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I also did not see Wyldfire, which I assumed meant she must have moved the cat into her room at Asmoday’s B&B.

Yesterday, after I was done with clients for the day, I strode over to the B&B, only to be told by Asmoday that she and Daruka had gone off somewhere, and he had no idea when they’d be home.

Was she avoiding me? Clearly.

The real question was, why?

While she hadn’t said the words, “River, that was the best sex ever,” the look on her face had said she’d at least enjoyed it.

So why the avoidance technique?

Now it was Friday morning, and I’d reached a level of desperation I’d experienced only one other time in my life. That was when my stalker had nearly decimated a bunch of humans along with me, and I knew I had to get out of New Orleans before something truly terrible happened.

I had to talk to her. I had to know how she felt.

I had to know why she was avoiding me—and how could we get past this? Whatever this was.

I was dressed and ready to go earlier than normal, even though my first appointment wasn’t until eleven thirty. My plan was to head over to the B&B and catch her before she pulled another disappearing act.

I glanced out the window overlooking Main Street and spotted her coming out of the B&B. She passed the yeti’s ice cream shop and Queenie’s boutique and paused in front of the pub, which I knew wasn’t open yet. It was too early in the morning.

She waved at the window, and a moment later, the minotaur darkened the doorway and held up a set of keys at eye level.

What in the world?

She wrapped a hand around the keys, and the minotaur made several gestures that looked to me like he was giving her directions. They exchanged a few more words, and then he returned inside the pub while she headed down the alley between the pub and the mercantile store.

Keys. Was the minotaur loaning her a vehicle? He drove a gigantic full-sized truck, mostly because he was so large and couldn’t fit into anything smaller but also because he used it to load up on supplies for his pub.

Supplies he collected from the mundane world.

Outside of Arrythmia.

Shit. Was she borrowing his truck to leave town?

Not without someone to protect her, she wasn’t.

I bolted down the stairs, nearly tripping over Wyldfire, who appeared out of nowhere. With no time to spare, I scooped the cat into my arms and raced across the street, slipped between the buildings, and exploded into the narrow alley behind the storefronts just in time for Cassandra to climb into the minotaur’s truck and slam the door.

I hurried around to the passenger side and hopped up into the seat, still clutching the cat to my chest.

Cassandra stared at me with her mouth hanging open, her hand frozen in the act of buckling her seat belt.

“Hi,” I said, faux brightly to cover my nerves.

She blinked a couple of times. “What are you doing here?”

“Going with you.”

“Where?”

“I have no idea.”

She shook her head. “Let’s try this again. Why are you here?”

“Are you leaving Arrythmia?” I asked instead of giving her a direct answer.

“Yes.”