Chapter 38: More Bad Ideas

"I don't think this is a good idea," I say to Luca. We've already almost been arrested this week. I'd rather not get booked for trespassing.

"We're not going inside," he assures me. Instead, he takes me along the length of the fence, toward a small grove of palm trees and a little wooden hut that I assume was once used to rent out beach chairs and umbrellas.

He pulls me inside the hut. Once we're safely hidden, he says, "Now, I want you to tell me exactly what happened."

"I shouldn't have gone down to the beach," I say, dropping my stilettos onto the ground. "I just needed a quiet place to talk to Javy. I thought I was okay over on that side of the building."

I can't see his face in the darkness, but his hand comes up and touches me gently on the cheek. "That was your brother who called you? The one who wanted money?"

"Apparently he needs more." I shrug. "I was getting frustrated with him and I was probably talking a lot louder than I intended to. If they heard what I was saying..