Page 26 of Sunrise (Monarch Club #3)

Vault

“She called out again,” Ryker says over the phone.

Shit. Sitting on Knox’s couch, I brainstorm what I should do.

“Does this have anything to do with you and Knox?”

“No.”

“Vault, I can’t have you stealing my best Femme Domme.”

“We haven’t stolen her. What the fuck do you think we’re doing, holding her hostage?”

“No.” He sighs. “I think you’re spreading her too thin. She’s a workaholic and now she’s tangled in your and Knox’s shit. This second night off is uncharacteristic of her. I’m worried.”

“We are too.”

“She hasn’t answered her phone since shooting me the text saying she’s not coming in.”

I get that he’s concerned, but Sophie is a grown woman. Not everyone has to live at the club. “Maybe she just needs a goddamn break, Ry.”

“In all the time we’ve worked together, how many days has she taken off? And don’t tell me you don’t know. ”

“None.”

“Exactly. This is a bad sign.”

I’m not sure what he expects me to do about it. “I’ll find her and make sure she’s okay.”

“Call me when you do.”

This level of protectiveness doesn’t surprise me. Ryker takes his family very seriously and Sophie is family.

First, I shoot her a text.

Vault : Hey. Call me.

Next, I call Knox, but he doesn’t answer.

Leaning back on the couch, I come up with a dozen situations that could explain what may or may not be going on.

Look, I’m not one to overreact, and Sophie calling off from work is not a red flag, regardless of what Ryker thinks.

She’s been grinding so much lately that I’m sure she just needs a breather.

Good for her that she’s doing something for herself and taking the night off.

I’m also secretly a little relieved that she’s not with any other Monarch members. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching that woman work a room, and specifically a couple in a private session, but ever since this past weekend, I’m kind of digging Knox and I having her all to ourselves.

Don’t ever tell her I said that, though.

All I know is, when we left her house this morning and she went to work late, that woman was beaming from ear to ear.

So why isn’t she calling me now?

Unlocking my home screen, I check to see if the text delivered.

Knox’s face takes over my screen with an incoming call. “Hey. ”

“I’m on my way home. You talk to Sophie?”

“Not yet. She took off tonight from the club though. Ry’s worried.”

“He can take a number and wait at the back of the line.”

Knox sounds more irritated than usual. “You good, man?”

“No. Yes. I don’t even fucking know. I’ll see you in twenty.” He hangs up and I’m once again overworking a bunch of hypotheses in my mind for what his problem could be.

Why is there nothing simple in this life?

I glance over at the setup I’ve put together in Knox’s place. The candles. Flowers. Fruit and champagne. We wanted to spoil her tonight. Now we have to find her first.

Dialing her number, I start blowing out all the candles I’ve lit. Seriously, Knox having this many goddamn candles in his house is unreasonable. If the apocalypse happened, he would never run out. It’s ridiculous.

She picks up on the fourth ring. “Hello?”

Her voice is mumbled.

“Soph, are you okay?”

“Vault?”

“Yeah?”

“Hiiii.”

For fuck’s sake, she’s drunk. “Hey,” I laugh nervously. “Are you drinking right now?”

“Yyyyup.”

“Where?”

“My house.”

That makes me pause. We told her to meet us at Knox’s after work. There was a group text. She said okay, but now she’s drunk at home instead of being here with us… or working at the Monarch. That’s incredibly out of pocket for her.

“Can I come over?”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” she says, slurring a little.

Wow. Okay. “May I ask why?”

“Because I’m sad.”

“Why are you sad?”

She ends the fucking call. I try to reach her two more times, but she sends me to voicemail.

Dialing Knox, it rings and rings and shoots to voicemail, too.

I have a choice: Ditch Knox and get to Sophie or wait for him so we can tag team her.

I decide to wait. Thank God Knox is a speed demon.

I’m waiting outside by my bike when he rolls in.

“We’re going to Sophie’s,” I yell before he turns his engine off. Nodding, he heads out and I follow.

She doesn’t answer the door when we knock.

“Sophie!” Knox hollers. “Sophie, let us in!”

Maybe she’s in the backyard. I head towards the white privacy fence that wraps around the back of her property. The gate is locked from the inside, of course. Her house is a fortress. Grabbing the top of a post, I shimmy up and not-so-gracefully land in her backyard. Then I let Knox in.

She’s not back here.

He storms over to her sliding glass door and tugs it. It doesn’t open. “Jesus, there’s no way to get inside.”

Impressive and frustrating.

“Sophie, let us in!” All her lights are on. The curtains and blinds are closed, but I can still see a glow. We bang on the glass door harder. “Sophie!”

She rips open the blinds, confusion and terror contorting her face and there’s a knife in her hands.

The instant she sees it’s us, her shoulders droop and she rests the knife on the floor.

Lifting the bar and the extra stopper at the bottom, she unlocks the sliding door.

“What are you doing? You just scared the shit out of me!”

She’s a hot mess, swaying as she yells at us.

“We didn’t mean to scare you. We were worried,” Knox argues. “You didn’t answer your phone or your door, and we knew you were in here.”

After letting us in, she clumsily relocks the sliding door, then walks away, completely off kilter. “I didn’t hear you. I was listening to an audiobook.”

That’s not all she was doing. There’s an empty bottle of wine lying on the floor in the kitchen, along with a bag of baby carrots, a hunk of cheese, and half a box worth of crumpled tissues.

I have never in my life seen her this way.

“How about we get you some water?”

“I don’t want water,” she growls at me, swaying on her feet. “I want revenge. Sweet, cold, stab his tires revenge.” She wipes her nose. “You know what? Fuck that. I want it to not work. I hope I was wrong, and they look stupid about it.”

Knox and I glance at each other, clueless.

“Okay, but first, let’s get you hydrated.” He grabs her hips and tries to maneuver her. She spins around and puts her arms around him. “How was your day, pup?”

Knox’s jaw sets. “It was interesting.”

“Tell me about it.”

He looks at me and gives a one shoulder shrug. “Drink water for me first and I’ll tell you everything.”

We get her into the kitchen and Knox pours a glass of water while she sits on the floor and bites into the block of cheese.

Sitting next to her, Knox hands the glass over. “Drink, then I’ll talk.”

Her sip is miniscule.

“Do better, Mistress.”

She scoffs and takes a bigger sip. Some of it drips down her chin, and she rubs her forehead with the back of the hand that’s still clutching cheese. I squat in front of her and wipe the water off her chin. She’s a cute, sloppy drunk, I’ll give her that.

“Go on,” she initiates. “Tell me everything .”

“Why don’t you tell us about your day first,” I say.

She throws the cheese at me. “Knox and I have a deal. I drank the water. Now I want to hear what interesting things happened to him today.” She pokes him in the arm. “Do not disappoint your Mistress.”

“Well…” He gets all comfy on the floor beside her, and she seems to follow his body language, relaxing against him. “I had a food critic come into the restaurant.”

Her nose is bright red, and her beautiful eyes are bloodshot and puffy, too. It breaks my heart seeing her this way. How long did she sit here, alone, sobbing?

“Did you cook foods good for him?” she asks, looking exhausted. Her eyes are already half closed.

“As if you even have to ask.” He playfully boops the tip of her nose and she’s in slow motion when she bats it away. There’s almost a smile on her face.

“Good boy.”

“Thank you, Mistress. Now drink.”

She takes another sloppy sip. “Does he have a blog or something?”

“I don’t know.” He pulls her hair back and out of her face. “His name is Max Born.”

“Max Born ?” Her jaw drops and she lights up a little. “I love that guy.”

Knox tenses. “You know him?”

“Everyone knows him. He’s famous .”

“Famous? I couldn’t find him anywhere on social media,” Knox argues. “How do you know him?”

Sophie slow blinks before taking a big gulp of water. “I loved the alien dick.”

She’s a mess.

“And I did not see that lot plist coming with the space ghost dragon. That was a good one.” Her gaze wanders to the floor. “Lot plist. Plot list. Plot. Twist. Coming.”

I point at the water in her hand. “Drink.”

She takes two more sips.

Knox rubs her thigh, trying to redirect her. “Tell me about Max Born, baby.”

“Ohhh I love him.”

“We know. Why?”

“He helped in the development of quantum mechanics.” She holds her chest. “He literally got a Nobel Prize for the sta-testicle. Wait. Statatatis. No.” She squeezes her eyes shut and sighs, getting frustrated with herself. “ Sta. Tis. Tical interpretation of the wave function.”

Knox looks over at me for help, confusion screwing his face all up.

“Did that just turn you on, pup?” She winks at him. With both eyes.

Knox bites his bottom lip and looks over at me, trying to hide his amusement.

Sophie suddenly throws her arms out wide and almost falls into him. “Quantum harmonic oscillators have nooooo trajarady. Wait. Trajectory .” She slashes her hand in the air. “None. They’re just waves.” She moves her arms in a wave motion. “I want to go to the beach.”

Silence falls around us.

Her chin trembles. Curling up, she wraps her arms around her knees and hugs herself. “I had a bad day, guys.”

We look at each other and don’t move.

“They took my work and now I’m out.”

Rage slams into me. “What do you mean, they took your work ?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I want to hear about something else.” Sliding her sun pendant along the chain, she looks absolutely drained. “Tell me about sunrise.”

Before either of us can answer, she closes her eyes and passes out.