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phone’s apps but didn’t see anything strange. All the numbers on my recently called and calls received lists were familiar. What the heck was going on?
    I pawed through my purse but couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary there, either. All my credit cards and the spare twenty in my wallet were accounted for. Weird.
    I jumped when the cell in my hand vibrated. A beat later, the notes of Kelly Clarkson’s latest song rang out. My thumb flicked over the screen and I answered.
    “Hey, Nic.”
    I walked over to the door and fumbled with the ridiculous number of deadbolts barring my exit.
    “I’m out front. Hurry up before he comes back.”
    “Holy shit. It’s not like I’m running away from an ax murderer.” Although judging from the number of locks he had, that might not have been much of a stretch. Who puts six deadbolts on their door anyhow? A feeling of unease swept over me. Just who had I slept with last night? “He’s a good guy.”
    At this point I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince myself or her of that fact.
    “Whatever. Just get your ass out here.”
    After unlocking the last deadbolt, I opened the door and stepped through. Finally, I could breathe. And no crazy maniac jumped out to stop me. Shaking my head at the silly thoughts Nic had given me, I twisted the one lock I could set and shut the door behind me.
    I waved at Nic sitting in the driver’s seat of her little Camry, stuffed my phone into my purse, and walked over.
    Of course I couldn’t help it if my eyes slid over to inspect the empty driveway. Zag’s bike was long gone. There was only a black tire streak in the driveway to mark the spot it’d been parked in last night. So he really did leave me all alone in his house this morning. I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or abandoned. Relieved that we didn’t have to do the awkward morning-after dance. And abandoned because—well…that bit was obvious.
    I debated for a second if I should’ve left him a note or something to let him know that I’d enjoyed last night, but I wasn’t sure what to leave. And given the way he’d left without a word, I didn’t think it’d be welcomed. A small part of me shriveled with the knowledge that I most likely wouldn’t see him again. Apparently I’d been wrong. That amazing magnetism I’d felt between us hadn’t been mutual.
    I slid into the passenger seat of Nic’s car and tried not to think about my tangled feelings. As soon as I saw Nic’s eyes, I knew I had a lot more than my silly feelings to worry about.
    “I’m not going to say it,” Nic sniped as she pulled the car away from the curb.
    Thank God. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the headrest. If she wasn’t going to harp about it, I wasn’t going to bait her. Maybe we could spend the whole ride with only her silent judgment filling the air. For once her car wasn’t vibrating with her crazy love of all things hard rock. Lord knew if it was the other way around I’d be doing the same, too.
    “What the hell were you thinking?”
    Then again, maybe not.
    “You don’t know what happened last night, Nic. I don’t want to hear it.”
    “I don’t know what happened last night because someone sent me a cryptic text and then turned their phone off. What was I supposed to think?”
    It didn’t help that she had a point. We told each other everything, but for some reason I really wanted to keep this one thing to myself. What I’d had with Zag last night had been amazing, and something that I don’t think Nic would understand. She was as bad as my mom when it came to men—appearance and impressions mattered. At the end of the night he was still a scary biker and that was that. Neither of them would understand why I’d want to spend the night with a big, bad biker no matter how sexy he was. Honestly, at this point I wasn’t sure if I understood it myself, either.
    “I’m sorry, Nic. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I just wanted someone to know where I was and