She shakes her head. “Again, I’m so sorry that I can’t give you more information, but that’s all I know. And I’m guessing by all these questions that something’s wrong?”
“We can’t find him, and I’m worried about his safety.”
Her face fills with emotion, and in the honest concern in her expression I see she cares for Evan. “If he calls me or if I see him, I’ll let Trevor know so he can call you.”
“We’d appreciate that,” Gabe replies. He turns to me then, studies my face long and hard, and then sighs before adding to Sally, “Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.”
“I hope, truly do hope, everything’s okay,” she responds.
I don’t know if it’s her words, her worry, or something else, but the reality of Evan’s absence suddenly crashes into me. It’s like I don’t even know my brother, and right now, I only want him back. I want him safe.
Gabe’s warm voice suddenly pulls me out of the coldness. “Would you mind giving us the room for a minute?”
“Not at all.” Trevor rises and quickly ushers Sally out of the room.
When the door clicks shut, Gabe leans forward on my chair and takes my hands in his, asking softly, “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” I shake my head. “No.” I shake it again. “I don’t know.”
His thumbs brush the backs of my hands, his warmth chasing the ice away. “While I have an idea, first we need to discuss this. I must report our findings to Ryder.”
“Right,” I say, pulling myself back together. “What are you thinking?”
Eyes fixated on mine, he says, “There are two things in what Sally said that interest me. One, it’s possible that Evan has pissed off a loan shark.”
I nod. “It’s something I considered, too. But what’s the other reason you’re thinking?”
“He’s talked too much about the money he’s received from the tabloids and someone wants it.”
My stomach roils as that possibility is one I hadn’t considered. “I’m still counting on the fact that it isn’t Evan at all, because those options aren’t good.”
“No, McKenna, they aren’t.” Gabe reaches into his pocket and takes out his cellphone, dialing Ryder.
“Any news on your front?” is how Ryder answers the call.
“We’ve had an interesting development,” Gabe reports, and then he proceeds to update Ryder on all that Sally told us.
“That is an interesting development,” says Ryder when Gabe finishes. “Let me see what we can find out on this poker game.”
“Any word on the DNA of the blood?” I ask before he hangs up.
“Not yet,” Ryder replies, his voice gentler than when he talked to Gabe. “These things take time. Believe me, when I know, you’ll know.”
The phone lin
e goes dead, and Gabe tucks his cell back into his pocket, turning all his focus back onto me. He leans forward, getting oh-so-close, letting me feel all the warmth he exudes. “Now for that idea I had, we can either go home, curl up, and wait for Ryder to call. Or how about I show you around the club while we wait for his call?”
My mouth parts, shuts, then opens again. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” he says with a knee-weakening smile. “The choice is yours.”
A slow heat tickles up my spine at the promise in his eyes, and I grin. “Show me.”
Chapter 7
Gabe
Half an hour of watching sex, lust, and seduction had gone by. I had watched McKenna’s every move when we’d entered each space, gauging her reaction to how she felt about the club. By the time we reached the dungeon of the club, where one of the submissives had been deep in a spanking scene, I knew, without a doubt, McKenna shivered with a hunger that I fully understood.