Apparently, Ria was not the naïve girl I’d thought she was.
* * *
I pounded on the grand door for the third time before anyone answered.
He was a guard—one of the same ones who’d been here last night. “Can I help you, boy?”
“I need to speak with Abe,” I said.
“He’s busy.” The door began to shut.
I slapped a hand against it, holding it in place. “Tell him it’s life or death.”
He stepped forward, fury igniting his gaze. “I just told you—”
“Sweetie,” —Ria gave a smile as she stepped toward him, placing a ginger hand on his bicep— “you’ve got to forgive Declan. He’s usually a lot calmer, but his girlfriend—you remember her, don’t you? She was here last night with him.”
He glanced her over, brows furrowing, but harshness in his expression softening. “Vaguely.”
“She turned up missing this morning.” Ria’s eyes grew doe-like, almost innocent. It disgusted me that a burst of arousal floated from his skin at it. “He’s so scared something happened to her, and see, the last place she was seen was here. We think she was drugged by one of your wolves.”
The guard’s face screwed up. “We don’t do that.”
“Someone did,” I said. “She fainted driving home. Then someone pulled up beside her and abducted her from her car. It was all caught on a security camera. We’ll turn it over to the cops if we don’t find her soon, but when they start digging, I’ll tell them we were here if no one helps me. This isn’t just about Brooke.” To me, it was, but he didn’t need to know that. “This is an exposure risk.”
His posture stiffened. “Have a seat in the sitting room. I’ll talk to Abe.”
As he turned up the stairs, I glanced at Ria. “Not bad.”
She smirked. “Men are easy to manipulate.”
* * *
It couldn’t have been more than five minutes that we were waiting, but each second felt like a thousand.
Who was he? Who’d drugged her? Was it Tommy? He’d only been sitting beside her for a few seconds before the fight broke out—I’d have seen if he slipped something in her drink.
No, it had to have been one of the guys who’d stormed in to break us apart.
But it all happened so fast, and I couldn’t fucking remember—
“What is it, Declan?” Abe’s tone was annoyed at best when he walked through the cased opening, and pissed at worst. “I have a plane to catch at—”
“Brooke’s missing, and one of your wolves are responsible.” I stood and cut away at the distance between us. “I need to know who broke me and Tommy up and who left at what time.”
His brows furrowed. “That girl?”
“Yes,that girl,” I snapped. “She was drugged, and she passed out driving home. She could’ve died, and—”
“Declan, I will help you, but you need to lower your voice when you speak to me.”
I inhaled sharply, exhaled slowly, and carefully released my tight jaw.
“How do you know she was drugged?”
“There was vomit next to her car, and she fainted inside of it.” Ria stepped up beside me, extending her hand. “Ria. I’m Brooke’s sister.”
He shook her palm and gave me a questioning expression. “It isn’t possible that she had too much to drink?”