“I have to go.”
I nod mutely, then watch as he walks out the door.
13
~ Gabriel ~
“It was a knife, all right.” My cousin has taken the flat tire off Evelyn’s car in the zoo parking lot and rolls it over to where I stand with Beck and Nick. He sticks the end of a flathead screwdriver into the gash in the rubber, showing us the severity of the puncture. “I can probably patch it but based on where the hole is and the size of it, I’d recommend a replacement.”
Beck nods tightly. “Sure. Do whatever you think is best. I’ll handle the bill. Thanks, Len.”
“No problem, Mr. Beckham. Take care, Mr. Baine.”
I follow Len to the flatbed tow truck where he’s already loaded Evelyn’s Volvo. He tosses the bad tire behind the driver’s seat before hopping into the cab. “I’ll personally run the car back to the owner for you, Gabe. She should have it later tonight.”
“I appreciate it, man.” We shake hands, then he drives off with a salute, diesel engine rumbling as he rolls out of the empty lot.
Beck gives me a concerned look as I turn back to him. “You haven’t said as much, but I’m guessing you don’t think this was random.”
“No. I don’t.” The feeling has been gnawing at me since the moment I saw the blade-sized cut in the tire. “Someone zeroed in on Evelyn’s vehicle, out of all the other cars left in the lot all day. The way I see it, that someone either tailed her to the event, or knew she’d be here.”
Someone who had decided to make a bold move, whether to scare her or to disable her means of leaving, I’m not sure. But either scenario puts a cold fury in my veins.
I don’t have any right to feel personally protective of her, let alone possessive. But that doesn’t diminish the rage simmering beneath the surface of my outward calm.
“And the zoo security staff?” Nick asks. “They weren’t any help?”
The park security office was my first stop when I returned from taking Evelyn home. I knew that would be the place to start asking questions, but I also needed the extra time to regroup and get my head screwed on straight before I had to look Evelyn’s brother or my boss in the eye after pawing her like an animal back at her place.
Not that she had complained.
And not that I wouldn’t be tempted to do it all over again, given half a chance.
Christ. Just thinking about her in my arms makes me start to go hard all over again. The feel of her against me,her soft curves pressed to all of the hard places I ached for her, her sweet mouth open and yielding to mine . . . her whispered invitation to take her up to her bedroom and fuck her the way I’ve been wanting to ever since I first set eyes on her.
It’s all fuel to a spark I cannot allow to catch fire. Not without the risk of it consuming everything in its path.
I clear my throat. “The security staff tried to help with my questions. They showed me the security camera feeds from the lot today, but unfortunately, there’s nothing to go on. The cameras here are meant to monitor the gate traffic in and out of the zoo, more so than the vehicles parked outside.”
Nick grunts. “That’s fucking great,” he says, in a tone that conveys both his frustration over not having control of the situation, as well as his impatience to get to the bottom of any problem.
I can relate. I also share the urgency of both men to determine if Evelyn is in actual danger, and, if so, mitigate it by whatever means necessary.
I rub a hand over my jaw as I consider the slashed tire and the other unsettling things that have happened over the past week. “This feels deliberate. It feels targeted. And now I’m beginning to think it’s neither random nor the first incident where Evelyn’s concerned.”
Beck’s expression goes grim. “You’re talking about a few nights ago at L’Opale? The strange power outage, and the possibility that someone was trying to get into the shop that night.”
“You mentioned that Evelyn’s had some problems with stalkers in the past.”
He exhales a tight sigh, his nod sober. “Aside from the typical parade of losers sending her lewd messages and dick pics over social media back when she was modeling, there was a nutjob or two at some of her runway shows. One asshole in Milan managed to get backstage before security bounced him hard enough to put him in the hospital for a few days.”
My jaw clenches at the mere idea of anyone getting that close to Evelyn. If I’d been there, the son of a bitch would have had bigger problems than a hospital stay. “What about now? She’s been out of the spotlight for several years. Has she mentioned any recent problems? People who might still be interested in her career? Ex-boyfriends?”
“No. Not that I’m aware of. As for ex-boyfriends, I wouldn’t know. Evie keeps her personal life private.”
I can’t deny my sense of relief over that revelation, considering I had my tongue down her throat just a short while ago. Still, the lack of information doesn’t help assuage my concern for her safety. “What about her coworkers?”
“What about them?”
