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“Thank you, Sophie, but…” Maria’s voice wavers.
“Out with it. We don’t hold back, remember?”
“Nico,” she confesses. “He’s going to be furious—”
“I’ll handle Nico,” I assure her, a hint of amusement in my tone. Not long ago, I would have been quick to assume he was an arrogant prick who couldn’t see reason. But now? I smile, and my heart does this happy flip-flop thing in my chest.
Ugh, don’t you dare start thinking about knights in shining armor… or shining Armani.
“It’ll be fine,” I reassure her, just as a knock sounds on my office door.
“Mrs. O’Brian is here for her appointment,” Eva tells me as she opens the door and pokes her head in.
I nod and motion for Eva to send her in.
“We’ll talk soon, Maria. And everything is going to be okay,” I hang up as the elderly Mrs. O’Brian ambles into the room, pushing her walker in front of her.
When I finally glance up at the clock again, it's already dark. It’s awfully late for me, considering it’s a Tuesday, but I decided to stay back to finish long-neglected tasks.
Just as I’m about to shut everything down for the night, my burner phone buzzes to life.
“We’re touching down at O’Hare in ten,” Cade's voice comes through, brisk and all business. “Our connection to Carlsbad is scheduled for tonight, but we’re not waiting around at the airport, especially if Maria and the kid have already been declared dead. So, we’ll camp at your place until it’s time to go. Smokey happens to be in Chicago, too, so he’ll return with us. Fang and Razor will be meeting us at Carlsbad airport—just as a precaution.”
Hearing the names of Fang, Razor, and Smokey, each ready to leap into action, sends a ripple through my chest. They’re all bending over backward for someone they’ve never even met, and all because I asked.
“Have I mentioned you’re the best big brother in the entire universe, Cade?” I tease, but I do mean it. He’s the best.
Cade grumbles, “If I get in trouble for this, I’m putting the blame on you, Soph.” He’s trying to sound stern, but I can hear the smile in his voice.
I grin, “Trouble sees you and runs screaming Cade, so I don’t see how you can get in it.” As much as I love the guy, the difference between him and the other criminals he tries to blend in with is the badge he wears and the fact that his actions are “for the greater good.”
“Speaking of trouble, Soph, what about that piece of shit guy—”
“Cade,” I interject, a note of warning in my voice.
His sigh is heavy with disdain. “Vitelli,” he finally spits, though it sounds more like a curse.
“Nico,” I gently correct.
There’s a pause. “You sound like you’re still involved with him.”
“He’s... been around. Doing some… therapy, even.” I bite my lip to keep the smile out of my voice.
Cade’s knowing growl is almost tangible through the phone. “Yeah, he’s ‘doing’ the therapist alright. As long as you understand, I have picked out an unmarked grave just for him, and I’m waiting for the second he steps a toe out of line with you, Sophie.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever, Cade.”
Hanging up, I let out a sigh. My life, for better or worse, is entangled with bad men who walk the line between danger and protection, yet everything good in my life seems to revolve around them.
I look around to find George trying to hide behind the bookshelf, and I can’t help but smile. “You know they wouldn’t actually eat you, right?” At my words, he waddles over and hops onto the sofa, settling in with a contented quack. I think that’s an ‘okay.’
Dragging a hand down my face, I decide to try Nico again. Once again it rings off. This time, I leave him a message.
“It’s me,” I start after the beep, “Something came up with our mutual friend. I’m not sure how you’ll feel about what I did, but I had to do something, Nico. I’m open to suggestions here. We can talk about it when you call me back.”
I feel like I should say something more. ‘I miss you’? ‘I can’t wait to see you’? ‘By the way, I love you too?’
Ugh, I’m pathetic.
