Chloe made him so fucking happy that when it ended he was bound to come crashing down.
Don’t think about that now. This is about Chloe.
Right now, everything was about the woman who made his chest hurt, an unfamiliar ache that he wasn’t sure was ever going to go away. She was smiling, laughing, and happy and Gabe felt like it was one of the greatest accomplishments he’d ever had. Chloe was born to be sweet and happy. Anything else was completely unacceptable. Her sexy sensuality was inherent. She didn’t need to do a damn thing to make him hard. It just happened immediately, every damn time he saw her. It was hard for him to fathom that any man would ever want to change her, make her ashamed of any part of her.
She was pretty damn flawless as far as he was concerned. Now that the real Chloe was steadily coming back, she was fucking perfection.
“Do you have a minute? I was looking for Chloe, but your cook said she was gone.” The male voice came from the doorway of Gabe’s downstairs office.
He looked up from the paperwork he wasn’t really reading and saw Zane Colter standing at the entrance to his office.
“Yeah. I’m not busy. Chloe went to Tate and Lara’s place. She should be back pretty soon.”
Of all the Colter brothers, Gabe knew Zane the least. He was close to Marcus because he’d spent a lot of time with him and Blake as kids, and Blake was his best friend. Zane was the youngest male, just a year and half older than Chloe. Barely into his thirties, he was already known for having one of the greatest scientific minds in the world.
“Come on in.” Gabe motioned to a chair in front of his desk. “What’s up? Do you have news on Ellie?” While Gabe wanted Chloe to know what happened to her friend, he was also afraid of how finding her body would hurt her. When there was no news, there was still hope.
Zane unceremoniously sat down in the chair. “No. I just wanted to see how she was doing. I’m going to be around for Thanksgiving. I just decided to come a little early.”
Gabe eyed the quiet man carefully. Zane was the type of guy who would hold everything close to his chest¸ never giving away a secret. He had no idea that Gabe already knew about Chloe’s miscarriage, and all about her relationship with James, so Zane probably thought he had to tread carefully. “You think she’s dead?” Gabe asked bluntly.
Zane shrugged a pair of broad shoulders that were encased in a warm sweater. He was wearing jeans, and what appeared to be a comfortable pair of hiking boots. A brief thought flitted through Gabe’s mind that Zane looked exactly like what he was…a science geek. He kind of liked that about the youngest Colter brother.
“I’m not certain. I can’t find any proof that she is.”
“You’re still looking?”
Zane nodded. “Yeah. Chloe ran herself ragged for the first month. She spent every day going to places that Ellie talked about, places she went, but there was no sign of her. I was afraid she’d fall over from exhaustion and desperation. I told her that since I’ve hit a wall in my research project, I’d keep looking. I haven’t turned up much of anything. Ellie lived a quiet life. Other than Chloe, she has a few friends, but none of them have seen her since she disappeared. I’ve studied her habits, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
“How does somebody just disappear without a single clue as to what happened to them?” Gabe grumbled. “You would think someone knows something.”
“They do. But they aren’t talking,” Zane reasoned.
Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “You suspect something.”
“Gut instinct, yes. But I have no proof,” Zane replied calmly.
“James?” Gabe was convinced that slimy bastard was capable of just about anything, which was why he got nervous whenever Chloe left his property. He wanted her to have her freedom, but he was also worried about her running into James.
“Yes. But there’s no real reason to believe it’s him.”
“I believe it. He tortured and mind fucked Chloe so badly that it’s taking a lot of time for her to feel normal again,” Gabe blurted out without thinking.
“I know,” Zane answered, his voice vibrating with regret. “We weren’t there for her. I don’t know why any of us didn’t see it.”
“Because she didn’t want you to. She was embarrassed. She hid it well. Too well.” There was no reason for Zane to be blaming himself now. James was over for Chloe, and nobody had seen the real truth.
“You know everything?” Zane asked flatly.
Gabe nodded. He and Zane were allies, and Chloe’s brother was trying to find clues to Ellie’s whereabouts. He didn’t mind affirming the guy’s suspicions.
“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you myself,” Zane warned fiercely.
Gabe held up his hand in surrender. “I’m not about to hurt her. I’m trying to help her. She likes working here, and she’s happy.”
“I know. I talk to her on the phone every day. It was one of the reasons I wanted to visit. She sounds…better.” The murderous expression left Zane’s face, replaced by a look of concern. “But I’m not certain she’s ready for another relationship.”
“I think you need to let her decide what she does and doesn’t want,” Gabe told him rationally. “She’s spent years under another man’s thumb. Don’t make her live in the shadows again because you’re afraid she’ll get hurt.”
Zane’s gaze met Gabe’s, a gray-eyed stare so much like Chloe’s that it made Gabe soften toward the other man. He wanted his sister to heal and find peace. Gabe couldn’t fault the guy for caring.