“Nothing. I doubt they’ll come to the door.”
The doorbell rang through the house, and I gave Frankie an unimpressed look.
“Okay. I guess you’re answering the door.” He looked down at my body and then shrugged out of his coat. “Put this on.”
I rolled my eyes but took it and slid it over my robe. It hung just slightly lower than the black silk, but it did a better job of covering my body. “That good enough, Dad?”
“Go answer the door, Sasha.”
The doorbell rang again, getting me moving. I took a deep breath and plastered on a big smile before opening the door.
“Ms. Mitchell?” A tall man with black hair and dark eyes stood in front of me wearing a plain suit. He had the classic good looks you could find in old movies, but there was something about him that made me uneasy.
“How can I help you, officer?” I kept the door cracked, not allowing him access to our house.
“Detective. Is Mr. Moretti home?”
I panicked. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Frankie pull a gun from behind his back and shake his head no. “I’m sorry he’s not.” I was proud of my steady voice.
“Any idea when he’ll be in?”
“Not sure.”
The detective’s eyes took a slow perusal of the very little he could see behind the door before reaching for his pocket. My heart stopped, and I started to shut the door as if that would protect me from possible gunfire.
“Here’s my card. I've got some questions regarding the disappearance of Zoe Chronis.”
I bit back a whimper of relief and kept my hand steady as I took his business card. “I’ll make sure he gets this, Detective—” I glanced at the card and then back at him, “Bennington.”
“You do that. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“You too.” I shut the door immediately, not interested in watching him stroll back to his unmarked vehicle. The small scrap of paper fell from my fingertips as I slid down to the cold hardwood.
Frankie stayed where he’d been standing, muttering something into his phone, occasionally looking at me with a blank face. Finally, he slipped his phone into his pants and squatted in front of me. “You did great.” He scooped up the card, flipping it between his fingers.
“Oh yeah. I’m a regular Carmela.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry about it. Who were you talking to?”
“Luca.”
“Is he coming home?”
“Not yet.”
I nodded. I thought I was disappointed before, but this was a whole new level of hurt. “I think I’m going to head up to bed.” Grabbing the doorknob, I pulled myself up.
“You need me to get you anything?” Frankie frowned and crossed his arms.
“Nope.” I shook off his coat, handing it back to him. His eyes instantly fell to the swell of my breasts. “Thanks for the coat. That cop was kind of a creep.”
“They all are.”
Without another word, I left Frankie at the front door and headed up to bed—alone. The whole day had been surreal, and I was starting to wonder whether my whole life would be a series of exhausting days that ended in lonely nights.
I went through my night routine with my phone face-up on the counter, praying Luca would call me. He didn’t.