“I wish he’d do something to give me some help. I’m used to observation, but this case is personal. Something happened to Ellie, and I need to find out what and why. She wouldn’t have just run off. She doesn’t have the type of personality,” Zane rumbled.
Gabe got up to show him out. “What was she really like?” he asked as he climbed the stairs. He talked to Chloe about her friend, but he never pushed for details. He was afraid it might be too painful for her right now.
Zane was so silent for a moment that Gabe wasn’t sure he was going to answer. Finally, he spoke. “Sweet. Very organized, and incredibly smart. But she has a stubborn streak. She could have done anything with her life, but she chose to skip college and help her mother by going to work right after she graduated. I wanted to help her, but she refused to accept any financial help from me or Chloe. By the time her mom remarried and was more financially stable, Ellie thought it was too late for her to go back to school. She stayed in a dead-end job because it was safe. Probably working for James as his office manager seemed like a major step up. But it ended up being her downfall.”
“We don’t know that,” Gabe reminded him as both men stopped when they reached the front door.
“I think we do,” Zane answered, sounding angry now. “But I’ll find her, even if it means I’ll only be bringing her body back to Rocky Springs. She loved it here. She belongs here.”
Gabe slapped him on the back, feeling a little guilty for hoping the body wouldn’t be recovered because it would be painful for Chloe. He hadn’t really known Ellie, but now that he knew how much Zane wanted to bring her home, Gabe wanted that, too. It would probably be best to get closure for everyone, including Chloe, Zane, and Ellie’s family. “Good luck.”
Zane slipped out the door with a single nod. Gabe closed it behind him.
If James was responsible for Ellie’s disappearance or death, Zane was going to figure it out. Chloe’s brother was determined and he was pissed, two things that were very powerful when mixed together.
Although he’d been speaking of the power that Tate, Marcus, and Blake held, Zane had the same influence. He was at the top of his field, and well-known by just about anyone who studied science. He was also incredibly wealthy, and knew the same people his brothers did.
Gabe glanced out the window, noting that it was dark now. He wished Chloe would come home. He got twitchy when she was out in town after dark alone.
Unable to stop himself, he reached into his pocket and sent a text.
I miss you.
He waited, his heart racing, for a reply.
I miss you, too. On my way home.
Gabe released a sigh of relief, glad that she was safe, and elated because she considered the ranch home.
“Damn!”
Chloe cursed as she felt the pull on her steering wheel, knowing her tire was either flat or getting there fast.
She slowed on the desolate two-lane highway that led out of town and to Walker Ranch, pissed at herself because she knew she was going to have to call Gabe. She’d had a flat awhile back, and hadn’t bothered to replace the spare tire. She’d lost one of her rims and the tire when she’d been out searching for Ellie, and replacing it had slipped her mind entirely.
I’ll get a lecture from Gabe.
Chloe smiled, knowing it wouldn’t be a scolding, but more of a diatribe on how she had to look after her safety. Gabe worried more about her than how she behaved. From now on, he’d check her truck regularly, and probably blame himself because he hadn’t done it before.
Only Gabe would blame himself for her carelessness.
She slowed the truck carefully and pulled off to the side of the road, getting out of the way of traffic—not that there was much of it at this hour. Once a person got outside of town, the surrounding areas were pretty sparsely populated.
She shut down the vehicle, leaned across the passenger seat, and opened the glove compartment, fumbling for the flashlight.
“Gotcha,” she said in triumph, curling her fingers around the compact light.
Hopping out of the truck, she left the driver door open for extra illumination, and made her way to the front of the vehicle first. The tire on the driver’s side was fine; the one on the passenger side was almost as flat as a pancake.
Chastising herself again for not having a spare, she resigned herself to calling Gabe to come pick her up. She could call Tate. She’d just come from her brother’s house, and she knew he and Lara were still awake. But Gabe was closer, and for some reason he was her number one choice of a person to call when she was in trouble.
It was funny how she’d come to appreciate his support, knowing he’d actually want her to call him. He wouldn’t make her feel like she was a bother, or that she was inconveniencing him at all. In fact, he’d come just because…he cared.
She barely knew how to handle someone like Gabe, but she was learning, and his affection and kindness meant so much to her.
That’s what a normal relationship should be like.
Not having ever had someone normal in her life when it came to men, the difference between her ex and Gabe seemed like a rather startling contrast.
“But it’s so damn good,” Chloe whispered to herself as she moved to the door of her truck and jumped back up into the high seat. She scooped up her cell phone to call Gabe.
The phone only rang once before he answered.
“Chloe. Where are you?” His greeting was abrupt, husky with concern.
“Stranded,” she confessed into the phone. “I have a flat, and I forgot to replace the spare.”