Who Wants to Marry A Billionaire?(47)
Chapter Thirty Seven
The morning dawned lovely and clear. Nina sat on a huge rock, her arms wrapped around her knees as the valley lit up below her. The pinkish light of early morning gave everything a pastel hue as the world began to wake up. Tanagers and goldfinches flashed blue and yellow, and a flock of macaws chattered overhead. A yellow-breasted kingbird curiously studied her, and she glimpsed a pair of silky-fly catchers perched on some twigs nearby. She glimpsed the sweet face of a spider monkey peering at her from the trees, and she felt like this all made sense. These things were worth protecting, and doing it in a way that wouldn’t make life harder for the people around. Eco-resort Calderon certainly had its place.
Nina packed up her few things, and started to head down to the road. She was going to take her time, and had told the resort not to bother sending a car. Now that she knew the way, it was only another hour’s walk to get back to the resort.
Somehow, she felt lighter, Nina thought, maybe even happy. It had been such a good idea to come out in nature to clear her head. Sometimes one needed to strip life down, to get rid of all the things people use for distraction, all the things that create confusion. Just the essentials: enough food, enough shelter, enough. Life wasn’t improved by excess, she realized. Life was improved by doing meaningful things—and life was improved by love. That was it. She felt hope rise up in her heart, and began skipping and leaping down the rocks. The world was a beautiful place again.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Arturo was glad to have his wife, Isadora, back home, and over lunch had poured out his heart about all the sad goings on, and how disappointed he was in Daniel, and how sorry he felt for Nina. He told her about his job offer to Nina, and then he realized he hadn’t seen Nina since walking her back to the caba?a. Kissing his wife, he told her that he was going to go check on Nina and invite her to come have dinner with them that night.
Not finding Nina at her caba?a, Arturo wandered by the pool, although he didn’t really expect to find her there. He asked at reception and the restaurant if anyone had seen her, and everyone shook their head no. Then he thought perhaps she’s gone to do something to take her mind off things and went to the activities office. The manager told him that Nina had gone out on an overnight backpacking trip, but that she was due back at any time. Satisfied, Arturo went to check on other business around the resort, and it was nearing dark when he decided to go look for Nina again. He stopped first at the activities desk to see how long she’d been back, but the manager admitted that it had slipped his mind, and that he hadn’t seen her.
Thinking perhaps she had gone straight to her caba?a before returning her equipment, Arturo went there, but found it dark and locked. Once again he called and wandered around, but still no one had seen her. He called Isadora and relayed his concern, and she cautioned him to not jump to conclusions, but if she wasn’t back within the hour, someone should go looking for her.
Arturo went to the veranda of the restaurant to have a coffee and wait, as it afforded a good view of the road. An hour had almost passed when someone else came up the road in a jeep. It was Daniel DeVere.
Feeling his temper starting to burn, Arturo tried to calm himself and see what Daniel wanted. Perhaps he was merely coming for his belongings and would be gone again. But when Daniel saw Arturo, he walked straight to him.
Looking up at Daniel, Arturo face was a carefully composed blank. “I think you need to leave Daniel.”
“Arturo—Se?or Calderon, I’d like the chance to explain some things to you.”
“I don’t think there is anything more to discuss. And frankly, I’m quite concerned about Nina.”
“I know her heart must be broken.” Daniel felt a steely chill whisper through him.
“Don’t flatter yourself so. She went out backpacking yesterday, and she hasn’t returned. She should have been back several hours ago.” Arturo stood up. “I need to go find her.”
“Please—let me come. If she’s in trouble…I couldn’t bear it.” Daniel’s voice cracked.
“Maybe you should have thought about that before you made a fool of us all in my pool.”
Arturo wasn’t giving Daniel an inch. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” Arturo turned to leave.
“Wait, please, please let me go. I have to make things right.” There was such an edge of agony in Daniel’s voice that it made Arturo stop.
“You have one chance Daniel—one chance to make things right with Nina, and then you are gone.” He studied Daniel’s crumpling face unsympathetically. “Stay here. I’m going to go get some flashlights.”
Chapter Thirty Nine
Boris poured himself a shot of vodka and held it up to the light. It looked so pure, so innocent, just a clear liquid, but it was a liquid that could fuel a merry party or cause the destruction of lives; a liquid to sip alone as one contemplated difficult things, or a liquid one used to make a Molotov cocktail. Things are never exactly as they appear, and it was a fact of life that Boris detested. He hated secrets. Secrets were what drove him from his native land, his secrets and those of others. Most secrets were less damaging in the clear light of truth, but some, some secrets perhaps needed to stay buried forever.
Tossing the vodka back, Boris splashed a little more in his glass. He was not proud of what he was doing, but it had to be done. Daniel and Nina had to be reunited. He had let Elsa stew in her own juices all night and all day. Now it was time for the coup de grace.