hadn’t seen an iguana away from the beach areas, she didn’t want to accidentally run over one.
Most of the stores were closed, which seemedweird, but then it was about dinnertime. Not everyplace had New York hours.
As she pedaled past the real estate office where she’d talked to Ralph, one of the dreadlocked guides who had introduced her to Koenraad, she glanced inside, but it was dark, empty.
A little shiver shot down her spine, and she wondered if she should stay near the lights and crowds. She decided she was being a wimpand pressed on.
The bike only had three speeds, so she stood up on the pedals and worked them harder. She coasted down a small hill. The wind ruffled through her hair and pressed her dress against her legs.
Soon she was on the long, winding road that would eventually lead to Koenraad’s seaside mansion. There wasn’t much traffic, but the few times cars did pass, she checked out the drivers.
None of them were Koenraad.
For the last stretch toward his beach house, she was alone on the road. She hadn’t appreciated just how remote his place was considering its relative proximity to the town. She hopped off the bike and took a moment to catch her breath and finger-comb her tangled hair away from her face. If she ended up spending lots more time on the island, she’d have to consider cuttingit shorter. Between the salt water and the wind, long hair was a liability.
She walked up to the first set of security gates—Koenraad had two—and punched in the code. To her surprise, the gate stayed closed.
She reentered the code, tried again. Nothing. As she looked at the panel, she realized none of the lights were on. And it hadn’t beeped.
Jangling the locked gate didn’t get her anywhere.
Either Koenraad had locked her out or there was a power failure.
She lifted onto her toes and tried to peer through the gates, but the mansion itself was too far back to see, and anyway it was too dark out.
As she walked the bike out to the road, she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she should be taking this personally. He’d blown her off several times since they’d met, and while it was truethat his job was a bit hectic at the moment, he’d left her alone all day. He’d broken several promises to call.
Busy she could understand, but the lack of communication was seriously fucked up.
Maybe he wasn’t the man she’d thought. Maybe it was out of sight, out of mind with him. If this had been the first time… but he’d stood her up twice before.
She was the problem. Nya, one of her friendswho was also one of Linda’s bridesmaids, never had a guy stand her up. It was “one strike and don’t let the door hit you” with her.
The more Monroe thought about it, the angrier she became. And she was stuck here, dependent on a guy who had vanished.
Unless he’d gotten sick. He’d told her that the contaminant in the water did bad things to shifters… In which case, the thoughts going throughher mind made her a horrible person.
If only she knew for sure what was going on.
She leaned the bike against her hip and tried to decide what to do next. She was stuck here for several more days. Funny how just a few hours ago she’d been wanting to stay forever.
She turned and looked at the wall around Koenraad’s estate. It was too high to climb, and she was certain he had a pretty good alarmsystem.
She hated feeling insecure like this. She wanted to be more like Nya, to believe that if Koenraad couldn’t be bothered to keep his promises, she was better off without him. To believe that she’d find someone better.
Koenraad had been pretty open with her about all the shark stuff. That had to count for something, right? He’d saved her life twice.
But maybe he’d only felt responsiblefor her. Maybe he’d gotten tired of having to rescue a weak human all the time.
Exhausted, she massaged the bridge of her nose, then she pulled out her phone and dialed. She went right to
Most of the stores were closed, which seemedweird, but then it was about dinnertime. Not everyplace had New York hours.
As she pedaled past the real estate office where she’d talked to Ralph, one of the dreadlocked guides who had introduced her to Koenraad, she glanced inside, but it was dark, empty.
A little shiver shot down her spine, and she wondered if she should stay near the lights and crowds. She decided she was being a wimpand pressed on.
The bike only had three speeds, so she stood up on the pedals and worked them harder. She coasted down a small hill. The wind ruffled through her hair and pressed her dress against her legs.
Soon she was on the long, winding road that would eventually lead to Koenraad’s seaside mansion. There wasn’t much traffic, but the few times cars did pass, she checked out the drivers.
None of them were Koenraad.
For the last stretch toward his beach house, she was alone on the road. She hadn’t appreciated just how remote his place was considering its relative proximity to the town. She hopped off the bike and took a moment to catch her breath and finger-comb her tangled hair away from her face. If she ended up spending lots more time on the island, she’d have to consider cuttingit shorter. Between the salt water and the wind, long hair was a liability.
She walked up to the first set of security gates—Koenraad had two—and punched in the code. To her surprise, the gate stayed closed.
She reentered the code, tried again. Nothing. As she looked at the panel, she realized none of the lights were on. And it hadn’t beeped.
Jangling the locked gate didn’t get her anywhere.
Either Koenraad had locked her out or there was a power failure.
She lifted onto her toes and tried to peer through the gates, but the mansion itself was too far back to see, and anyway it was too dark out.
As she walked the bike out to the road, she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she should be taking this personally. He’d blown her off several times since they’d met, and while it was truethat his job was a bit hectic at the moment, he’d left her alone all day. He’d broken several promises to call.
Busy she could understand, but the lack of communication was seriously fucked up.
Maybe he wasn’t the man she’d thought. Maybe it was out of sight, out of mind with him. If this had been the first time… but he’d stood her up twice before.
She was the problem. Nya, one of her friendswho was also one of Linda’s bridesmaids, never had a guy stand her up. It was “one strike and don’t let the door hit you” with her.
The more Monroe thought about it, the angrier she became. And she was stuck here, dependent on a guy who had vanished.
Unless he’d gotten sick. He’d told her that the contaminant in the water did bad things to shifters… In which case, the thoughts going throughher mind made her a horrible person.
If only she knew for sure what was going on.
She leaned the bike against her hip and tried to decide what to do next. She was stuck here for several more days. Funny how just a few hours ago she’d been wanting to stay forever.
She turned and looked at the wall around Koenraad’s estate. It was too high to climb, and she was certain he had a pretty good alarmsystem.
She hated feeling insecure like this. She wanted to be more like Nya, to believe that if Koenraad couldn’t be bothered to keep his promises, she was better off without him. To believe that she’d find someone better.
Koenraad had been pretty open with her about all the shark stuff. That had to count for something, right? He’d saved her life twice.
But maybe he’d only felt responsiblefor her. Maybe he’d gotten tired of having to rescue a weak human all the time.
Exhausted, she massaged the bridge of her nose, then she pulled out her phone and dialed. She went right to
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