“It’s okay,” I said.

It hadn’t seemed like that much of a loss of control, but what did I know? And I wondered if maybe a small loss of control wasn’t such a bad thing. Wasn’t that kind of the basis of passion? I didn’t know that either. The only thing I knew for sure was that this kiss had been a lot like the last one. Nice, but it didn’t blow me away. My heart sank. There was something wrong with me. Everyone was always going on about how socially inept I was. Did it extend to romance as well? Was I so cold that I’d spend my life never feeling anything?

I think Brayden misread my dismay and assumed I was upset with him. He stood up and held out his hand. “Hey, let’s go walk to that tea shop one block over. They’ve got this local painter’s art on display that I think you’ll like. Besides, no calories in tea, right? Better than dessert.”

“Right,” I said. Thinking of the gelato didn’t cheer me up any. The Italian place had had pomegranate, which kind of sounded like the best thing ever. As I stood up, my cell phone rang and startled both of us. “Hello?”

“Sage? It’s me.”

I had no reason to be mad at Adrian, not after what he’d done for me, but somehow I felt irritated by the interruption. I was trying to make the most of this night with Brayden, and Adrian unsettled everything.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Are you still downtown? You need to come over right now.”

“You know I’m out with Brayden,” I said. This was pushy, even for Adrian. “I can’t just drop everything and entertain you.”

“It’s not about me.” It was then that I noticed how hard and serious his voice was. Something tightened in my chest. “It’s about Sonya. She’s missing.”

CHAPTER 19

“SHE WAS LEAVING TOWN,” I reminded him.

“Not until tomorrow.”

He was right, I realized. When we’d spoken to Sonya last night, she’d said two days. “Are you sure she’s really disappeared?” I asked. “Maybe she’s just… out.”

“Belikov’s here, and he’s freaked out. He says she never came home last night.”

I nearly dropped the phone. Last night? Sonya had been gone that long? That was nearly twenty-four hours ago. “How did no one notice until now?” I demanded.

“I don’t know,” said Adrian. “Can you just come over? Please, Sydney?”

I was powerless when he used my first name. It always took everything to an extra level of seriousness—not that this situation needed any particular help. Sonya. Gone for twenty-four hours. For all we knew, she wasn’t even alive if those sword-wielding freaks had caught her.

Brayden’s face was a mix of incredulity and disappointment when I told him I had to leave. “But you just… I mean…” It was a rare moment of speechlessness for him.

“I’m sorry,” I said earnestly. “Especially after being late and ruining the museum. But it’s a family emergency.”