“I know.” He kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger there a little longer than normal. When his blue eyes met hers once more, they were filled with fierce determination. “We’re going to find this guy, Riley. I promise you. We’re going to find him.”
“I love you.” Funny, the words she’d feared fell so easily from her lips.
She hadn’t planned on blurting them out like that. Whenever Riley imagined herself finally telling Eric how she truly felt about him, she thought it would be in a romantic setting.
One with candles and flowers. A nice dinner and maybe some soft music playing in the background.
She’d certainly never pictured her declaration of love taking place at his parents’ beach house while a thunderstorm brewed overhead.
But maybe that’s exactly how it was supposed to be for them. Maybe this was the exact right moment to reveal what she’d been hiding from him all this time.
Because a stormwascoming. One so dark and deadly, Riley couldn’t bring herself to imagine the damage it may cause.
There was no way to predict when or where it would hit. She only knew it was headed their way.
Eric closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. “I love you, too, Riles,” he whispered softly. “Pretty sure I have from the moment I first saw you.”
Thank God.
She’d suspected his feelings for her ran deep but hearing him actually say the words...that meant everything to her.
You told him how you feel. Now you need to make him understand exactly what that means.
She pulled away to look up at him. “If this guy comes after you—”
“He won’t.”
Eric’s hands fell from her face, but they didn’t go far. With a gentle yet firm grip, he wrapped his fingers around the tops of her arms. Almost as though he were afraid to let her go.
I’m not going anywhere. But I do need to say this.
Raising a palm to his scruff-covered cheek, Riley kept her eyes locked with his, allowing him to see the truth in her next words.
“I love you, Eric,” she told him again. “So, if the man we’re after tries to hurt you, I won’t bother with cuffs or reading him his rights. I won’t think about the law or worry about the case. You need to know that, if he comes anywhere near you, I won’t arrest him. I’ll fucking kill him.”
Riley knew the admission could very well change the way he felt about her. But he needed to see her for who she truly was.
For the woman she’d become.
All her life, Riley had seen the world in terms of black and white. Right or wrong. She’d trusted in the system and believed justice would always prevail. No matter what.
But that was before last night.
Before she’d spent far too long thinking Maggie was being tortured and killed.
Before she realized just how close the killer had gotten. To her and to the people she loved.
So she’d made it very clear, leaving no doubt as to what would happen if the bastard went after the man she loved.
I won’t lose him. Not to this monster. Not to anyone.
And Eric, he...wasn’t running away.
His fingers dug in deeper. He held on tighter. And the blues in his eyes darkened with each word of his deadly vow.
“We’re going to bring this guy down, Riley. Together.”
Riley didn’t wait for him to lean in for a kiss. Instead, she fisted the front of his shirt and pulled his mouth to hers.
