Pietro turned to look at me, and I lifted my head to give him a smile, letting him know I was okay. “Just laughing at what an idiot my brother seems to be at times.”

The normally stoic guard’s lips twitched. “I won’t argue with you about that, Miss Nova.”

“Neither will I,” Nardo, the driver, said with a chuckle, but it only lasted a few seconds before he schooled his face again after Pietro shot him a hard look. “No offense, Miss Nova.”

“It’s hard to offend me, Nardo,” I assured him. “How has my brother been lately?”

They glanced at each other for a moment before the driver lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “Different. Not so defensive like he normally is.”

“Kind of like he’d been abducted by aliens and replaced by a clone that wasn’t aware he was the world’s biggest asshole?” I offered.

Both men burst out laughing. “Yes,” Nardo agreed, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror. “You nailed it for sure.”

I lowered my gaze to my phone and Cali’s last text. “How long do you think this change has been going on?”

Pietro considered the question for a moment before answering. “A few weeks, give or take.”

“Figures,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Wonder how long it will take before he realizes who she is.”

“What was that, Miss Nova?” Pietro asked.

“Just talking to myself, Pietro.” I stuffed my phone into the coat pocket. “Will Ryan be okay without you?”

“Nardo will return for him while I remain with you,” he informed me. “Mrs. Vitucci already has my replacement lined up since I will be with you full time at the beginning of the summer.”

“Do I get Nardo too?” I teased with a wink at the driver, who smirked back at me. “I wouldn’t say no to that.”

“I’m unsure of who your driver will be,” the head of security muttered, his jaw clenched. Which told me all I needed to know. Ryan would put his roughest, toughest, and least attractive man as my driver. True, Pietro was easy on the eyes, but he was also the best guard on the entire Vitucci payroll.

Several minutes later, Nardo pulled to a stop in front of the radio station. I tugged on the gloves Garret had given me as Pietro stepped out and opened my door. As we entered the building together, I spotted Emmie immediately, but before I could even start toward her, Garik appeared at my side.

Grasping my wrist, he jerked me around to face him, his eyes frantically scanning me from head to toe. “Are you okay?” he asked in Russian. “That bastard didn’t hurt you last night?”

Pietro grabbed Garik’s wrist, twisted it behind him, and turned him away from me in one smooth motion, making it look effortless. “Hands off,” he barked.

“You!” Garik seethed, struggling against the hold. “You helped kidnap her last night. Sleazy mother—”

I slipped out from behind where Pietro had pushed me and tried to defuse the situation. “Garik, I’m fine,” I rushed to assure him in Russian. “I left willingly with Ryan. He’s my best friend, and he would never hurt me. I was perfectly safe with him last night.”