Page 83 of Red Hot Harmony

“I’m good. I can handle it,” Amun said, interrupting the bitter trail of my thoughts.

“Thank you so much. Harper will be there soon.”

“Awesome. I’ll see you guys shortly.”

Relief, however feeble, filled my chest as I ended the call. Dante and his little slip aside, at least I didn’t have to fret over this. But the possibility of an evacuation order grew stronger with every minute as the fire—according to the radio reports I was listening to while behind the wheel—began spreading southeast. The prospect of transporting all the merch elsewhere worried me. My car alone wouldn’t be enough to get everything out of the boutique in one go. Harper’s Jaguar wouldn’t even fit half a dress.

That left Renn’s vehicle.

And Amun drove a sedan. So, too small.

Plus, the thought of asking her to do that made me uncomfortable.

Actually, everything this morning made me uncomfortable.

The fight with my daughter over an unapproved tattoo.

The hot sex with Dante I hadn’t planned on having.

The blanket of smoke stretching across the sky.

The entire neighborhood looked like a horror movie set by the time I got to Harper’s place. The combination of ash and strong winds made the air so bad that I had to cover my nose and mouth with the sleeve of my shirt to be able to breathe on my way across the lawn.

Stupidly expecting my kid to be up and ready, I was more than prepared to relieve Harper of his babysitting duties and take Ally home so I could concentrate on figuring out what to do in case the fires reached the Calabasas area.

Sirens screamed somewhere in the distance as I rushed up the stairs. Seconds later, the noise was followed by the faraway rumble of a helicopter, and suddenly, the world felt unsafe and unreliable and I didn’t like it.

I didn’t like it at all.

Harper was already dressed for work and picking out a pair of shoes to wear. His place looked unusually clean and organized despite the fact that Ally had been spending more time here than at home. And she could get messy, especially since Harper didn’t always enforce the rules where his goddaughter was concerned.

“Where is she?” I asked, closing the door behind me and fighting a small cough about to escape my throat. Tallulah pawed her way across the room to greet me. She rubbed her head against my ankles and purred.

“Sleeping,” my friend said, thrusting his foot into a beige high-top athletic shoe.

“You haven’t woken her up?” Ignoring the cat’s ministrations, I glanced at my cell and noted the time. It was ten, and I didn’t want Amun to be at the store by herself for longer than necessary.

“Look.” He shook his head once, his voice low and reassuring. “We didn’t go to bed until four in the morning. You wanted me to talk to her, so I had to improvise because she wouldn’t crack.”

“Jesus Christ.” I rolled my eyes. “I mean, I knew you secretly spoiled her when I wasn’t looking, but don’t turn her into a night owl before she’s eighteen at least.”

“She’s already a night owl, sweets,” Harper whispered, going back to tying his laces.

“Those are going to get ruined.” I pointed at his shoes. “It’s aWalking Deadsituation out there.”

He shot me a scandalized stare. “You do knowWalking Deadis about zombies, not fires, right?”

“Okay, well... It was a metaphor for the end of the world state of affairs, but whatever. I’m still upset and I don’t have time for Ally’s theatrics. Amun is alone at the store and Renn is probably still drunk, so we better get going.” I marched toward the guest bedroom and knocked. “Bug, come on! Rise and shine!”

Of course there was no response.

I pushed the door open. It took me a moment to realize that the bed was empty and that the blankets had been purposely arranged in a manner to look like someone was underneath.

“Harper!” I charged back to the living room, where he was trying on a pair of Diesel boots. The TV was blasting and a shot of a helicopter dropping gallons of water across a burning patch of land flashed in my peripheral. “She’s not there!”

“What?” Harper spun to face me, his expression twisting into something awfully hurt.

Together, we stomped to the guest room.

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