Heaven Sent (21 page)

“You may call me Serena.”

Joshua smiled, the gesture transforming his stoic expression and making him an extremely attractive man. “And you may call me Joshua,” he teased.

David stepped forward and extended his right hand, preempting Raul from introducing him to Joshua. “David Cole.”

Joshua took the proffered hand. “Joshua Kirkland.”

His smile froze, masking a cold fury that sucked the breath from his lungs. Nothing in Joshua’s expression indicated the rage he felt toward Vega when he saw the scar on his brother’s cheek. He wanted to repay Vega for his brutality. He longed to mangle his host’s face instead of preparing to sit at his table under the pretense that he would enjoy his food and hospitality.

Raul glanced at Rodrigo, who nodded. “Joshua, may I offer you something from the bar?”

“Scotch, straight up,” he replied.

Raul glanced at the bottle of aged Scotch on the highly polished surface of the bar. It appeared that these Americans liked their Scotch. He waited until Rodrigo served Joshua his drink, then took his usual tequila and lime juice.

Raising his glass, he smiled at the others in the room. “Much success for all that we want from this life.”

Everyone touched glasses, murmuring their own acknowledgement, while David’s gaze never left Serena’s face. Joshua watched his brother’s reaction to the beautiful, tiny woman in orange silk. Aside from the scar on David’s left cheek, he appeared not to have suffered too much at the hands of his captor. He suspected that Raul’s daughter had made David’s captivity more tolerable.

Serena waited until everyone had finished their pre-dinner drinks, then escorted them to the table. She had instructed Rodrigo to remove a leaf from the table, reducing the seating from its customary twelve. Raul seated her at one end of the table before taking his place at the other end. Joshua and David sat opposite each other.

“Even though I make it a policy not to discuss business at my dinner table,” Raul began, his gaze fixed on his daughter’s face, “I will make an exception this evening. Joshua will only be with us for a few days, and it’s going to take time for him to adjust to our weather and a different time zone.”

Joshua smiled a cold smile. “I’m honored and flattered that you’ve decided to break a tradition.” What he didn’t say was that he wanted to break Vega’s neck.

Raul waited for Isabel to bring out the first course—a flavorful cold fish soup—then picked up his spoon. Everyone followed suit.

“I wonder if there will be time for me to take a tour of your property, Raul,” Joshua stated after he’d swallowed a bite of succulent shrimp. “I didn’t get to see much of its magnificence from the car coming in from the airport.”

“That can be arranged.” There was obvious pride in Raul’s voice. “By the way, David Cole is also an American businessman.”

Joshua appeared surprised by this disclosure. “How long will you be staying in Costa Rica?” he asked David.

“I can assure you that it’ll be more than a few days.
Raul
and I have a few unresolved issues to work through before I go back to Florida. By the way, where are you from?”

“Santa Fe.”

David flashed his dimpled smile, shaking his head. “Never been there.”

“It’s beautiful,” Joshua confirmed.

“So is Costa Rica,” Raul countered.

Joshua’s left hand stilled, and the light from an overhead chandelier glinted off the gold band on his third finger. “That it is. Unpolluted air, clean water—”

“And I intend to make certain it remains that way,” Raul interrupted vehemently.

“Which is why I’m here,” Joshua said quietly. “As a scientist I recognize the importance of ecological balance.”

Raul spooned a portion of soup into his mouth, then touched the edge of his napkin to his lips. “Tell me what you’ve discovered about the Anneda pine tree.”

David listened, smugly amused as Joshua outlined the healing properties found in the needles and bark of the tree. It was apparent that his brother was using the
cover of a botanist. The few who knew Joshua well were always astounded by his superior IQ and photographic memory.

Raul, enraptured by what Joshua was telling him, said, “You’re saying that the bark and needles contain a very potent bioflavonoid.”

“Proanthocyanidin. It is stronger than any known citrus bioflavonoid. But when I tested it I discovered that it protected and extended the properties of Vitamin C, which is usually destroyed by oxidation in the body.”

“A fascinating discovery,” Raul whispered.

“That it is,” Joshua agreed. “It is the most fantastic antioxidant ever found. It’s fifty times more powerful than Vitamin E and twenty times stronger than Vitamin C.”

“I, too, find all of this incredible,” Serena stated, joining the discussion for the first time. “I’m aware that antioxidants destroy free radicals, which attack cells and destroy many of them, even altering DNA and making it impossible for cells to reproduce themselves. You claim you can get this miraculous antioxidant from the Anneda tree. Wouldn’t you endanger these valuable trees by stripping their bark and needles?”

Joshua arched a pale eyebrow, turning his attention to Serena. A background check on Raul Cordero-Vega had revealed that Serena Morris wasn’t his biological daughter, but she could’ve been, with her line of questioning. She sounded like Vega did when he ranted that he wanted to save Costa Rica for the Ticos at any cost.

“Not necessarily,” he replied in a soft, quiet tone. “My research team is currently working on a renewable plant source of this proanthocyanidin, so we won’t endanger the supply of trees.”

Raul winked at Serena. She’d voiced his very concern. He shifted his attention to Joshua. “We will talk tomorrow about your research study. Eat, drink, then rest. I’m certain you’re still fatigued from your journey.”

“
¡Mil gracias!
” Joshua said, offering a smile. He had given himself three days to confirm that David was still alive, survey Vega’s property, then formulate a plan to get his brother out of Costa Rica.

S
erena lay in the warmth of David’s embrace, savoring the unyielding strength of his hard body. “Do you think my father’s softening?” Her sultry voice was a whisper in the stillness of the darkened room.

“What about?”

“Americans.”

David chuckled, placing his arm over her back. “I doubt that, Darling.”

“You have to admit that he was rather charming tonight.”

His grip tightened on her waist, shifting her body effortlessly until she lay on his chest. “You were charming, brilliant, and very, very beautiful. I can’t wait for you to host our dinner parties.”

Angling for a more comfortable position, she settled her legs between his and laid her cheek against his shoulder. “Neither can I.”

His left hand played in the curls she’d unpinned from the elaborate chignon just before slipping into bed. “There are so many things I can’t wait for: marrying you and seeing your belly swell with our unborn children. I want our home filled with love and lots of noise. The noisier the better.”

“I want to be able to go to bed with you and wake up with you by my side, David,” she confessed. “I’m tired of the deception.”

“It will end soon.”

Nodding, she rubbed her nose against the crisp hair covering his broad chest. She prayed it would end soon, because she was unsure how long she could continue to hide her feelings for the man holding her to his heart.

Turning her head slightly, she kissed his chest, moving down his body until her hot mouth seared his flat belly and still lower. David threw a muscled arm over his head, swallowing back the groans threatening to erupt from the back of this throat.

Serena had offered her body, holding nothing back, but this time she offered more. She was selfless as she worshipped him, taking him into her mouth with a claim that made him surrender all he had, all that he was to her.

It took Herculean strength for him to sit up, reach down, and pull her up to his chest. Within the span of several seconds he reversed their positions, slipped on protection, and entered her, both of them gasping from the force of his penetration. He took her hard and fast, and when they returned from their erotic trip to heaven, both were breathing and sobbing with emotion wrung from their souls.

“This can’t continue,” David rasped, pulling her closer to his damp body. “Not like this.”

“I know,” she confirmed, willing the tears staining her cheeks to stop. But they continued until she cried herself to sleep. She never knew when David left her bed six hours before sunrise.

Opening the French doors to her bedroom, he stepped out into the heavy tropical heat, then closed the doors behind him. He stood on the veranda, staring out into pitch blackness, swearing silently that he would not sleep with her again until they were back on American soil. Their desperate game of deception had changed him, and instead of feeling joy after making love he felt guilty, guilty for sneaking into her bedroom each night, and guilty for pretending he felt nothing for her in the presence of others when all he wanted was to hold her and kiss her until she was breathless.

He walked the short distance to his own bedroom, slipped in through the partially open French doors. He hadn’t taken more than two steps when light flooded the room and Raul rose from the chair where he’d sat waiting for him.

There was no mistaking his rage as a cold, loathing smile twisted his lips. “I bring you into my home and you disgrace me by using my daughter.”

David’s temper rose quickly, matching Vega’s. “I haven’t used her.”

“What do you call it? You treat her like a
puta
. You have your way with her, then you leave her after you’ve spilled your lust. You’ve made her your whore!” he shouted in English.

David lunged at him at the same time Raul brought up his right hand, striking him across the left cheek with a riding crop. The blinding pain caused him to stumble backward, but he righted himself and lunged at Vega again.

This time he found his target. His long fingers curved around his nemesis’s neck, tightening and cutting off precious air to his lungs and brain. “I love her!” he shouted, punctuating each word as he shook Vega, his head rolling around on his shoulders as if he were a rag doll.

Through the red haze of rage, he heard a solid click, then a familiar voice saying, “Let him go, Señor Cole.”

David looked up into the large, round bores of a double-barreled shotgun. A deranged smile curled Rodrigo’s lips as he wiggled his eyebrows in an unconscious agitated gesture. Rodrigo might have just pleaded for him to release his boss, but something in the emaciated man’s eyes said
don’t.

Closing his eyes briefly, David felt his anger ebbing. For a moment he’d been ready to take a life and give up his own at the same time. His hands fell away and Vega slumped to the floor, gasping and wheezing.

Rodrigo lowered his weapon. He stared down at his employer, uncertain whether Señor Vega would want him to help him. He decided against it as Raul rose to his feet on wobbly knees.

“You’re a dead man, David Cole,” he whispered, holding a hand to his injured throat.

“So are you,” David countered. He bent over and picked up the riding crop. What he wanted to do was flail the skin off the older man, but threw it at him instead. “The next time you take a whip to me, be prepared to kill me,
Señor Vega
.”

He watched the two men leave his bedroom, then collapsed across the bed. Fire radiated along the left side of his face when he pressed the rapidly swelling flesh with his fingertips. They came away with only a
trace of blood, but he knew without looking in a mirror that Vega had reinjured his cheek.

Serena slept late the following morning, and it wasn’t until she heard a knock on her door that she woke up. Pulling the sheet up over her naked breasts, she pushed an abundance of unruly curls up off her forehead.

“Come in.” The door opened and her father stalked in, his mouth set in a hard, tight line. She smiled at him. “Good morning, Poppa.”

He did not respond as he sat on a chair in her sitting room. The silence was deafening. She stared at him while he looked out the French doors.

“You’ve disgraced this house,” he whispered, breaking the silence.

Her eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

“I bring
him
into my house and he takes you like a
puta
under my very roof.”

Serena scrambled from the bed, tucking the sheet around her body. “How
dare
you call me a whore!”

Raul sprang to his feet. “What else are you?” He wanted to scream at her, but his injured vocal cords throbbed painfully. “How could you let him use you in such a manner?”

“He didn’t use me. I love him, Poppa. And when I return to the United States I’m going to marry him.”

“No,
Chica
,” he said, shaking his head. “That cannot happen, because in less than a month he will be dead. Your lover has a death sentence hanging over his head.” He gave her an evil smile when her eyes filled with tears. “Did you think he was waiting for you, so the two of you could leave
La Montaña
together?” Watching the play of emotions cross her face, he knew that was what she’d thought. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but
the truth is he hasn’t left
La Montaña
because he
can’t
. And if he tries to escape I’ll have him shot on sight.”

He took a half-dozen steps, bringing them face-to-face. “Don’t try to leave,
Chica
, because you’ll never make it through customs. I’ve taken the liberty of holding on to your passport for safekeeping.”

Serena clapped her free hand over her mouth to keep from slapping her stepfather’s face. She turned her back instead, and waited for him to leave her bedroom. As soon as the door closed, she walked over and locked it.

What happened next was a blur, because she didn’t remember taking a shower or dressing. What she did remember was flinging open her door and pounding on David’s, screaming his name at the top of her lungs.

When he finally did unlock the door, she took one look at his face and crumbled to the floor in a dead faint.

David scooped her limp body up in his arms and carried her down the rear staircase to the kitchen. Her head hung loosely over his arm, eliciting a rush of fear when he could not detect her breathing.

Luz Maria rushed toward him. “Put her on the table,” she ordered. He stood helplessly by, watching the cook as she placed a cool cloth on Serena’s forehead. She stirred and let out an audible sigh.

Blinking furiously, she stared up at the ceiling. “What happened?”

“You fainted.”

She turned her head to the right, her round eyes widening and filling with fear when she saw the angry welt running across David’s left cheekbone. “David.” His name came out in a weak mewling.

“I’m all right,
mi amor
.”

Reaching out, she caught his wrist. “Did he do that to you?”

“It was an accident,” he lied smoothly. Curving an arm around her waist, he helped her to sit up.

“Drink this,” Luz Maria suggested, handing her a cup of tea. “It should help settle your stomach.”

Serena’s hands shook slightly as she grasped the cup. She took several swallows, then handed the cup back to Luz Maria. “I’ve had enough.”

Luz Maria shook her head. “You need it, and so will the baby.”

“What baby?” Serena and David asked in unison.

Luz Maria stared at David, then Serena. “Why do you think you fainted?”

It was Serena’s turn to stare at David as she mentally calculated when she’d last had her period. “Oh, no,” she whispered with the realization that she hadn’t had a menstrual flow since she left the States. It had been the last week in May, and it was now the middle of July.

Her gaze was frantic. When had it happened? After the first time she and David had been very careful… The first time! The first time they slept together he’d gotten her pregnant.

“David…”

“It’s okay, Darling,” he crooned, rubbing her back in a comforting gesture.

She pressed her face against his arm, shaking her head. “He told me everything. He said you’re a prisoner, and that he’s going to kill you.”

David’s hand halted. “When?”

“He came to my room this morning. He—”

“Don’t,” he said, cutting her off. “We’re going to make it through this.”

“How can you say that?” She replayed Raul’s
threats, the fearful image of David lying shot flooding her mind.

Cradling her face in his hands, David flashed his dimpled smile. “Do you trust me, Darling?” She nodded. “Then let me handle everything.”

What he had to do was find Joshua. Whatever his brother planned to do, he had to do it quickly.

Things had changed: Vega was aware that they’d been sleeping together. There was the possibility that Serena was carrying his child. And there was no doubt that the stress of not getting his son back had forced Vega to panic.

David left Serena with Luz Maria as he returned to the main part of the house, hoping he would meet up with Joshua. He had to find a way to communicate the sudden change in his hostage situation.

He found Joshua and Vega in the greenhouse. They were examining the pine needles of a tree when he approached them. Joshua noticed him before Vega did. He went completely still, his eyes turning pale until they appeared virtually transparent. David shook his head, the motion barely noticeable. He folded his hands together, then opened them like a book. Just before Vega turned he put up two fingers.

“What do you want?” Vega snapped before he could catch himself. He didn’t want Joshua Kirkland to suspect that things were not well between him and his fellow American.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you—”

“But you are interrupting me, Señor Cole,” he said facetiously.

Joshua held up his left hand. “Raul, you and I have time. Take care of whatever you need to do with David. I’m going to take that walk I’ve been promising myself
before it gets too hot.” He gave Vega a feigned smile. “I’m overwhelmed with the magnificence of everything I’ve seen thus far.”

David offered Joshua his right hand. “If I don’t get to see you before you leave, have a safe trip back home.”

Nodding, Joshua took the proffered hand. “Same with you. If you get the opportunity to come to the southwest I’d like for us to get together. I have a close friend who lives in Las Cruces. He’s south of where I live, but we get together every once in a while and go hunting.”

“What does he do?” David questioned, stalling for time.

“He breeds horses. The name is Sterling. He’s easy to find. Ask anyone in Las Cruces where his ranch is, and they’ll give you directions.”

“I’ll keep that in mind if I’m in the neighborhood.”

“In fact, I’m supposed to meet with him next week. If you’re back by that time and have nothing on your calendar, drop by.”

David nodded. Joshua had given him what he needed to know. He would return to Costa Rica in a week, and he wouldn’t come alone.

Raul waited impatiently while the two Americans concluded their inane conversation. He walked back to the house, David following. He didn’t know why, but he felt a shiver of icy fear snake up his spine. He’d turned his back on David Cole, and only hours ago the man had his hands around his neck. If Rodrigo hadn’t been there he was certain David would’ve strangled him.
No
, he thought. It would be the last time he would ever show David his back.

The two men walked into the study, Raul closing the door. He rounded on David. “What was so important that you had to interrupt me?”

“I’m willing to negotiate the sale of the plantation.”

Raul stared, complete surprise on his face. But the surprise was momentary. “Why now?”

“Why not? I want to get my affairs in order before I die.”

“You won’t die if my son is released on or before the designated date.”

David crossed his arms over his chest in a gesture of defiance. “I’m not willing to wait that long.”

“It is not possible. I have business to conclude with Mr. Kirkland.”