“Ten.”
“On it.” There’s a clicking of fingers on the other line, telling me she’s likely typing on her laptop. “Anything else?”
Ryder turns back to us, his eyes on me, regarding me closely. For a split second, I think he’s going to change his mind about helping me. Instead, he only ups his game. “Get a crew here to fingerprint the room. Let’s see what that turns up.”
A pause. Then Alex asks, “Why such a request?”
“There’s blood all over the bathroom here at the hotel.”
Without a hitch to her voice—telling me these kinds of things are very normal for her—Alex asks, “We’ll get the team to clean up before they leave, but do we know whose blood it is?”
That’s when I pipe up. “I’m a blood relative of Evan’s. Why don’t we test my blood so we can find out if it’s his?”
“That makes sense,” Ryder agrees with a nod, then glances down at the cellphone in his hand. “Have the team bring a kit with them.”
“Will do.”
The phone line goes dead, and Ryder stuffs it back into his pocket. “Let me look around the area a little bit, see if anything stands out as unusual.”
I’m not exactly sure what he thinks he’ll find, but clearly Ryder and his team are professionals so I keep the thought to myself. “Before you go, shouldn’t we involve the police?”
Ryder shakes his head and gently explains, “In these personal matters where it involves family it’s usually best not to involve the police until we have a better understanding of what your brother has gotten himself into. When the police swoop in, everyone will be arrested, including your brother.”
Gabe adds, “Ryder has a team that is equivalent to, if not better than, the SFPD. You don’t have to worry here. You’re in good hands.”
I smile at him as Ryder continues. “Besides, the moment the police come in, we’ll be shut out entirely. Do you want to be at the front of this situation or behind it?”
“In front,” I agree without hesitation. “But at what point do we involve the police?”
“If we find someone dead,” Ryder replies flatly. At my cringe, he says gently, “One step at a time here. I’ll find your brother, McKenna, do not doubt that. I’ve got an expert team behind me. And I also have an excellent working relationship with the police department. They stay out of my way, I stay out of theirs. They are fully aware of what I do and how I do it, but in the end, we’re fighting the same fight. If we need to involve the police, we will. All right?”
“Yes, thank you for that.” He gives a gentle smile, and it’s then I realize there’s another question left unanswered. “So, how exactly does this all work?”
Ryder arches a single brow. “How does what work?”
“Paying you and your team.” I release Gabe’s hand, stepping away from him, feeling a little more like me again. “You don’t do this work for free so how do I pay you?”
The side of Ryder’s mouth lifts, and to me, it looks like he suddenly respects me more than he did a minute ago. “Consider this on the house.”
Before I can say anything more on that matter, he’s left the room.
I sigh and glance over my shoulder at Gabe, who’s grinning at me. “I can’t have him do this for free,” I tell him sternly. “I mean, he’s paying his employees to work.”
“This isn’t something you need to worry about,” says Gabe, voice serious, as he approaches me. “Alex isn’t hurting for money, nor is Ryder.” When he reaches me, he brushes his hands down my arms, bringing goosebumps. “Let’s keep our focus where it belongs, on finding Evan.”
I swallow back emotion. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Whatever you do,” Gabe states, “please do not thank me.”
I take that to mean part of his motive behind helping is because he thinks he owes this to me, but I already forgave him, understanding the why behind his actions. I glance away, looking around the room, unable not to think about how afraid Evan must have felt. Panic begins to creep, making my heart race, turning my palms clammy.
I’ve seen enough police procedure shows to know that all of this is going to take time. The DNA results won’t be immediate, and even if they get fingerprints, it’s going to take forever to run them all, then cross-check all those names. It’s a hotel, there are bound to be thousands of prints in this room.
I don’t know what I’ll do without him . . .
Suddenly, Gabe’s fingers are on my chin, and he’s shaking my face a little. “I see the worry, but like Ryder said, take one step at a time. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. We’ve got Ryder on this, and believe me, there is no one better to find Evan. All
right?”