The Traitor ✓ (Book Six)

Chapter Three

  Throughout my cab ride, which I somehow managed to secure just through gesturing, I've been able to see more of the surrounding city. There's a good mix of skyscrapers and greenery, making it one of the more unique places I've been.

  About halfway through, we pass one that has intentional vines growing up the side of it, and another restaurant with so many hanging plants those inside can barely see out. The driver notices my staring, and tries to start a conversation.

  "You're new here, aren't you?"

  There are so many ways I could respond, but either way- he's right. I turn away from the window so I can look at him. "Yeah." I admit, not giving any more details.

He simply nods, letting it go. In the distance, I spot a small section of the beach. So we're close now.

  The one time Emily and I went to the beach, it was absolute heaven. It was when we were first dating, back when I was still working for a senator, and it was also my first day off in a while. We got there early. There was nobody but us as far as we could see, in a strip of sand that spanned at least a mile.

We bought a picnic platter from the local grocery store and didn't move until late afternoon, when locals who were getting off of work started filling every possible free spot. I decided to take another vacation day so we could stay through the night and relax; we'd both been so stressed out lately. We rented a hotel, crashed, only driving back to dc when we didn't have a choice.

Life was so, so much simpler when I could do things like that- then I had to go and accept that damn job offer.

The taxi driver turns, now going down a dirt road through the middle of a forest. The vibes aren't off like they would be in most- this one has plenty of light coming in through the trees, which are all alive and bright green.

He only stops when we reach what looks like a road sign, with "large vehicles prohibited from this point", printed in three different languages.

"This neighborhood is....pretty diverse." The taxi driver says. "Would you like me to walk you through?"

"No...no thank you." I reply, clicking my seatbelt off. I reach into the bag again for my wallet and pull out the first piece of currency I can find- 20 million colónes.Without thinking, I hand it to the driver- and his eyes immediately widen.

"Sir, I cannot except this-"

"Is it a lot?" I raise an eyebrow, confused. He nods his head. "Oh well... keep it anyways. I'm not hurting for money, not right now."

"Thank you....sir." He doesn't know how to react so he just shakes his head. "You really need to....learn the currency conversions if you're gonna be here a while."

I chuckle. He's right- but I'll cross that bridge later. I wave goodbye as he backs his car up and turn to the path behind me- a narrow one compared to the dirt road, but still wide enough for a few people to walk side by side. Almost a hundred yards away, I can see the first corner of a house peeking from behind a tree, and when I look straight up- a signal tower. I wonder for a second- why cars aren't allowed. The path could just be widened.

Oh well. Instead of questioning it further, I begin the walk. Maybe I'll invest in a motorcycle later on. One thing I could get used to is the sound of forests all around me, loud enough that I can use them to drown my own thoughts out or focus if I feel like it.

I come out on the other side, in a cleared area of beachside forest. And it must be clear that I'm new here, because an older woman approaches me.

"Do you need help finding something?" She asks.

"Uhm...yeah actually, do you know where I can find Santiago Rodriguez?"

  She smiles, and gestures for me to follow her. I do- because she's a sweet old lady, certainly nothing to be afraid of. We end up in front of a house that's slightly nicer and bigger than the others- but only by a little bit.

She knocks on the open door. I peek my head in and a man- Santiago, is sitting at a desk with his head in his hands, silently cursing at a piece of paper.

  When he looks up, the frustrated facial expression slightly falls. He's certainly not smiling, but it's clear he has some family relation to the old lady.

  "Mami-" He sighs. "Who's this?"

  "Don't know." She shrugs. "But he was asking for you."

  "We spoke on the phone earlier-" I inject myself into their conversation. "My name is uh... Damon. Damon Castro."

  "Oh-" he yawns. "You said you have the money now. Are you sure?"

  "Yep."

  "Then I can-" He opens and shuffles the bottom drawer. "Hand you these as soon as you pay. The water is filtered from the ocean, and all electricity comes from solar on top of the house. The only thing you have to pay on top of the mortgage is a maintenance fee to keep up the water and electricity for the neighborhood. Other than that...welcome I guess."

  "What's your Venmo?" I ask, already pulling out my phone, praying that it's downloaded and that he has one. Luckily it is, and he does.

  Before I know it, he's dropped the set of keys in my open hands and I've been walked downhill about two hundred feet, to where the house that's relatively isolated from the rest of the neighborhood is.

  Just another few hundred feet away is the water.

  I take a deep breath and let myself in. This feels crazy- I own a house now, Damon Castro does.

  I guess this is my life now.