Page 191 of Embriagado

Side-eying me, she scanned me skeptically. “Oh, really?”

“Don’t you know the saying, un clavo saca otro clavo?”

She rolled her eyes. “You and your Spanish.”

“Are you mocking my culture?”

“Hey.” She paused, staring ahead. “Speaking of old loves, isn’t that Gabriel?”

Following her gaze, I was surprised to see she was right. Despite me standing outside and having a window between us, there was no mistake about it. Gabe was right there, standing in the lobby while glancing around.

The fuck?

My anger spiked up, and I kissed Imani on the cheek before saying goodbye.

Walking the trail leading into the hotel, my eyes locked on Gabriel as if not to lose sight of him. That son of a bitch had really crossed a line this time by coming here.

“S-Santiago,” he said with a smile as soon as he saw me approaching, but the smile wiped off his face the second I pulled him aside.

“Was my not answering your texts not clear enough that you decided to come here?” I hissed, pissed off that he had the nerve to come to my fucking work.

His face fell as he glared at me in return. “While it would be nice if you replied once in a while, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Is that so?” I narrowed my eyes at him, not believing this bullshit.

He huffed, shaking his head. “Yes, Santiago. I’m here for work.”

Before I could doubt him, again, he pointed with his thumb over his back, and I noticed his partner—the one I once saw giving him a ride—talking to the front desk clerk.

“Why’re you guys here?” I snarled, eyes moving back to Gabriel.

He looked around before meeting my stare. “I’m not supposed to say anything, but we’re following a missing person report.”

My brows snapped together. “A missing person⁠—”

“Oh, officers, there you are,” Ariyan’s voice cut through my question, and Gabriel and I both looked up to see him stepping toward Gabriel’s partner. After shaking his hand, Ariyan turned to look at us, his eyes stopping on me for a second before moving on to Gabe.

“Officer Sánchez, I’m so glad to meet you again.” Ariyan pressed his hands together. “I understand from your partner that you have some questions to ask me, so how about we go to my office?” he offered, and honestly, one would think he was inviting them for tea with how calm he seemed. If I were to be questioned by the police, I sure as fuck wouldn’t be this nice. But more importantly, why the fuck did they need to question him, of all people?

“What do you need from him?” I asked when Gabriel’s eyes shot to me.

“I can’t say⁠—”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about, Mr. Rivas,” Ariyan cut in, his eyes darting to my hands and up. It was only then that I realized how hard I was clenching my fists. “Stop by my office later, okay?”

His calm composure somehow helped me relax, and without breaking our stare, I nodded, holding my breath as I watched him walk away with the two officers. But the second he was out of my sight, all my nerves kicked back in, and I struggled to sit down. Instead, I began walking in circles in the hall outside Ariyan’s office. What if they were here because of one of his hit jobs? Fuck. There was no way, right? I mean, he was a professional, so efficient in everything that he did, that I bet he left no evidence behind. Besides, if he truly were a suspect, he’d be called to the police station. That said, they’d been in there for almost half an hour now. Should Ari really not have lawyered up or something? Fucking shit… the fact that I was more concerned for his safety than for the fact that he was a literal killer said something about my moral bankruptcy, but then again, I’d long since stopped caring for right or wrong when it came to him.

The sound of footsteps cut my train of thought, and I looked up to see a tall man, wearing a white T-shirt and gray slacks, walking toward me. He had tanned skin and a head full of thick, dark hair slicked back that made him look like some of the guys in my neighborhood, the type to drive their cheap convertible back and forth just to show off.

“Who are you?” he asked, his brown eyes landing on me.

“One of the staff.”

He scoffed, then pulled out a pack of smokes from his pants.

“I figured that much by your clothes.” He tucked one in his lips. “I mean, what’s your name, kid?”

“You can’t smoke here,” I hissed.