“Look odd to whom?” I couldn’t help asking.
She shook her head. “I’ve said all I can. Stay quiet. I’ll try to get you some non-perishables. Don’t count on it, though.”
I nodded. What else could I do? I was stuck here. Why hadn’t I saved the extra slices of bacon off my plate?
“I’ll do the best I can.” She lifted the bag. “I’ll bring your clothes back as soon as I can.”
“Thank you.”
Thank you. All I could say. And though I was here against my will, I was thankful. I wasn’t being mistreated, and I knew what it felt like to be mistreated.
I wanted to beg her to stay, just so I’d have someone to talk to.
I wanted to ask if she could contact Reid, but I already knew the answer.
She’d told me he was coming. That they’d left “breadcrumbs.” Whatever the heck that meant.
I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.
Reid, where are you? Will I ever see you again? Will I ever be able to tell you how much I love you?
Why hadn’t I told him?
Simple. I’d been afraid he wouldn’t return my sentiment.
Foolish vanity. I no longer cared if he returned my feelings. I wanted him to know how hard I’d fallen for him. How much I yearned for him. How he made me feel emotions I’d thought were dead in me forever.
All I could do was lie here.
No phone. No books. No TV. No nothing.
Just lie here and contemplate what might be going on outside this small room.
And how it could all go bad very quickly.
29
Reid
Manny and Hoss in tow, Rock and I drove to Hoss’s house, where Nieves was supposedly hiding out.
“Your place wired?” Rock asked.
Hoss shook his head.
“Mine isn’t either,” Manny said. “We could have talked in the house.”
“You idiots,” I said. “Just because you didn’t wire your place doesn’t mean someone else didn’t.”
Manny gasped. “What a…!”
“Violation?” Rock said, scoffing. “Yeah. No shit. You’ve fucked with our lives. How’s it feel to have someone fuck with yours?”
Neither replied.
“Where’s the bitch?” Rock asked.
“She’s inside.”
“Let’s go, then.” I opened the passenger side of the car and stepped out, grabbing Manny out of the back seat.
Rock took care of Hoss.
We entered from the back, as his front door was lit up like Vegas.
Hoss’s suburban mansion was even bigger than Manny’s.
“Check for surveillance,” Rock said to me.
I nodded and began my search.
I’d learned a lot from my father, but how to sweep for hidden bugs and cameras had never been among his lessons. I’d learned that after his death. After my siblings and I had been implicated.
From my father, however, I’d learned to trust no one.
And I didn’t.
Looked pretty clean, from what I could tell, though I was no expert. If Leif or Buck were here, they’d be able to ferret out the most cleverly hidden device.
My gaze finally fell on a vase of carnations—looked like one of those cheap bouquets the New York street vendors sell.
“Never pegged you for a floral type,” I said to Hoss.
“Got them for Nieves,” he said.
I eyed the flowers closely.
Sure enough, hidden among the blooms was a tiny listening device. I grabbed it and crunched it beneath my sneaker-clad foot. “Nice try.”
“Hoss?” Manny asked.
“Hey, can’t blame a guy for the attempt.”
“Easy enough to spot,” I said. “If someone else bugged your place, it’s professionally done. I don’t see any evidence to the effect, but—”
“You fucking lied to us?” Rock grabbed Hoss by the collar.
Manny went rigid.
“And here I thought you valued your balls,” Rock continued.
“Hey, what—”
All heads turned toward the woman’s voice.
Nieves Romero stood in the entrance to the kitchen, clad in a long satiny red nightgown.
Rock released Hoss, who crumpled to the floor. “You little—”
“We know what’s going on,” I interrupted. “We know everything. You’re something, Nieves, leaving your sister alone in the hospital after such a trauma and then faking a phone call from her.”
“What are you talking about?” Nieves asked innocently.
“Don’t even try. Your two cohorts here spilled it all.” Rock looked around. “We should go outside.”
“I think it’s clean,” I said, “but I agree. Outside is best.”
“I’m not going outside in this.” Nieves looked down at her gown.
“Uh…yeah. You are.” Rock grabbed her by the arm.
She whisked it free. “You don’t have to manhandle me. I’m going.”
Hoss had a concrete deck complete with enclosed patio and hot tub. Way better than Manny’s smaller redwood deck. I looked farther into the yard. Fucker had a built-in swimming pool too.
Breaching ethics apparently paid well.
Nieves pulled her long gown off, revealing her near-perfect body. “We should all take a dip. The tub’s big enough for five.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Rock picked up Nieves’s gown and shoved it at her. “Cover yourself.”
Yeah, no shit. We’d both seen Nieves in her glory, and while the sight was pleasurable indeed, I had no desire to see Manny and Hoss in their birthday suits. That’d be an image I could never unsee.