"Asher is married?" I'm sitting next to Caleb on a small sofa that rests against the back wall of the library. "How is Asher married?"
"He's not," he clarifies with a deep sigh. "He was. It was annulled a few weeks after he got out of rehab."
"Who was he married to?" The question is as foreign as the thought of Asher being married.
"Someone he met in rehab. Her name was Karen. They got married the day he left the facility."
I hadn't wanted to crowd Asher after he'd been released so I had waited until he reached out to me. It was weeks later and by then he was immersed in his work with his brothers. I'd asked about rehab but he had only offered meager facts about the program and therapy.
"Why didn't he say anything?"
He looks directly at me. "I wish I knew the reason. I wish I knew what the hell he was thinking."
"Have you talked to the woman? Karen? Have you spoken to her about Asher?" It's an obvious question but it's one I have to ask.
"I've been trying to locate her all week." He pulls his smartphone from his pocket. "I've been on this thing day and night trying to track her down. I finally found her sister yesterday."
"That's the woman I saw when I came in?" I look at the screen of his phone. "Does she know where Asher is?"
"Her name is Sonia." He shakes his head slightly as he twirls the phone in his palm. "She lives in Vegas. She wouldn't tell me anything unless I flew her and her husband out here."
"What?" I twist towards him on the sofa. "I don't understand."
"She knows how much Asher is worth," he starts before he leans back. "She knows how much we're all worth. She wants money before she'll tell me anything about her sister."
I roll my eyes as I try to piece together what he just told me. "Do you think she actually knows anything about where he is?"
"I think that I'd pay anyone anything at this point just to see my brother again."
Chapter 27
"Why did you let her walk out of here?" I ask quietly. "You should have told me who she was when I walked in."
He turns towards me. His eyes are a dark mask covering everything that is lurking beneath the surface of his thoughts and emotions. "You were upset, Rowan. I can't think straight when you're upset."
I close my eyes in a desperate attempt to shield myself from his words. "You can't say things like that to me anymore."
"What?" His hand darts to my bare knee. I'd thought about going home to change into comfortable clothes after work but I had wanted to see Gabriel so much that I'd raced to his apartment still dressed in the white and blue dress I wore to work. Now, sitting next to Caleb with his skin touching mine, I feel completely underdressed yet again.
I don't want to wander off the track that we're on. Finding Asher is the only thing that matters at this point. The fact that I'm still emotionally reeling from what happened in my bed can't factor into anything. I have to push that aside and get my mind back into the game.
"Tell me what's going on?" He squeezes my knee and I instinctively pull it away.
"Nothing is going on," I try to say convincingly. "I'm worried about Asher. Did she say anything to you about where he might be before I got here?"
"She didn't." He half-shrugs. "She started talking about money the minute she walked through the door. The woman knows how to negotiate."
"Don't you have people who can track her sister down?" I ask curtly. "You don't need her to give you that information, do you?"
"The private investigator I hired is following up with all of that. Sonia is the direct method. She can give me everything I need."
I nod. I know that it's true. I don't live in a world filled with excess and luxury but I know, based strictly on how Clive conducts his business, that money opens doors that otherwise would be impenetrable. If Caleb can use some of what the brothers have worked so hard for, to help find Asher, it's a no-brainer.
"I want her to tell you where Asher is." I push myself up from the sofa. "I think you should go find her and ask her where he is."
"Before you got here we decided we'd meet tomorrow morning," he chuckles. "I need to go to the bank first."
I shake my head as I turn towards the door. "I have to go. I'm going out of town for work tomorrow. Will you call me once you talk to her again?"
He's on his feet now too. "Where are you going? Why is Clive sending you out of town right now? Doesn’t he know that I need you here?"
I don't take any comfort in the words. Instead, a jolting reality takes hold of me. Caleb needs me here. The selfish parts of him want my friendship and comfort to help guide him through the emotions he's feeling because his brother disappeared soon after he had him arrested. "You don't need me here, Caleb. You have Gabriel."