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I looked down and thumbed it open, wondering the same thing. I had the phone locked down to anyone but the most important contacts, courtesy of a long-promised afternoon off with Penny. I didn’t like taking my phone offline right now—not when the Rossis and Brennans were facing what they were facing—but Penny had just come out of a situation where her life had literally been on the line, and I’d promised her that I’d take an afternoon off with her for ‘girly stuff.’
Evidently, that meant getting our nails done and drinking fancy coffee drinks.
None of which had been a problem. I’d sat through the mani/pedi session without complaining too much—hey, I liked to have my nails painted just as much as the next girl—and had then splurged on the biggest coffee I could manage.
Then she’d dragged me back to Michael’s house to watch movies. And that was when I’d started getting antsy.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend time with her. I loved Penny like she was actually my little sister, rather than just the girl we’d adopted when we were teenagers. And it wasn’t that I didn’t think she deserved some of my time. A month ago, Sloane had been kidnapped by none other than Joseph Rossi and we’d been running nonstop ever since. The moment we got Sloane home again, Penny got herself into a jam with Michael and then we’d found ourselves the targets of whoever had decided Penny knew more than she actually did.
The month had been intense. And I definitely hadn’t gotten to spend much time with the smaller, blonder friend who owned half my heart.
But I was also in the middle of an investigation into Anthony Massimo and I had research I wanted to be doing. I didn’t exactly have time to sit around watching some rom com where the heroine inevitably didn’t know how the hero felt about her and had to get into some life-threatening situation to get her head out of her ass.
The text was therefore a welcome distraction. Until I saw who it was from.
“It’s from Anthony,” I said, confused.
Penny huffed. “I thought you turned your phone off for the afternoon.”
“Only the unimportant stuff,” I told her. “I left it open to people who might have something important for me.”
The glance she cast at me was incredibly judgmental. “And Anthony Massimo is one of those people?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “In case you’ve forgotten, Penny, I’m in the middle of an investigation into Anthony and what he might have to tell us. That feels pretty important to me.”
She made another face, this time the expression of a spoiled child. “So what’s he saying, then?”
I glanced down again and read through the text he’d sent. He knew we didn’t have plans until this weekend—true—but he was playing at the same bar tonight and wondered if I’d like to come out and see him. I frowned, thinking about that. He’d virtually kicked me off his ship yesterday, then immediately texted and asked me out again. And now he wanted me to come to the bar to see him play?
That seemed... odd.
But I also hadn’t gotten what I needed from him yet, and seeing him again sooner than we’d planned sounded a lot better than waiting. We weren’t exactly in a situation where I could sit around and wait for the information I was hoping he had.
I’ll be there,I typed quickly.
I looked up at Penny, ignoring the thrill rushing through my veins at the thought of seeing him again. Sure, he and I had always been something to each other, and we’d had that one extremely hot night. Followed by years of not speaking to each other.
Followed by that scorching kiss in the bar and the electricity that had kicked up between us the moment we saw each other again.
But none of that meant anything. I needed him for information. That was all.
Seriously.
“You want a little field trip?” I asked her.
She tipped her head. “Always. What do you have in mind?”
“Anthony’s band is performing at the bar in an hour and he’s invited us to come see him. What do you think?”
She got a text before she could respond and looked at her own phone. A gasp, and she looked up at me.
Two seconds later, my own phone pinged with another text.
I looked down and saw that this one was from Joseph, and it was brief.Attack on a family in Manhattan. Could be dangerous to the Rossis. Everyone is locked down. Stay where you are. I mean it, Brooks. Don’t be stupid. Take care of Penny.
I looked up at my friend, my mind struggling to keep up. An attack on a family in Manhattan. That could have been anyone. It didn’t have to be anything that meant anything. But Joseph was concerned that it could involve the Rossis. He was locking us down. Telling us to shelter in place.
Telling me to keep Penny safe.
