Page 70 of Rio

I’m relieved that it’s the start of the weekend.I’m supposed to be taking a small boat to go further along the coastline and get more evidence.Pierce’s words haunt me, and I need to make sure we have a watertight case..

But lying in bed, it’s Rio’s face I see.The way he looked at me, his face twisting with shock and anger.I wasn’t prepared for that reaction.That’s when I understood.He thinks I used him.He thinks I planned this.He thinks I worked him over just to beat him down again.That’s the worst part, because there’s something real and raw between us, and beneath his fury, he feels something for me, just like I feel it for him.

Maybe he’ll even throw that in my face next time we talk.I’m playing with fire, getting involved with him, but he was the one who came to my hotel room.He was the one who suggested I go to his.

It’s all getting so complicated.So messy.We should have stayed away from each other, but we couldn’t, and now things are spiralling out of control.

I should never have sat next to Rio Knight at that bar in Manhattan.

I should never have bought him a drink.

But, maybe our paths would have intertwined later down the line, given that my best friend is engaged to his brother.She’s already been bitten, and I’m hoping that this time around things will work out just fine.

It’s best for me, for my career, to stay away, even though Delport Realty is the company behind the Eco resort, it’s the Knights who are really running this operation.They’re just hiding out of plain sight.

As I lie in my bed, ruminating, my phone rings and my heart jolts with anticipation, then quickly deflates when I see Alma’s name on the caller display.

“How are you, Raquel?”she asks.“I wanted to check in on you.”

“Check in, why?”I let out a small, nervous laugh.

“Because of the injunction.”

“That’s just work.It had to be done.”I’m trying to figure out her angle, what it is that she’s worried about.

“Your friend didn’t seem to take it too well.Is he your friend?”

“He’s someone I know from back home.You don’t need to worry about him, Alma.”

There’s a long pause.She doesn’t say anything.She doesn’t need to.I feel her judging me.I suspect she knows Rio and I are involved, in some strange capacity, and she probably knows it’s wrong for me to be mixed up with someone from the other side—but I’m not involved with Rio.We just got carried away the other night, like we always seem to do whenever we’re around one another.I blame it on the scorching off-the-charts chemistry between us.I’ve never had it with anyone else, and I’m finding it harder to fight each time we meet.I sense he’s also struggling to keep things purely professional.

“Why don’t you come with me, if you’re free today?My daughter’s having a barbecue for my grandson’s birthday, and I’d like you to meet my family.You’ll get to have some of the tastiest home-cooked Belizean food.”

I’m taken aback by her inviting me to meet her family.“That’s so kind of you, Alma, I would love to but I had plans to go further along the coast to get some more evidence.”

“Evidence?For what?We already served the injunction.”

“I just want to make sure that it’s watertight.You saw the way Rio Knight reacted.”

“It was hard to miss,” she agrees.“The foreman wasn’t too happy either, but we already have evidence.We’ve got pictures and satellite images and—”

“My boss cautioned me, now that Knight Enterprises is behind Delport, he wants me to make sure their lawyers can’t gut this case.I want to put my mind at ease.The Knights have deep pockets and they’ll hire the best lawyers.They’ll gut this injunction if we’re not careful.”

“Shouldn’t we have gotten that additional data before?”

“We didn’t have time, Alma,” I remind her gently.“You wanted to file immediately, remember?”

“Are you sure you want to do that today?Ordinarily I’d come with you—”

“It’s the weekend, and you have plans.You can’t miss your grandson’s birthday.”

“I’ll send someone from the team.”

“Not necessary.It’s the weekend,” I echo again.“I’m sure we already have enough evidence but this is for my own peace of mind.I was going to have a quick look at Caye Encanto.I won’t take too long.”

“Be careful, Raquel,” she warns me.“The roads up there are bad.Must you go?”

“I would like to.”