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“Ethan!” Riley’s shriek reverberated through his eardrums and tore through him. He jumped off the chair. She slammed into him as soon as his feet hit the ground. Her fingers clawed at him and her screams echoed through the house. His gaze zeroed in on the bed.

“Shit.” His heart slammed in his chest. He shoved her behind him and leapt to the bed.

His fingers closed over the head of a snake, stilling it before it could slither off the bed.

Its tongue jutted out angrily, and its yellow-bellied tail whipped in warning.

“Grab that pillowcase, honey. It’s okay, it’s a king snake. It’s not venomous, but hurry up.”

She raced to the other side of the bed, pulled the pillow out, and handed him the case.

She made her way behind him, keeping her distance.

He lowered the snake’s tail into it, then dropped its head in, and wound the top into a tight knot.

He dropped the snake on the bed, grabbed her shoulders, and crushed her to his chest. His fist tangled in her hair, pressing her face into his throat.

Her shoulders shook violently, her hands knotted in the shirt at his abdomen.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I was sitting on the bed and felt something move against my leg.” Her voice shook. “I pulled back the covers, and it was there… It was in the bed,” she whispered against his neck.

“I know, babe.”

“Someone put it there.”

“Yeah,” he ground out. And when he found out who, the bastard wouldn’t live to breathe a word. Whoever was behind this had intended to scare the shit out of her. Every muscle in his body coiled as tight as a guitar string.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, and released her hold on him. She pulled back, but didn’t move out of his arms.

“How did you know what to do?” Her eyes, wide and clouded, swept over him.

His fingers flexed on her back. With his free hand, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear that had come loose. “My cousin terrorized me with snakes when I was growing up. I either had to learn how to handle them or let him humiliate me.”

Her eyebrows snapped down and her eyes darkened. “Nice cousin.”

Ethan shrugged. “I got payback and he learned a lesson.”

The snake let loose a low, angry hiss from the bed. It thrashed in the pillowcase. Her body tensed in his arms. “Let’s get out of here.” Her chin trembled, but she firmed her jaw, stopping it.

“You got it.” He wrapped his arm over her shoulders and led her from the room. “Do you need anything else?”

She shook her head wildly. “No. If I forgot something, I’ll buy it.”

His tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek as he propelled her through the house and out the door. He hustled her across the lawn and toward his house.

“Should we call someone about the—”

“I’ll handle it, babe. I’ll call Joe. Just hang tight, I need to call someone else.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.

“Who?”

“A friend. I’ve had enough of this shit.” His hand tightened on his phone.

Enough was right. He should have done this a long time ago.

Nate answered on the second ring. “What’s up, dude?”

He opened the door and ushered Riley inside ahead of him. “Nate. I need a favor.”

***

The FBI agent had to go. He was fucking everything up. Last night, she had almost been his for good. He’d been so close.

Sweat rolled down the back of his neck as he tucked the framed picture into his briefcase.

A thrill raced over him. He couldn’t wait to see Hanna’s reaction.

He started the ignition on the Ford Focus he normally drove.

It would be a long time before he could chance anyone repairing the damage to the Dodge.

They must not have gotten his plate number, otherwise he’d have been arrested by now. He couldn’t let that happen.

He was getting sloppy. Riley coming home was something he hadn’t been prepared for.

Like Hanna, she had always been sweet and kind. Too sweet. The kind of sweet that showed complete disregard for who he was and the chemistry between them.

Hanna’s gentle, “I’m sorry, I don’t have feelings for you that way.” Echoed through him. Yet, she went out meeting random men when he was here, responsible and dependable. But she had those feelings for him now, he’d just had to show her. His fingers shook on a wave of desire.

Now Riley would be his too. The two of them together, who would have thought he’d be so lucky? Anticipation throbbed through him.

He pulled away from the curb and headed back to work.

He couldn’t afford any strange behavior, and him being away for more than an hour was definitely out of character.

He had to tread carefully and pray that no one remembered that he had two vehicles.

As long as he laid low and kept to himself, he’d disappear. Just like he always had.

Had they found the snake? From where he’d been parked, he hadn’t been able to hear any screams. Anger swirled inside him. She was supposed to find that last night, but instead she’d stayed with her new boyfriend.

He had to find a way to separate Riley from the FBI agent.

Ethan had stepped in at the wrong time and with the wrong woman.

When Riley went missing, Ethan had the big guns that could destroy everything.

He had to make it look like an accident, but something happening to Ethan after last night would raise some eyebrows.

He didn’t want to waste any more damn time, but he couldn’t get caught.

Once Ethan was gone, everything would be perfect.