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Looking at my watch for the umpteenth time, I realized she wasn’t going to show. How could she lie to my face like that?
“What’s wrong?” Shadow asked as I paced the breakroom. I realized I hadn’t eaten in a couple of days and was waiting for the microwave to beep. Then I realized it already had, like five minutes ago.
I glanced up at his huge frame then pulled the mug out of the microwave. I took a sip. It was lukewarm, and I scowled but drank it anyway. “I invited Devon here tonight and she freakin’ stood me up.”
“You invited her here for a date? You shouldn’t be such a cheap-ass, man. Take her to the movies or something.” He chuckled.
“No, I think she’s in danger.”
“Why?” he asked, frowning.
“Did Viper fill you in on everything?” At his nod, I continued, “Those vamps she worked for suspect her of taking their damn human trafficking site down. She tried to tell me she could protect herself, but I know she isn’t that strong.” I sipped more blood. “So, she finally relented, but said she had a job and then she’d be right over after. That was over an hour ago.”
“Maybe the job took longer than expected?” Shadow asked. “You call or text her?”
I set the mug down and looked sheepishly at him. “Not yet.”
“Don’t play games, call her. Maybe she couldn’t get a ride or something.”
He had a point. It was Saturday night in New Orleans, so maybe all the car services and taxis were busy. I pulled the phone from my pocket and dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail as if it was shut off. “Call me when you get this, Devon.” I ended the call and shot her a text with the same message.
“No answer. Straight to voicemail, in fact,” I said to Shadow.
“That’s not good. But, if she thinks she can protect herself, then you shouldn’t worry. She’s a vampire.”
I shot him a look. “She’s not a very good vampire.”
“So you have this need to protect her? Hmm. You know what that means, right?” He ran his fingers over his beard and pierced me with his gray eyes.
I rinsed the mug and put it in the dishwasher after listening to MyAnna complain the other night about it. “Listen, I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t hoping for something else. I kissed her earlier and things got a little… heated. She seemed so into me, and I was so sure she’d show after she did her little side hustle. Now, nothing.”
“Either she’s ghosting you or she’s in trouble,” Bloome said, startling me as she walked into the breakroom and put her arms around Shadow’s waist.
“Do you ever not eavesdrop?” I asked, staring at the redhead.
She laughed and looked up at Shadow. “What do you say, babe? Am I ever not nosy?”
“No, you always are,” Jemini said, coming in with her twin brother trailing behind her.
“Bloome’s nosier than Jem, and that’s saying something,” Jermaine said, laughing.
“Houseful of hens,” I murmured, making my way toward the door to go sulk in my office. The least I could do was try to trace her phone, see where she was. I was sure I’d find she was at her apartment.
On my way to my office, I bumped into Viper.
“You good?” he asked after seeing the look on my face.
I explained the situation, and he said, “Something about that doesn’t seem right. But she has been deceitful before.”
Frustrated, I muttered, “Yeah.” I continued down the hall with Viper telling me to hit him up if I wanted any help.
Sitting at my desk, I brought up the cell phone provider’s website and considered what I was doing. I could hack in, find the location of her phone, and figure out where she was, just to placate my ego and help me get over the fact she’d rejected me. Or… I could just leave it alone and tell myself to get over it and stop obsessing. I bounced a pencil off my mousepad repeatedly and stared at the screen. Then, I checked my phone for missed calls or texts. Nothing. I briefly contemplated getting on my bike and driving to her apartment, except the problem was—I didn’t know which unit was hers. She’d used an alias to lease it so no way to run that info either. I’d have to sit on my bike and hope she came out.
“This is insanity.” I shook my head. “This is why me and relationships will never mix. I don’t have time for this crap! And now I’m talking to myself, for fuck’s sake.”
I clicked out of the cell provider’s website and went to work on a new anonymous text line we were going to use that would allow us to track the tipsters. Except every time I even thought about Devon, my traitorous dick would twitch in my pants until I had to think about anything else.
