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“And did you see them leave together on your security camera?” Marc asked Matteo.
Matteo shook his head. “No. Peabody left in his car about twenty minutes before Levi. Levi hopped in a taxi when he left here.”
“So, we have no physical evidence connecting Peabody to Levi’s disappearance.” It was a fact, not a question.
“No,” Matteo added as if he was asked.
“Chase, tell me what happened when you went to the house,” Marc asked, sitting back down next to Alex and rubbing his chin.
Apparently, Marc was a thinker. He liked to analyze all possible options before determining a course of action. From what Chase had been told, Marc was some sort of a genius when it came to strategizing.
Chase walked them through his encounter with Peabody, as well as his sprint around the house like a madman.
“That’s strange. We must be missing something,” Marc added, staring at the fire burning in the fireplace. Red and yellow lights danced in his eyes, taking on a life of their own. “I’ll pull a schematic of the property, see if there are any additional parts of the house you may have missed, and I’ll also check the surrounding areas.”
“What do you want us to do?” Isaac asked, biting his thumbnail.
“Nothing,” Marc said, cold as always.
Isaac glanced over at Matteo. “Are you fucking serious? Our brother is missing, there is no fucking way we are sitting around doing nothing.”
Matteo crossed his arms against his massive chest. His black pin-striped suit looked like it had been through the wringer. His light purple tie reminded Chase of the gentle color of Levi’s eyes. God, he missed those eyes.
“I’m going to call in my own contacts and see if I can get any useful information that might help with this case,” Matteo added.
Isaac continued squirming in Jared’s lap. He was like a nervous puppy needing something to do to work off all his pent-up energy.
“You two, speak with the other boys in the club. See if they saw anything or know anything that might help us,” Matteo ordered Isaac and Jared.
“Sure thing,” Jared nodded.
Chase glanced at his watch; it was just after three in the morning. He wanted to flip through the journal, the book he had aptly named the Book of Sin, and see if there was any other information that might help them.
“How about we meet up in a few hours and see where we are then?” Marc asked, looking around the room.
“Sounds good. You and your husband are welcome to stay the night. I’ll have Jared show you to one of our guest suites,” Matteo offered, standing up and heading toward the door.
He glanced back over at Isaac. “We are going to get our boy back. I promise you that. No one messes with our family and lives to tell the tale.”
Chase watched as Matteo’s ocean-blue eyes darkened, leaving behind the eyes of a man who had seen darkness.
Marc smiled, recognizing the look in Matteo’s eyes.
The hunt was about to begin.
26
LEVI
Sitting on the cold concrete, Levi pulled his knees in close to his chest. He lowered his head and rested it gently on his knees. He had no idea how much time had passed since he was thrown into this dungeon. Was it six hours? Was it three days? He understood now how people could get so disoriented when they were deprived of light and a sense of time.
Chase would come for him. He had to. Chase would never give up searching for him or fighting to get him back—at least, he hoped not.
He raised his head and stared at the tiny bed sitting in the far corner of the room. The bed looked old. Its frame was iron, and the mattress sunk in toward the middle.
How many others have slept in that bed? How many others against their will?
In all the time Peabody came to La Maison to hang out and relax, there was never any indication that he could do something so horrible. Yes, he was odd and seemed kind of lonely, but that sort of behavior didn’t mean you were a bad person.
