Gabe growled and jumped up, glaring at Theo. Thankfully, he was on the other side of the crime scene. If not, he’d be giving the assistant a piece of his mind, and El wouldn’t blame him.
She was tempted to go to him, but she couldn’t manage Gabe’s emotions through this entire investigation. Her job hadto come first. Not only did she have a murder to solve. She had to find a missing four-year-old.
Two thirty a.m. Gabe paced the team’s conference room. Everyone on the team except Reece had changed clothes and was seated at the table, warming up from hours of searching for Lucy in the cold and damp. They hadn’t found her or any sign that anyone had recently entered the wooded area.
Hayden, their team internet expert, stared at his laptop screen, deep-diving into Kenna’s background. Gabe hated violating his friend’s privacy, but they needed to know everything to find who killed her and where Lucy had disappeared to. Maybe when El arrived to update them as she’d promised, she’d have a lead.
Until then, they waited. Not something Gabe was good at.
Reece tugged on her wet T-shirt and picked up a full pot of coffee from the table against the wall. Tall with thick blond hair, she walked with a model’s confidence, a remnant from her college days. Before joining the team, she’d been an ATF agent, though nothing in her appearance suggested it.
She stopped next to Gabe and held up the pot and a mug. “Coffee?”
Gabe wouldn’t be sleeping until they located Lucy. Every bit of caffeine would help. He grabbed the mug and held it out. “Thanks for looking out for us when you probably want to get out of those wet clothes.”
She waved her hand. “No worries. I’ll change once I make sure you all have coffee and a snack.”
“I hate to see you shivering.” Sitting at the main table, Jude French stroked his neatly trimmed beard. “But we appreciate our team mom looking out for us.”
“Betty Crocker at your service.” Reece wrinkled her nose at him and poured steaming coffee into his mug.
Former sheriff Abby Day stood and stepped beside Gabe. She was petite, curvy, and had short hair. “You doing okay?”
“If this is a stranger abduction, you guys all know the first three hours are everything,” Gabe said, as they were in business to locate missing people and things. “After that, the odds start working against us, and it looks like we’re already beyond that time.”
Gabe got the words out, but barely. What could he say after his best friend had died and her daughter disappeared? If he put words to his feelings he might completely fall apart. Something he wouldn’t do in front of his team. Shoot, something he wouldn’t do in front of anyone if he could help it. He had to remain a professional and in control.
Abby rested her hand on his arm. He stiffened.
“We’re praying for you,” she said. “For them.”
He nodded, but he didn’t know how much help he would get from prayer. He believed in God. Sure, he did. Had all his life. But had he lived his life for God? Not most of it. How could he have, growing up in a dysfunctional family like his?
“Gabe?” Abby asked. “You thinking about Kenna?”
No way he’d answer that. Would be the catalyst to that breakdown. To the real man beneath the baggage. Only one person had ever seen that guy. Kenna.
But just because he wouldn’t let Abby in didn’t mean he wanted to hurt her feelings. He took a gulp of coffee and squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay.”
She frowned. “You might want to run away from how this is affecting you, but you can’t. So, remember we’re all praying for you, and we’re here if you want to talk.”
He nodded, but right now he wanted to take action. He strode to the whiteboard to grab a red marker. “No more waiting for El to get here. We can’t afford to delay. We’ll get started on a plan of action.”
“You’ve got too much of a personal investment here to take lead.” Team leader Nolan Orr stood and tried to take the marker from Gabe’s hand.
Gabe jerked it behind his back. “No way I’m backing down. No matter what you or anyone says.”
Nolan cocked his head. “Even if it stands in the way of finding Lucy or Kenna’s killer?”
Gabe locked eyes with Nolan. “Trust me. I can do this. I won’t stand in the way.”
Nolan watched Gabe carefully, as if hoping to make him squirm. But Gabe rarely did, and he certainly wouldn’t now.
“You know I mean it,” Gabe said. “You won’t sway my opinion, so why waste time trying?”
Nolan hissed out a long breath. “Because I know it’s the right thing to do.” He looked around the group as if asking for assistance.
“Why don’t I be your copilot on this?” Jude said. “You can run things by me before acting.”
