“Dante, my man, you’ve been scarce. I figured you were probably busy after your trip to Tokyo last month.” Dante grimaced, keeping the phone pinned to his ear and grateful that his longtime friend couldn’t see the guilt on his face. Being busy had nothing to do with the reason Dante had been scarce.

“Lucius, great to hear your voice. I’ve been thinking about you.” Not a lie. He had been thinking of the man, wondering if Cleo had let anything slip about what had happened ...