10. Nikoli

As soon asI have Willow alone, I take her in my arms and press my lips against her cheek, the corner of her mouth, until I plant a soft kiss on her lips. "I meant what I said, Willow. This between us is more." I brush her lips again.

Her mouth curves into a gorgeous smile. She jumps into my arms, wrapping hers around my neck. Our bodies press together. "I have to find my brother, Nikoli. We haven"t been close these past few years, but he"s all the family I have left. I can"t rest knowing my brother needs me."

I brush the strands of hair over her shoulder and kiss the tip of her nose. "You"re not alone in this." I step back and intertwine our fingers. "We"ll do as planned. Talk to Rhodes."

She nods, but says, "I"m afraid my uncle will find out. I don"t want any trouble for Rhodes or his brothers for helping me."

"Carlisle and Jessop Hallen can take care of themselves, Willow. Trust me on that." I gently lead her to the Uber that"s just pulled up outside of Evergreen.

It doesn"t take us long to get to the apartment where Rhodes lives with Rosie, and by this time Willow is on edge. A slight tremor in her hand gives her away. I don"t comment. I wonder who the hell her uncle is and how he gets away with murder. It bothers me more than I admitted to Willow. The man obviously has friends in high places, and not just in the local sheriff"s office. Not with murder. Willow gives me a cautious look. I smile as we go up in the elevator and pull her close.

Rhodes meets us at the door in sweats and a T-shirt, followed by a yawn. "You must be Willow," he says. "I"m Rhodes, and this is Rosie." The woman in question hugs Rhodes before slipping her arm through Willow"s and pulling her into the kitchen.

I raise an eyebrow at Rhodes, who nods into the living room. "We need to do some research on the bastard before we do anything else. See what we can find out about her father"s death."

I watch Willow in the kitchen with Rosie and when I catch her eye, I ask, "What"s your uncle"s name?"

"Marcus Carter." Willow carries two cups as she joins me on the sofa.

Rhodes is already staring at me when I meet his gaze. My heart pounds and blood rushes through my damn ears. Marcus Carter. "It can"t be," I whisper.

Willow sets the cups on the coffee table. "You know him?" She asks, her voice shaking.

"Does he have a daughter?" Rhodes asks.

She nods. "Sarah." A brief flinch flashes across her face. "She"s not a very nice person." Pause. "You know her?"

"No." Rhodes and I say together. I continue, "After the game in New York, Marcus was there and introduced himself to Rhodes and me." Pause. "We also met Sarah."

Willow raises an eyebrow, so I add, "She"s creepy. Not sure she was happy about the two of us leaving."

Rhodes snorts. "He," he points at me, "compared her to a woman from one of the Transformer movies."

"What woman?" Rosie asks.

"The one who tried to kill Witwicky when he was at the university." I shrug. "I hope I don"t run into her again."

"I have no idea what you"re talking about," Willow admits.

"Don"t worry about it." I pull her closer and intertwine our fingers. "So how does Wyatt know Carter?"

"He doesn"t." Rhodes sits forward. "I asked him about the man. Apparently, Wyatt was put in the position of having to invite him to the party." He looks between Willow and me. "After your call, I spoke to Carlisle, forwarded him the picture. He"s going to get someone he knows to try and find where it was taken."

"So, we wait."

"And research the guy. A lot of shit online." Rhodes turns to Rosie, who nods. "You also have a computer genius at your disposal who also happens to work for one of the best private investigation firms this side of the Mississippi."

Rosie smiles at Rhodes while Willow breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she whispers. "I can"t believe you"re helping me."

I remove my hand and pull Willow against me, my arm around her waist. I like her close. "We wouldn"t have it any other way." I kiss her forehead.

Rosie interrupts. "The note. It was slipped under your bedroom door, and you recognized the voices last night, right?"

Willow nods. "Laura and Isabel."

Rosie grins. "I"m going to call in a favor and ask a colleague, Levi Dodge, to come with me to talk to Laura and Isabel. He can be charming one minute and terrifying the next."

"I need to find my brother. I doubt he"ll be at the house since that"s the obvious place to look."

"What about a hospital?" I suggest.

"Why would he hide him in a hospital?" Willow frowns.

"Yes!" Rosie sits up and takes the note from Willow"s lap. "The note mentions that he"s crazy and that they"re giving him drugs." Rosie"s eyes remain fixed on Willow. "Is there a psychiatric hospital near where you live?"

"Um, there are a couple of hospitals around Baton Rouge, but that doesn"t make sense. Wouldn"t he want to keep Gabe close and under his control?"

"Leave that to me." Rosie starts typing on her phone as I hug a trembling Willow.

"I wonder why he sent me the message now." Willow shifts into a sitting position.

"You moved on to Boston, right?" I suggest. "Maybe he just found you."

"Maybe." I can see that Willow doesn"t think so. "It"s weird that after six months of running, I decided to stay because of you, and now he knows where I am."

"Rhodes and Nikoli, both met him in New York with Sarah." Rosie glances between Rhodes and me. "I wonder if he knew about you and Willow when you met him in New York?"

Tiredly, I say, "I don't know. However, it would explain the feeling I got when I met them. It was odd." Pause. "We need to find out what the women Willow works with know. Someone must have handed them the note."

Rosie smiles. "We"ll get to the bottom of this, Willow. Dodge is the best."

Rhodes scoffs. "You never give yourself credit, honey." He pulls Rosie onto his lap. "She"s good at what she does, too."