Page 19 of Animal Beats

“Sí.”

Praying she really can understand me, I point. “He’s my brother. He just had a bad accident. I’m thrilled he feels well enough to come out here, but the doctors warned against any alcohol for at least the next six months. He doesn’t like listening to the doctors though. It makes me worried.”

“Oh. How awful. I will talk with my friends and we won’t give him any more drinks. Is dancing alright?”

I lean forward. “I know he would love to let loose, but really only for a couple of songs.”

She nods and goes to talk with her friends. Plus others in the club. I step back and watch as glasses are not offered to him. Río dances with a bunch of Spanish ladies, who smile and flirt with him, but don’t do anything extra. Seems my ruse worked.

When the fifth song comes on, the ladies huddle around him, then leave the dance floor. Río walks over to me. “They had to use the ladies’ room.”

“Ah.” Smart way to handle the recovering patient. “Are you ready to go back to the hotel?”

He looks around the club, but nothing makes him puff up. “I guess. This place blows.”

He leaves me and walks toward the front door. I trail behind him in case he takes any detours. I wave to the bartender and exit onto the street. Río’s hands drum a beat on his leg and his entire body gets into whatever song’s inside his mind.

When he takes a break, I ask, “New song?”

His head swivels toward mine. “Working on one. It’s called, ‘Ditching the Babysitter’.”

I bite my lip to prevent myself from smiling, but his grumbling is funny. “I bet it’s destined to be a huge hit.”

“We’ll see.”

We re-enter the hotel’s lobby. “Why don’t you go up to the room? I’ll hang out down here for a little bit.”

“I don’t think so.” There has to be a bar around here somewhere. “Good try, though.”

He blows up. “Seriously! You’re getting on my last nerve.”

I take in the patrons milling around the lobby as well as the staff. He needs to keep it down, but I can’t tell him that. I tip my chin upward and match his volume. “You’re no walk in the park either.”

Río looks stunned I called him out. Guess he’s not used to that. Good to know.

His brows pull together. “I saw you dancing in the club. Looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

“It was a cool place.” I’m interested in seeing how he responds.

“The chicks were alright, but I couldn’t get into them. They treated me like a freaking piece of glass or something.”

I keep my mouth closed. Have to remember to reuse this story.

“Are you seriously following me to the bar?”

“It’s my job.” Please say you’re done and want to go to the room. The caffeine helped give me a second wind, but I’m fading fast.

“This is wack. Come on.” He stomps through the lobby toward the elevators.

As I trail behind him, I realize I’m going to have to set up some sort of booby trap on his bedroom door. If he tries to escape, I need to be on full alert. We ascend to our floor, and this time I take the lead and unlock the door to the suite.

“Back so soon,” Río says to the empty suite. He opens the fridge and curses. “What happened to all the good stuff?”

“I made a call to the hotel when we were at the club. Only trying to make things easier for you. Remove temptation.”

He walks over to the beverage bar, now only stocked with coffees and teas. “This whole thing sucks.”

“Listen, it’s late. Why don’t you go to bed and sleep. I bet everything will look better in the morning.” Once I get the door to his room set up.