Page 103 of No Darker Temptation

“That’s weird…”

Pedro is only able to spare me a glance before returning his focus to oncoming traffic. “What’s wrong?”

“I got an alert from the security system at the lounge…ugh! I think Silvie left the back door open again.”

Pedro swears under his breath and instead of turning right where he’s supposed to, he keeps going straight and reroutes us to the lounge. “Someone has to fire that girl.”

“Give her a break. She’s still new and she rarely works the closing shift.”

“Three months isn’t new!” he says annoyed. “And pulling a door shut so the lock can fall into place isn’t that hard. I hate having to reset the security system. Alejandro thinks he’s protecting the Crown Jewels with the number of passcodes he puts on everything.”

“Passcodes a five-year-old could crack.” I grin. “Everyone’s birthdays backward.”

He pulls up outside El Aliciente a few minutes later and is about to unbuckle his seat belt when I touch his arm. “It’s fine! I’ll do it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah! I actually left one of my hats behind the bar when I stopped by to see Diego the other day so I want to go grab it.”

He still gets out so he can open the door for me and I dig around my purse for the keys to unlock the front door. I make my way to the keypad by the host’s podium to deactivate the alarm so it doesn’t go off while I’m in here. As the front doors close behind me I hear Pedro say, “Don’t be such a grump, I know you’re happy I called.”

It makes me giggle a little.

All the lights are off so I have to turn them on one by one. My hat is behind the bar so I grab it and leave it on the counter along with my purse and phone. The backdoor is notoriously difficult to shut so I understand why Silvie has a hard time with it. I always need both hands to yank it closed.

As soon as I enter the dark kitchen, the scent of gas fills my nostrils, so pungent it sends me reeling back several steps. I cough into my arm and reach blindly for one of the light switches. When the room finally flickers to life I scan the area in search of the source. Were the stove lighters left on? Did someone forget to turn off the ovens? Jesus, the smell is awful.

I check the knobs on all the stoves and make sure they’re off. On my way to the ovens, I stop by the back door, debating on whether or not I should open it and let the place air out. Maybe I should tell Pedro to come inside because it doesn’t seem safe to let the gas scent linger in here all night.

Footsteps sound and I spin around expecting to see Pedro or maybe even Silvie. She must’ve gotten the notification on her phone because all the employees and Alejandro, Diego, Lettie, and me have the same security app on our phones.

“Pedro?” I call out. “Silvie?”

When I look around I notice one of the ovens is…slightly askew? Like someone pulled it away from the wall and forgot to push it back into place. I’m about to walk over and check when the alarm starts blaring again.

“Shit!”

I need to close the back door.

I force it out with both hands then yank it back in with all my strength, slamming it shut with a loud, metallic bang.

So loud it drowns out the sound of a subtle click, like a poker chip falling on a table or a lever falling into place.

And then there’s an explosion.

EPILOGUE: BUT THE WATER BENEATH DOES NOT

Alejandro

Oscar, with pursed lips and a feigned look of irritation on his face, lowers his phone and murmurs, “Pedro said Dahlia texted you.”

I perk up at the news and whatever exhaustion I might’ve felt immediately melts away. My phone has been charging for the last hour so I pick it up from the dashboard and open up the notifications.

Oscar sighs and says, “It went well. We’re on our way home now…yes I came back with them.” He pauses. “Dimitrio took my place for a few days.”

Diego makes howling noises from the driver’ seat. “He’s on his way home to see his baby!”

I chuckle quietly. “Don’t tease him. You know Oscar hates it.”