“I’m too old for new hobbies.”
“You’re only seven years older than me.” She deadpanned.
Pete opened the backdoor for me, patiently waiting.
“And wiser.”
Miranda rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous. See you Monday.”
“Drive safe!”
She waved and hurried to her car, tapping away on her phone.
“Pete,” I said as I slid into the backseat.
“Ms. Sasha.” Once he got in the car, he turned around. “Where are the boys?”
“No idea. I figured you would know?”
He stared at the building like he could summon them with his mind. When his wise guy magic didn’t work, he grunted and started the car. “Let’s get you home.”
At a stoplight, he texted someone. “When was the last time you saw the Marino brothers?”
“Probably a couple of hours ago?”
Pete got quiet, which made me nervous. When we got to the house, he inched up the driveway. Two enormous shadows that I assumed were the Marinos sat on the porch.
Pete backed the car up and parked on the street. “You stay here,” he said as he took a gun from the glove box.
“Wait!” I hollered as he got out of the car, but he ignored me. He marched toward the house with his gun pointed, and the Marino twins jumped up. My body tensed, waiting for gunshots.
Pete shouted, and then, to my relief, the twins laughed. Pete came back to the car, his face flushed. “They’re here.” He huffed as he held the door open for me. “I’m going to walk you in.”
Pete escorted me to the front door. The Marino twins stood on either side of us, facing the street. No greeting, no smile, no nothing.
Once we were inside, Pete closed the door, and his shoulders sagged. “I need to go to the office for a minute.” He turned and pointed at the phone in my hand. “Call Luca and let him know. Always check with Luca if someone is coming or going without him telling you.”
I hit Luca’s contact, and he picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Uh, Pete told me to call and tell you he was in the house and going into the office.”
Luca chuckled. “Perfect. Thank you. You doing okay?”
“Yes?” I was beyond overwhelmed.
“Sasha?”
I blinked rapidly, refocusing my vision on Pete’s worried face. “Sorry. It’s been a weird day.”
“You want to talk about it?” A muffled voice on his end said something, and Luca responded, “Give me a minute.”
I wanted to tell him I missed him and needed him here, but what good would that do? “We can talk later.”
“You sure?” More voices started talking on Luca’s side.
“Yep. I love you. Be safe.”
“Love you too. Talk soon.”