“I will be,” he said, touching his forehead to mine. “I just need a little time to sort some things out.”
The ride back to the Royal Flush was a quiet one. Vero sat up front, gazing thoughtfully out her window, her left thumb absently rubbing the green spider on her finger that had stubbornly refused to come off. Or so she claimed.
Sam and I sat in the back seat with Georgia sandwiched between us. Georgia called our mother, letting her know we were all safe and on our way back to the hotel. She glossed over any mention of Charlie. I didn’t imagine she, Sam, or Nick were ready for that conversation just yet. To them, this must have all seemed to happen so fast. They’d woken this morning thinking Charlie was a friend. One of them. They hadn’t had much time to adjust to this new reality.
“You all didn’t need to stay for the rest of the investigation?” I asked as delicately as I dared. I still had a loose end to tie up, and I had been counting on all four of our police escorts being busy for the next few hours.
“It’s not our investigation,” Georgia said. “We were only here in town to make sure you and Vero were safe. It’s in the hands of the local police and the FBI now.”
“What about Nick?”
Sam’s smile was melancholy. “He’ll come back when he’s ready. It’s been a crazy few weeks. I think we’ll all be happy to get home.” She put an arm around Georgia and pressed a sloppy kiss to my sister’s cheek to lighten the mood. “I, for one, plan to go back to our room, take a long, hot bath while I marathon some cheesy rom-coms, and sweet-talk your sister into buying me some greasy boardwalk food.”
My sister smiled a little, too. Georgia had never been one forfeelingsor displays of affection. She’d spent most of her life strapped up tight in an emotional tactical vest, but Sam seemed to have a way of loosening the Velcro. My sister needed that, someone to be naked with—in more ways than one. I was glad they’d found each other. And as my sister rested her head quietly on Sam’s shoulder, I was grateful they’d have each other’s company tonight to soften today’s blow.
Traffic slowed to a crawl as we neared the hotel. Police cars lined the street with their lights on, and drivers braked to rubberneck as police blocked the entrance to the Villagio’s parking garage. Vero glanced back at me, clearly worried about the same thing I was. Had Javi and Ramón managed to make it out of the garage with the Aston Martin before the police had cordoned it off?
Garrett dropped us all off in front of the Royal Flush. We thanked him for the ride, waving as he drove off, watching his blue lights swirl toward the Villagio.
Georgia and Sam walked arm in arm into the hotel. Vero texted Javi as soon as they were out of sight. “Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?” she whispered as she waited for him to respond.
“Right here.” We both jumped as Javi came out from behind the column he was leaning on, gingerly prodding the bridge of his nose.
Vero gasped at his two black eyes. “Oh, god! What happened?”
He looked away. “Ramón…”
She clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Where is he? Is he okay?” Had he been caught moving the car? Arrested? I felt sick at the thought.
“Ramón’s fine,” Javi said. “He made it out with the Aston about ten minutes before the cops swarmed the place.”
I sagged with relief. Vero frowned at his swollen nose. He winced as she fussed over it. “What are you still doing here? You were supposed to go with him.”
“I told him to leave without me because I wanted to wait for my wife.”
“You told him that?” Vero cried. “Why!”
“Because it’s true! AndI, for one, am not ashamed of it. Ramón, however, didn’t feel the same way. I told him we’re cousins-in-law, and that’s when he hit me.”
Vero’s hands balled into fists. “Where is he? I have a few things to say to Ramón myself.”
Javi plucked her phone away from her before she could dial her cousin’s number. “He’s halfway to the interstate by now. You can give him hell tomorrow.” He put an arm around her as we walked into the hotel. “So I’ve been thinking,” he said as the three of us got in an elevator, “we never had a chance to properly celebrate our nuptials.”
Vero shoved him backward out of the elevator car and pushed a button. She waved goodbye to him as the doors slid shut.
The elevator was blissfully quiet as it started its ascent. Vero leaned back against the mirrored wall, thoughtful as she spun the spider ring on her finger. Apparently, it wasn’t so stuck there after all.
“How long are you planning to keep him in purgatory?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I haven’t decided. A little sweat won’t kill him. You have to admit,” she said, holding her ring up to the light, “it was a pretty exciting girls’ weekend.”
I laughed. “I think we could both do with a little less excitement in our lives.”
“Maybe you’re right. Next time, let’s keep it just the two of us.”
Vero got off the elevator on our floor. “Sure you don’t want me to come with you?” she asked.
