Page 33

R iley rested her hip against the edge of the pool table. She brought the small glass to her lips and sipped. The sharp taste of vodka tingled her taste buds and she sucked her tongue against the flavor.

Ethan grinned at her, lined his pool stick on the green felt, and stretched across the table.

She swallowed another gulp of the liquid as his T-shirt bunched around his shoulders.

He drew the stick back, and shot it forward like a slingshot.

The pool balls scattered, the soft clunk of at least two balls sounded over the loud bass of the band as they landed in the pocket.

Riley made a face. “Couldn’t you at least pretend to suck at something?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Sorry, turns out I’m better at winning.”

She pushed her hip off the table and stuck out her tongue. He tweaked her chin as she slid past him, her back to his front. His palm landed on her hip, the end of the stick in his other hand rested on the ground.

“Did I mention I like your dress?” He whispered in her ear.

With the screech from the electric guitar that reverberated over the speakers, he could have screamed and no one would have heard him. The scent of whiskey wafted to her nose from his warm breath. A shiver raced over her skin.

“You did as I was trying to put it on, as I got in the car, got out, and just now.” She laughed.

He turned her in his arms and lifted her to sit on the edge of the table and heat scorched between her legs. Her eyes raked around the crowded bar. “Ethan, people are watching us,” she whispered.

His eyes darkened. He’d shaven before they had left, so his normally scruffy jaw at this hour was silky smooth. The depths of his baby blues swallowed her up. His knuckle trailed up the outside of her thigh. She pressed her hand against his, stilling it.

“We need to stay focused,” she chastised. Despite her words, her knee moved against the inside of his thigh.

Ethan cursed. “I told you we should have had a quickie before we left.”

Riley jumped off the table and scooped her stick up from the rack.

Her skin burned under Ethan’s scorching gaze.

His eyes drank her in, lazily trailing over her body.

Her nipples tightened in response. She sauntered to the opposite end of the table where the cue ball rested.

Ethan folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the table.

His black T-shirt made his ice-blue eyes pop, his long, jean-clad legs stretched into the aisle.

She leaned onto the table, rested the stick on her thumb, and whooshed it forward. The balls scattered, two landed into the pocket.

Ethan’s eyebrows shot up. “Holy shit.”

A giggle trapped in her throat. She kept her gaze even.

“You don’t grow up in small town Beaufort without learning how to play pool.

I pretty much spent my weekends at Drew’s.

Don’t feel bad, you’ve got a pretty good game.

” She winked at him and he narrowed his eyes at her, and then lifted his pool stick.

Drew’s had changed in the last decade. The once dated bar had been expanded, allowing for a stage and enclosed patio off the rear of the building. They’d also added several pool tables and a modern-day jukebox.

He took another shot, this one less impressive than the last. “You misled me, now my ego is bruised.”

Riley snorted and moved toward him. His hands landed on her waist, her legs brushed against his. She tipped her head back to look up at him. Even in stilettos, the top of her head came just below his chin. His teeth flashed at her and his eyes lit like blue fire.

“Now that we’re on the same playing field, we might have to make a little wager.”

“Hmm.” Riley pressed the tip of her finger to the corner of her mouth as ideas rolled through her mind.

Ethan leaned forward and nipped the tip of her nose between his teeth. “You’re trouble, you know that? If we didn’t have an ulterior motive here tonight, I’d—”

“Riley.” The voice, teetering on shrill, came from behind her. Riley whirled around in Ethan’s arms. His hands tightened on her hips, but relaxed as soon as Jenny stepped forward.

She pulled Riley into a fierce hug and Ethan stepped around the pool table to greet Eric, Jenny’s husband.

“My god, girl. You need to fill me in,” Jenny hissed.

She’d checked in with her friend during the week, but had avoided the topic of the car accident.

She hadn’t meant to leave Jenny in the dark, but reliving the accident and the other events, was not something she’d wanted to do.

After texting Jenny earlier today to let her know she’d be at Drew’s tonight, she’d expected to get the third degree from her.

But when Jenny planned on going out for a drink, she often invited a lot of patrons from the restaurant.

The more people to witness her and Ethan’s falling out the better.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been a little overwhelmed—”

Jenny pulled away and waved her hand in the air. “Don’t be silly. I’m just glad you’re okay.” The arch of her eyebrow rose and her mouth curved suggestively. “And I think you’re more than okay. You did it, didn’t you? You’re sleeping with Ethan?”

Heat crept into Riley’s cheeks. She scooped her drink up from the edge of the pool table and sipped. The liquor did nothing to calm the tingle in her veins.

Jenny bounced on her toes, her brown hair, straightened for once, danced over her shoulders. “Well?”

“Yes, all right?” She whispered.

Her gaze shifted to where Ethan stood. His eyes locked on her despite Eric’s conversation. A lump hardened in her throat and her cheeks burned even more. She turned her back to Ethan and sipped again.

“You lucky little thing,” Jenny hissed. A laugh burst from Riley and she swatted her friend. “But seriously, how do you handle all of that?”

Riley pinched her arm. “Would you stop staring at him? He’s going to know we’re talking about him.”

“Oh, I think he knows. He looks kind of pissed.” Jenny lifted her shoulder nonchalantly, and zeroed her blue eyes on Riley. “So?”

“He handles me, okay?” She grinned in response, but if she didn’t change the subject, Ethan’s gaze was going to burn a hole through her back. Jenny let out a whoop of laughter and she did nothing to stifle the sound.

Riley hung her head, and slowly glanced over her shoulder again. Ethan shoved his hands in his pockets, his brow furrowed, and his cheeks dark.

Eric shifted his gaze from each of them and scratched his head. At nearly half a foot shorter than Ethan, Eric was lean and slight in comparison. His friendly olive eyes smiled when they landed on Riley and he lifted a hand in a silent wave.

Heat spread through her and she waggled her fingers at him. “You’d better hope Eric doesn’t know what we’re talking about.” She took a big gulp from her cup; its warmth filled her mouth.

Jenny flung her hair over her shoulder. “Are you kidding? He knows Ethan’s a hunk. He admitted to having a man-crush on him.”

Riley snorted and the acrid liquid shot out her nose as she sputtered on a laugh. Jenny snickered and passed her a napkin.

“All right, enough about your sexy boyfriend. You look hot.” Her gaze dropped to the black minidress Riley wore. “Is everything okay?” As if a cloak had been lifted, Jenny’s teasing tone and smile vanished. Concern creased the corners of her eyes, and her arms folded over her white halter top.

Riley’s fingers tangled in her hair as she pushed it back. Okay as in what? Hanna was still missing, someone had broken into her house more than once and tried to kill her five days ago, she’d found a snake in her bed, and now she was physical bait for a psychopath.

“Yeah, I’m good. I’ll be back to work on Tuesday, I’ve just been—”

Jenny held her hand up. “That’s not what I’m asking. It doesn’t matter to me when you come back, though we all miss you and the place runs smoother when you’re there.” Her eyes shifted away and then came back to meet Riley’s. “I just worry, you know? What happened that night?”

Nausea mixed with vodka roiled in her stomach, threatening to heave onto the floor.

Jenny was referring to the night of the car accident.

She couldn’t go over that again. She owed it to her friend to tell her what happened, but not now.

The last thing she needed to get was cold feet in the midst of catching Hanna’s captor.

The weight of every eye in the room pinned her in the back. She took a deep shuddering breath and fought the terror that clawed at her throat. “I can’t talk about it right now, okay? Let’s talk on Tuesday over lunch.”

Warm, hard fingers closed over her upper arm and spun her around. She teetered on a wave from the liquor as her gaze came into focus on Nate’s face.

“Rye, good to see you, babe.” He pulled her into a hug, his hands moved over her back and heat crept up her chest.

She backed out of Nate’s reach and looked up into his smiling green eyes. “Damon, what are you doing here?”

The false name rolled off her tongue and her brows pinched together. He’d caught her off guard, but that had also been part of the plan. Her reaction needed to be on point.

Out of the corner of her eye, more than a dozen pairs of eyes rested curiously on them.

One pair was Ethan’s and curiosity didn’t cover it.

His arms folded tightly over his chest, his brows snapped down and his jaw locked.

Had this not been entirely fabricated, she’d have been sweating bullets for poor Damon.

Nate coasted the back of his knuckles over her arm. “I missed you. You’ve been gone more than a month, baby. I thought I’d surprise you.” His voice was soft and thick, yet slightly affronted. Riley took a deep breath, the rehearsed words clotted on her tongue.

Jenny moved from behind her. “I’m going to grab a drink with Eric. Catch you later, Riley.” Jenny’s gaze moved over Nate and her eyes narrowed disapprovingly.

Nate smiled and stepped forward, his hand circling her waist. “Let’s go talk, honey.”