Steve watched the girls weave unevenly down the street. He smiled, grateful they lived within walking distance.
Then, he answered his phone.
"Why the fuck are you calling me?"
On the other end, Dwayne responded, "Well, hello to you too."
"We haven't spoken since Thanksgiving – cut the bullshit. Who died?"
"Nobody. I'm in town."
Steve blinked, not sure he'd heard correctly. "You're in Baltimore?"
"We're staying at The Ivy."
Steve rolled his eyes. Why wouldn't Dwayne be staying at one of the most expensive hotels in the city? "I assume by 'we' you mean your posse – unless you finally caught yourself a missus?"
Dwayne paused. "About that..."
"Boy, is she gonna loooove having to share you with your four besties..."
"Steve."
"What?"
"That's why I'm in town."
"Oh, you mean you didn't suddenly get sick of all those banjos out there in the sticks?"
"Are you drunk?"
Steve shrugged, "A little bit."
"Do you want me to send you a car?"
"I got it, don't worry." He walked over to a bench and sat, "Anyway, you were saying why you're here?"
"I found her."
Steve felt his eyebrows raise. "Really? Congratulations, man."
He heard Dwayne sigh, "She ran away."
Steve barked out a laugh. "Of course she did! Have you seen you?"
The deadly silence on the other end cut through his brain fog.
"Sorry. Bad joke."
"Anyway," Dwayne continued, "we tracked her scent to Penn station, but we lost it after that. Too many goddamn humans in this city. I might need your help."
Steve frowned, unbelieving. Moi? Big, bad brother needs my help? "Really?"
"You know the area, and you know the people in it. Can you ask around? See if anybody's seen her?"
"I mean, I guess?"
"Thanks. I'm going to send you a photo – I need you to start as soon as possible."
Steve nodded, "Sure. I'll call you if I get a lead." He hung up, irritable despite his buzz. It's not like I have a life or anything.
Moments later, a message popped up on his screen. He tapped it, then froze. Suddenly, startlingly sober, he looked up in time to see Tori, Jess and Lauren round the corner at the end of the street.
"...holy shit."