Page 34 of Girl Long Gone

“Did you talk to Ben?” Even as she asked the question, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Abbie.

“Yeah. He and Lacey are on their way back.”

Evelyn lifted her hand from his face and rubbed the tension from her brow. “I can’t believe I brought this into their lives. He could have taken Abbie tonight. I couldn’t have stopped him. I opened the door for him. I let—” Tears filled her eyes, and bile sloshed in her stomach. Images of what could have happened filled her head, but her brain couldn’t form the words to finish the sentence.

Connor spun her around and gripped her shoulders. “You can’t do this—can’t blame yourself for the actions of a crazy piece of shit. You did nothing wrong.”

She shook her head, her hair falling into her face and sticking to the moisture on her cheeks. “If he’d have taken her...”

Connor pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “Shh, that’s enough. Abbie is safe. You risked your life to keep her that way. Come on, we don’t want to wake her.” He grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to the living room.

Evelyn settled beside Connor on the couch and leaned into his waiting embrace. He skimmed his fingers against her arm as she let her head fall against his shoulder. “We can’t stay here. Not until Gabriel’s caught. If he got into the building once, he’ll find a way to do it again.”

“I agree. Do you have a place to stay? I’d offer my apartment, but that’s not safe, either. Ben’s place is too small for all of us, and I don’t feel comfortable having you out of my sight.” He pulled her closer, and her hand covered his thigh.

Heat shot through her. If he didn’t want her out of his sight, what was he proposing? “I can get Lacey, Abbie, and me a hotel room. It’d be expensive if we had to stay there more than a few nights, though.”

Connor shook his head. “No, too risky. There’d be no way to make sure Gabriel couldn’t get in. Too many people around at all hours.”

She twisted and glanced at him. The whiskers that had darkened his face the day before were gone, along with the stubble on his head. “What other option do I have?”

Bam, bam, bam!

The heavy banging on the door set her nerves on edge, and Evelyn coiled into a tight ball against Connor.

He stood and rounded the couch then glanced through the peephole and let out a loud breath, his shoulders sagging. “It’s Ben and Lacey.”

She sank into the cushions, unable to trust her wobbly legs.

Lacey rushed through the open door, threw her purse to the floor, and ran down the hall.

Ben stepped in and closed the door behind him, clicking the deadbolt into place.

Connor cut his gaze to Ben. “Do we have any more leads? Having the police combing the city helps, but we need more.”

Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing new. What did you learn from your detective friend?”

“He gave me two names that linked Gabriel with Hayley. Kevin Myers and Simon Thompson.”

Ben whistled and rounded the chair, sinking into it slowly. “That’s a hell of a coincidence.”

“Could be,” Connor agreed. “Or it could be more. We need to look into Simon’s background, as well as Kevin Myers and Gabriel’s father. All three raise red flags for me.”

“I’ll dig into Simon,” Evelyn said. “But not here. We need to go somewhere else for a few nights.”

“You guys can stay with me,” Ben said. “My place isn’t big, but it’s clean and safe.”

“No way we can all fit there,” Connor said. “I have another idea. If Lacey and Abbie stay with you, I’ll find a place for Evelyn and me.”

She trusted Connor, but the idea of staying alone with him made her pulse jump. It’d been years since she’d stayed all night with a man, and it’d never been a good experience.

She wasn’t afraid of being with him, but her insecurities all came bubbling to the surface. She stomped them down. He wasn’t taking her somewhere to seduce her; he wanted to protect her, and the idea of him shielding her from danger had excitement ripping through her. An excitement she’d never experienced before.

He clasped her hands in his and dipped his head low to stare into her eyes. “Will you come with me? Will you trust me to keep you safe?”

Sucking in a lungful of air, Evelyn kept her eyes fixed on Connor and nodded. She could trust him to keep her safe from Gabriel, but the question constantly nagging her was, could she trust him with her heart?

Using the spare key Mark had given him years ago, Connor pushed open the apartment door and opened it wide for Evelyn to step through. Porkchop pulled at his leash and whined.