"DAVID?" Hugo didn't want to admit it, but he was stirred by his presence.
"I've found you here again" he said, approaching Hugo, keeping a distance so as not to sound invasive. "I swear this time it was by chance."
"And what are you doing in Fortaleza?" Hugo frowned, quickly adding, "If you don't mind answering, of course."
"I came here for work" David moved a little closer, almost a handspan away. "I thought you'd be spending your vacation in a different country."
"I thought about it too" Hugo was looking at the horizon, which was getting darker and darker. "Right now, even."
"Before you saw me here?"
"Right when you arrived."
"So I snapped you out of your daydreams…" David joked.
Hugo just gave a sincere half smile.
"Look at that" David chuckled. "I snapped you out of your daydreams. There's no denying it now."
"You know what? You did" Hugo joked back.
"Sorry about that" David gave him three pats on the shoulder, but rested his hand there.
Hugo didn't mind. He felt that touch, turning into a caress.
"What were you thinking about?"
The breeze was a little stronger now. And the lighting, remote and unnatural. They were in the shadows there.
"So many things…" Hugo shrugged, letting out a breath. "How everything can happen so fast, change so fast… Anyway."
"And what changed too fast for you?"
"An old flame" he began. "I ended up meeting this person again and, even if it's reciprocal, it can't happen now. Again."
There was a moment of silence. David took two steps forward, until he turned to look Hugo in the eye.
"I need to come clean with you."
"What do you mean?" That caught Hugo off guard.
"I haven't forgotten that last conversation we had in the park."
Hugo felt his heart beat a little louder. He wants to bring that up…
...****************...
"I SENT IT TO YOUR EMAIL" The receptionist let out a breath, completing: "But, please, be careful what you do with this list…"
"Don't worry" Pedro tried to reassure the young man. "I really just want Janine's name on it."
"I hope you can find the young lady."
"I hope so too" Pedro looked from side to side and asked: "Do you remember the moment she left? And which direction she went?"
"I just remember that she went to the left. That’s it."
"Okay" Pedro nodded. "Anyway, thank you very much."
The two shook hands in greeting.
...****************...
CAMILA WAS RINSING A DISH when her cell phone rang. She set the plate aside and ran to answer it. It was a local number.
"Hello?"
"Camila?"
"Speaking. Who is this?" Camila frowned.
"It's Irina, dear. Good evening!"
"Good evening!" Camila felt her heart race. Only she knows how anxious she was for Irina's call.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you."
"Are you free to talk now?"
"Of course!" Camila let out a breath, avoiding making noise.
"I have some news to tell you" On the other end of the line, Irina winked at Ruy. "You got the job!"
"Seriously?"
"Yes, girl!" Irina rolled her eyes. "Can you come here on Monday to deliver the documents?"
"Of course! I can. What time can I go?"
"Ten o'clock in the morning. I'm going to give you the address. Can you write it down?"
"Hold on, one moment…" Camila grabbed paper and a pen. "Go ahead."
Irina gave Camila the address, which was familiar. She knew the neighborhood.
"So, see you on Monday."
"Great!" Camila jumped up.
"Good night, dear!"
"Good night…" Camila ended the call. As soon as she dropped her cell phone on the couch, she started jumping for joy.
Lucimar arrived just in time. She had gone to the market to buy some missing vegetables.
"Mom!" She went to Lucimar, jumping. "I got the job…"
"Seriously?" Lucimar was surprised, smiling.
"Seriously! I got it."
"That's great! When do you start?"
"On Monday, I'm going to deliver the documents. Then she will definitely tell me the exact day."
"Wonderful!" Lucimar went to the kitchen.
"I can't believe I got a job, Mom" Camila leaned against the doorframe. "Now everything will fall into place. I feel it… A huge relief!"
"Everything will be alright, my daughter."
"It will" the expression on her face was dreamy. "It will…"
...****************...
— DONE — IRINA SWIVELED IN HER CHAIR. — Fifth approved candidate.
—Has Hank thought about the next step? — Ruy was fiddling with his laptop. — First, that the job offer should have said that the work was abroad.
—That's right… — Irina slammed her open hand on the table. — He told me that this time it will be different. I don't know how these people from the Federal Police managed to find our backs and keep an eye on us.
—Aura is in São Paulo to find out, isn't she?
—She arrived yesterday, it seems.
—I'm here looking for a warehouse to house the machines, which I also rented. Thinking about everything, already.
—Very well. I'll think about it for myself too… Because Hank is taking a while to send a reply.
—Why don't you call him?
—Why should I be the only one who should talk to him? — Irina frowned.
—Because you're closer, maybe? — His answer was ironic.
— Because I'm smarter than you — she replied, dialing the boss's number.
— I swear… — Ruy shook his head from side to side.
...****************...
"SO, YOU TOLD THE GIRLS, THEN?" Hank was strolling through a mall in the Netherlands while on the phone.
"I told them" Irina stressed. "What's the next step?"
"I set up a temporary compound in the middle of nowhere."
"Where?" On the other end of the line, Irina leaned back. Even she didn't know about that trump card. "Here?"
"Yes, there in Brazil. More precisely in the state of Sao Paulo."
"Where is it?"
"I can't tell you that right now. I'm at the mall" Hank walked into a coffee shop. "You know that words are carried by the wind to dangerous places. And the walls around here may have ears…"
With that, he ended the call.
...****************...
"WHAT A JERK" Irina joked as she put the phone down on the table. "You don't even know what he did…"
"What was it?" Ruy raised an eyebrow, still focused on his laptop.
"Firstly…" Irina stood up and began walking around the office, hands in her pockets. "You no longer need to bother buying or renting a warehouse."
"What happened?" He was surprised.
"Hank built another compound. In the middle of nowhere. He wants to do a migration, for sure."
"That'll be good" Ruy shrugged. "Imagine us making those PF jerks run around in circles, when we're right here… Right under their noses."
"That's a good one…" Irina tapped her chin lightly with her cell phone, thinking. "Let's see what Hank has in store for us this time."
...****************...
IT WAS ALREADY DAWN in Barcelona. Pedro Henrique was waiting to board his flight back to Brazil, this time non-stop. It would be a long flight. He was talking to Alex on the phone.
"I took the opportunity to get some external circuit cameras from some nearby establishments that Janine may have passed in front of" Pedro Henrique was looking at the panel above. "That's the only way I'm going to be able to find out exactly where she last went."
"That's a good one. You greased some palms to get that, didn't you?"
"I had to" he admitted. "And I didn't even say I was a police detective. I posed as a private investigator, which gave me more credit. I got everything I could. Now, I'm coming back."
"You're going to take a day off" Alex determined. "It'll count from the moment you arrive on Brazilian soil."
"Okay. I'll probably get there in the morning."
"So come tomorrow morning."
...****************...
HUGO AND DAVID WERE STILL in the same spot, by the beach. As silence still reigned after David brought up the subject they had in the park, Hugo began:
"I believe we have nothing more to talk about."
"We do" David disagreed. "We do."
"David…" Hugo looked at him. "I've already said everything I had to say."
"I'm still in love with you."
Another moment of silence. David took his hand.
"Always have been" he continued. "From the moment Aron introduced you to me. From the moment I saw that jerk censoring your spontaneous way of being, of living… It was for that way that I fell in love and wouldn't change a thing. I wouldn't censor anything, any gesture, any way of yours. I would have loved to have arrived before he did…"
"It would be different" Hugo admitted. For the first time, he was speechless.
"I would take care of you" his tone was firm, although he whispered. He came closer,"and said," You didn't deserve a minute of your time next to that scoundrel. He didn't make the time you spent with him worthwhile. And he almost killed you.
"David…" Hugo was beginning to weaken with the short distance between them. He felt David's hand on his shoulders, sliding down to his waist. "How can you guarantee me that you have no more connection with Aron…?"
"To hell with Aron" David was vehement. "I've already paid my debt that he made up I had."
"I'm going to put you in danger" Hugo whispered, but knew that statement would be in vain.
"He won't have the guts to hurt either of us" David squeezed his waist tightly. He pulled Hugo's body close to his. He touched his face, tender. "He's going to have to go through me to touch you. That I guarantee."
"Don't do this…" Hugo whispered with his eyes closed, feeling defeated as David's mouth touched his cheek. He pleaded, in vain: "Don't risk yourself for me."
"Too late."
David brushed his lips against his. Until Hugo let himself be involved, digging his hands into his neck, returning the kiss that began in a fraction of a second.
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