They finally made it to Rattlesnake Canyon Road after almost two hours driving.
"Whoa." Paula said. "This house is unreal." Gabe nodded and stopped at the gate out front. A man walked to the drivers side and asked what their business was there.
"We are here to see Easton." Gabe said.
"Easton?" The man asked.
"Yeah. Easton. Or Ezra. Or something. I don't know. Just tell him we are here, please." Gabe said. "I'm Gabe and this is Paula."
The man nodded and went into the guard shack. A few minutes later, he returned and informed them that Mr. Esposito knew no one with that name.
"Lilly. Tell him it's about Lilly." Gabe said. The man reluctantly agreed. He came back quicker and said that they should follow the drive up the hill and stop in front of the main house. "Mr. Esposito will meet you there." He said. The gate slowly opened and Gabe drove through, doing as he was instructed.
They drove up a long drive and rounded to the front entrance of the incredible home. As Gabe came to a stop, Ezra was already standing at the steps with Andrew.
"What is going on?" Ezra said, his arms folded. He had his workout attire on and was obviously unaware of Billie's absence.
"Is she here?" Gabe asked.
"No. Why?" Ezra asked. He had texted her the evening before to tell her how absolutely smitten he was with her and what a wonderful time he had. She had not responded causing him to feel incredibly insecure about the whole thing.
"Can we talk? Sit down or something?" Paula asked, walking over to them.
"Is she in danger?" Ezra asked, feeling the tension coming from them.
"We don't know. We were hoping maybe she was here." Gabe said.
"No. I haven't spoken to her in a couple of days. I sent her a text yesterday, but she hasn't responded. Please, come in." Ezra said as Andrew opened the front door.
He lead them to a study off of the main entrance where a large mahogany desk stood with a conference style table.
"Sit. Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Water?" Ezra said.
"No. Thank you." Paula said. She began to explain the situation. That Billie didn't show up for work and it wasn't like her. Then, note and money she left at the house.
"She said he was going to kill her. She said she had to leave town." Paula said.
"Are you certain it is her ex?" Ezra asked.
"Yeah. Definitely. He came into the bar and started some shit there. Passing around her picture, talking about her being wanted for questioning by police. Lies. Pete and I beat the shit out of him in the parking lot. Wanted to send a message about abusive husbands stalking the women that leave them." Gabe said, cracking his knuckles. Ezra gave him an inquisitive look and a smile.
"I may have underestimated you." Ezra said.
"I'll be fine without you thinking about me at all. If she isn't here, she's somewhere else. And we have to find her before that fuckface does." Gabe said. He stood up to leave. "Let us know if you hear from her." He said. Ezra nodded, then decided to confide what she had told him to them. It may help, he thought.
"Her real name is Billie. Billie Conley. Maiden name is Westfield. Her father, Jim Westfield, wrote the song, "I'll be wherever you are." Her husband is Sean Conley. She is from Indiana. She escaped him, literally. And he was a sadistic, evil son of a bitch to her. If she found out he was in town, she most certainly ran based on what I know." He said stopping Gabe from leaving the room.
Gabe looked at Paula and then back at Ezra. "Whoa. Her dad wrote that song? That song has been covered more times than any song I know." Gabe said. "And she told you all of this?" He asked.
"Yes. She did.. the other night when she stayed here." Ezra said. Gabe gave him a look of pure disgust. He had taken her, they had made love. Gabe had been working hard on building her trust and she just decided this rich bastard was good enough. No, he thought. Don't let that cloud your ability to help her. He closed his eyes and tried to erase the image of this Ezra fucker holding her.
"He threatened her life, multiple times. We need to find her. I have a friend that does security, body guard work. He is also a PI. I will call him right now." Ezra said.
"Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't she tell us her real name?" Gabe asked. "Or anything about you?"
Paula looked down.
"Fear will do that to you." She said. Gabe and Ezra both looked at her. They both realized that Paula had similar first hand knowledge.
"We are all she has. And that is a big responsibility. An important one. I never had anyone, I only had myself and I lived in constant hell and fear. We have the ability to help her."
Paula said, looking up at Ezra and Gabe.
"I will find her." Ezra said.
"And we will help." Gabe said. They all looked at each other in agreement.