Page 3 of Girl Long Gone

She lifted her shoulders in frustration and stopped under the small awning attached to the mom-and-pop store. She ignored the overwhelming call of coffee, the smell wafting through the open door in waves with every new customer, and finally yanked her phone from her purse.

The ringing stopped.

Evelyn huffed a breath of frustration that rustled her long bangs against her forehead. She glanced at the screen but didn’t recognize the number of the missed call. No voicemail registered. Pressing the lock button, she hoisted the phone in the air and squinted in an attempt to give her appearance one last check before stepping inside to see Gabriel Wilson for the first in almost ten years.

Ring, Ring, Ring.

Once again, her heart leaped into her throat. She was too damn on edge. The same unknown number popped up on her screen, and she hesitated to answer. Usually, she’d let her voicemail greeting pick up for a number she didn’t know, but answering her phone would buy her a few more minutes to put off coming face-to-face with the man who’d intimidated the hell out of her in high school.

A few more minutes won.

“Hello?”

“Evelyn Price?”

The obvious panic in the deep male voice had the hairs on her arms standing on end. “Yes. This is Evelyn. Who is this?”

“Detective Connor Mitchel with the computer crimes division of the NYPD. Are you currently with Gabriel Wilson?”

A beat of confusion—and fear—pulsed through her. Why would a cop want to know if she was meeting Gabriel, and how did he know her plans? “How did you get my number?” She couldn’t help the sharp bite in her words. Police made her nervous. Especially when they called her out of the blue on a number they shouldn’t have.

“No time to explain. Gabriel Wilson is dangerous. You need to make an excuse to him, and then meet me wherever you feel comfortable. This is important.”

Her humorless laugh cut him off. “You can’t be serious. If Lacey put you up to this, it isn’t funny.” Her roommate knew how nervous she was about seeing Gabriel. Hell, Lacey was aware of how hesitant she’d been to join the stupid dating app in the first place. It would be so like her to pull something like this to try to make her laugh.

“I can assure you this is no joke.”

The seriousness of his voice made her furrow her brow and annoyance flare hot in her gut. “I have no way of knowing you are who you say. Trust me, I’m more afraid of whoever got my number than of a guy I knew in high school.”

She clicked off the phone and rode the rush of adrenaline into the coffee shop. Crap, she hadn’t gotten a chance to make sure her lipstick wasn’t on her teeth or her mascara smeared. Not like it had been when she’d left the apartment, but she didn’t want a hair out of place. Even if meeting Gabriel was about securing a job to provide for her future and the furthest thing from a date, she still wanted to present herself well.

The idea of having her picture plastered on some stupid dating app hadn’t sat well with her, so she’d opted to leave her profile picture blank. The years had been good to her, but anxiety pitched in her stomach as her gaze scanned the crowded room. What if Gabriel didn’t recognize her?

Groups of people talking and lone New Yorkers hunched over computers filled all the tables. A line of impatient customers waited for their orders.

Standing on the tiptoes of her favorite wedges, Evelyn peered over the crowd until her eyes locked on a man with golden hair parted in a wave to the side and the same wide smile that had made all the girls fall all over themselves in high school—all the girls except her. She’d had enough issues to deal with in high school, and harboring silly fantasies about boys had been the last thing on her mind. She’d been more concerned about survival.

Weaving through the crowd, she lowered her gaze and counted in her head to calm herself. She wasn’t a kid anymore. She could do this.

Gabriel stood as she approached the table, and her gaze traveled the long length of him and settled on his hazel eyes. Somehow, his grin grew wider and he gestured toward the empty chair beside him. “I’m so glad we could get together, Evelyn. You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

2

“Shit.” For the second time in the hour, the urge to throw his phone against the wall gripped Connor. But this time he resisted. Instead, he shoved the phone in his pocket and turned to face Mark.

“What happened?”

“She didn’t believe me. Said she knew Gabriel Wilson in high school.” He swept his gaze over the jumbled paperwork and clutter of his work space. Where the hell were his keys? He moved the mess aside, but nothing appeared except a plate of food and a line of ants turning his two-day-old peanut butter and jelly into their smorgasbord.

“Dude, that’s gross. I get you’re losing your shit, but Monica will be pissed when she comes home and sees this place infested with bugs.” Mark grabbed the plate and headed back into the kitchen.

Connor’s stomach twisted, and he squeezed his eyes shut. An image of his sister with her hands on her hips and a scowl whenever he left a mess entered his mind. She’d taken over the mother-hen role in his life, even though she was four years younger. She’d be pissed to come home to the slop he’d left all over the apartment.

When Monica came home.

He needed to remember those words. He had to hold on to the hope that she would be found, and she’d return to their too-small apartment and boss him around like she always had.

Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to calm his frayed nerves and opened his eyes. He needed to find his keys and get to the coffee shop. Turning a wide circle, his gaze landed on every inch of the apartment he’d shared with Monica over the past five years, except the bedroom she’d claimed when she’d moved in. Mounds of dirty dishes littered the Formica countertop, his days-old clothes scattered across the living room floor, and an odd collision of stale scents permeated the air.