Page 47 of For Better or for Ransom

“I’ll be glad to return the favor by getting you football tickets. Just tell me what game.” Miquel was a huge fan. Yet, somehow, Luke had the feeling some Barça tickets wouldn’t make a difference this time.

“Where’s Sol? You know my ex-wife would be telling you to help me if she was there, yeah?” Miquel said.

Heat flooded Luke’s veins. He didn’t like the words my or wife in that sentence.

“Sol’s the one who told me to be careful with you.” Luke was gritting his teeth.

Miquel laughed. Ex Number One couldn’t even do confrontation properly. “No, she didn’t. She adores me! And you know it!”

Luke was messing his hair nervously with one hand, clutching the mobile against his ear with the other. He was pacing back and forth in front of the restaurant’s entrance on carrer de Vilamarí. It was true that Sol had expressed still feeling respect and friendship toward Ex Number One. She’d also clearly told Luke to be careful with him while talking about the case. Her alliances were clear.

“Yes, she did. She told me you were on a fishing expedition,” Luke muttered.

“Was there anything to fish, let’s say at Isabel Teixidor’s apartment not even half an hour ago?”

How the hell did he know?

“No bloody comment.”

“It looks like I’m getting under your skin, buddy.”

He would have probably lost it and said something he would have regretted if it wasn’t that right at that moment, Sol exited the restaurant. She was wearing a figure-hugging long dress and her most adoring smile, directed solely at him.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she told him. Her right hand went to his left biceps and he could feel the heat even through his bomber jacket. “We’re ordering dessert. Do you want something?”

He smiled at her. Said no with his head. He felt a sudden urge to stop gorging and hitting a yoga studio. “Need to go now,” he told Miquel on the phone. “Sol says hi.”

He hung up, not listening to whatever Miquel was still muttering, put the phone back in his pocket, and smiled even more at Sol.

She narrowed her eyes at him, confused. “You don’t want dessert? The flan here is to die for!”

“I need to start watching what I eat,” he said, making a circular move around his abdomen and fishing for some compliments.

“Oh, come on!” She patted his arm, playfully, as they went back inside the restaurant. His arm draped her waist and brought her closer to him. “You know you’re smoking hot!” she said, pressing against his body.

Perhaps he knew that. He still liked hearing her say it.

Sol

Sol still had the impression that there was something Luke wasn’t telling her. But she’d opted not to worry. He’d tell her eventually. Or they would find a way to work it out. She drew closer to Luke’s body as they went back to their table at the restaurant.

“Sandro called while you were outside,” Divya said, when they sat back at the square, light-wooden table. Luke’s hand on Sol’s waist had moved to her thigh. She liked it there. “He’s freaking out.”

“What happened?” Sol leaned over the table.

“Isabel called him—again. She’s left a voice message saying either he does the play, or she’s threatening to call the press and tell them about him and Leonardo hooking up.”

“I thought he said she didn’t know!” Sol couldn’t believe the director would go that far. Luke’s hand gave her a reassuring squeeze on the thigh. He wanted her not to worry.

“I’m sure the relationship was pretty apparent for everyone,” Luke said. “They were wearing matching bloody bracelets! Isabel could have played the fool but saved the information in case she needed to use it. And it looks like she’s decided to use it now. Unless…do we know if Sandro is telling us the truth?”

“Oh, come on!” Sol protested. Sometimes the detective in Luke could go a bit overboard. She turned on her seat to look him straight in the eyes. “Why would he call Divya and tell her that if it wasn’t true?”

“He could have been trying to throw suspicion on Isabel if he had something to hide,” Divya told Sol. “So don’t go too hard on Detective Contadino there. He’s not being a twat again. He’s just being thorough.”

Sol nodded in understanding. Even if they were reaching the part of the case where things stopped being fun and sexy and started getting scary—and too heavy—she loved being there with Luke and Divya, talking about the case and learning about their profession. Even when faced with a case as opaque as Leonardo’s disappearance was turning out to be, Sol still felt some almost unexplainable attraction to the magic of solving a mystery puzzle. The only issue, of course, was that they needed to actually solve the mystery.

“Sandro forwarded Isabel’s voice message to me. I just listened to it. He didn’t make it up,” Divya said.