Page 66 of Simon Says

DAKOTAbadly wanted to accept Roger’s generous offer. He had a nice place, sort of a low-key honky-tonk with dancing, drinking, easy food, and private rooms galore. The upper floor, where he kept his office, circled the other floors with a cool steel railing, giving guests a nice view of the activities below. Both floors served drinks, but most of the fun happened downstairs with the live band, mechanical bull riding, billiards, and more.

Roger had offered good pay, and staying in Harmony held a lot of appeal.

But for every good reason to stay, there were twice as many reasons to go.

She wasn’t a person who liked to meddle in the lives of others. She wasn’t a manipulative person who used others for her own ends. She wasn’t a woman who had casual affairs.

Who was she kidding? Since her divorce, she wasn’t a woman who had sex, period.

Yet, in Simon’s case, she’d meddled unforgivably, put her own needs above his, and for the first time in years, the thought of sex appealed to her.

None of that really mattered, though, because Simon didn’t want to meet Barnaby. End of story. Time to leave the man alone and accept defeat.

That decision depressed the hell out of Dakota, even if she knew it was the right thing to do. At least she was alone in her unhappiness instead of caught in the middle of the laughing guests. From his office, Roger had kindly escorted her to the back of the building. A private stairwell led to empty storage rooms on the first floor. There she’d find a door to the street.

Roger would have walked her out, but his cell phone rang and Dakota, who wanted nothing more than to return to her motel room to accept defeat in private, assured him she could see herself out. For days now, she hadn’t gotten enough sleep. Her feet hurt. And she still had to go to the front of the building to get her coat. She didn’t want to wait for him to complete his call, and she didn’t want to inconvenience anyone any more than she already had.

Reluctantly, Roger agreed.

After leaving a message for Mallet, Dakota called a cab. She appreciated the chance to sneak out—if only she hadn’t had that awful sense of being watched. Not Simon, and not Bonnie.

But someone.

Worry edged at the back of her mind as she opened the stairwell door and, shivering at the rush of cold air, stepped inside. The heavy door slowly closed with a loud creak and a final thunk, leaving her in heavy shadows and subdued silence.

Since she wasn’t likely to see anyone on the stairs, Dakota bent to remove her shoes. Her toes thanked her as she wiggled life back into them. She took two steps, listening to the sounds of the party behind her.

Then she heard something else.

Going still, Dakota listened. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath strangled in her lungs. Sure that someone was behind her, and equally sure that she was mistaken, she started to turn—and something hit her hard in the middle of her shoulder blades.

She screamed as she went tumbling headfirst down the long flight of stairs, and didn’t stop screaming until she slammed up against the door at the landing.

CHAPTER 9

SIMONfound Mallet on the dance floor, having himself a good time to a fast tune. Raising his voice so Mallet could hear him over Barber’s band, he asked, “Have you seen Dakota?”

Mallet paused, letting his dance partner fall into step with others. “She’s not with you?”

“Would I ask if she was?”

Moving off the busy and noisy dance floor, Mallet shook his head. “I suppose not.” When they reached the outer perimeter of the room, he pulled out his cell phone, saw he had a message, and checked it. “Hey, she said she’s taking a cab home.”

“When was that?”

He glanced at the phone again, then at his watch. “Maybe ten minutes ago.”

Hands on his hips, Simon stewed. “Damn it.” Why had she come to the party, only to sneak off without telling him?

Mallet started to commiserate with Simon when Dean showed up. He didn’t look happy. “Haggerty just called me. Dakota’s hurt.”

Both Mallet and Simon froze at that news.

Simon recovered first. “How bad?”

“I don’t know yet. I came for you before asking other questions.” Dean started away and both men followed.

Pushing the pace, Simon asked, “What happened?”

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