Page 30 of Fish out of Water
The officer was about my age and probably pretty decent looking, but considering I’d been staring at the majesty that was naked Grant Servantes, he seemed average at best. “Were you both here when it happened?”
I nodded, my head bobbing up and down as my mind continued doing laps around what I would forever refer to as the closet incident.
The cop leaned into the talkie on his shoulder, telling whoever was on the other end that the suspects fled before turning back to us. “Did you see which way they went?”
“We were in the closet.” My mouth was on autopilot, spitting out the facts since my brain was all but worthless.
Grant’s eyes rolled my way, staring.
Like he couldn’t believe what I was saying.
The cop leaned back to point down the hall. “That closet there?”
Grant stepped in front of me, blocking my line of sight to the police officer, forcing me to lean around him to see what was going on. “Do you have a lot of problems with break-ins around here?”
“Not at this location.” The officer turned toward the front of the apartment as more voices entered the space. He held one finger up to us. “I’ll be right back.” The second he was out of earshot Grant turned my way.
“What in the hell are you doing?”
The sharpness in his tone pulled my mind from the gutter. It was the first time in the past ten minutes I hadn’t been objectifying him and it was a little disorienting. “Nothing.”
“You shouldn’t have told them you were here.”
“Iwashere.”
Grant blew out a breath, cheeks puffing as he stared me down. “You shouldn’t have been.” He leaned closer. “What were you even doing in that damn closet?”
Besides listening to him cancel a date and then sayfucking Banana Pantslike it wasmyfault he was missing out on a night of fun with Valentina?
Veronica.
Vestibule.
Whatever her name was. She probably had perfectly symmetrical bouncy boobs like the chick from his camera reel. “Hiding from you.”
“That was your plan?”
“It was your plan too in case you already forgot.” I leaned in, whisper-yelling. “And at least I had clothes on.”
Grant’s nostrils flared and I could swear his eyes barely dipped. “At least.”
We stared at each other for a minute. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. If he was thinking.
But I was doing enough thinking for both of us.
Mostly about what might have gone on in the closet if Grant wasn’t the only one missing clothes.
“Can you two come out here?” The cop was back to interrupt my inappropriate thoughts.
“Of course.” Grant rested one hand on my lower back, directing me toward the hall while still keeping me close at his side.
The place was trashed. The fridge had been tipped over, dropped face first onto the linoleum. The contents of the kitchen drawers were spilled everywhere.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
My eyes went to the tank that was supposed to have an occupant. “Where’s Penelope?”
The three cops milling around the front room all stopped and looked at me.
