This was so unlike Ryan, which was probably why it was bothering me so badly. He was normally so desperate to know how my days went that he texted me throughout the day and called me at least once. Now, I was getting nothing, not even scraps of his attention.

“That sucks. At least I get to see Garret.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of jealous of you for that.” The waitress placed our plates of food in front of us and asked if we needed anything else before moving on to the new customers who took a seat a few tables away from Pietro.

The burgers smelled amazing and tasted even better. Cali was right that they were the best burgers in the city. I would have to bring Ryan with me so he could try them out. Maybe he and I could double-date with my brother and Cali next time.

“I’m going to tell Garret when he gets home tonight,” my friend announced once our plates were nearly empty. “I’ll tell him everything.”

“Good. And if he acts stupid, let me know. I’ll kick his ass for you.”

Cali snickered. “I adore your feistiness, Nova.”

“It hurts me that you don’t think I could take him in a fight,” I pouted.

“He outweighs you by at least a hundred pounds,” she reminded me.

“True, but I’ve got skills he will never be lucky enough to have.” I said it teasingly, but the truth was, I did. No one but Anya knew that, though, so I kept my mouth shut and let her laugh.

When the waitress dropped off the bill, I grabbed it before Cali could and stood. Pietro’s bill was sitting on his table, and I grabbed it as I passed, giving him a smirk when he protested. “You snooze, you lose, big guy!” I singsonged on my way to the counter to pay.

Pulling out my replaced black credit card, I paid for both tickets and left the waitress a nice tip. Cali followed behind me, and I pulled out my phone. Tugging her in for a side hug, I snapped a few selfies of us before she had to rush off to get ready for work.

Pietro and I stepped outside, waiting for the driver to pick us up. When my phone chirped with a text message, I glanced down to find Ryan had finally gotten back to me.

Boyfriend: I miss you, my heart.

Seeing those words on the screen eased the ache in my chest, and I pressed my phone against me, trying to absorb his love. I didn’t know what was going on with work, but I did know he loved me.

And in the long run, that was all I needed to know.

35

Ryan

Sleep was a vital commodity that I’d been lacking since returning to New York. After Ramirez—or whoever the fuck it was—tried to take our supply from the warehouse on the docks, Garret had been all over finding him. But the bastard had gone to ground, completely disappeared, making us wonder if maybe we’d gotten it wrong, and it hadn’t been the Colombian after all.