I knocked on the door so hard my knuckles pained. Three great fucking bangs that resonated into the apartment beyond, and down the hall on my side.

Waiting for shit to happen had never been my forte. This was no exception. In fact, this was worse on every single level. I banged again, and a squeak sounded from within, followed by a soft, “Just a second.”

It wasn’t Erika’s voice. It was her friend’s. The petite redhead with a personality too big for her body and a voice that didn’t match it. The latch on the door drew back, and Luna appeared. Her expression fell from concern into irritation.

“What the hell do you want?” she asked.

“I think you know,” I replied. “Where’s Erika? I need to speak to her right away.”

“She doesn’t want to speak to you.”

I placed a palm to the door and leaned on it, lightly. Luna fumbled backward, opening up all the way.

“I don’t care,” I snapped. “She’s going to speak to me. We have unfinished business.”

“I think you made it pretty damn clear that you don’t have any business with her this afternoon.”

“Where is she?” I asked and marched into the apartment. I circled the living room, then walked down the hall and peered into the first bedroom. It was flowery, definitely not Erika’s style. I moved onto the next.

“Hey!” Luna rushed up behind me, tugged on my arm. “What the hell are you doing? You can’t just walk in here and—”

“I can do whatever the hell I want,” I growled. Not true, but I was blinded by this anger. By the need to find out where she was. I moved on, opened another door and stared. The room was half-empty. Boxes everywhere, the bed in disarray. The closet open, clothes spilling out.

“What is this?” I asked.

Luna didn’t answer.

I turned on her. “What is this?” I repeated. “Where is she?”

“It’s none of your damn business where she is,” Luna replied.

I inhaled slowly, counting to ten in my mind to keep from losing my shit. “Luna, I need to speak to her.”

“You had your chance today. Oh, yeah, she told me what happened. She told me what a total asshole you were to her, and after everything that happened between you two?” She clicked her tongue, did a little head wobble. “I have a question for you, assmunch. Why couldn’t you just leave her the hell alone? Huh? Why did you have to do what you did?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. It didn’t really matter, in truth. Erika wasn’t here, and that meant this little escapade was a waste of my damn time.

“I’m talking about you leading her on, telling her you cared, playing her after all these years. That’s what I’m talking about.”

“She cut contact with me,” I replied, then walked past her and back into the living room.

Luna followed me, spitting like a cat on a hot tin roof. “You have no right to come here after what you’ve done. You have no right. Don’t you get it? Don’t you understand how she feels about—”

“Enough,” I said, and drew my hand through the air. “Enough. I don’t want to hear this from you. Where the fuck is she, Luna?”

“Gone.” The redhead folded her skinny arms. “Gone away, and when she comes back, if she comes back, it will be to pack her stuff and move out. And you can bet your ass I won’t tell you where she’s going, when she’ll be back, or what her number is.”

I made to sit down, to wait, but she stomped her foot at me. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you finished?”

“No, I’m not damn well finished. Far from it. Do you have any idea how long it took me to convince her to come live in New York? That this was the place she should be? And now she’s leaving. And it’s all your damn fault.”

Leaving. For where? “Back to Chicago?” I asked.

“It’s none of your damn business!” Luna snapped, all but shrieked it. She smashed her foot into the boards again, eyes practically glowing red, like some avenger of the damn apocalypse. “And you can bet your scumbag ass that I will call the cops if I find you anywhere near this building. Or near her. She deserves better than you.”

Scumbag? I wasn’t the one who’d run off with my ex. I wasn’t—stop, not the time. “I need to speak to her,” I said, my voice straining out of frustration. “Today. Now. It’s of the utmost importance.”

“Of the utmost importance.” Luna put on a British voice. “Dream on, jackass. She doesn’t want to talk to you. And even if she did... Well, I’d damn well make sure she didn’t. Anything you have to say to her can take place through a lawyer or in a court of law.”

Huh?

“Now, get the hell out of my apartment.” She pointed to the door.

I wasn’t a man who lingered where I wasn’t wanted. Neither was I one who took commands easily. Always had a problem with authority figures. I strode to the exit, tugged the door open myself. “I’ll be back.” Finally, I stepped through.

“Whatever, Terminator,” Luna snapped. “You come back, and I’ll go Robocop on your ass. A-buh-bye.” She slammed the door shut, then stomped off, her feet hitting the floorboards in her apartment so hard I could make out which direction she’d headed in. Back to the living room.

“Fuck,” I muttered. “Fuck.” Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there weren’t any answers. Or my questions were bullshit. The only thing I’d consolidated during this little escapade was that she didn’t want me around.

And that, once again, I was on the verge of doing something I’d regret for the rest of my life.