When she arrived in baggage claim at DIA, she remembered she’d ridden to the airport with Deacon. So it looked like she’d be taking a cab home.

As Molly stood in front of her apartment building with her luggage, she had a flashback of being in this exact same spot after Grams’s funeral, waiting for Deacon to park her car. Hard to believe that’d been less than two months ago.

After she’d showered and unpacked, she turned on her cell phone. She hadn’t wanted to deal with Deacon or anyone else while she’d been traveling.

Only one missed call—and not from Deacon. Disappointment slugged her in the gut. She listened to the voice mail Amery had left three hours ago.

“Hey, Mol. Got your text that you were coming back a day early.” Amery paused on the line. “With Ronin out of town, we need to discuss my expectations about the projects on tap this week. Come to the penthouse around nine. I’ll meet you at the Black Arts main entrance. Just text me when you get this message.”

Shit. Amery wasn’t requesting her appearance; she was demanding it. The longer the woman was married to Ronin, the more she became like him.

Good thing she hadn’t cracked open a bottle of wine since she’d be getting in her car.

To kill time, Molly jotted down a grocery list. No need to worry about Deacon’s dietary needs now. That was her tipping point. She’d managed to keep from breaking down, besides a few escaped tears here and there, but this time she didn’t even bother to try. She rested her forehead against the freezer door and sobbed.

Why did everything Deacon had told her about his relationship with his family seem meaningless in the face of his dismissive actions? That wasn’t the Deacon she knew. That wasn’t the man she’d fallen in love with. That wasn’t how a man who claimed to love her should treat her.

As the rush of tears slowed to a trickle, her misery didn’t cease. But she’d have put on a brave front for the next week as she figured out where she and Deacon went from here. At least she had the excuse of Deacon staying in Texas to keep people from knowing the truth.

Which is what? You left him because he hurt your feelings?

No. She left him because their relationship shouldn’t be a burden to him, and that’s how it’d started to feel. That’s how she’d started to feel too. She’d suffered through those feelings for too many years to not have it affect her so deeply.

Since she’d be in a work situation, Molly forced herself to put on makeup and dress appropriately. After slipping on her favorite pink knit halter dress and flip-flops, she grabbed her keys and tore off her grocery list—might as well get that out of the way. Halfway to her car, she lamented the fact she’d backslid into a woman who had nothing better to do than grocery shop on a Saturday night.

Cranking the tunes in her car helped calm her so she didn’t obsess over Amery’s summons. Or why she hadn’t heard from Deacon.

Stop it. You told him not to contact you. What did you expect?

A miracle, apparently.

By the time she reached the main door at Black Arts, Amery was waiting for her.

“Punctual, as usual.”

“Not smart to keep the boss waiting.”

Thankfully, Amery was too busy fussing with the excessive security system to comment on Molly’s bloodshot eyes rimmed with dark circles.

They took the elevator to the fifth floor and then switched to the private elevator for the penthouse. She’d been to Ronin and Amery’s place only two other times; Ronin was a fiercely private man.

Amery seemed preoccupied, which set Molly right back on edge. “Did you bring me here to fire me or something?”

“You’re funny.” She inserted a key into the panel and hit a button that had no floor number on it.

Holy shit. Amery was taking her to the roof. To the sanctuary she’d heard about but hadn’t seen firsthand.

“You’re definitely freaking me out, Mrs. Black.”

Amery didn’t look at her until the doors opened. “Why don’t you wait by the pool? It’s past the garden through the big door. Can’t miss it.”

“Amery—”

“Go.” She practically shoved Molly out of the elevator. “And please don’t be mad at me.” The elevator doors closed.

Why would Molly be mad at her? Dammit. What was going on?

Standing here glaring at the elevator door won’t answer your questions.

Molly breathed in deeply and exhaled before moving. As she walked down a short foyer, the rich, earthy scent of growing things filled her lungs. No lights illuminated the path through the garden. Kind of dangerous, but Ronin and Amery were the only ones who usually came up here, and they were used to navigating in the dark.