He didn’t stop typing. “Maybe next time, make an appointment.”

“I’ll be sure and mention to him you suggested that,” I told the man with a sweet smile. “It was great to finally meet you, Eduard. Maybe update your résumé while you’re busy tapping away.”

His head snapped around at my subtle threat to his job, and his gaze finally took me in. “Miss Nova,” he gasped. “I…I apologize. I didn’t realize—”

“Save it. Just tell your boss I was here.” I turned on my heel and stepped into the elevator, Pietro shooting the personal assistant a smirk as he followed.

Downstairs, my driver was still parked in front of the building, and I called out the address to the diner before lifting the divider so I could have a private moment. The last text I’d gotten from Ryan was more than twenty-four hours ago. Other than when I’d been avoiding him right after my birthday, we hadn’t ever gone that long without some form of communication. There were five other texts I’d sent from the day before that had gone unanswered, as well as the three from earlier.

What the fuck was going on?

He wouldn’t ignore me on purpose. My stomach twisted with worry for him. There had to be a reason he wasn’t responding to my texts. I needed to see him, to set eyes on him and know for sure that he was okay. But he was obviously working on something important, and I didn’t want to bother him or put him in more danger by just showing up wherever he was.

For all of two seconds, I considered asking Anya what was going on, but she didn’t get involved with her husband’s or son’s work unless they requested her input on something. She was of the mind-set that the less she knew, the better for everyone involved, and she’d tried to instill that in me as well. The less I knew about what Ryan was up to, the less danger I would be in.

And to her, keeping me safe was the best thing for Ryan’s well-being. It was what she’d beaten into my head over and over on every trip to Paris. I was Ryan’s heart, his sanity. I was more essential to him and his future than anything or anyone could ever hope to be. By teaching me everything she knew to protect myself, we were both protecting Ryan as well.

Twenty minutes later, Pietro was escorting me inside a diner. The smell of greasy food made my stomach growl, and I realized I hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before. It had only been Samara and me with Zia and Anya since everyone else was either busy or too tired to eat with us. Zayne was in Chicago, Zariah had her own house on the compound, and the twins were “interning” with their father. Ciana had gotten home from work complaining of a headache and had gone straight to bed.

I spotted Cali sitting in a back corner booth. Seeing me, she waved before motioning me over. I wanted some alone time with her to catch up—and to talk about what was going on with her and my brother—so I asked Pietro to take a seat several tables away. Since the place wasn’t overly crowded, he gave in, grabbing a laminated menu while I joined my friend.