Fallen Hearts: Fallen Book 2 (a Boys of Porn novella)

CH 9

Right after Patrick called.

Derek blinked—had he imagined Gideon's words? His pulse quaked. "What...?"

Bailey stared at Gideon, equally stunned.

"A call came in and Mickey answered it," Gideon said. "It was Patrick... asking for you."

Lacing his fingers behind his neck, Derek leaned forward, eyes on the floor. "What... what did he say?" His chest tightened as he waited for Gideon's response.

"As I said, he asked for you. Mickey told him you weren't there and offered to take a message."

Derek looked up. "Did he... did he leave a message?"

"No," Gideon said quietly. "He said he shouldn't have called and asked Mickey not to tell you he called. Mickey said he sounded upset and that he was..."

Derek tensed. "What?"

"Crying," Gideon murmured.

Crying? Derek's heart seized. "Why was he so upset?"

"I don't know. That's all he said over the phone. He hung up before Mickey could get anything from him."

Derek left the sofa and moved around the small living room, his mind numb. "Did..." He licked his lips anxiously and looked at Gideon. "Did a number show up..." His focus shifted to the phone in Gideon's hands.

"No. It just read as unknown caller. There was no number."

Shit. Derek stood in the middle of the floor and gripped the back of his neck. "I don't have any way to contact him," he mumbled. "I don't know his new number, or where he lives. Nothing."

Was God playing a twisted joke on him?

Desperation settled into his heart—how the hell could he find Patrick?

Bailey perked up. "You know his last name, right?"

"Yeah, it's, uh, Weber."

"So, let's start by looking up the Weber name. See what we come up with."

"Weber isn't an uncommon name," Derek said. "Who knows how many will show up in the Chicago area?"

"And maybe Patrick Weber will show up in the listing and we won't have to hunt through them."

Of course, it was possible. But would it really be that easy? Derek wanted to believe so but had his doubts; nothing was ever that easy.

Bailey sat on the sofa and took out his phone. "On your date, did he say anything about his living situation? Does he live alone? With a roommate? At his parents' home?"

"No," Derek said. "He mentioned some stuff about his parents and his friend, Brian. But he didn't say if he lived with any of them."

"Did he happen to mention which church he attended?" Gideon asked.

"No. Just that it was a church that accepted gay people."

"An affirming church," Gideon said. "You can search those if you come up empty with the name search."

"Those what?"

"Affirming churches in Chicago," Gideon explained. "You can contact each one to see if Patrick is a member of the congregation. It may take a little longer, but it's another lead if the other falls through."

Derek sighed. "What if he doesn't want to be found? By me."

Gideon stood and walked over to him. "After four days of silence, he called you. He was emotional, in tears." He gripped Derek's shoulder. "Something powerful is going on inside that young man. He's still struggling, but he's also reaching out to you. I know what he's going through and it's a difficult, confusing journey. Changing his number was likely an attempt to cut you out of his life. And it could have worked—if he'd really wanted it to. But clearly, he isn't ready to let you go."