“What if I wanted them to think I was somewhere else?” Vero asked. “Like the grocery store. Or in church?”
Cam shrugged. “All I need is the GPS coordinates and I can put you there.”
Ramón looked at the three of them as if they were all crazy. “The only place Veronica’s going is inside that house!” He lifted the hem of her sweatshirt and reached for the belt. She smacked his hands, hollering at him in Spanish as he unfastened it and removed it from her waist. He shook it in Cam’s face. “Was this your idea?”
Arnold’s whole body trembled as he lifted his leg over Cam’s laptop. Cam scooped up the device, whisking it out of the way just as Arnold let out a stream of urine. “Could you maybe stop yelling? You’re upsetting my dog!” Cam picked Arnold up, whispering soothing words in his ear.
Ramón shoved a grease-stained rag at Cam, clearly expecting him to clean up his dog’s mess.
“Go easy on the kid,” Javi said. “He was only trying to help.”
“Help her with what? He’s going to get her sent to prison!”
Javi’s expression turned hard. “Vero’s not going to prison! I won’t let that happen.”
“None of us will let that happen,” I reminded them both sharply. “We’re going to stick to the plan and talk to Theo, but we’re not going to solve anything if we’re all fighting.” I lowered my voice when nobody argued. “It’s getting late. Gloria and Norma will probably be home soon, so I suggest we all go inside and pull ourselves together before they get here.”
Javi got out of the van. Vero folded her arms over her chest and glared daggers at the floor. Ramón tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Javi and I will get you out of this mess, Vero, but you have to stay out of trouble. If Cam wants to help so bad, he can tell us where Theo lives. You got the guy’s license plate, right?”
She threw a quick sideways glance at me as she shook her head, warning me not to say a word.
“Then we’ll go back to the bar tonight and follow Theo home if we have to. We’ll make him listen to reason. Let me and Javi handle this. No more sneaking around.”
Javi reached for Vero’s hand to help her out of the van, but she smacked it away. I suspected her rebuff had as much to do with her encounter with Sophia as with her agitation over the confiscation of her transmitter belt. She stormed out of the van and into the house, then slammed the door behind her. There was nothing I could say to Javi that he didn’t already know about her. She was angry and frustrated and probably a little scared, and she needed some time alone to cool off. There was no sense talking to her—or Ramón—about any of this now.
“Hey,” Cam said as he climbed out, too. His shoulders were hunched under the weight of his backpack and the traumatized Chihuahua under his arm. “You think me and Arnold could use the bathroom and get some food? It was a long drive up here, and we haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“Yes,” I interjected before Ramón could say no. Cam reached for the transmitter belt. Ramón glared at him, practically daring him to take it. Cam put up his hand and backed away, giving Ramón a wide berth as he carried the belt with him into the house.
“Come inside,” I said to Cam. “I’ll fix you and Arnold something to eat.”
CHAPTER 17
Norma and Gloria came home an hour later, their arms heavy with gym totes and shopping bags.
“Who’s this?” Norma gestured to the teenager and the Chihuahua who had made themselves comfortable on her sofa. Cam had converted Norma and Gloria’s television into a game station using a handheld controller he’d brought from his house.
“That’s Arnold. And that’s Cam,” Vero said, knocking his boots off the coffee table. “Cam, this is my mom and my Aunt Gloria.” She dropped her voice to a harsh whisper. “Donotpiss them off.” She turned back cheerfully to her mother. “Cam is a friend from Virginia. He came to visit.”
“That’s wonderful,” Gloria said, setting her bags on the kitchen counter. “All this company will keep you from getting bored while you’re stuck in the house. You should stay for dinner, Cam. I’ll fix something nice.”
“I hope it’s okay, but I put a little something in the Crock-Pot,” I said. “Just a simple goulash I threw together. You and Norma have been so generous letting me stay, and you’re both so busy. It was the least I could do.”
Gloria peeked under the lid. “It smells wonderful, Finlay.”
“To mask the taste,” Vero said.
I threw her a look. “It’s nothing fancy, but there’s plenty.”
The mention of another meal caught Cam’s attention. Even Arnold wagged his tail.
“Where are Javi and Ramón?” Norma asked.
“In the basement, trying to figure out what’s wrong with their stupid security cameras,” Vero said. “They’ve been down there all day.”
Norma frowned. “The cameras still aren’t working?”
Vero could have done a better job of hiding her grin. “Nope!”
