under better circumstances. I can see by the way he’s holding onto you and shielding you from me, how much you mean to him. One day I hope to get to know you too.”
Jonah’s arms tightened on me. I stayed right where I was, not moving an inch or reaching out my hand to shake his. Especially since there was a very real possibility of a job with Luca and his father in the near future. Jonah was my priority, even though anyone could see how very much this man missed his brother and wanted to make amends. It was also obvious that Jonah was not ready to accept his apology or offer forgiveness.
Time would have to heal these wounds.
Luca offered a brief nod to Quinn and then to my sister before spinning around and leaving the same way he came.
Jonah turned to me and I lifted my hands to his shoulders. “You okay?”
He shook his head. “No, but I will be.”
I nodded.
“Okay. Well, we’re going to get moving on Operation Relocate My Family. Simone, please for the love of God, check in with us daily. It’s more important now than ever before.”
“Sorry, SoSo. I will, I promise.”
She gave me a hug and then looked at Jonah for a moment and made a decision. She hugged him too. That was huge. My sister only hugged people she genuinely cared for. I was the touchy feely one in our duo.
“Take care of my sister. She’s the most important person in the world to me.” She pointed to him. “I’m counting on you.”
He gave a soft smile just to her. “She’s important to me too. I’ll protect her with my life.”
Swoon.
I went over to Quinn and he hugged me for a long time. “I’m glad you’re alive and I don’t have to kill you for making me deal with a frightened and angry SoSo.”
I laughed. “Will you put me back on the chocolate almond butter clusters gift list for Christmas?” I puffed out my bottom lip and batted my eyelashes.
He grinned and smacked my cheek affectionately. “We’ll see how you do with checking in over the next week.”
“Come on! That’s not fair. You know I’m crappy at touching base. It’s like you’re setting me up for failure.” I crossed my arms and tapped my foot dramatically.
He shrugged. “If you want the clusters, you’ll check in. Simple as that. I want a happy and focused Senator, not a freaking out, often grouchy, and sometimes bitchy SoSo who’s worried about her only living blood relative. Life’s about choices, Simone. Make good ones.”
I lifted my head to the ceiling and groaned. “Now you’re being mean. Fine! But I better get a double batch!”
He winked, hooked his arm with Sonia’s, and led her toward the door. She was already head down, eyes on her phone typing away. Work-a-holic. Still, he was right. I knew that my safety and ability to breathe were Sonia’s biggest weaknesses. Anyone trying to wound her would only have to bruise me. That’s all it would take.
“Love you, SoSo, and love you, Quinn. Good luck with the fam!” I called out as they were leaving then turned to Jonah. “That was a pretty intense smack down with your brother, baby…”
Jonah clenched his teeth and shook his head. “We’re not talking about him. Not right now. Maybe not ever.”
And of course, when I was about to grill him, his phone rang, Ryan’s name appearing on the screen.
“Saved by the bell.”
He smirked. “Mind getting us some pizza?”
“Oooh! I forgot.” My mouth started to water, and my belly took notice. “Though no more whiskey. You’re switching to beer.”
“Sounds good.”
Jonah answered the phone while I set about getting me and my hot FBI guy some food.
“What now?”
Jonah and I spent the rest of the day vegging, eating, and watching mindless TV. Every hour or so he’d get a call from Ryan with an update. So far, we had Helen’s last known whereabouts. Turned out she’d met some friends at a bar. Her phone’s GPS stopped there. The authorities found the broken device smashed and tossed in the field adjacent to the poolhall. Jonah gave Ryan a list of friends of theirs to find out whether she’d met up with any of them. When they narrowed down the names to a few she’d been with that night, they guessed she’d left around eleven in the evening. Based on the timing from when she left Jonah’s parents to the time she met up with her friends, those friends