Page 52 of Beau and the Beast

"What do you want?" Noah said, loud enough to be heard from the other side.

"Is Beau there?" Lincoln asked.

"What does it matter to you?"

"Noah?"

"The one and only."

"I just want to know if he's there," Lincoln said. "I don't need to talk to him—just... is he with you?"

That was odd. Why was Lincoln looking for his ex, anyway?

"He's not," Noah said, finally.

"Have you seen him in the last few days?" Lincoln asked.

Noah weighed whether or not to tell the truth. He'd always hated Lincoln and something about the fact that he was trying to track Beau down rubbed Noah the wrong way.

"Please, Noah, I'm worried about him," Lincoln said. "Can I talk to you?"

Noah began to undo the locks but left the door chain in place, cracking the door only enough to make it easier to talk to Lincoln.

"Why are you worried about him?"

"I haven't heard from him since Friday," Lincoln said. He really did look anxious.

"Maybe that's because he broke up with your dumb ass last week," Noah said, his words slurring a little. Lincoln frowned.

"He did," Lincoln admitted, "but he called me the next day because he wanted someone to come with him on some weird errand."

Shit. So Beau had gone through with his idea to take Lincoln with him to make the drop.

Noah sighed and undid the chain.

He didn't bother to wait for Lincoln to come in, simply turned and made his slow progress toward the little table in the kitchen, just steps away from the door. He sat, watching Lincoln enter the apartment cautiously before taking the seat across from Noah.

"He called you?" Noah asked.

Lincoln nodded. "He said he had to go to this midtown condo building. I didn't even bother writing it down or I would've gone to look for him there. We were supposed to meet at his work but..."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "But what?"

"I was mad at him—you know—like you said, he broke up with me."

"So you no-showed him?"

Lincoln sighed. "I wish to God I hadn't. And now I can't find him."

Noah weighed the pros and cons of telling Lincoln the truth.

"Since then, I haven't been able to get him on the phone. I called his work yesterday and they said he hadn't even shown up for work on Monday and that he didn’t answertheircalls, either. They figured maybe he quit without notice—didn't even show up to collect the things in his desk."

Shit, Noah thought.I knew I forgot to do something...

"I'm getting desperate—I started calling hospitals today and still nothing," Lincoln said. He placed his big hands on the table as if he was about to start begging Noah. "Even if he hasn't realized that he ought to be with me yet, I just want to know that Beau issafe.I just... I need to know if you know something, Noah."

Noah sighed. If he didn't tell Lincoln now, the man was liable to go to the police or keep harassing hospitals. As much as he didn't want Beau’s brutish ex to know the first thing about what Beau was doing now that they weren't together, he also didn't want Lincoln to create any trouble for his brother.

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