Page 9 of Rami

Rami nodded in greeting. “Hey.”

Toth clapped August on the back and took the seat across from Rami, where Gigi had sat. “Sorry ’bout yesterday.” He folded his arms on the table. “And for being late.” His gray eyes held a weight they didn’t normally carry.

Actually, ever since Toth had met his girlfriend, Savannah, almost a year ago, the two of them had been sickeningly happy. The extra bounce in Toth’s step and his chipper grin usually got on Rami’s nerves, but now the angst in his friend’s eyes was having the same effect.

He’d ask what was going on, but Toth was a private man. He wouldn’t share anything personal in front of August. The two got along great, but Toth was hesitant to get too close to their employees.

“No problem. You’re here now. We’ll fill you in.”

Over the next half hour, they went through all the details regarding Ivy’s disappearance, her background, and the stupid promises August had made their new client.

Toth hiked an eyebrow. “Tell me again why we took on this contract?”

August crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “You got something against rescuing a woman from possible human traffickers?”

Toth smirked. “All right, smart-ass. You’re pretty confident. Where do we go from here?”

August cocked an arrogant eyebrow. “Let me make a phone call. I think I’ve got a starting point.” He rapped his knuckles on the table and stood. “I’ll be in my office.”

Rami zeroed in on Toth after August left. “You look like shit.”

His old friend grunted. “Yeah, I know.”

“Still sick?”

Toth averted his gaze. “Nah.”

He didn’t want to push, but if something had happened between Savannah and Toth, Rami needed to know about it. ’Cause there was no way Toth could function at optimum caliber with a broken fucking heart. “Everything okay on the home front?”

Toth scrubbed both hands over his face and let out a low grunt. “Yeah, it’s just—”

Rami squinted. He’d never seen Toth bent out of shape like this. When Savannah went missing almost a year ago, he’d been a fucking wreck. But this was different. Rami waited, holding back questions even though they needed to put their personal shit aside so they could—

“Sav’s pregnant.”

Rami’s stomach bottomed out. “No shit,” he whispered.

A constricted chuckle followed. “I know.”

“Damn,” he muttered. “I mean, uh, congratulations.”

The tension left Toth’s face, and he let loose a laugh. “Thanks. I’m happy about it. It’s just—been a little overwhelming for Sav...”

Rami didn’t know much about Savannah’s personal life, but he’d gleaned enough during her kidnapping and rescue to know that she’d had a difficult past. “That must be hard.”

“Yeah. It was a roller coaster of emotions all weekend. We’re doing good now, and she’s really fucking ecstatic—it’s setting in for her.”

“Guess you already got started on the dark circles and dad bod.” Rami quirked his lips.

Toth roared and tossed a pen at Rami. “You’re such a douche.” Footsteps sounded from the hallway. “Keep this between us.”

Rami nodded as August strode in, resuming his seat at the table. “Well, lazy asses, I’ve got a lead.”

“This better be good,” Toth mumbled.

“Damn right,” Rami agreed. “I mean, the police have been on this for sixteen days and you’ve got a lead before them?” Skepticism rang in his voice. As much as he wanted a jump start on this job, August getting intel from a mere phone call seemed too good to be true.

“I didn’t say that,” August conceded. He folded his arms on the table. “One thing Gigi said stuck to me. About the woman she overheard approaching Ivy seconds before she was taken. The woman asked if Ivy had seen her missing dog.”

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