When I turn towards her again, she has an awful hope in her eyes, and suddenly she’s not my irritating nineteen-year-old sister anymore. She’s my five-year-old little sister who just fell off her bike and scraped her knee. She’s scared and hurt and counting on me to make everything better again, because that’s what I do. “What if we steal it from him?”
“I like that idea,” she says, nodding slowly.
I add, “It’s probably loaded on the cloud or something, but if we can get his phone, we can probably delete it from wherever it’s stored. We’ll also need to see if he has a secret USB drive or something. If I were going to blackmail someone, I’d back it up on a USB drive.”
Kat wipes the tears off her cheeks. “Oh God, what if we can’t get rid of it?”
“No what ifs. They won’t help. Do you know where he is?”
She shakes her head. “I went to his room and knocked a bunch of times, but he didn’t answer.”
“Perfect.” I cross to the door and yank it open.
“Why is that perfect?”
“Because it’ll be a lot easier to search his room if he’s not in it.”
When I get to my desk, I call reception. “It’s Nora. Has Paz Castillo checked out already? I know some of the contestants left already, but I have something for him.” A knee to his groin, but I don’t tell the front desk staff that.
“He’s still in room 322.”
“Excellent. Thank you.”
I retrieve my master key, thinking how very fired I’m going to be if I get caught. But I really have no choice. “Come on,” I tell her, leading her to the elevators.
My heart pounds wildly, and I’m no longer exhausted. I’m now Super Nora, filled with a righteous anger that will keep me going while I toss the villain’s room (or more accurately, gingerly examine everything while being careful to leave no trace I was ever there).
When we get to the third floor, I say, “You’re going to hide in the stairwell and keep watch through the window. Call my cell phone if he gets off the elevator.”
Her eyebrows knit together. “This could get you fired, couldn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry, Nora,” she whispers, tearing up again.
“No time for that. We need to get in and out of here.” I point to the stairwell door, then tippytoe to room 322. The lock clicks, the light goes green, and I push the door, praying he’s not back in here now.
The room is dark and silent, other than the sound of my ragged breath. “Hello?” I call quietly.
When I don’t get an answer, I flick the light on, and my stomach drops. The room is empty, as in there are no visible signs that anyone is staying here. I search anyway, briefly hoping he’s just a freakishly neat person, but after a few minutes of opening drawers, closet doors, and the bathroom cupboards, I know he’s vacated the premises. I’m guessing he did it before he came to Kat with his threats. Of course he would. He’d know we were going to do exactly what I’m doing—or worse—the moment he let her in on his plan.
Panic starts to set in. This is real, and if we can’t find him, there’s nothing I can do to stop what’s about to happen. My stupid sister and our poor parents are about to have their lives ruined forever, and there is literally nothing I can do.
I turn off the light, take a deep breath, and pull the door open.
As soon as I step into the hall, I’m greeted by Theo Rojas. He raises an eyebrow at me. “Good evening, Nora.”
Well, shit.
28
Scandals on Scandals
Theo
The sightof her is a punch to the gut, especially because she is leaving Paz’s hotel room. A myriad of emotions rush through me all at once — hurt, jealousy, longing, rage. Then I see the look on her face. Her eyes are wild, and she's red-faced and sweaty. My heart lurches, and I am suddenly filled with concern.
Something bad has happened.
