I drove to the club the guys had gone to last night and parked in the VIP parking lot. I didn’t wait in line and made my way to the door. We had a pass, we were Russos after all. The bouncer recognized me instantly and opened the ropes.
“Hey Jerry, let me know if you see someone suspicious around my car.”
“Will do, princess.” He saluted as I made my way into the club. It’d been a while since I’d been to this club.
I walked to the bar and took a seat.
“What can I get for the pretty lady?”
“A Cosmo, and keep them coming.” I had to order something if I was going to ask for information and not come across like a cop.
“Were you working last night?” I asked the muscular barman with a tribal tattoo on his right arm.
“Every night this week.” He smirked. The old Gaia would have taken that look as an invitation. The responsible one, however, smiled back and took a sip of her drink.
“I’m actually looking for someone,” I said, hoping honesty would be a good place to start.
“Yeah?” He asked, wiping a beer glass.
“He was in here last night. He actually looks a lot like me, just a guy version. Lots of tats, hard to miss him.”
He seemed to think about it for a second, frowning.
“He likes to stand out, so he’d likely have bought a round or ten for the people at the bar.”
“Ah, yeah, I remember, Gambert or Gabriel.”
“Yes.” I could not hide my excitement. “Did he leave with anyone?”
“Look, babe, I can’t remember that far, but what’s it to you?”
“He’s my brother,” I admitted. “His car is still parked out there, but he never came home.”
He sighed, looked at me, then looked around the club. “If you can hang around till closing time, I can show you the footage from last night. The boss isn’t around.
* * *
Three hours later, Trent, as he’d introduced himself, and I were scouring through footage from last night when I saw him. Gabe, at the bar with a few women surrounding him. Nothing unusual. My brother was a head turner. We fast forwarded the recording, and Gabe disappeared. Trent played it back to the last time Gabe was at the bar. A young man approached him. He had to be around our age, dressed in a leather jacket. He kept his face away from the camera, as if he knew it was there. He spoke to Gabriel for a few minutes, and whatever he said convinced my brother to leave.
“No,” I whispered as tears trickled down my face. Trent handed me a tissue, and I cried my heart and soul into it.
“Thank you,” I managed after I’d pulled myself together.
I was as close to finding him as I was when I’d left the house. I climbed into my car and watched the rearview as, once again, I was followed all the way home. The vehicle finally disappeared when I entered our property. It was a black SUV, unlicensed. I could look at the camera footage from outside our house, but it would be useless. Just like this entire night had been.
Not knowing where Gabe was, felt like being lost in an abyss. I had no idea how I would make it through the night without him. We were connected in ways very few people understand. He was my brother, my heart and soul.
“I will find you Gabe, and then I’ll slit the throat of the fuckers who took you from me.” I gritted my teeth.
