Page 10 of Heartbeats Amidst Chaos: Part 3
When he thought back to all that had happened over the past weeks, he could hardly believe he wasn’t dreaming—that he wasreallysitting here across from the woman of his dreams. Neither of them was particularly relaxed—not as they had been this morning on the deck and when swimming together in the placid lake. But they were here, and they were together.
“If you don’t want to do it, we won’t,” he said in response to her question.
Rissa bit her lip, looking down at her plate before meeting his eyes again.
“No, you’re right. It’s the only lead we have,” she said, shaking her head so that her earrings danced. “We’ve got to follow it up.”
“Okay, then,” Elio said. “We’ll reserve the taxi to take us—where?”
“Um, another touristy spot nearby, I guess,” Rissa said. “I’ll look something up.”
“And you’re sure we can request the specific car number your friend sent you?”
“We can request it,” Rissa said. “We might not get it. But it’s worth a try, right?”
“Like you said,” Elio echoed, “It’s the only lead we have. Otherwise, we’re just on vacation.”
“Which isn’t all bad,” Rissa said, her blue gaze catching his and holding it. “I haven’t had a real vacation since I started medical school.”
“It’s been a while for me too,” Elio admitted. “And I have to say, I’ve never enjoyed a day more than I enjoyed this one with you.”
Rissa’s red lips parted in pleasant surprise at his words, and Elio found himself flushing slightly and glancing away in embarrassment. It was true, though. For the space of a day, he had nearly forgotten everything: The family he came from, the mess he was in, the disparity between everything this beautiful doctor had to lose and the path he was dragging her down.
It was all flooding back to him now, but he couldn’t seem to stop holding on to her. If he let go of her now, he knew it would be forever.
The two had concocted their plan while lying in the sun on the deck of their little cabin, drinking wine and scheming as if their entire futures—and possibly their lives—did not depend upon it. Rissa’s friend Reagan somehow dug up the number of the resort taxi that had been videoed leaving the concert. Elio and Rissa decided that they would attempt to reserve the same taxi for a short trip the next morning and then question the driver about whether he or she remembered who they had ferried to the concert.
It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but other than laying low, there was little else they could do. Elio felt nervous and fidgety, partly because of how perfect and peaceful this day had been. Therewas no way it could last. Someone was going to recognize him, or the police were finally going to follow up on the same lead they were chasing, or . . .
He suddenly jerked his head to the right, ducking slightly, as a couple walked up onto the patio and toward the restaurant entrance.
“What is it?” Rissa asked softly as she followed his line of sight.
Elio didn’t answer right away. He felt as if the breath had been knocked out of him. At the same time, he wasn’t sure he believed his own eyes.
What had first caught his attention was the woman’s red hair—vivid and natural, allowed to flow freely down her back. What had held it was the sequins. The woman wore a midnight blue dress covered in tiny sparkling disks.
Miranda Villa. It could only be her.
What the fuck? Why is she here?Howis she here?
Elio’s mind was spinning so wildly that he didn’t even register Rissa’s continued questions until she reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling his attention back to her.
“What did you see?” she demanded.
“Someone who knows who I am. We need to go,” he said quietly, surprised by the steadiness of his voice. With his eyes still glued to the entrance where Miranda and the man to whose arm she had been clinging had disappeared, he stood up, pulling Rissa with him. They wove their way between the tables to the edge of the patio and down into the darkness beyond.
He glanced back at the restaurant, but the couple were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they opted to eat inside. It seemed they had not spotted Elio and Rissa, which should have allowed him to relax slightly. But his brain was clanging with alarm bells.
Miranda didn’t just know who Elio was. She knew his entire family. And she was a wild card, always going off the deep end about something or other. The fact that she washere, right now, was bizarre enough to seem . . .
Rissa yanked on his hand, and he looked down at her in surprise, realizing that he had once again been oblivious to her speaking to him.
“Did they see us?” she asked again. “Who was it? Are they going to cause us trouble?”
“Enough trouble that I think we should leave,” Elio said, his breathing returning to normal though his mind continued to race. “We should leave now.”
“Leave the resort?” Rissa asked, and he nodded, starting toward their cabin. His hand was still locked around Rissa’s, and after a moment, she tugged on it again.
