Page 83 of Wrecked By a Devil

I click on the attachment and download a selfie from Mia. I should be relieved, shouldn’t I? My friend just got back to me and she says she’s fine. Her explanation makes perfect sense, I know how easily things can get messy at work.

Then why do I still feel uneasy? The messages don’t even sound like her and I can’t help but wonder how convenient their timing was. What are the odds of me receiving that photo not even an hour after Zeke’s brothers go out to look for her?

I try forcing myself to chew on one of the cookies, but my mind is still on that photo. On her explanation. I can’t even bring myself to reply to her yet.

“Fuck it,” I unlock my phone and open the selfie again, hoping that maybe if I stare at it long enough, I’ll notice something, anything that could give me some sort of answer.

A part of me wishes more than anything that I’m overreacting and she is indeed fine. That it is actually Mia writing me. But I can’t shake the feeling that something is off.

“How are you?” I don’t even notice when Zeke walks back into the office until he sits next to me on the sofa, his body hovering over mine as he leans on the backrest of the sofa with one hand.

“She messaged me,” I sigh, showing him the messages from Mia. “And sent a selfie.”

“That is good.” He looks relieved, but after meeting my eyes, his eyes get dark again. “You don’t think she’s the one who sent you this.”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “It should all make sense, right? But I can’t shake this feeling. I can’t really explain it either.”

Zeke’s hand cups the side of my face, holding me still as he studies my face. I can see the wheels behind his eyes turn while he’s thinking.

“I believe you,” he says in a low voice.

“You do?” I’m relieved that he doesn’t think I’m crazy or paranoid. Or both.

Zeke nods. “I will tell Elijah to continue the search, and if it turns out we were wrong, it’ll be a win. If we’re right…”

He doesn’t have to finish that thought. A part of me is doing internal backflips at the way he so casually used the word “we”. But even with him so close to me, smelling like the most irresistible temptation, I can’t fully relax and stop worrying.

“Let’s do something,” he raises my hand to his lips and kisses my fingers gently. “We’ll go to my apartment now and you’ll try to get some rest.”

“But I think we should help Elijah with the search,” I protest. “I think we should go to her place and the her work…”

“Riley,” Zeke gives me a small smile. “You’re exhausted. You haven’t eaten anything and you look like you’re going to pass out any minute now.”

“But…”

“No,” he shakes his head with determination. “Elijah is the best person to be in charge of this. No one can hide from him and Cain, trust me.”

“I do,” I sigh, weakly.

“Good.” He gets up on his feet, reaching out his arm for me to take. “Then let’s get you some food.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Riley

“Ice-cream?” Zeke joins me on the sofa in the open concept living room of his penthouse carrying two white bowls.

“Please,” I lean forward, still wrapped in the warm, white blanket, and take one of the bowls from him. My face lights up when I see it’s coconut and vanilla, or at least I think it is. “How did you know?”

“I didn’t,” He gives me a small smile, grabbing the corner of the blanket and joining me underneath. “It’s my favorite.”

“Wow,” I force myself to laugh but the sound comes out weird. “Who would have thought I have something in common with Ezekiel Kavanagh.”

“Aside from taste in movies,” he raises his eyes from the bowl and heat spreads through my entire body remembering everything that we did at the movie theater last night.

“Aside from that…”

I glance at my phone on the coffee table again, hoping it will light up with a phone call from Mia. Not even Zeke has managed to distract me from the thoughts that are still haunting me.