I hurried down the hall and through the lobby. I caught up with the men by the large fountain in front of the medical center.
"I'm sorry about the timing, but this can't wait," Ben said.
"What do you need?" Gage asked, his gaze more wary now.
"I've heard that Carter and Kelsey were romantically involved," Ben replied. "Is that true?"
Gage's eyes widened in disbelief. "No, it's not true. Who told you that? One of these two?" He waved an angry hand in our direction. "You can't believe anything Drake says. And Willow—what the fuck? What are you trying to do? Are you that jealous of your sister that you'd try to destroy her reputation?"
I shivered at the angry glare in his eyes, but I refused to let his fury intimidate me. "Carter told me last night," I said evenly. "They got together in Paris."
"You're lying."
"I'm telling you exactly what Carter told me. He also said he was in love with Kelsey, and he didn't want her to marry you."
Gage shook his head in bewilderment. "Why are you saying this? Are you trying to get some reaction out of me? Shake me up? Shake me down?" He refocused on Drake. "Brooklyn told me you were going to cause problems for me, for Kelsey, for the wedding, because you still think I had something to do with Melanie's disappearance."
"I do believe that, but we're talking about Kelsey and Carter," Drake said. "Willow is only repeating what Carter told her."
"She's lying."
"James was there," I said, drawing Gage's attention back to me. "We were at Willie's last night. James heard the same thing I did. You can ask him."
"No way. This isn't true. Kelsey loves me." He choked on his words. "She loves me," he repeated, but his voice wasn't as strong this time. His anger was slowly replaced by pain.
"I'm sorry, Gage," I said. "I didn't want to believe it, either."
"You're talking about my fiancée and my brother, the two people I trust the most in this world."
"I guess it's safe to assume you had no idea," Ben said quietly.
"No. I didn't have a clue." Gage took a quick breath. "But Carter has been acting weird for weeks. I thought he was jealous. I've got my life together, and he doesn't. He acted like an ass at my bachelor party last month, but I figured he was just feeling sorry for himself."
"He probably was feeling sorry for himself," Drake said. "You were marrying the girl he wanted."
"But Kelsey chose you in the end, Gage," I put in. "She wanted to marry you, not Carter."
He gave me a sorrowful look. "Maybe she wasn't sure. Everyone has been saying how Kelsey probably just got the jitters and needed to think before the wedding. That made little sense to me. We were both ready to get married. But maybe she wasn't… God! Maybe she was in love with Carter. Maybe that's why she ran away. She couldn't face me."
I wanted to believe his narrative. It made me think Kelsey was alive and well and just in hiding. But deep down, I knew it wasn't true.
"With what you know now, Gage," Ben began. "Do you think Carter tried to kill himself? Was it an accidental OD? Or was it deliberate?"
"I don't know. But then I didn't know my brother was fucking my girlfriend," Gage snapped. "So, maybe I'm not the best person to ask." He shook his head again, as if he were trying to force away some other bad thought.
"Gage?" Ben pressed. "What do you want to say?"
"Nothing."
"Are you sure?" Ben challenged. "Is it possible Carter made sure that Kelsey didn't marry you?"
Gage shook his head, his lips tight. "Impossible."
"Did you see Carter in your house after you went home Tuesday night, after you dropped off Kelsey?" Ben continued.
"No. I told you before. I didn't see anyone. I just went to my room and went to bed."
"So Carter might not have been home?"
"I have no idea, and we may never know now," he said heavily. "Carter is in terrible shape. They don't know if he's going to make it." Gage sucked in another breath. "I can't believe any of this is happening. My fiancée is gone. My brother might be…dying." Gage sank down on the cement bench that ran around the fountain, looking defeated. "I can't…I can't do this."
Gage's emotions seemed raw and honest, but he could be acting. If he'd had something to do with Kelsey's disappearance, we'd just given him a good story to tell, a way to blame his brother, to be the distraught, innocent fiancé who had no idea what was going on. I was a little surprised at my cynicism, but this week was taking its toll. I couldn't take anyone at face value anymore.
Even though I didn't trust Gage, I knew we needed him to keep talking. I sat down next to him. "You can't give up, Gage. We need to find Kelsey. Once she's back with us, the two of you can work everything out. If you love her, you can't give up on her."
Gage lifted his gaze to mine. "I'm not going to give up on her. I know you don't like me, Willow, but I love your sister. I didn't hurt her." He turned to Drake. "I didn't hurt Melanie, either. I still don't know how you could think I did something to her, Drake. We were friends. And Melanie was a sweet girl."
"You lied about seeing her and then you stopped talking to me, to the sheriff, to everyone," Drake said sharply. "You left town as fast as you could."
"I regret that. But I had parents and lawyers on my back. They insisted I follow along. I did what they told me." He paused, giving Drake a regretful look. "Now I know what you went through. How terrifying it must have been to lose your sister, to have no idea what happened to her. Because right now, with Kelsey missing, I feel overwhelmed with fear." His gaze moved back to me. "I'm doing everything I can to find Kelsey, Willow. I hope you can believe that."
He seemed sincere, but Gage had always been smooth, and I didn't know if I could trust him. "I want to believe you. But if you found out Kelsey betrayed you, I'm sure you would have been furious."
He straightened at my words, anger moving back into his eyes now. "So that's where this is going. I'm the suspect once again." He stood up. "I would never hurt Kelsey. I would never hurt a woman. We're done."
"Wait," Ben said. "Did Carter have his phone on him when he was admitted?"
"I don't think so, but I wasn't in the house when my father found him. My dad called me on the way to the hospital. I can check when I go back inside. Otherwise, the phone will be at the house. Our housekeeper, Gloria, is there. She'll let you in if you want to take a look. Believe it or not, Ben, my family has nothing to hide."
I found his words ironic, considering what Carter had been hiding from him.
Gage frowned, perhaps coming to the same conclusion. He gave me a questioning look. "Did Brooklyn know about Carter and Kelsey?"
"Not until a few hours ago. She didn't want to believe it, either."
"I guess I should be happy she didn't lie to me, too," he murmured. "I have to get back inside. Ben, get what you need to get from my house, but please don't slow down on the search for Kelsey. I'm increasing the reward to $50,000. That will go on the local news this afternoon. Hopefully, it will encourage someone to talk."