become his surrogate. Listening to all conversations and then relaying updates back to him. That he could handle.
Barely.
People took photographs of every inch of the living room, choosing that area as the focal point since Ben had found Gabriel’s phone there. Men dusted for prints, leaving that black powder everywhere. All over the kitchen, Gabriel’s worktable, the living room.
He sighed.
Gabriel would hate the mess.
He swallowed heavily, fighting back the tears. Again. He closed his eyes and counted, just as Cal had told him to do. It helped settle him a little, but he needed to do…something. Opening his eyes, Ben stared off at a random spot on the wall, willing his mind to go through everything he recalled reading from anyone who had spoken since they arrived. Someone had gotten in without destroying the place, so they had access or Gabriel knew them and had opened the door. The moment the hotel team heard about the break-in and Gabriel’s absence, everyone jumped into action. All demanded instant meetings with staff to gather information. Interviews, unfamiliar faces, anything suspicious.
Rachel had called the moment Calvin had alerted her, offering any and all resources—including her plane and an endless budget to pay for anything or anyone who could help in the search. She and Anthony were on their way. Definitely not the circumstances Ben had hoped to encounter for their first face-to-face meeting, but he was grateful for her friendship and help.
He wanted Gabriel home.
He couldn’t lose him.
He wouldn’t.
He closed his eyes and channeled Matt’s spirit of positivity, willing the negative thoughts to vanish so his mind would clear. He imagined Gabriel standing before him, telling him that he was stronger than he thought, reminding him that Ben had a warrior inside.
In his mind’s eye, he saw Gabriel’s teasing smile and that magical dimple.
Peace soothed the nervous jitter in his stomach with the love in Gabriel’s brown eyes and the promise they held. The panic and fear slowly receded, replaced with the strength of commitment to that promise.
Gabriel would do everything in his power to come back to him.
It wasn’t a wish.
It wasn’t a guess.
It was a fact as firm and as strong as the man himself.
Ben’s eyes shot open as a memory flashed in his mind.
He bolted up from his seat, nearly tipping over the kitchen barstool. Cal, Julian, and Aidan immediately followed as he raced to the living room. Every second counted…and he had wasted almost an hour. He yanked the coffee table closer, needing the few extra inches, cursing himself for not having remembered sooner. His eyes welled with emotion as he mentally reprimanded himself. Maybe it was the shock or the fear clouding his thoughts.
He jerked himself out of the grip of the tech trying to stop him.
Fuck them.
No one was stopping him.
He reached the top of the entertainment wall unit, feeling his way behind the front lip of the furniture until his fingers grazed what he sought. With the small square panel remote finally in his hand, he stepped off the table and pushed it back to its spot.
He startled at the tap on his shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Aidan asked, finally mouthing words slower than he had in the last hour.
Ben grabbed the television remote and turned on the TV, switching it to the video feed channel. He turned the panel toward Aidan, pointed at the TV, and then pointed to the small, hidden camera on the bookshelf.
Aidan huffed. “Fuck. Why didn’t I think of that! Of course he’d have a camera.” He nodded at Ben as the first hint of a smile cracked through Aidan’s facade. He motioned with his hand, urging Ben to hurry it up.
Tapping at the buttons, Ben quickly rewound the feed. Using the image displayed on the large living room screen as a guide, he continued tracking back time, watching a replay of everything that had happened in the last hour. Backwards, at triple speed.
He took a deep breath as he watched an image of himself racing through the living room, turning off lights until finally finding Gabriel’s phone. He had to trace the video back to when Gabriel had been home. Aidan tried to take the remote from his hand, but Ben twisted his shoulders, pulling the remote away from his grasp.
He had to be the one to do this. He needed to feel as if he were doing something to help find Gabriel.
He gasped, pausing the video when Gabriel filled the screen with three masked men standing in front of him.