Jada nodded.
“Can you put Bella to bed?”
Jada’s lips curled at the edges. “Sure.”
I didn’t even care that she thought my behavior was amusing. I needed to see with my own eyes that Skye was okay. I jumped in my car and punched in the address. It took me twenty minutes to get to the Mission District, where the address she was staying at was located.
On the drive, I wasn’t even thinking about what I would say to her when I got there. I just needed to know she was okay.
“Your destination is on the left,” the automated voice announced as I pulled onto Bryant.
Street parking was a nightmare in the city, but the parking angels must have been on my side because I found a spot right in front of the building.
I was out of the car and up the steps to the hipster-looking building when I realized I didn’t know which unit she was in. I pulled out my phone and texted her. I’d never texted her before and wasn’t sure if it was exactly ethical that I’d put her number in my phone. A number that I had only because of the background check I’d had Maddox run on her.
For a moment I questioned whether or not I should just leave, but there was no way I’d be able to sleep without knowing that she was okay.
“Fuck it,” I mumbled beneath my breath as I typed a message and sent it.
Me:Hey, it’s Nick. I just heard about your building and am outside.
I waited, wondering if she was asleep. It was only half past eight, but I wasn’t sure what her sleeping hours were since she worked the night shift four nights a week. Plus, we hadn’t gone to bed until after two this morning.
Instead of a text, my phone rang. It was strange to see her name pop up, and it was also strange to have someone who wasn’t Jada, or Parker, or Alex, or Maddox calling me. Most people just texted.
“Hi,” I answered.
“Hi, um, where are you?” she whispered.
Shit.What if she was seeing someone? What if she’d lied about not being in a relationship and was whispering because she was with her boyfriend? That thought made me feel sick to my stomach.
“I’m outside your building.”
“Oh, I’m not there. I told Jada that I—”
“No, I’m outside the address you gave Jada.”
“You are?!”
That was not a whisper.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Why? Why was I outside her building? That was a good question. One I should have had an answer to before I jumped into my car and drove over there at eight o’clock at night. Before I could come up with a response that didn’t make me sound like a stalker, the front door of the building opened, and a woman walked out. I caught the door and stepped inside the foyer.
“What apartment are you in?” I asked.
“What?”
“I’m in the building. Is it okay if I come up?”
“Um…” I heard what sounded like muffled talking.
“Number sixteen twenty-four,” a woman’s voice called out in the background.
“Ri!” Skye snapped.
