“I’m not afraid of Tio Amato. I’m not afraid of any danger he offers. Leave him. I will be there for you; I will see that you can live and write and dream. I can see that you are truly a free spirit.”
She shook her head and stepped back. “No, don’t you understand? This house—it stands as it does because of Reed Amato. Because the owner didn’t listen to him and Reed ruined him and his family. I don’t know exactly how he does what he does, and I don’t want to believe he does what he does … I don’t see what happens. I wouldn’t have lived with him, ever. If I had realized just—just how he had come to be so rich and have so much power. But, River, listen to me. I don’t know what I want yet, but I don’t want you near him. Don’t you understand me yet? Those who cross him sometimes lose more than their houses. They—they disappear.”
“And don’t you understand me yet?” he asked softly. “I’m not afraid of him. I’ll get you away from him.”
“And if you’re not afraid, you’re stupid.”
“We won’t be stupid—we’ll just get the hell away. Look, I believe you. I believe that he’s a very dangerous man. I think I saw … I think I know that you’re right and that he does kill people or have them killed. Natal—you have to get away from him!”
He tried to walk toward her again. She threw her hands up and stepped back again. “No! I am afraid—but not for me. For you. And right now … now I must go. And I must think and try to see if I believe … never mind. Right now, I simply must go. And tonight—for me, if you ever want to see me again—you must leave it alone. I’m sorry—I’m so sorry.”
And with those words, she fled.
Convict barked as River flew from the house, racing after her.
But as quickly as he could move, he didn’t catch up with her.
She was a free spirit—or so she’d said. This was her home. It was as if she could disappear into thin air.
CHAPTER 12
River made his way to Beluga’s hostel. His old friend was sitting outside with one of his cigars.
River found himself thinking that Beluga would have made an excellent action star. He might have given up professional fighting and used his money to buy his hostel, but he was still in ruggedly fit shape. He envied Beluga for having found his place in the world. He was happy in it. He loved the people who came through and he was happy to provide affordable accommodations for young people—and for older people too, who might not have been able to travel if it weren’t for Beluga and men like him.
Beluga grinned lazily at him, enjoying the cool breeze. He pointed to a nearby chair and waved his cigar in the air as he said, “River. You sleep here? We have plenty of room tonight.”
“I don’t know yet,” River replied, hedging. His feet had taken him here, but he felt restless. It tore at him to know that Natal was with Reed Amato. She called herself a free spirit, but she wasn’t free if she was tied to that man. And yet she’d been with River.
He didn’t like the idea of being with another man’s woman—and yet, he would take whatever Natal had to give. He wondered if he’d be as disturbed—since they had barely met and he had no right to jealousy—if it weren’t a man like “Tio” Reed Amato.
“You don’t know? It’s already afternoon,” Beluga said. “Late afternoon.”
River shrugged. He was tempted to go into town. He wanted to look through the gates to the great house where Tio Amato lived and reigned over the countryside.
Why?
Would he see her? Would she be laughing, smiling, talking about her freedom and her free spirit with the man? Or would River see something that he didn’t like—something that would hurt him? Natal looking miserable as Tio Amato ordered her around.
Most likely, he thought, he wouldn’t see anything at all. There were gates and a high wall and within his mansion, Amato probably kept his draperies shut.
“What do women want in a man?” he asked Beluga.
“You’ve found a woman?” Beluga asked.
“No, not really. I’ve found a … a minor flirtation.” Minor flirtation was nothing compared to what he felt for Natal. “She’s otherwise engaged. But I’m curious—what is it that they want?”
Beluga loosed one of his hearty laughs. “I say, I don’t know what a woman wants since a woman has not stayed with me in years. I had my great love … now, I have what the world allows me now and then. Ah, yes, there is Maria—she is the woman in my life and she is like my sister. A good worker and she looks after me. But as to love, my friend? Love is for the young. For the adventurous. There is that wild and wonderful feeling that teases the heart and the senses—it is wanting what one doesn’t have. Then there’s the magic of that feeling—and being loved in return. Glorious days. Sunshine fills them even when it rains. But, alas, then there is marriage or commitment and the real world. No matter how much of an adventurer a man may think himself, the world intrudes. Bills and babies, my friend, bills and babies. If the two are good together, that feeling of being in love deepens and grows and there is still love. But the scent of flowers and perfume is replaced by baby poop, and romantic dinners become a struggle to budget.”
River laughed. “I didn’t ask what happened to love, my friend. Love is something that we feed and foster, and we hurt one another, but then … we are still there. If the love isn’t real—or strong enough to survive life or someone better who walks by and seems to promise more—then it all falls apart. It can be real—and last. But that’s not what I’m getting at. What I asked is, what is it that you think women want? Or, perhaps, why do they say they want one thing but become bound to another?”
Beluga gave that grave thought. “What do they want? Ah, maybe, when the tender teen years are gone, they want to know that they will have a life. I saw a funny picture on Facebook once—”
“You have a Facebook page?”
“Of course—and you should too. It helps you maintain ties with people.”
River didn’t want any ties.
“So what was the picture?”
“It was of a beautiful woman in a little tiny bathing suit. Nothing to it in the rear—a very nice rear, by the way.”
“A thong,” River offered.
Beluga nodded. “This woman, with long dark glossy hair and a beautiful body, is walking with a man who looks like a thousand pounds of ugly. And there’s a caption to it that says, ‘Yes, he has more money than you.’”