Page 143 of Finding Noah

Shawn nodded. “He's working in the basement right now, but I can get him for you, if you don't mind waiting for a moment.”

“Please,” Meg replied. “We'd appreciate it.”

With a curt nod, Shawn said, “Of course, ma'am. Just give me a minute. Please”—he swept a hand toward a striped velvet sofa—”take a seat.”

Shawn took his leave, briskly heading down the long hallway from which he'd come, and Soldier turned around to survey the foyer more extensively as Meg did just as Shawn had said.

She took a seat.

“I think he knows something,” Meg whispered, the nausea back with a brutal vengeance. “I don't know why, but I just have a feeling.”

“You feel that way because he's connected,” Soldier replied in a voice just as quiet as hers. “Don't let it cloud your judgment.”

“You're saying that because he's nice,” she protested harshly. “Don't let that cloud your judgment.”

Soldier sighed and took a seat beside her. “Touché,” he muttered with a nod. “I'm just saying, you don't want to miss something crucial because you're hung up on a feeling.”

Meg fell quiet for a moment as she considered that. It was exactly what had gotten Noah into the mess he'd found himself in, wasn't it? He'd gotten a feeling about this place, was insistent on coming instead of giving them a call, and look what had happened to him.

He was missing.

Gone, for all she knew.

Did that validate his feeling, or am I missing something else? she thought as she waited for Shawn's return.

She didn't have to wait for long as the man in the turtleneck came into view, followed by another. This one was taller, brawnier. While Shawn wasn't an unattractive man by any means, this one—Abraham, she presumed—was otherworldly, nearly vampiric in his handsome beauty.

It was nothing but a quick observation as she and Soldier stood from the couch. There were more important things to focus on than the striking appearance of this approaching man.

“Folks, this is Abraham, my brother and business partner,” Shawn said, quick to make the introductions. “Bram, these people are members of Noah Mason's family.”

Abraham was casually peeling off a pair of black gloves as he nodded in lieu of a greeting. “You asked to speak with me.”

Soldier nodded, unfazed by his presence, but Meg wasn't. She looked up toward his eyes and the jagged scar stretching the length of his face. This man wasn't only attractive, but his aura, his demeanor, his way of carrying himself screamed of danger.

“Yes,” Soldier said. “Can you tell us anything about the conversation you had with Noah? Anything that might help us find him?”

Abraham tucked the gloves into the breast pocket of his black vest. “Are you insinuating that I might know where he is?”

Soldier cocked his head to study the man for a moment. “And are you right now insinuating that you do?” His voice was hardened, now on the defense.

Meg wondered if he was getting the same uncomfortable feeling now that she was.

Shawn was quick to pinch his brow and release an exhausted sigh. “Bram, please. Don't do this right now. This young guy is missing, and his family is just trying to find him. Nobody is accusing you of anything.”

Abraham's jaw shifted irritably, but he resigned with a short nod. “My conversation with him was brief. We smoked together on the porch, he asked me a couple of questions, and then I brought him in here to talk to Shawn. He left after that. That's about all there is to tell.”

“And he never … came back?” Meg asked, grasping at straws because, dammit, this man had to know something. “To ask you more questions?”

Abraham turned to her then, acknowledging her for what seemed to be the first time. “Back here?” He chuckled as if she'd said something funny. “No.”

Meg's brow furrowed angrily. “Do you find this situation amusing?”

“This situation?” Abraham repeated with an infuriating smirk. “If you're asking if I find it amusing that an innocent young man is missing, then, no, I don't find anything particularly amusing about that. But what I do find amusing is that you think you're going to find something here that the police didn't. They were already here. They asked their questions. They found nothing, and then they left. Just like Officer Mason. He asked his questions, found nothing, and left.”

“So, you think we should, what, give up?” Meg asked, standing her ground.

His steely eyes stared into hers for a moment. His expression was unmoving. A permanent scowl of disapproval on his face.