The way he said it… She almost didn’t want to ask. “Was she…”
“She wasn’t alive.”
Air stuttered into her lungs, and she almost stumbled back. Dead. The woman was dead.
Ethan gripped her hips. “I needed to come here. I needed to hold you.”
She leaned into his chest, pressing her palms flat against him. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
“And I’m sorry about tonight. That I didn’t tell you I wasn’t okay the second I stepped into The Pancake Bar.”
“Next time, I need you to tell meeverything. If this is going to work, I need to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. And fuck, I really want this to work.”
“Okay.”
“Thank God.” He kissed her forehead.
She slipped her fingers through his and tugged him toward the bed.
As she climbed beneath the covers, he toed off his shoes and took off everything but his briefs. The second he was in bed, his arms went around her. It felt like a band of protection between her and the outside world.
Finally, she slept.
22
Ethan scanned the article on his phone. Above it sat a photo of Priya Tan.
Fuck.
He strode past the gazebo. It had been three days since they’d found her body. He was surprised it had taken them so long to write about her death in the local paper.
What had happened? Had the person who’d pulled her from the car drowned her? Why?
They had no idea because there was no evidence. No fingerprints or forgotten items.
He was about to shove his cell into his pocket when a message popped up.
He frowned. It was a Facebook message. He never used Facebook Messenger. And it was from Maggie.
Maggie: Hey.
Ethan: Why are you messaging me here?
Maggie: Because I’m working and my laptop’s open and it’s easy.
Maggie: I miss you.
Ethan: Because the two hours since we woke is too long?
Maggie: Only two hours? Feels like longer.
Ethan: How are you feeling today?
She’d been playing it off like she was okay since that night with her aunt, but she wasn’t. Not completely. Lilith had wanted to mess with Maggie’s head, and she’d done exactly that.
There was a small pause before she responded. He almost messaged her again when finally, her response came through.
