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I glanced at him as if he’d lost his mind, only to turn back to the show and roll my eyes at the awful job the blonde was doing at picking up the broken glass on the floor and putting everything away.
“Oh Jesus.” I flung out a hand and rolled my eyes. “She’s totally going to give herself away with that half-assed cleaning job.” Joe probably really was going to kill her now. I shook my head, disgusted. “She didn’t even straighten the ceiling tile right. How stupid could she—?”
Before finishing the question, I blinked at the television and gasped.
“Of my God!” I cried, smacking the palm of my hand against my forehead. “The ceiling tile. Of course.” Remembering the scuff mark on Lana’s kitchen island, I surged to my feet. “I have to go.”
My father and brother glanced up and frowned as if I’d lost my mind.
“Where do you think you’re going at an hour like this?” Papá asked, shaking his head in confusion.
“I—” Damn, I couldn’t go over there right now. Lana was home. “I need to—I need to make a phone call.”
Hayden had to hear my theory, at least.
Grabbing my phone, I hurried from the front room and down the hall to the bathroom, where I shut myself inside and sat on the closed toilet seat to dial his number with excited but shaking fingers.
Then I pressed the phone to my ear and waited, biting my lip anxiously as I glanced up at the ceiling tiles above my own head.
I hoped I was right. Hayden would flip his shit if we actually found—
“Carmichael,” he answered, making my heart jolt at the sound of his voice.
God, I’d even missed his straightforward, don’t-fuck-with-me-because-I’m-better-than-everyone baritone.
“I think I know where to look,” I blurted without even saying hello.
A pause followed before he said, “Where?” The man didn’t have to ask what I was talking about. He just knew. I loved that we were on the same page, even if we were written in totally different fonts.
“Remember how I thought Lana had done a strip tease for Diego? Because of the scuff mark on the kitchen island’s counter? And the flaked-off ceiling tile? What if she’d been up there for an entirely different reason, like because she had something hidden in the ceiling?”
He was quiet for a moment. I rolled my eyes, assuming he was going to berate me for putting the image of Lana strip-teasing for Diego in his head again. But then he said, “We need to check. Tonight.”
Oh my God, cool! He hadn’t called my idea ridiculous. Or stupid. Or totally not plausible. If he’d been in front of me right now, I probably would’ve kissed him for that alone. And because I just really liked kissing him.
But then I furrowed my brow in concern. “Isn’t she home right now?”
“I’ll see if I can get her out of the apartment. So get ready; I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes.”
“You—” Pleasure bloomed inside me. He automatically assumed I’d naturally be a part of whatever he was planning. Such inclusion felt nice. “Okay.” I nodded, eagerness filling my veins. “See you soon.”
I hung up and darted from the bathroom, so excited to see him again that I’d forgotten to even tell him goodbye. In the living room, I skidded to a halt when my father and brother glanced up at me curiously. On the screen, the blonde who’d found the box full of panties, phones, and teeth was now trapped behind a glass wall, begging her stalker to let her go free.
“What’s going on?” Papá asked, forcing me to tear my gaze from the television.
“I, um, I’m going out,” I announced.
The guys looked at me as if I’d just regrown Papá’s lost limb out the top of my head.
Wow. It wasn’t that crazy of a declaration. So maybe it’d been a while since I’d gone out on a Friday night, as in pretty much never before. But I was a grown woman; I was allowed to do things on my own that didn’t involve them or work.
Miguel finally cracked a knowing grin. “You’re going to see Hayden, aren’t you?”
Oh, Lord. Save me from smart-ass ten-year-olds.
“As a matter of fact,” I said regally, lifting my chin as if it were no big deal. “I am.”
Clearing my throat, I straightened my spine and tried-but-sort-of-failed to casually stroll toward the bureau that housed my clothes. The problem was the television sat on top of that very bureau and both my father and little brother were eating popcorn and staring right at it.
