Free Burnin' Love [Men for Hire: Firemen 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Jane Jamison Page B

was doing all right first. Just as soon as she had a quick shower and pulled herself together.
    Ten minutes later, with her hair still wet, she knocked on the guest bedroom door. “Melissa, are you up?”
    She pulled her Go Destiny Chargers! T-shirt down then ran her palms over the curve of her butt cheeks. Lifting her hand to the door once more, she knocked again. And waited. Again.
    A nervousness started in the middle of her stomach. Did the girl sleep that soundly?
    “What’s going on?”
    Troy’s palm skimming along her arm sent the good kind of shivers down her spine. Without thinking, she leaned into him. She hadn’t heard him approach, but she was very happy that he was there. “I’m trying to get Melissa to answer her door.”
    A frown came and went on his face. “You said she was really tired last night. Maybe you need to knock harder.”
    She’d thought the same thing, but it still didn’t seem right. “If I knock any harder, the neighbors will hear.”
    “You’re right. I heard you knocking and I was in the kitchen.”
    She glanced behind him at the empty hallway. “Where are Wade and Paul?” Were they sound sleepers, too?
    “They left to check in at the station and run a couple of errands, including picking up some decent coffee. The stuff you have tastes like dirt.”
    “Hey, that’s expensive stuff. Hand ground and everything.”
    She didn’t tell him that it wasn’t the first time someone had complained about her coffee. She liked it, but it no one else did. Of course, she more than made up for it with the hot toddies she made. Just thinking about the shots they’d drank last night and what had happened afterward made her wet. She might suggest adding a dollop of whiskey to their morning coffee—pretending to make it taste better, of course—but she really didn’t need alcohol to make her want them again. All they had to do was crook their finger at her and she’d rush into their arms.
    She knocked again, even harder than before, hard enough to wake the dead. She cringed and thrust the thought away. No need to think morbid things like that.
    “Melissa? It’s Daisy. You’re getting me worried. Will you please open the door? Or at least tell me you’re all right?”
    Troy grew tense beside her. “Naw, we need to see her, not just hear her.”
    Alarm pushed the anxiety away. “Why?”
    He almost hedged on telling her, but then gave in. “If someone’s in there with her, they could make her tell us that she’s okay. Like I said, we need to see her to make sure it’s true.”
    Troy moved her aside and pounded on the door. “Melissa, open the door. Right now.”
    They stayed silent and waited. Again, there was no response. She turned to Troy, ready to let him take charge. Thankfully, he did.
    “Stand back, Daisy. I’m going to have to ram the door.”
    She could see her security deposit flying out the window to pay for a new door. “No! Hang on.” She reached out and took the doorknob. “We haven’t even tried this yet.”
    The unlocked door opened a crack without a problem. “Ta-da!”
    “Why didn’t you tell me that you hadn’t tried to open it yet?”
    She shrugged and pushed the door wide. “You didn’t ask me.”
    It might have been funny, except for the fact that the bedroom was empty. Daisy crossed to the other side where the adjoining bathroom was. That door was already open and so was the window that led out to the roof of the house.

Chapter Four
     
    “Please tell me a pregnant woman didn’t crawl out the window.”
    Daisy pivoted to face a disgruntled Troy. “Okay, I won’t. But if you don’t want to hear the truth, then what do you want me to tell you?”
    The window was just large enough for Melissa to ease through. She didn’t get any closer to it to see if Melissa was on the roof. She didn’t think her heart could stand the sight of seeing her shimmying along the roofline. Or worse, seeing her clinging to the edge.
    The last time anyone had been so