord. Got sick of being a teacher and moved away without telling anyone.”
“Only she left everything behind and didn’t touch her bank accounts, right?”
Joe gave one solid nod. “There’s that. Unless she met some rich guy, but still. It doesn’t add up. It’s like she… disappeared. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn’t be offended if your FBI connections could get involved. We haven’t had anything else suspicious like this in the area, but if you know something we don’t, I’d be happy to hear it.” His brown eyes met Ethan’s. “She was a nice girl. Everyone loved her. She got a little wild in the last year, but Hanna wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
The use of past tense reverberated through his body. Joe suspected she was dead. The evidence—or lack thereof—was damning. Ethan clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll see what I can find out; if you hear anything else, let me know.”
“Sure thing.” Joe’s voice tightened on the words. Hanna’s disappearance had affected the whole town. Everyone he’d spoken to in the last two days had gotten choked up. Raw fear hid in the corners of their eyes. No one wanted to believe it was a friend or neighbor, or someone they’d grown up with. He knew better. The person behind Hanna’s disappearance was right in front of everyone’s faces. Call it intuition, call it experience, he was as sure of it as he was of his name.
He crossed the parking lot to his truck. He just hoped to god they could find her alive. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the number as he climbed in the truck. A grin split his face.
“Hello?”
“Morning, lazy ass.” Nate’s pleasant greeting rang through his ear. He shook his head and started the engine while Bluetooth kicked in and the call came out over the speakers.
“Lazy ass? I just finished a workout. You should try it some time.” He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.
“Sorry, it must be nice to take a hiatus. And I injured my wrist, you know that.” Nate’s tone turned defensive. Since being away, he missed his friends. Ethan and Cal had been like brothers to him since they’d met in the military. When Ethan had finally left recon, Nate had gotten him in with the FBI. At the time, it had seemed like a good fit. It hadn’t taken long for him to outgrow that shoe.
“Yeah, yeah. And we all know how you did that,” Ethan chortled. He and Cal had come up with a million and one stories as to how Nate had hurt his wrist. All great payback for Nate’s constant needling at them over the years.
“When it heals, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“Good luck with that.” Ethan glanced at the clock, his brows knit together. “What the hell bro? It must be the middle of the night there.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” his tone grew heavy. Ethan’s senses rose.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I broke things off with Mandy.” A gulp sounded, alerting Ethan that Nate was drinking. He didn’t sound wasted by any means, so likely just a drink to relax him. Like Ethan and Cal, Nate knew better than to over indulge. Ethan wasn’t surprised to hear about Mandy. Though she had been the most serious relationship Nate had had in years.
“What happened?” In all likelihood, Nate’s commitment fears had stepped in and shaken him up.
“She was married, dude. Didn’t tell me,” he breathed. “How stupid is that? Here I’m thinking she may be the one, and she was going home to her hubby every night.”
Anger bubbled inside him. Nate was obnoxious and sometimes a pain in the ass, but he was a damn loyal friend. “You didn’t deserve that, man. Let it go, move on, the right one is out there somewhere.”
He snorted. “You’re always so damn positive. I don’t think there is a right one for me. Just the right one-nighters. Anyway, I was calling to see where you are. Cal said something about the south.”
“Beaufort, North Carolina.”
“No shit. What brought you there?”
He’d been asked that question a million times since he’d decided to spend the rest of his hiatus here. “I used to spend summers with my grandparents here when I was a kid. Haven’t been back in decades since they died. I didn’t expect to stay here this long though.”
“So what’s making you stay?”
“It’s a nice place, good people. But something else has caught me. A young woman went missing about a month ago. Seems t
o be a cold case. The police are stumped. I was hoping for your assistance actually.”
“Shit, that doesn’t sound good at all. Man, I hate cases like this. Have the detective on her case send me the file. I’ll see what I can find out.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll work on it. Give me a little time.”
“Thanks. In the meantime, I’m going to set you up on online dating. You’re lonely as hell.”
“I’m not lonely. Matter of fact, I just sent someone home.”
He snorted. “If you don’t see that as lonely, then you may have a bigger problem.”
A beat passed. “Eat shit.” A short laugh softened his words. “I’ll touch base with you by the end of the week.”
They disconnected just as Ethan pulled in his driveway. The humidity hit his face as he stepped out, it was going to be sweltering today. And a good day to spend at the beach. His gaze drifted to Riley’s dark windows. He needed to talk to her, but it would be best to sort his thoughts out first. He couldn’t think when she was in front of him. Her big eyes paralyzed him, her movements gentle and sensual without trying. She had no clue the effect she had on him. Spending Saturday night and Sunday morning with her had been torture. But at the same time, it had been easy. Being around Riley was easy. A smile tugged at his mouth as he entered the small one bedroom house. Riley would take a lot of work.
Cold air washed over him. Despite the barriers Riley held up, something was there between them. He just didn’t know what the hell it was.
* * * *
The hot sun beat down on his body, basking him in warmth that radiated to his bones. His sunglasses did little to block the blinding sun. His back tingled telling him it was time to turn over. He pushed himself up and shifted on the towel. His feet hung off the end, coated in sand from his last dip in the ocean. Once he evened out his front, he’d go back in.
“Heads up,” a teenage boy called. A volleyball slammed into the sand next to him. Ethan hefted it into his palm and threw it back to the kid. “Thanks,” he called, and ran back to his group of friends.
Bait Page 9