Page 65 of Forever my Love

ChapterTwenty-One

Hailey was very thankful for work the next day. Even more thankful for the people in Pride when she was greeted with hugs and well wishes.

She was home. She had finally found a place that she would fight to stay in. She knew that Harper felt the same way.

Not only were Reece’s freezer and refrigerator filled with enough food to feed an army, but the cupboards were also packed with canned food as well.

And Corey and Carter had gone out of their way to accommodate her hours so she could make up her missed time if she wanted to.

At first, she was worried that she would miss the extra money in her bank account, but then Reece reminded her of the nine hundred dollars that she’d won in Vegas before the fight, so she wasn’t too concerned about catching up on her hours.

What mattered most to her was helping Reece get back in shape.

Sometime before dinner, Harper and Nick strolled into Baked.

She hugged her sister and took her break to eat dinner with them.

“I stopped by Reece’s place before I got off shift and filled him in on the hunt. Fred was spotted at a gas station just outside of Reno. He purchased a truck with cash just outside of Vegas.”

“Reno?” Hailey frowned. “Does that mean he’s heading back here?”

“No,” Nick answered quickly. “What it means is we have the make, model, and license plate of the vehicle and have all states looking out for him. He won’t get a chance to get back in the state.”

Hailey tried to relax, but Reno was only a ten-hour drive or so from Pride. The man had made it halfway back to town before being spotted.

After her sister and Nick left, she tried to keep her spirits up. Tried to stay focused on work. In the end, she left work with a slight headache and a stomachache from only having half a slice of pizza during dinner.

The moment she stepped into the house, Reece was there to greet her. Seeing her face, he wrapped his arms around her and held on.

“What’s wrong?” he asked after a moment.

“He’s made it to Reno already,” she said with a sniffle.

Reece sighed. “Yeah. But think of this as a good thing. We know where he’s going. Did you ever watch Scooby Doo?”

She frowned and leaned back. “The cartoon?”

He nodded and smiled at her as he took her hand and walked slowly into the kitchen. “It’s time we lay a trap.”

She rolled her eyes. “This is real life.”

“So do you think the man is smart enough to know that we’d lay a trap for him?” he asked her.

“I don’t think Fred is smart at all. After all, he shot at you and tried to kidnap me in the middle of a crowded hotel,” she pointed out.

Reece nodded. “Nick and I have a few ideas.”

“Such as?” she asked, sitting down at the bar.

“Let’s heat up one of these meals and I’ll go over them with you.”

Once they had heated up a massive pan of shepherd’s pie, which apparently was made by Iian Jordan, and were sitting at the kitchen table, Reece ran through a few ideas.

All of them use Nick or Reece as bait.

“This is stupid.” She set her fork down. “Fred isn’t after you or Nick. He would hurt you to get to us. But I don’t think he’d hunt you down.”

“He will when—” Reece started, but she held up her hand to stop him.