“I want her to be happy. I don’t care how she does it,” Zane conceded. “I just don’t want her to get burned again.”
“If it’s any consolation, she told me flat out that she’s using me,” Gabe told him seriously. “I’m more likely to get wounded by this whole thing. I care about your sister. There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to see her stay happy.”
Zane was silent for a moment before he replied. “I believe you. She sounds better. Just keep it that way.”
Gabe grinned. “I plan on it. I’ll go crying in my beer when she kicks me to the curb.” Although the statement was meant to make Zane feel more certain of him, Gabe was afraid there might be more than a little truth in his words.
“Better you than her,” Zane shot back at him, a small smile on his otherwise serious face.
“Anything I can do to help search for Ellie? I’ve got a jet and helicopter if you need it,” Gabe offered.
“I’ve got them, too. Air search hasn’t turned up anything. I’m more or less spinning my wheels right now. The police are less and less interested in the case as time passes. I’m not saying they don’t care, but I get the feeling that they think an extensive search is futile now.”
“What do you think?” Gabe asked curiously, wondering why Zane wasn’t giving up.
“I think if I’m stubborn enough I’ll find a way to get to the truth. Ellie deserves that.”
“You’re watching James. That’s why you’re here early for Thanksgiving,” Gabe concluded.
Zane nodded slowly. “As much as possible. He’ll give something away eventually. Most sociopaths do. He wants fame and glory. He wants to be noticed. That’s his idea of winning. Eventually, he’ll tip his hand.”
Gabe’s respect for Zane Colter raised a notch; he couldn’t help but admire the man’s tenacity and patience. Personally, he wanted to kill James for what he’d done to Chloe. He wasn’t sure he could see the bastard again without beating his head into the ground.
“You know where to come if you need anything,” Gabe told Zane sincerely.
“Right now I’m just waiting for something to happen. I feel like shit knowing that there’s a woman who might be out there needing help and I can’t find her. I always liked Ellie,” Zane admitted. “She’s a good person.”
Gabe wasn’t going to tell him that in all likelihood, Ellie was probably dead. He probably already knew that anyway. Zane wasn’t much older than Chloe, and he’d obviously been well-acquainted with his sister’s best friend. In fact, for a geek scientist, he looked pretty bummed out and stressed over the whole thing. If he wanted to continue to hope, Gabe wasn’t going to stop him. But he knew it would take a miracle to find Ellie alive. There were only a few farfetched scenarios that would make that possible.
“She was Chloe’s best friend. I’m sure she was a good person.” Gabe couldn’t see Chloe having a buddy for that long who wasn’t as sweet as she was.
“Chloe really doesn’t want to talk to my brothers about her relationship with James, but I think she should,” Zane contemplated. “If someone in town is involved with Ellie’s disappearance, I think it’s better if they know the truth. All of them have a hell of a lot of power, and anybody would think twice before pissing them off.”
Gabe had thought the same thing. He’d rather the whole family know about Chloe’s abuse so they could all be on alert. If they did, James would be unlikely to approach her ever again. “I agree. But we’d have to convince Chloe. She doesn’t really want to talk about it again. She just wants to move on.”
“I understand why, but I think it’s important. My brothers are going to want to kill him just like I do, but I think they can manage to deal with it without murdering him. Blake has his political career to deal with, and Marcus isn’t around much. Tate will be pissed, but he’s a master at keeping cool when he has to be.”
“I’m leaving it up to Chloe,” Gabe answered supportively. “But I’ll tell her why we think she should tell.”
“I guess I’d better get home. I don’t remember, but I think I left the house kind of a disaster,” Zane commented as he scratched his head.
“You don’t remember?” Gabe was curious. “Exactly how long has it been since you were there?”
“I stayed there for a while when Ellie disappeared, but I tend to forget unimportant things when I’m on the trail of a scientific discovery. I was on a roll back then, but my theory didn’t work.”
The poor guy looked so disheartened that Gabe said, “I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s your first error.”
“Nope. Science is always trial and error. I’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Don’t you have somebody to clean up your place while you’re gone?”
Zane shook his head. “I meant to hire somebody, but I forgot.”
“I know some people. I’ll arrange for them to maintain your place, and I’ll keep an eye out myself when you’re gone,” Gabe offered.
“Thanks,” Zane said, sounding relieved.
“No problem.” Gabe knew lots of people who could use a job as a caretaker. A man as smart as Zane couldn’t be that disorganized.
Zane rose from his chair and started walking toward the doorway. “Give Chloe a hug for me. And tell her I love her.”
Gabe nodded once, a lump the size of Texas in his throat at Zane’s willingness to say how much he cared about his sister. He swallowed hard before answering. “Let me know if you need anything.”