"I don't have a lot of friends, Rowan," he says as I hand him a bottle of water. "You might be my only friend."
"You have your brothers," I point out before I realize how ironic that statement is given the fact that Gabriel is half a world away and Asher is missing.
He pulls the cap from the bottle before he takes a heavy sip. "I can't remember a time when you weren't my friend."
I ease into the chair that's across from him. I knew, before we entered the apartment, that we'd be alone. I'd left Graham and Ivy at the restaurant with Hunter to enjoy a lavish dessert treat. Judging by the way the three of them were getting along, I don't expect to see Graham for at least a few hours.
"I told Gabriel about Asher." He skims his hand over the leg of his jeans. "He's putting on a brave face."
"What about your parents?"
"Mom is worried." He dips his chin towards the floor. "Dad made a comment about Asher being a disgrace."
I shake my head disgusted by Roman Foster's reaction to his son's ongoing issues with addiction. "Your dad is something else."
"He lives in his own world." He cradles the bottle in his palm as he leans back in the chair, crossing his legs with ease. "I can't change that."
It's a surprisingly mature outlook coming from the man who typically launches into a tirade the moment anyone disagrees with his stance.
"What about the person you hired to find Asher?" It's the question that has been eating at me since I saw Caleb on the street outside. "Is there any news about where he is?"
"He hasn't used his passport or credit cards." He taps his finger on the cap of the bottle. "Gabriel thinks he might be at one of the properties the company owns."
It's wishful thinking at best but if there's hope I'm going to be the first one to stand in line to grab hold of it.
"Will someone check on those places?" I ask even though it's obvious that if it hasn't already been done, it will be soon.
"We're arranging that now."
"Good." I shift on the chair I'm sitting in. "Is there anything else? The detective didn't find anything else?"
"Nothing yet," he counters. "He was asking about what happened the last time I saw Asher."
I know that it's very likely that the last time Caleb saw his brother it was in my office when the two of them stared each other down before Caleb took his leave. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him about Asher lashing out." He inches forward in his chair. "He wanted to know if there was anything else. Did he say anything to you before he disappeared?"
I scratch the side of my nose. This is one of those situations where you can't win for losing. I've kept quiet, up to this point, about Asher telling me that something had upset him the morning he was arrested. I know that I should have mentioned it to Caleb sooner but it's not as if I have a looking glass pointed towards where Asher has hidden himself away from the world. "He said something to me."
His face is emotionless. "My brother said something to you before he disappeared?"
I hear the sound of the plastic bend as he fists his hand around the half-empty bottle of water. I look him straight in the eye as I respond. "He went to see someone that morning. It was the morning he was arrested."
"Who did he go see?"
I rub both hands over my face. "I don't know. He just said that he had an appointment before work and that he got news that upset him."
"That's it? That's all he said?"
"That's it," I say quietly.
"You didn't think to mention this sooner?" he asks tightly. "You didn't think that it might be worthwhile to tell me that my brother got bad news the day he flipped out?"
I feel indignation course through me. I want to stop him on the spot to point out that before Asher disappeared into thin air, Caleb didn't give a shit about what was happening with him. "I didn't know any of the details."
"Did he tell you not to tell me? Is that what happened? You made a promise to each other again and you can't break it?"
The sarcasm dripping off the words is palpable and thick. "He told me he was upset after an appointment. That's all I know."
"You know where he is, don't you?" He points his index finger right at me.
Even though I recognize his anger talking, I won't dive into that with him. I don't want to argue about Asher. "I have no idea where he is."
"That's why you were so calm when we went to the morgue." His eyes close as he pushes his head back into the leather chair. "You didn't bat a fucking eyelash because you knew he was fine."
I bite my lip to stop the flood of emotions that tear through me. "I wouldn't do that to you. I would never keep that information from you."
"Tell me where he is." He rests his elbows on his knees. "Just tell me."
"I don't know," I say clearly and slowly. "I have no idea where Asher is."
"I need to talk to him." His gaze narrows. "If you have access to him, now is the time to tell me."