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He frowned."If I needed help, I would ask for it."
"All right," she said with a resigned smile."Enjoy your time off."
He walked them to the door."Thanks again for the groceries."
"I don't want to see your face for a week," Flynn told him, pausing in the doorway."I mean it, Nick.You're a skilled agent, but right now you're a tired agent.Catch your breath, do something fun, maybe go on a date, and come back when you're ready.Because we both know you need time."
"Fine, I'll have some fun," he said.
Andi laughed."You sound like you're being forced to go to the dentist."
"I'm just tired."
"Which is why you need some time off," Flynn said."We'll talk next week."
"Got it.And thanks again."
After they left, he closed the door behind him and let out a sigh.Flynn was right.He was exhausted, and even having to pretend he wasn't while they were standing in his kitchen had taken more energy than he had right now.He walked back to the kitchen to finish putting away the groceries.
As he did so, he brushed by a pile of mail on the counter and knocked half of it onto the floor.He let out another sigh and then squatted down to gather it up.All his bills were on auto-pay, and one of his team members had gone by his apartment every few days to make sure everything was in order, so it was mostly junk mail.
But one card caught his eye.He pulled it out as he stood up and dropped the rest of the mail on the counter.He slit open the envelope, reading the engraved words with a growing sense of disbelief.His parents were celebrating their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary with a vow renewal and reception at the Excelsior Hotel in Milan, the weekend after next, and the honor of his presence was requested.
"What the hell?"He shook his head in bewilderment.His parents, James and Danielle Caruso, had almost divorced at least three times.They were passionate, narcissistic, incredibly talented people who had cheated on each other off and on throughout their marriage.And now they were going to have a vow renewal?
It made no sense.Although maybe it made sense, because they both enjoyed being the center of attention, especially his father, a renowned orchestra conductor, who felt like he should be in absolute command of every group he was in.His mother was slightly better.As a talented violinist, she was used to being part of an ensemble, but she still liked a good solo.
He looked back at the envelope, realizing it had arrived two weeks earlier, so it wasn't as last minute as he thought, but still a phone call or a personal note would have been appreciated, if not from his parents, at least from his grandmother.
He set down the invite.He'd send his regrets tomorrow.He couldn't imagine that they would care, since they hadn't cared enough to call and tell him about it.And while he had been out of touch, his unit had been monitoring his personal calls and text messages, alerting him to anyone who needed to hear from him.His parents had never tried to get in touch with him.
They were even bigger fakes than he was.
His phone suddenly rang, and for a moment, he thought it would be ironic if it was one of his parents, but the name running across his screen belonged to his grandmother, Anna Caruso.
"Nonna," he said with genuine pleasure."I hope you're not calling to tell me I should go to my parents' vow renewal, because I cannot believe they are going through with that pretense."
"Oh, no, Nick," she said."I wasn't calling about that."
He tensed at the tone of her voice."What's wrong?"
"I'm in trouble."
"What happened?"
"The museum was robbed today.Gloria and I were there when the thieves came in.Enrique, the security guard, was shot.He's in surgery.They don't know if he's going to make it."The words tumbled out of her mouth fast and furiously.
"My God," he said, shocked by her words."Are you all right, Nonna?"He couldn't imagine his eighty-one-year-old grandmother having to deal with such an intense situation.Another reason she should have quit volunteering at the museum years ago.But she was the kind of woman who had to be busy, even if it was just a volunteer position.And she had always been an art fan.
"I'm all right," she said."I wasn't hurt, but I think the robbery was my fault."
"How is that possible?"
"I know you've been working, but I left you a message a few days ago that I was going to put a family painting in an exhibition at the museum."
He vaguely remembered hearing about that message.He'd been tying up the operation, and it hadn't sounded like anything he needed to respond to immediately."I'm sorry.I've been working a case, and I've been out of touch.Get back to why you think the robbery was your fault."
"I don't know if you remember hearing stories about your great-grandfather's painting…"
