Page 41 of I Am Sin

But now it rings five times and then goes to my voice messaging system.

Dragon’s the dark brooding type—that much is for sure. But there’s no way in hell he would… My stomach twists.

I walk to the edge of the roof. Nausea curls through my throat as I look down.

Nobody splattered on the road, thank God.

I check the other side. There are only two edges since the building is attached to other structures on either side.

How could he have gotten down?

There are fire escapes outside all the loft windows.

I check again.

Sure enough, on the back of the building, there’s a small fire escape.

I breathe a sigh of relief. That must be how he got down, but… Wouldn’t he let me know he got off the roof?

Something’s not right here.

I let myself back into the building using Teddy’s card and walk back down the stairs to the floor to her loft.

The party is still going strong, and the smell of marijuana is seeping out through her door.

Nothing to do about that. It’s legal here in Colorado. The smell of weed is everywhere, especially on the weekends.

I hate the sickeningly sweet smell, but I’ve gotten more used to it since I’ve been living here in town.

I find Teddy quickly and give her back her card. “I need to go. He’s not up on the roof, and he hasn’t texted me or called me.”

Teddy furrows her brow. “He’s a grown man, Dee.”

“True that.” I run my hands through my hair. “But I also called my place. He didn’t answer the landline.”

Teddy shrugs. “Because it’syourlandline. He probably thinks he shouldn’t be doing that. For all he knows, you might get personal and private calls on it.”

I shake my head. “I hardly use the landline. I only have it because it is cheaper to bundle my TV, phone line, and internet service than it is to pay for them à la carte.”

“Yeah, I do it too. A silly reason, but I have one.” She grabs my hands. “I want you to stay, Dee. The party’s just getting started.”

“I’d like to.” I gaze toward Teddy’s front door. “I don’t drink much, but I was considering tying one on tonight since it’s my last chance for a while.”

Teddy pouts her lips. “Don’t think of it that way. Reserve Saturday nights for yourself, Diana.”

Teddy means well, but she’s not an architect. She’s an executive assistant, and she’s gone as far in the firm as she’s going to go.

She has a point, though. I do need to take care of myself, because if I don’t, I won’t have the best to give to my new firm.

“Tell you what,” I say. “Once I figure out where Dragon is, I’ll come back. It’s still early.”

“Yeah. We’ll be going well past midnight.” She squeezes my hands. “I hope I see you again tonight.”

“You will.”

Then I leave.

And I wonder where the fuck Dragon could have gone.