Snafu

Marooned - Part 1

Two mornings later, Gideon did not come home. His side of the bed remained neatly folded. Cole vaulted out of bed and pulled on the first thing he saw, which was a pair of Gideon's sweatpants hanging out of the laundry hamper. There was no note in the kitchen. He did not pick up when Cole called with his new cell phone. And Cole knew.

Gideon had told him to call Elijah immediately if he were to go missing. He actually told Cole to pack a bag and go stay with Elijah and Alexis, but as soon as Cole finished asking Andre if he maybe happened to move Gideon's note to him, still clinging to hope, he heard tires crunching in the driveway. He flew to the dining room windows and peered out to see an unfamiliar black car with severely tinted windows and a mean-looking bodyguard stepping out along with Ezra.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Elijah.

"Shit, Cole, it's fucking early." Alexis groused over the phone.

"Where's Elijah." He hissed.

"Asleep."

"Wake him the fuck up."

She grumbled, but in seconds, Elijah's voice came over the line, significantly more alert than Alexis's had been. "What's wrong?"

"Gideon did not come home last night," Cole told him. "Ezra is walking up to the door. So, something is going on. I'll text you updates."

"Shit, Cole, do—"

Cole hung up and stuffed the phone into his pocket as the front door swung open. Apparently, Ezra had one of the new keys somehow. Cole wondered if that meant Gideon trusted him, but Gideon had not said anything about Cole being able to, so he remained wary. He was rounding the table to head back into the kitchen just as Ezra entered the dining room and froze when they made eye contact. The bodyguard loomed over Ezra's shoulder in the foyer.

"Good morning, Cole." Ezra looked around the room, then back at Cole. "It was 'Cole', wasn't it?"

"Yes, what are you doing here?"

"You need to come with me." He flicked two gloved fingers in what had to be one of the most arrogant 'come here' gestures that Cole had ever seen. He snorted and began backing away.

"What the fuck? I'm not going anywhere with you." He pulled out his phone. "I'm calling Gideon."

He dialed Gideon for real, hoping beyond hope that maybe he would pick up this time, knowing that he would not. Ezra glanced over his shoulder at the bodyguard and jerked his head, which was enough of an order for the man to advance.

"What the hell is going on here?" Andre stepped up behind Cole, holding a couple of eggs in his hand. Cole frowned at them, thinking that if Andre intended to do anything about the situation, his chef's knife might have been a better option.

Ezra put up his hand to stop his bodyguard's advance, "I suppose explaining would make things easier."

"Imagine that," Cole snarked. "You must be the diplomat of the family."

"Did Gideon return home last night?" Ezra asked, not acknowledging Cole's quip.

"I don't know. Sometimes, I don't see him at all in the morning. Why?" Cole clutched his phone tight to his chest. "Did something happen?"

Ezra just looked at him for a moment, perhaps to ascertain whether or not Cole was pretending to be surprised. For all Cole knew, the guy still thought he was a gold-digging scumbag who somehow managed to swindle James into paying off his debts and swindle Gideon into marrying him. If something happened to Gideon, the first suspect to spring into his mind would probably be Cole. Wasn't it always the husband? James had probably set it up that way, Cole realized with fury. But he stood his ground and Met Ezra's assessing look with wide, upset eyes.