“He did? When?”
“The first day he came to see me. When Frankie have hangover. Next day, all this.”
Liam had done all this for Yaya before he and Frankie were even together. That tracked. It also made AJ feel like shit thatshe clearly needed someone keeping an eye on her. He’d been so upset about Papou passing, he hadn’t even given a thought to Yaya’s safety. She’d always been so…capable. So feisty. Seeing the measures Liam had taken only made AJ moving to Hope Falls make more sense.
She sat the bowl down on the table and yelled despite him being a foot away from her. “Eat, eat, eat!”
He lowered into the chair, took a bite, and was immediately transported back to his childhood. Yaya sat across from him, rolling pin in hand, working on dough as she told him about the gossip in her canasta group, the senior yoga classes she’d been taking, and, of course, more praises about her gentleman friend Arthur Santino.
While he was at his mom’s wedding, he’d heard the story about Mr. Santino, who was 90, stepping in and assisting his neighbor when her abusive ex showed up, taking a bullet for her. AJ assumed he had just stepped in front of her and shielded her. That is not what happened. AJ watched the footage, and what Mr. Santino had done looked like it was an action sequence out of a Matrix movie, so he looked into him.
Growing up, during the summers and holidays AJ spent in Hope Falls, Mr. Santino had been a mysterious figure in the town. He kept to himself, and there’d always been whispers about what or who he was. The general consensus was that he worked for the mob and was hiding out. Some people believed he was in witness protection.
AJ had never been tempted to use his resources and skills to look into him until he and Yaya started to spend time together. If he had ties to any sort of dangerous people, AJ needed to know. What he discovered was that Mr. Santino worked for the CIA in what is now the Special Activities Center Special Operations SAC/SOG as a paramilitary operative who was trained and tasked with conducting lethal, covert missions,including targeted killings of specific individuals, which was functionally assassination.
In layman’s terms, Yaya was in very safe hands. If he had to guess, he would say that his grandmother knew nothing about her new boyfriend’s past. If she did, half the town would know by lunch. Lydia Costas was a sweet woman, with the best intentions, but keeping information to herself wasnotone of her strengths.
It surprised AJ that Mr. Santino and Yaya were even a couple, they were so opposite. So, if Niko ever asked him about the two of them, he would honestly say yes, he was surprised. Yaya was loud and loved being the center of attention. Her opinion was always made known in every situation, whether it was her business or not. Mr. Santino, by contrast, seemed constructed entirely out of secrets, as if each cell in his body was encoded with classified information. He blended into the background, never wanting to be in any spotlight, much preferring the shadows. Maybe that’s why they worked so well.
The reason he left the service was tragic. His wife of nearly thirty years, who also worked for the CIA as an intelligence officer, was killed in the line of duty. When that happened, he was done. He walked away and never looked back. He moved to California and was no longer an active asset.
From what AJ was able to find, he’d been approached on more than one occasion to come back. The first fifteen years it was as an operative, then as a trainer, and even as of a year ago, he’d been asked to consult, but he’d always declined.
“So! What is answer?” Yaya clapped her hands, causing a puff of flour to float in the air, pulling AJ out of his wandering thoughts.
He stared blankly at his Yaya.
“When?!” she shouted.
“When what?” he asked.
“When you settle down? Make great-grandbabies?”
“I don’t want children,” he reiterated. He wasn’t sure how many times he had to tell her before she’d listen.
“Ahh.” She waved her hand dismissively. “You would be great father! Best father! So smart! So patient! So handsome!”
“Appearance has nothing to do with the quality of parent you are,” AJ pointed out.
Yaya slammed the rolling pin down onto the table with a loud thud. “Of course it does! Good genes! Good babas!”
“Babas” was Greek for “dad.” There was a knock at the back door, and when it opened, Mr. Santino stood on the porch with a huge bouquet of flowers.
AJ saw his grandmother’s face light up as the screen door squeaked open and she received the floral arrangement.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you had company,” Mr. Santino apologized.
“I was just leaving. I need to go take a shower.” AJ stood and kissed Yaya on the cheek before nodding at Mr. Santino. “Nice to see you.”
“You too, AJ.”
Most people, especially those who were virtual strangers, could not tell AJ and Niko apart, but after discovering Mr. Santino’s background, it didn’t surprise AJ at all that he had no issue with it.
AJ made his way out of the house, and as he closed the door, his phone vibrated with a text. As he walked to the truck, he read the message from Niko asking where he was staying for the wedding. He responded, letting him know that he’d gotten an Airbnb. Niko asked if he minded him crashing there. AJ didn’t have to ask why Niko needed a place to stay. He would bet money that he’d left his lodging until the last minute, and now that the first snowfall of the season was forecast, tourists from all over were flocking to the town for skiing. He was surehis brother thought he’d be able to get a room at the Mountain Ridge Resort or the Mountain Meadow B&B, or an Airbnb, but the town was getting busier every season as tourism increased.
AJ wasn’t thrilled with having to share his space with his twin. Unlike other twins who he’d heard had difficult times adjusting once they moved away from each other, he’d thrived in having his own personal space.
Despite that, he sent his brother the address to his accommodations.
